I was having a business discussion recently and was expressing my disappointment that for some people in the organisation what was being said was not reflected in what actually happened. I quoted from the Bible, Mathew 7:16 ‘You will know them by their fruit.’ I am not at all religious; when I was a teenager my family lived with my grandfather who was a Church of England vicar. In my late teenage years and early twenties, I was his carer, I therefore have a good knowledge of the scriptures. I find a great deal of wisdom in them.
The wisdom is almost two millennia old; however, I find it is still relevant today because it is about human behaviour and human interaction. Understanding human behaviour and human interaction is key to business success. It is important in managing staff, getting effective sales messages across to potential customers, dealing with customers, having effective relationships with suppliers and in some instances regulators.
Reflecting on that business discussion I realised that I have learnt more from my grandfather than I have through the formal education system. That taught me about things, my grandfather, through the Bible, taught me about people. School taught me English and how to structure sentences, it did nor teach me about the power of words and the pictures they can paint.
“You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?”
On Friday I attended an online business networking event where each month they hold a draw and the winner gets 2 minutes the following month to talk about their business to the whole group, normally about 40 to 50 people before we have a series of breakout rooms of about five to six people. The person chosen last month couldn’t attend and I was picked as a last-minute substitute. I spoke about the importance of being kind and how it was good for business, good for the community and acted as the oil that made things run smoothly.
In the break out rooms afterwards several people commented that they liked that I chose to talk about that rather than sell my business to them. That made me think about the fact that many people promote the wrong thing, they focus on the product and not their businesses values.
Yes, people need to know that you offer particular products or services; however, particularly where the product or services is available from many places, that will not make people want to buy from you. Focus on your business values and people will buy from you if they align with theirs. Price will be less of an issue. If you are trying to compete on price, remember there can only be one business with the lowest price. If that is you that low price is eating into your profits.
Business values matter most when it comes to discretionary spend. I love beer and was a huge fan of Brewdog. I had a little wobble when stories of treating employees badly emerged in the media, but that was addressed by the owners. I no longer buy Brewdog beer because they have stopped being an accredited member of the Real Living Wage Foundation and do not commit to paying their employees a real living wage. Our values do not align. I still enjoy great beer, but now buy it from other Real Living Wage Foundation breweries, mainly Verdant and Firebrand, two local businesses.
Make sure people know what your business values are, unless you are not proud of them; if that is the case you need to do some soul searching.
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Honesty Box
The seed of an idea for these business blogs has to grow and I nurture it until it is ready to harvest, then I prepare it so you can digest it. If you found the content useful please consider popping some money into the honesty box. Unlike buying eggs at the farm gate, you cannot put the cash in a box because you are reading this online. You can click on the Buy Me a Coffee link below which will take you to a page where by magic (nifty software) a small amount of money will disappear from your account and appear in mine. Don’t worry you are in control all the time. If the post wasn’t helpful, please leave a comment suggesting how it can be improved.
If you like what I say you can buy me a coffee if you want to.
Several events that happened over the last couple of weeks resulted in me having clarity about why productivity in the UK is low compared to other developed countries and has been for many years. There are lots of different ways of measuring productivity, we do badly under all those measures. A great source of information is the OECD.stat website.
The events were a Challenge Poverty Week event in Newquay, a visit to a tyre specialist garage to get a puncture repaired and standing in a queue to have my Covid booster injection. My view on why productivity in the UK is poor – low aspirations. My interpretation of low aspirations is probably not what you are thinking. I mean we aspire to pay low wages and pay low taxes. I believe we need to change that mindset.
The Challenge Poverty Week event was about the desire to make Cornwall the first Real Living Wage County. Patrick Langmaid, owner of the successful Mother Ivey’s Bay Holiday Park, spoke eloquently about the benefits of paying the Real Living Wage. He pointed out that staff appear in the business’s accounts in the profit and loss account as an expense and as he learnt when he studied for his Master of Business Administration (MBA) qualification, costs should be minimised. And that is what he did for many years keeping his wage costs low by paying the Government’s National Minimum wage or the National Living Wage if the employee was over 23. He started paying more as an act of altruism and was surprised by the effect it had on business; staff were more engaged, customers received a better service, repeat business increased. Yes, wage costs went up but so did sales and staff sickness and staff turnover went down saving on costs. At the moment in Cornwall many hospitality businesses are struggling to get staff, Mother Ivey’s Bay Holiday Park isn’t. Patrick is a great advocate for the Real Living Wage.
The message I took away from that is invest in staff and business does well. Some companies recognise that equation in some roles arguing that they have to pay senior staff big salaries to attract the best talent. Often that thinking does not apply to the rest of the workforce. When I went into the garage to get my tyre repaired, I was impressed with the young woman on the reception. I immediately felt like a valued customer, she knew what was needed and the company’s processes. She was also a great communicator and seemed to enjoy a job that she did extremely well. She was a great asset for the company, I wondered if the company knew that. It is worth repeating don’t apply the same thinking to staff costs as you do other costs, paying more in this area can mean paying a lot less in others.
The final event, standing in the queue for my Covid booster injection, made me think about taxation. We have a government that believes in low taxation and a working population which appears to be obsessed with paying as little tax as possible. When I was a Chartered Accountant, I came across many businesses that spent a lot of time trying to avoid tax, had they spent that time working on the business they would have had improved income, would have paid more tax and had more net income. Why was I thinking about taxation, well what was paying for my injection, the nurse administering it and the rest of the infrastructure – taxes. The person in front of me in the queue made me think deeper. He was finding it painful to stand in the queue so I told him to go and sit down and I would call him over when I reached the front of the queue. He had problems with his knees and was waiting for knee replacement surgery, he could not work until that was done so was on benefits. Once that operation was done, he would go from a user of resources to a producer. Investing in reducing NHS waiting list by increasing taxation would reduce costs, in the same was as investing in staff does. Taxation pays for education – creating employees with the requisite skills and knowledge. Taxation pays for roads and other transport infrastructure – that enables businesses to get their goods to customers and allows employees to get to work. Sitting in a traffic jam or on a delayed train services benefits no one and certainly does not benefit the economy. Improved infrastructure equals improved productivity.
Then think about the combination of low wages and an under-funded health service on business. A report in 2019 from the think tank Tomorrow’s Company states, “We are facing a crisis of the working poor, as British workers experience extreme financial insecurity and associated mental health issues. It is a crisis that is undermining family stability and impacting the productivity and performance of British industry.” Low wages increase mental health issues and underfunding means poor provision of mental health services meaning more staff absences for longer times having a negative impact on productivity at a company and a wider economy level.
So get rid of low aspirations. Paying staff more can lead to higher profits and higher tax revenues a virtuous circle.
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Honesty Box
The seed of an idea for these business blogs has to grow and I nurture it until it is ready to harvest, then I prepare it so you can digest it. If you found the content useful please consider popping some money into the honesty box. Unlike buying eggs at the farm gate, you cannot put the cash in a box because you are reading this online. You can click on the Buy Me a Coffee link below which will take you to a page where by magic (nifty software) a small amount of money will disappear from your account and appear in mine. Don’t worry you are in control all the time. If the post wasn’t helpful, please leave a comment suggesting how it can be improved.
If you like what I say you can buy me a coffee if you want to.
I am writing this while having a cup of coffee and a toasted sandwich in Costa Coffee, in Pool. It is just after 11 am and the cafe is busy with only a few tables free. The customers are diverse; a group of young mothers with toddlers meeting up for a catch up, a retired couple enjoying a coffee while they do the crossword together, a man of about my age reading a book, two men in their thirties having a businesses meeting, two women who appear to be having a regular catch up over coffee, an older couple chatting away, a young guy working on his notebook, a family enjoying a break in their journey (I eavesdropped for a bit) and a few other couples where I was unable to guess the reason for their visit. There was also one other person who, like me, was having a coffee while their electric car was on charge.
All this at a time while people are reducing their discretionary spend due to the rising cost of mortgage interest, fuel bills and food. They are still choosing to spend money in Costa for a simple reason: Costa is providing them with what they want.
There is a range of drinks so there is something for everyone, whether that is a flat white or a Maple Hazel Hot Chocolate. There is also an impressive range if you want something cold; a Tango Mango Bubble Frappe, a Fuze Tea Peach Hibiscus Iced Tea or perhaps just an Iced Flat white. Then there is a wide range of food from porridge to a Steak & Mexicana Cheese Toastie with sandwiches and cakes as well. All dietary requirements are catered for.
Having sorted out the product range Costa has then looked at delivery. You can have your coffee and food in the cafe or have it served to takeaway and this location, like many others, also has a drive through option. The drive through is very busy in the early morning catering for the commute to work. When it comes to being in the cafe there is a good variety of seating, tables that can sit two, four and six, comfy armchairs and sofas as well as outdoor seating. There is good Wi-Fi and places to plug in laptops and to charge phones.
The final part of the mix is the staff; they are always welcoming and friendly. I know that Costa does not pay the highest wages in the area, some nearby fast food outlets pay more; however, Costa has no problem attracting and retaining staff. They must be doing something right.
So the secret to surviving in hard economic times is to offer the customer what they want with sufficient choice to cater for a wide range without making it burdensome on the business and to treat staff well.
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Honesty Box
The seed of an idea for these business blogs has to grow and I nurture it until it is ready to harvest, then I prepare it so you can digest it. If you found the content useful please consider popping some money into the honesty box. Unlike buying eggs at the farm gate, you cannot put the cash in a box because you are reading this online. You can click on the Buy Me a Coffee link below which will take you to a page where by magic (nifty software) a small amount of money will disappear from your account and appear in mine. Don’t worry you are in control all the time. If the post wasn’t helpful, please leave a comment suggesting how it can be improved.
If you like what I say you can buy me a coffee if you want to.
With interest rates rises, high fuel costs, the cost-of-living crisis and the poor state of the UK economy there are calls for the Government to roll back on their plans for Net Zero by 2050. The argument is that it will cost consumers and businesses money when they can least afford it. A recent survey found that a staggering 85 per cent of car dealers do not believe the ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars in 2030 will go ahead as currently planned. There may never be an ideal time to introduce these changes, probably the best time was 25 years ago and the second best now.
The Government’s independent advisers, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) estimates it will require an extra £50bn of investment per year, by 2030. The key part of that statement is investment! Just think had we invested in well-insulated homes years ago we would now be reaping the benefits and would not have been so badly affected by the recent massive hike in energy prices.
I stayed in a hotel at the weekend and was reminded of the measures that the hospitality industry has taken to reduce their carbon footprint, although I expect it was driven by a desire to reduce costs and the green agenda gave them the opportunity. Guests are requested to reuse towels if they were staying for more than one night, this has massively reduced laundry costs and the costs associated with changing towels over. Many corridors in hotels no longer have the lights constantly on, instead sensors turn the lights on when needed. And some hotels have sensors on windows so that the heating and air-conditioning turn off when they are open preventing wasted heating and cooling. Good for the planet and good for companies’ bottom line.
Savings can occur in other areas as well. Every year when the Government raises the minimum wage there is always and outcry from businesses saying that they cannot afford the extra cost. If you take a wider view employers cannot afford to not pay more than the living wage. The estimated number of workers in Great Britain suffering a work-related illness is 1.8 million with stress, depression, and anxiety making up around half of cases. (Health and Safety Executive (HSE) figures published November 2022). Worries around being able to pay bills and put food on the table are a big driver of stress, anxiety and depression. More pay – more days at work and more productive workdays. The Government cynically (in my opinion) call the rate for workers over 23 years of age (£10.42) the National Living Wage. It is not a living wage, although it is closer to it than it has been in the past. The Living Wage Foundation calculates the Real Living Wage at £10.90 with an uplift to £11.95 in London. Organisations paying the Real Living Wage report substantial benefits; easier staff recruitment, less costs associated with staff turnover, happier staff and that translates into happier and more customers. I for example only buy my beer from Real Living Wage employers; the national brewer BrewDog and two Cornish breweries, Verdant in Penryn and Firebrand in Launceston. I try and make as many as my purchases as I can from Real Living Wage accredited businesses and other decisions are influence by it, such as whether I will be a trustee of a particular charity. I was recently approached by Bosence Farm Community Ltd, a charity registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide residential substance misuse treatment services. The first thing I did was check to see if they were a Real Living Wage employer. They were, so I followed through and became a trustee about 6 months ago.
Do your business some good and do the right thing.
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Honesty Box
The seed of an idea for these business blogs has to grow and I nurture it until it is ready to harvest, then I prepare it so you can digest it. If you found the content useful please consider popping some money into the honesty box. Unlike buying eggs at the farm gate, you cannot put the cash in a box because you are reading this online. You can click on the Buy Me a Coffee link below which will take you to a page where by magic (nifty software) a small amount of money will disappear from your account and appear in mine. Don’t worry you are in control all the time. If the post wasn’t helpful, please leave a comment suggesting how it can be improved.
If you like what I say you can buy me a coffee if you want to.
At the beginning of the week Google celebrated it’s 25th year. In that time it has gone from a search engine challenger to being the dominant one and has replaced ‘perform an internet search’ with ‘Google it’. Google is more than just a search engine, if you look on Wikipedia you will see a long list of products including Gmail, Google Ads, Google Docs, Google Translate, Google scholar (a search engine for published scientific papers) Google Maps and lots more. Google maps has turned our smartphones into navigation devices and is behind most in-car navigation systems. Maps not only help us reach our destination, but also provides information about where to park, find a hotel, petrol stations, electric vehicle charging points and places of interest. My photograph on my review of Moseley Bog has been viewed over 600,000 times. You can see it here.
All that made me thing about a post I made about change a more modest 3 years ago. It is reproduced below.
Change
I thought I would say a few words about change as there is a lot of it about at the moment; some of it forced upon businesses and some of it as the result of businesses seizing opportunities. There was an interesting discussion recently on Twitter organised by the Inclusivity Project during National Inclusion Week. The Inclusivity Project helps small-to-medium businesses in Cornwall & Isles of Scilly to overcome challenges around inclusive employment and workplace wellbeing and is funded by the European Regional Development Fund. During that discussion it was noted that older employees are often thought of as change-resistant; however, they are not, they are changed experienced. And that made me think about successful change programmes.
Niccolò Machiavelli (1469 – 1527), the Italian diplomat and philosopher observed:
“It ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. This coolness arises partly from fear of the opponents, who have the laws on their side, and partly from the incredulity of men, who do not readily believe in new things until they have had a long experience of them.”
The older experienced employee will have seen many attempts at a new order of things, most of which will have foundered on the rocks of the lack of belief in new things. They will also know that changes which bring real benefits to them are good, so will back changes where the benefits are worthwhile and clearly seen at the outset. I am sure very few people kept using a mangle once they saw the benefits of the spin drier.
I’m not a fan of Machiavelli; he encouraged politicians to engage in evil when it would be necessary for political expediency. His book, The Prince, gained notoriety due to claims that it taught “evil recommendations to tyrants to help them maintain their power”.
I’m not a fan of Dizzee Rascal either, but in a different way; I don’t like his music. I admire what he has achieved. For those not familiar with Dizzee Rascal he is a rapper and considered to be the pioneer of grime music in the UK. He has just been awarded the MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. Dizzee had a troubled childhood, was violent and disruptive and expelled from four schools. Music changed him. Now he is a respected artist, owns a record label, holds an honorary Doctorate of the Arts from the University of East London and now is a MBE.
The reason I mentioned Dizzee, or Mr Rascal as Jeremy Paxman referred to him in a television interview in 2008, is for his words during that interview.
“If you believe you can achieve innit”
That is probably all you need to know about change, you can look all the other stuff up; leadership, consultation, incremental steps, taking people with you, etc. The important thing is.
The seed of an idea for these business blogs has to grow and I nurture it until it is ready to harvest, then I prepare it so you can digest it. If you found the content useful please consider popping some money into the honesty box. Unlike buying eggs at the farm gate, you cannot put the cash in a box because you are reading this online. You can click on the Buy Me a Coffee link below which will take you to a page where by magic (nifty software) a small amount of money will disappear from your account and appear in mine. Don’t worry you are in control all the time. If the post wasn’t helpful, please leave a comment suggesting how it can be improved.
If you like what I say you can buy me a coffee if you want to.
Personally, I do not believe in work/life balance; I think the scales should fall heavily on one side.
To help people decide which side when I give talks about health and work I suggest they walk around the local graveyard and read the inscriptions on headstones. I can guarantee not one of them will say ‘Here lies a much-missed marketing manager’ or ‘here lies a great chief executive’. All the words are for loved and missed mothers, brothers, sisters, fathers, grandparents and friends.
Of course, we want to provide for our families, carve out careers, build business empires and follow pursuits and passions; this should not be at the expense of others and ultimately to our detriment. I was lucky, or perhaps it was good choices, in that the accountancy firms I worked in put a great emphasis on family. For example, my last firm had a policy that when a partner was on holiday we were not to be contacted unless it was a family issue. It is amazing how well staff will cope with a crisis when they know they cannot turn to someone else to solve it for them. I think the firm adopted that policy due to a story about a partner in another firm who had an eye-watering chargeable hours record. All that money turned to dust (metaphorically) when his son was arrested for possession of Class A drugs. He realised that he had not seen his children growing up; had not been part of their lives and was probably the reason that his son was facing a prison sentence. Realised why his daughter had left home and was living in a squat. Realised that he and his wife no longer had anything in common. Realised that his life was empty. “Some people are so poor, all they have is money.” ― Patrick Meagher
It’s probably better to think in terms of equilibrium rather than balance, because work and life are fluid. The above example of things being out of kilter is probably quite extreme, however it does illustrate the point. Out of kilter can go the other way. Again, when I give talks about health, I often hear people, usually women, say I’d love to run more, exercise more, do more yoga, but with kids I just do not have time. I ask them what is the most important thing in their lives and they will answer with ‘my children’. I then say, “so you want to be the best mother you can”. They nod. If you have some me-time, time to exercise, stay healthy and be energised, that is not being selfish that is working on being the best mother you can be. Rather than being stressed and shouting at the kids you will be playing with them. It is also being a great role model. Should you be taking some me-time, to be a better parent, a better partner or to run a better business?
When I look back on my work life there are some highs, but not a huge number, passing my professional exams, getting my practising certificate, being made a partner and becoming president of the Association of Friendly Societies is about the whole list, oh and being the first non-actuary invited to join the actuaries dining-club (heady days). Those memories don’t give me goose bumps; even little memories about my children do. During difficult family times there are always some wonderful little nuggets. During a typical dad/teenage daughter argument my younger daughter said to me “Dad, you annoy the hell out of me, but I know it is because you care” and she gave me a big hug. I tried to raise her to be independent minded and not to swear. I succeeded in the former, failed in the later. It may seem silly to you, but I remember this conversation from several years ago with great fondness. Her, “It was shit” Me “I think you meant to say it wasn’t very good.” “No Dad it really was shit” and we laughed.
I am not religious, nor was my grandfather, even though he was a Church of England vicar. He had a big impact on my life and had a prestigious knowledge of the bible which he would use it to illustrate points he was making.
Timothy 6.17-19 is particularly useful if you substitute family for God.
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their trust in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
Honesty Box
The seed of an idea for these business blogs has to grow and I nurture it until it is ready to harvest, then I prepare it so you can digest it. If you found the content useful please consider popping some money into the honesty box. Unlike buying eggs at the farm gate, you cannot put the cash in a box because you are reading this online. You can click on the Buy Me a Coffee link below which will take you to a page where by magic (nifty software) a small amount of money will disappear from your account and appear in mine. Don’t worry you are in control all the time. If the post wasn’t helpful, please leave a comment suggesting how it can be improved.
If you like what I say you can buy me a coffee if you want to.
I am reproducing this post from about a year ago as it came to mind because I was due to be at a Your Partnerships event tomorrow asking on behalf of Go Beyond, unfortunately I cannot go because I have Covid. Fortunately, someone is going to ask for me.
“My debut as a stand-up comedian made me think about how businesses often do not ask for what they want. The debut was on the 1st of August 2022 at Toast in Falmouth. Before the event I was feeling very nervous and posted this message on Facebook.
I am making my stand-up comedy debut at Toast in Falmouth tonight – I am a tad nervous please send helpful thoughts.
I soon received plenty of messages of support which improved my confidence. The following is a small selection.
You will be wonderful!! Have fun!!!
You’re a natural, what an experience. ENJOY and have fun!
Just be you, they will love you.
You’re gonna smash it!
I’m pleased to say that my debut went well, I loved it and have been booked to do more. Part of the success was down to the support I received from friends; I only received that support because I asked for it.
In business I have often come across incidences of people not asking for what they need:
salespeople waxing lyrical about their product then not asking the potential customer if they want to buy it
businesses with many satisfied customers not asking for testimonials
not asking for help because it is seen as weakness
not asking for referrals
At networking events I often hear people say what they do but not what they want; there is no specific ask. When I talk about the charity I support, Go Beyond, I have four specific asks:
Money (donations)
People to volunteer
Referrals to schools (which can refer children to the charity)
Child appropriate jokes (mine are getting overused)
That has produced results in all four categories although the jokes have been weak
Ask and ye shall receive – don’t ask and people will not know that you need something or what it is.“
If you are a business in the South West and want a Your Partnership free 30-Day free trial use this link.
Honesty Box
The seed of an idea for these business blogs has to grow and I nurture it until it is ready to harvest, then I prepare it so you can digest it. If you found the content useful please consider popping some money into the honesty box. Unlike buying eggs at the farm gate, you cannot put the cash in a box because you are reading this online. You can click on the Buy Me a Coffee link below which will take you to a page where by magic (nifty software) a small amount of money will disappear from your account and appear in mine. Don’t worry you are in control all the time. If the post wasn’t helpful, please leave a comment suggesting how it can be improved.
If you like what I say you can buy me a coffee if you want to.
This post will be short in keeping with its theme.
Business plans are a great idea, I would say an essential item; however, they are misunderstood and underused; often ignored. When I was working in the Friendly Society sector in the early 2,000s some of those organisations were archaic and I used to give talks about modernising, including having a business plan. I would start off with a preamble then bring out a document from under the lectern and blow the dust off it (I had covered it with fine talcum powder). That always got a laugh and lots of nods when I explained that most business plans sat on the shelf and gathered dust. It’s not surprising; most business plans are not fit for purpose, being weighty tomes full of words often cobbled together using a totally inappropriate template. Most people, including template producers, think ‘the more the better’. NO! Less is more.
I am a big fan of seeing everything on one page. The Business Model Canvas allows you to do this – templates can be downloaded for free under a Creative Commons license from Strategyzer AG. You can use it to have discussions about important elements of the business and work out a plan of action. Now there is a key word – action. Business plans should be living documents that are regularly consulted and updated. Those big static documents are for the bank when you want a loan and nothing to do with running a business.
Honesty Box
The seed of an idea for these business blogs has to grow and I nurture it until it is ready to harvest, then I prepare it so you can digest it. If you found the content useful please consider popping some money into the honesty box. Unlike buying eggs at the farm gate, you cannot put the cash in a box because you are reading this online. You can click on the Buy Me a Coffee link below which will take you to a page where by magic (nifty software) a small amount of money will disappear from your account and appear in mine. Don’t worry you are in control all the time. If the post wasn’t helpful, please leave a comment suggesting how it can be improved.
If you like what I say you can buy me a coffee if you want to. Pay for two and I can have cake as well.
I wrote this and posted it on the blog just over a year ago. It is worth repeating.
A little while ago I attended an excellent training event on Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism run by Greenpeace. During the introduction some ground rules were set, these included the usual things like, respect, confidentiality, etc, and ‘step up/step back’. This was explained as please do speak up to contribute, but also step back so as not to dominate and let others have space to express their views. Great advice.
A few weeks later I was at a training session for people relatively new to the organisation and included employees from all levels and volunteers. It is fair to say that the organisation takes Equality, Diversity and Inclusion seriously and probably believes it ticks all the boxes. Yet I, and probably some others, did not feel fully included. There was some informal chat before the meeting started which was dominated by two people in senior positions who obviously knew each other before joining the organisation; the loud conversation was about golf, before moving on to football. The rest of us around the table were unable to contribute. Those two could have helped the group come together by ‘stepping back’.
That was probably why the events at lunchtime upset me; I was already not feeling part of the group. We had been asked for our dietary requirements in advance and, this being Cornwall, we were provided with a pasty – mine was vegan. There was also a selection of cakes, pastries and biscuits, that is if you were not vegan. I had just one option, chocolate bites. I turned vegan over ten years ago and in those early days I felt grateful just to be provided with something to eat; however, that lack of choice helped me feel excluded. Everyone else had a choice I didn’t. Hobson’s Choice is not good enough. A little bit more thought could have changed all that. Inclusion is more than just not being excluded.
Exclusion can take many forms, a meeting in a pub will exclude people whose religion prohibits alcohol. It may also exclude others because there is an expectation to spend money. That type of exclusion, which is more hidden, can easily be overlooked. Some people are not comfortable talking in groups, some may not have English as a first language, are there activities that could include everyone? I heard of one business that put jigsaws in their staff rooms; there were no visually impaired people in the organisation. What a great inclusive activity.
The Greenpeace training course also provided a key to unlocking the solution to these problems:
Keep
Educating
Yourself
Honesty Box
The seed of an idea for these business blogs has to grow and I nurture it until it is ready to harvest, then I prepare it so you can digest it. If you found the content useful please consider popping some money into the honesty box. Unlike buying eggs at the farm gate, you cannot put the cash in a box because you are reading this online. You can click on the Buy Me a Coffee link below which will take you to a page where by magic (nifty software) a small amount of money will disappear from your account and appear in mine. Don’t worry you are in control all the time. If the post wasn’t helpful, please leave a comment suggesting how it can be improved.
If you like what I say you can buy me a coffee if you want to. Pay for two and I can have cake as well.
Business Thoughts 