My Morning as a Dragon on Dragons Den- NZSE Style!

I do love a good negotiation.  I’ve watched Dragons Den and now Shark Tank Australia for years.  I love to listen to the comments the Dragons make and the rebuttal from the pitching party.

This morning I had the pleasure of being invited to be a Dragon on a Dragons Den Panel with 2 others for New Zealand School of Education (NZSE).  Simon Cope who runs this event for NZSE is doing a fantastic job with this programme.  What a great idea for the students to work with to teach them valuable and real-life skills in business and entrepreneurialism.  I took part in this process last year and loved it so much I was back for more this morning. 

Just like the TV programme, teams of students have to pitch their ideas to the Dragons and we get to decide if we invest or not.  The students spend time preparing based on what they have learnt- financials, legal, marketing, business plans, target markets and more.  I just love to see Entrepreneurialism shining through...these poor students would have no idea what was coming next!

The process is simple, the Dragons are given monopoly money in which we decide to invest…or not and the students have about 20 mins to pitch their idea and about 20 mins of questioning from the Dragons.

Today was a smorgasbord of pitches, mainly based on food.  Shredded was a word that I would use to describe the happenings today.  Those poor students got shredded by the Dragons, but to be fair a number of the groups deserved it!

I had to leave before all of the pitches were completed but got to be around for the first four. Here is my take on what happened and the great ideas these students had:-

Group One: International Students Concierge Service

This was my idea group.  I know International Education well and have a start-up business myself in this area.  Unlucky for them this was my area.  This team of 7-8 students started strong and then fell apart mid-pitch.  With commas in the wrong place in their financials and confusion if they meant to say costs were $5.6 million or 560,000 amongst the group and then the Dragons being told they were using Indian Accounting started to have us worried!

The idea was simple- a meet and greet service for International students at the airport as well as on-going services to show students the best restaurants and places to go.  Even supervised shopping trips.  When we saw the budget only included $7,000 for a car and no allowance for a commercial driving license as well as no research into the International Student Pastoral Care laws, it was enough to put each Dragon out.  I was the first to exit when they didn’t understand the numbers of International Students in NZ and also said they would only target Uni students.  The $2,700 price tag was enough to make me wary of there service, despite only 2 of the 7 fessing up they had drivers licenses to operate this meet and greet service.  I’m out!

 Group Two: Indian Tea and Snack Stall

I was intrigued to start with this one, despite the initial technical difficulties with the presentation.  They started off saying tea was complimentary then later added that snacks were also complimentary.  Which confused all of the Dragon as to how the business model was ever going to work!  The shop was going to be in Sandringham and the tea $2 (a change from the earlier suggestion it was free!).  The numbers were staggeringly good- $300K in revenue and $60K Cost of Goods with a staggering $240K profit!  They were going to put up $1M initial investment and wanted only a mere $84K from the Dragons for 15 percent of the company.  When we asked what they were going to do with the $84K we gave them, confusion reigned amongst the team until one student quickly said’ Marketing’, we will spend it on Marketing!  We then asked them where they got their $1M from and they quickly looked at each other and one the spot decided half of it was bank financed.  Alarm bells were starting to go off in our heads!  One of the Dragons then asked, and what’s the bank interest rate.  Another bright young student paused and said 18%!  I did some quick calculations and worked out that this would be a mere $100K in interest if not compounded, which started to make the profit margins look awfully sick.  I was also intrigued and had to ask one last question before I bowed out.  “You mentioned that you had a new market in South Auckland and you were going to offer them Home Delivery”.  I simply asked “And how do you propose to keep your tea hot delivering it from Sandringham to South Auckland.  Another lot of quick thinking later and another student says “It won’t be made of course- they will make it up when they get there”.  I then let them know I was out…..swiftly followed by the other two Dragons who also did not invest!

 

Group Three: Japanese Wheel Cakes

Firstly, I had to admit I had to do a quick Google to check what one of these was while they were presenting to make sure they actually exist.  They do!  Its like a Japanese Pancake.  This was an all-girls team of a smaller group size to the other groups.  Their presentation was slick.  The had only one competitor in Auckland and had their financials well thought through.  There were some issues around them wanting to import ingredients rather than purchase local, but they talked their way around this.  Their marketing plan was solid using social media to promote their products and allowing online ordering.  They were going to be better than their competition and be located in a different area of the CBD to their competitors who already have queues out the door.  They were also planning to stock at Gas stations and supermarkets, which their competitors were not doing. This team had costs of $206K and managed to have a reasonable profit margin of $77K (unfortunately they confused the word income with profit which all had us baffled for a bit!).  They wanted a reasonable $20,000 for 40% of the company.  The numbers seamed to stack up and the investment seamed like a cheap one.  I decided that I needed to make an offer.  I offered $10,000 for 40%.  Then the next Dragon went with his offer, which from memory was the same as mine or very similar.  We were then battling.  My time to sell.  “So girls, firstly, I loved your presentation- very slick, I really believe I can help you here- I’m a female entrepreneur and in support of a team of young females.  I studied Japanese for 4 years also.  I also have qualifications in Nutrition and I’m great at Marketing”.  Then Tony started (the other bidding Dragon)- “I have a background in hospitality……” and the fight went on!  The girls were then asked to decide which offer they would take, but they couldn’t decide- saying they would take both!  They were asked to decide which offer.  And guess what- they took my offer!  I got my Monopoly money out and handed it over.  I was now the proud owner of 40% of a Japanese Wheel Cake Company to be opened in Auckland CBD!

 

Group Four: JCO Coffee Franchise (ex Philippines)

On a totally different tack to the other food businesses, this team simply wanted to purchase franchise rights of a popular Philippine Coffee & Donut Company and bring it to NZ.  Not only this, their Donuts were HEALTHY Donuts.  Yup, Sugar would be substituted with Stevia and the Deep Frying would be done in Coconut Oil instead of regular oils.  They even gave each Dragon a sample!  We had the Donuts and were listening and chopping away.  I must say how impressed I was that the usual Stevia after-taste was not there and the fat flavour was just right, even with the coconut oil.  I was baffled.  On taking another bite I suddenly realised that the Donuts were like our monopoly money- not the real products and I was in fact eating a full sugar and full fat Donut which I would never ever eat!  Despite our attention being fraudulently gained, we continued to listen!  They had done their market research and new their target market.  Stats were being thrown at us left right and centre.  We were impressed…until they threw out a stat- that there were 4,125 people living in Auckland…wait what??  Although all Dragons were a little baffled, the group continued pitching away.  Now the numbers came at us.  They had a net profit margin of 15% and they were investing an initial $120,000 of capital and financing the remaining $195,000.  They were looking for $100,000 for 15% of the company from the Dragons.  This put their company at a valuation of $670,000.

I then asked how they were going to protect their secret recipe for the Donuts.  I was looking for a Patent. One of the team came back with the fact they had confidentiality agreements with their staff.  Not a bad start I thought!  I decided not to bid as the Donut was starting to repeat on my- that much fat and sugar is never a good thing at 10.30 in the morning!  The other Dragons joined forces and ended up stealing the company for $50,000 for 15%, basing this on the fact that the franchise fees seamed cheap at $100K!

 At this point I had to leave with 3 more groups to go- I would love to have stayed as I felt like I was just getting warmed up!

Thanks to the students for putting up with a good nailing in the Dragons Den- we hope you learnt some valuable lessons from the Dragons questions today.  Thanks also to NZSE for being a fantastic customer of Business Mechanix - I love doing things like this to show how a great partnership can work.  Thanks also to Simon Cope for asking me to be a Dragon on your Dragons Den Panel, just like last year I loved every minute and I most certainly will be going and finding the Japanese Wheel Cake stand in Lorne Street for a real sample of what I actually bought into with my Monopoly money!

Its rubbish getting rubbish removed! Auckland Council Ambassador for Clean to inspect!

Rubbish.  The theme word of the day today for me! A random mattress appeared outside my commercial buildings driveway this morning.  Given the location being the top of Nelson Street in Auckland CBD, one would have thought it was an odd place to find a random mattress.

I've stopped being surprised about what people dump in my car park.  In fact I've literally come to work and found someone has even taken a dump in my car-park, yup that was a shit day- literally! But that's a story for another day.

I was actually in a good mood this morning when I departed forwork.  As soon as I pulled off the motorway onto Cook Street and then Union Street, I could feel my day turning to Rubbish.

On Union Street, the Rubbish Direct Truck (which I have actually phoned the company and complained about twice) was yet again blocking the lane onto Nelson Street and the Motorway.  Awesome.  Some selfish Rubbish Collector parking on double yellow lines during rush-hour, and yup, blocking my lane!  This made me sit in traffic for extra time I didn't need to spend.

I then turned the corner onto Nelson Street to see my Rubbish Bins (1 has been stolen already) lying sideways across the footpath blocking pedestrian traffic.  Not far from them was the dirty old used mattress someone has dumped next to my driveway.

They say things come in threes, but seriously by 8.30am?

So the first thing I do is walk up the stairs and google for Auckland Council Rubbish Removal.  After being transferred to the right department, I find myself speaking to a lovely call centre operator.

I tell her my dilemma 'there is a mattress that has been dumped on the council verge next to our driveway'.

After many keyboard clicks later and being asked to hold the line, she comes back and asks if I'd like the reference number for the job.  I tell her 'no', I'm just ringing to report it.
She then tells me 'OK, it will take up to 5 days to remove' - I then said- 'what- 5 days!' She said, yes, we first have to send out a Rubbish Inspector.  At this point I think I was speechless.  "really" was all I could squeak out in the nicest possible way.  I said I better take the reference number down then!

I hung up and first though.  Wow- they need a Rubbish Inspector to come and have a look at a dumped single mattress.  Why?  To see how dirty it is?  They wear gloves right?  Surely all single mattresses are the same or similar size and weight.  Then I though, nope, its my rates.  My rates exorbitant so there must be a flag against my file that says "commercial building owner'- make sure they get their money's worth"!  Then I had to email everyone residing in our building to tell them its going to be there for up to 5 days.  Awesome!

I then couldn't help myself so I actually went onto the council's website and searched for the job 'Rubbish Inspector".  I was so curious about what this person would do that I needed to see if I could find out more.  No hits.  Hmm.  I tried again with the word 'waste'.  Then I smiled.  There is was in gold.  My gold plated council rates in a nutshell. 

The advert title read "Ambassadors For Clean Wanted - Expression of Interest - Greater Auckland Location - City Parks Services". 
OMG- An Ambassador for Clean.  What next!  Lets be honest here- a rubbish collector must be a crappy job.  But when I read the next line I wondered how someone let Marketing get away with this:

"Life is definitely too short for the wrong jobs so, if you love the outdoors, come and join City Parks Services!"

It then went on to say " We are currently having a number of opportunities available, so if you like an early morning start, or driving through the night we have you covered".

I though, hmm of all the people I know, I can't think of 1 that would like early morning starts or driving through the night!


The more I read the more I ended up in laughter.  There was another part to the advert that said
"

Our teams constantly deliver a high standard of cleaning across a wide range of indoor and outdoor acilities, from public toilets and sports changing rooms, to children's playgrounds and beaches.".

 By personal choice I try to avoid public toliets at all costs.  I can't imagine the excitement someone must have reading this advert to see them listed on the Expression of Interest. 

Since my day has been about Rubbish, I've taken the honest approach to adding footnotes to the advert to keep it real and be 'Authentic, my changes in red below.  Happy reading.  Just goes to show a Rubbish Day can end in laughter

Ambassadors For Clean Wanted - Expression of Interest - Greater Auckland Location - City Parks Services

https://careers.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/jobdetails?ajid=XwVyl

Rubbish Collector- Greater Auckland

Ambassadors For Clean Wanted

Rubbish Collector Wanted

Expression of Interest 

We'll be lucky to get anyone to apply so we'll call it something different

Life is definitely too short for the wrong jobs so, if you love the outdoors, come and join City Parks Services!

Its possible you;ve just lost your job and need another one, have never had a job, or perhaps never seriously considered Rubbish Collection as a career.  You have to work in rain, hail, sun and wind, its an all weather job, if it doesn't make you, it will break you.

City Parks Services is a leading provider of waste collection and sanitation services as well as maintenance of some of Auckland's best open spaces, so much so, we are proud that our organisation is going through an exciting period of growth and in need of new staff.

There is a lot more rubbish that needs collection as there are more people in Auckland in a smaller space therefore more Rubbish is generated.  With the housing shortage in Auckland, there are more people living in less houses and therefore more rubbish generated in Auckland.  There is just too much rubbish for our current team to handle.

We are currently having a number of opportunities available, so if you like an early morning start, or driving through the night we have you covered.

The truth of the matter is you'll start early and potentially work all day and probably into the night,  Potentially you'll do this while smelling rotting rubbish for the day.  You may also end up smelling like rubbish yourself.

A little about us and the fun stuff we do daily:

Rubbish is not a fun job, but we'll try and make it sound better, if we don't you;ll probably never apply!

We are a fun well-functioning team who pride ourselves on providing everyday exceptional customer service to Auckland's residents and visitors. 

We pick up a LOT of rubbish, everyday.  Even when tourists drop it, we still pick it up

Our teams constantly deliver a high standard of cleaning across a wide range of indoor and outdoor facilities, from public toilets and sports changing rooms, to children's playgrounds and beaches.    

We clean dirty dirty public toilets and have to make them really, really clean.  You have to scrub them, smelly sports changing rooms and childrens playgrounds when young kids rub sticky stuff in places really hard to get to.  Beaches also have dog poo.  You also have to pick that up too

Because it is not just about cleaning and waste, it is also about the 400,000 people a year that will visit some of our key sites (such as Domain Winter Gardens) along with hundreds of sport teams who will untimely rely on us to prepare 300 playing surfaces to a winning standard. Our teams also constantly deliver a high standard of collection and recycling services across Auckland, and we do it with our customers at heart. We also sweat the small stuff too, as we are often the ones re-planting that little garden at the end of your street. 

You have to pick up so much rubbish, you won't even believe the volume.  You will also have to do recycling - you may even have to sort our rubbish and recyclying as sometimes people put it in the wrong bins.  You have to make sure you don't leave any behind and you do it quickly.  Picking up rubbish in front of rate payers could earn you bonuses.  If you tear up a garden in the street with your rubbish truck, you will also have to re-plant that.  This means there will be variety to your job.

So, to be part of our team, if you have:

·         pride in Auckland, and a passion to keep it clean and tidy

You will need to smile when you pick up rubbish

·         an interest in driving a wide range of modern vehicles for a great team

We We haven't standardised our fleet (looks better to the rate payer if we mix it up with some old and new vehicles).  You must also be able to drive manuals as well as have an HT licesnse and drive 6-10 wheelers if needed.

·         a need to provide the best customer experience possible,  by respecting our residents property, ensuing containers  are always upright,  not blocking  driveways or footpaths

Do not knock over rubbish or recycling containers.  Do not run people over, block footpaths or be a general nuisance.  The old lady down the road will chase you and set her dogs on you

·         knowledge that in doing a "great Job" makes Auckland's visitors want to come back again and again. 

Smile and great people while collecting rubbish

·         ability to understand and follow a designated customer route, giving feedback where you can see improvements

Do not get lost.  You need to be able to use a map or a GPS

·         a good level of team spirt along with the right fitness and agility

If you drink too much beer or eat too many take-aways, you won't be able to do the job.  Spirits can only be comsumed when with the team.

·         the ability work unsupervised and follow health and safety requirements

Do not eat the rubbish, no not touch the rubbish with your bare hands and do not climb on the rubbish.  Notify a Director if you do any of the above, they are now liable and could face a fine or imprisionment for your actions.  No one is going to tell you how to pick up rubbish.  You have to do it by yourself.

·         motivation to do a great job and commitment to best practice

hold a valid and full NZ driver's licence to be able to commute between the different sites at any time

If you speed, crash, drink and drive, drive dangerously or can't drive in Auckland, don't apply. You will be like a human yo-yo sent from one place to the next collecting rubbish,  You will know Auckland very, very well.  You will sit in traffic- A LOT. 

…and you want to discover the exciting world of the outdoors, come join us today! We will have a range of work locations across Auckland that could suit you.

To re-iterate you have to work in rain, hail, sun and wind, its an all weather job, if it doesn't make you, it will break you. Rubbish is everywhere- choose your location.

City Parks Services has a range of existing and new contracts that include taking care of Auckland's gardens. This is an Expression of Interest for possible future jobs within the organisation, as they become available.  This is not an application for a current vacancy but we have plenty coming up.

You could be promoted to a gardener, we usually expect 10 years of rubbish collection experience 

Register your interest before 10 July at 10:30pm.

No one will be there at 10,30pm at night to answer your questions so we have made the closing time then.

For assistance with registering a profile, please contact us. 

Alternatively Book a Librarian session at your local community library for assistance with submitting an application for future vacancies or help with creating a CV/cover letter.

We can't be bothered helping you- go to your local library instead

Health and safety, for everybody, is very important to us so before we can offer you a job we will do security screening, criminal checks and pre-employment drug screening as per Auckland Council's Drug and Alcohol policy.

If you are a bad person, do not apply. 

Just remember a Rubbish Day can end in a good way.

Happy Abassador for Clean Day everyone!

Are you being your Authentic Self as a Leader?

My word of the year is Authentic.  Sitting at my desk in my Gym gear at 3pm is not unusual.  I am a CEO and I also run Group-Fitness Pilates Classes during the day.  I do this for my work life balance and because I love working in the health and fitness area. 

Finishing my fitness class at 1pm allowed me 30 minutes to have some lunch and 30 minutes to drive back to the office.  Thankfully my client meeting at 2.00pm was online via Skype- just like the old Telecom Advert, except I was sitting here in my Lycra and no-one was under my desk painting my toes!

My team are fully aware that I have multiple jobs and it does not surprise them when I run a meeting in Lycra.  This is also part of me being Authentic.  A few years ago I would never had dared to do such a thing, however now it enables my team to see me as a person and a leader and that yes, leaders can be real people too!

I’ve drastically taken a look at myself and my own style recently, especially my Authenticity.  As a leader I was often much more guarded about my feelings at work, choosing to present to my team how I ‘thought I should behave’. 

After having the opportunity to self assess, I now behave how I want to behave.  Being Authentic as a leader means telling people how you feel and opening up about yourself.  I am now able to discuss personal issues with staff in one on one meetings which I would never had dared broach in the past. 

I had the opportunity to float the concept of “Being Your Authentic Self with another CEO this week.  His comment was that he believes that he has to ‘Act’ in the role of the CEO as that is what is expected of him and that people have a perception of how people in that role should be. 

Pondering this thought, he also added that different types of Authenticity may be needed at different times of an organisations life-cycle, or perhaps with different cultures within an organisation.  We then discussed Millennials.  I pondered myself and realised that our organisations were quite different in culture- mine being fully of Millennials and Gen-Y, his being perhaps more full of Baby Boomers.  So I thought about this question: Does the organisational make up of these different generations have an impact on ones Authenticity as a leader?

I sat on this blog for a few days thinking of the answer and I have decided, Yes, it does.  I’ve also worked out that Millennials and Gen-Y’s like to feel like they are working with their “friends” but just as important working with people who are Authentic.  When I asked one of my Millennials in the office about this he said that having fun and achieving at work was ranked well below working with friends and Authentic people. 

This got me really started.  I then did a mini flash survey around my team asking them to rank on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being most important, the following questions:

“How important is it to you that the people you work with are their ‘Authentic Selves’?

I then followed up with “How important is it to you that your leaders/ managers or superiors are their Authentic Selves?’

The results of these questions actually astounded me, both questions coming up with an average of 7.2 out of 10.  Telling me that working with Authentic people is critical to my team.  The lowest mark was a 5 and given in the ‘people I work with’ question, yet the highest mark was a 9 given in the ‘how important is it that your managers/ leaders are Authentic”.

I also had the conversation with these Millennials and Gen-Y’s about why Authenticity was important. The few I was talking to while preparing their lunch said something quite astounding.  They said- “How can you truly connect with someone if they are not Authentic?”.  We then had the discussion that connection also builds trust as this was important between both work mates , leaders and colleagues.  Trust is essential in all relationships.  So it looks like in this scenario in the workplace, Authenticity helps build Trust.  So why do we not see the word “Authenticity” sitting in many organisations company values I wonder…..

Being Authentic allows my team to see me as truly present.  I laugh with them, I share their sadness and I can also lead them together as a team to achieve great things simply because I am being myself, not someone I think I should be.  Not everyone may agree with my style but I do know that it is as important to my team as it is to me. 

Since spending the time working on myself and being more Authentic, I am finding things at work a great deal more effortless.  I have also since discovered how ‘tiring’ it is to ‘Act’ in a role all of the time.  Just imagine- having more Energy.  Those who know me well would say I have enough already!

Being Authentic enables me to feel more relaxed and to deal with the frustrations in a more seamless way.  Since I have changed my own behaviour and worked on my Authentic Self, I have also seen my team around me excel in ways I never imagined possible.  I have the best team around me in the 10+ years of working at Business Mechanix.  The company is excelling, the team are excelling and our customers are getting the best of us we can offer. 

So my gym gear is going to stay in the office and I will continue to let the people around me see my Authentic self- both the good and bad.  Keeping it real just feels good!

Is it time for you to change and truly be your Authentic Self?  Have you being acting in your leadership role for so long that you just don’t know how to be your Authentic self and be in your role? 

I challenge all leaders out there to simply ask yourself ‘Am I truly being my Authentic self?’  If you answer ‘no’, it’s probably time you ask yourself what’s holding you back?  Just think of the possibilities for yourself and the people around you…..

Wellness and Leadership go Hand in Hand

Most people who know me also know I operate between two universes that don't often collide.  I was always destined to be in business, I studied Business, I had my first serious job at 11 and always strived to be in the corporate world.  Driven and focus beyond words.
I've worked in many places around the world, jetting around like a road warrior for a large part of my career, travelling between NZ and Australia weekly for a number of years.

My other world, outside of my work has always been a constant for me.  My health and fitness.  Surprisingly, I was a terrible athlete at school.  Never picked first for any team.  Useless at athletics, tennis, hockey and netball, only excelling in one sport- table-tennis.  To be fair, I did represent North Harbour and Auckland in my teens and completed at national level for a few years alongside my brother.  I'm pretty sure thinking back that was to keep my mother happy as she used to also play!  Which is why some people may find it surprising that I am now a qualified personal trainer and group fitness instructor.

I've also had my fair share of health issues.  Over-dosing on Alcohol at the age of 15.  The overdose was so bad my heart stopped twice in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.  Then later in my early 30's I was stopped short in my tracks when I blew my back-out and had to have spinal surgery- a laminectomy and discectomy to be precise.

One thing I've always known is how important my health and fitness is to my career. 
As a CEO of a successful IT company and a previous corporate worker in various management roles, I've always known that to perform at the level I need to be at, I need to be alert, have energy and know how to control stress.  I do this be staying fit and eating well and getting the required amount of sleep and hydration.  I'm not perfect, no one is and I don't expect that from the people I train. 

I work on an 80/20 rule- as long as 80 percent of the time you are doing what you are supposed to with your nutrition, fitness, sleep and hydration then you are doing well.

Sounds like a dream right? Its not.
So how do I do it?  Here are my 10 key tips

Routine
It sounds boring, but one way I know I have the correct nutrition is I always have the same breakfast every day (except for Christmas day), which is porridge, skim milk and a banana.

Treat Fitness like your corporate job- make appointments- keep them- don't be late
Possibly sad but true.  Its too easy to make excuses if you don't actually comit to the appointments.  For me, I instruct fitness classes so I also stay fit - its pretty hard to get out of this form of exercise!  Also, I make dates with my fitness friends to go for a walk...and I stick to them as if its an important business meeting.  It works nearly every time (unless they cancel !).

Do it with friends or find some buddies who will
Its always easier to stay motivated when there are more than one of you doing something- you each keep each other accountable.  Currently I'm training for a walking half marathon- 3 of us go together.  When one sends me a text message saying its going to rain on our training day, I tell her to put her raincoat on and stop making excuses.

Understand your food and eat for fuel
I still have treats, lets be fair.  Today I had a chocolate bar- the first in probably a month.  BUT I'm also going to walk 22km tomorrow so I don't have to feel guilty about it.  I will also be ensuring that I eat good carbs tonight for fuel for tomorrow walk- veges and some protein and possibly some rice or pasta to keep me going.  Its the 80/20 rule again.  You can be bad, but just a small portion of the time.

Water Bottle- Always have one
I never had a blanket I dragged around as a kid, but my water bottle goes everywhere with me.  One thing I learnt in sports nutrition is that if you wee yellow, then you have not drunk enough.  If this happens, then I come back and drink a large amount from my bottle.  I would usually drink 1.5-2 litres of water per day.  I have one coffee in the morning and don't drink any other liquid other than water and a Friday diet ginger beer.  Liquids can hold a large amount of hidden calories.  Lets face it- I prefer the chocolate bar!

Fruit Box at work
I think we have probably done this for at least 10 years, possibly longer.  Every week in our IT company, we order fruit boxes which arrives on a Monday.  This means during the week when people are hungry, there are healthy snacks supplied by the company.  Who turns down free food?  At the end of the week, I take the left overs home if there are any and juice them for a weekend detox and fruit burst which I have after my marathon walking.


Incidental Exercise
A lot of people don't know about this one.  I always use this.  Incidental exercise is the additional exercise you can get in during the day without planning to exercise.  For example if you have a lift, never use it- take the stairs- you can burn energy and strengthen your legs in the process.  Go out for a walk at lunch time.  Park you car far away from the shops rather than right near the front door.  Mow the lawns (I love that one!)


Use Scales
Some people may disagree with me on this one but after being in Sales roles over the years, I know numbers drive people.  They also drive me. This morning I jumped on the scales and realised my weeks exercise efforts had dropped me 1.3 kg's.  Which is possibly too much in a week (hence the chocolate bar). But this also gives me an indication of where I am at and what my body is doing.  Marathon training speeds up your metabolic rate.  For a period after training you will be so hungry you may want to eat everything in site- this is your body adjusting to the extreme conditions.  It will be realising you are doing more and it thinks it needs more.  Then body then adjusts and dumps fat.  This needs to be carefully monitored along with fluid intake.  Sales tell you a lot, not just your weight, especially if you have body composition scales which I use with my training clients to show them BMI, Bone Density, Body Fat and Hydration.


Measure Progress with clothes
I keep telling my training clients this.  Sales are only one part of the equation.  If you want weight loss or weight gain.  Think about how you fee in your clothes.  Marathon training for example will tend to tone the legs and butt and your clothes get looser in these areas.  Upper body training will make your t-shirts feel tighter if you are trying to build muscle.


Get help when you need it- don't be proud
Over the past 2-3 years I've experienced terrible facial swelling in the mornings.  I put up with this for a long time before going to the doctor as it would often subside.  I did go to the doctor and have allergy tests and CT scans and no one could tell me what it was.  I finally went back to a different doctor and he discovered the cause- it was nasal polyps.  He gave me a prednisone based nasal spray to take twice a day and guess what.  Its more or less fixed the problem.  What a difference in how you feel.  Looking after our health and wellness is critical- even the little things can make a major difference on how you feel and perform at work or at play.

In summary, my health and wellness does impact my leadership.  When I'm not feeling great myself, it can reflect on the team.  If I have low energy, they can mirror my energy.  The way you personally feel will radiate through everything- your posture, mood and performance. 

Positive Wellness = Positive Leadership.
Go well and lead well!

You too were once a business traveller virgin.....remember?

 Petrified.  My first business trip and that's how I felt.  I would have been about 22. Not excited, not anxious, but down right petrified.  I had to go to Wellington from Auckland.  OMG.  I had to actually drive, by myself to the airport, find the actual airport and then god forbid, I had to actually find a car-park at the airport (have you seen how crazy that place is?).  I then actually had to park, and do it in such a way that it was possible to pull the suitcase out of the backseat without damaging the cars next too me who parked too close (or was it me who parked to close?). 

 

Just thinking about that experience many years ago makes my heart race a few beats. I can look back and laugh now after almost filling a whole passport with entry stamps (those were the years).  I was even a sad person who used to COUNT my flights, when I got to 100 in under a year, it no longer seamed like a fun game!  I was so proud when Air New Zealand graduated me and took my Jade Airports card, to a Silver, then within months, up to Gold, and Finally the Nirvana of flying- to Gold Elite.  I even got free papers and seats at the front of the plane.  Year later, I had another proud moment, when I was demoted to a Jade Airpoints card again.  It meant I once again had my life back.  Thank you Air New Zealand!

 

My nightmare actually started in the car-park for my first ever business trip all those years ago... After working out how to find the airport, I was then confronted with working out in 30 seconds, with a queue of cars behind me, what parking options I should be taking.  Do I take a ticket and pay now?  How does all of this work?  I then realise that I'm actually not close enough to take a ticket and now cannot reverse back.  OMG.  Embarrassment.  Now I look like a real amateur. Open the door, get OUT of the car and pull the ticket OUT of the parking machine so I can get into the car park (Yes, I'm sure we've all been one of those morons at one point in our lives!).  Phew! To make matters worse, no one told me the airport was like some mini-city in itself with no street names and 2 lane roads! 

 

In my panic to work out how to get the closest park and make sure I was still actually in the car-park, I simply turned without looking, right into the front of a rather new looking BMW.  Hmmm.  I guess you can imagine that at 22, I did not have a BMW, in fact I don't think at the time I could even afford a BMW badge, let alone the real thing!  Now I was in a pickle.  I got out and apologised.  Thankfully the damage was not bad.  We exchanged numbers and I was constantly looking at my watch, heart racing that I would miss my first business flight.  What would my boss say?

 

I nursed my now damaged car into a car-park and realised the damage was not too bad.Still shaking, I embarked on the next part of the mission.  I had successfully completed Step One: Find The Airport.  I had not so successfully completed Step 2: Park the Car. 

 

Step Three: Remove Luggage from Car and Get Across Car Park   No one told me that there was also a knack to actually CARRYING everything from one end of the car park to the terminal, which from memory seamed like it was 2km away.  I also have this very vague memory at the time of borrowing a suitcase off my family which did not have wheels at the time.  Definitely a very rookie mistake. The laptop I had at the time, by itself would also definitely have exceeded the current in-flight baggage limit, and that's without the case or the power supply.  So now you can picture me, planning for every  eventuality.  Umbrella- check.  Warm Coat- Check.  Suitcase- Check.  Laptop - Check. Stacks of business papers- Check.  Book to read- Check. Sky-high- High-Heel Shoes - Check.  Killer Business Suit with tight Pencil Skirt - Check.

After staggering across the car park trying to look as elegant as one can with 25+ kg of luggage tottering across the great car-park abyss that is Auckland Airport Car-Park, I finally make it across the car-park to the terminal, even if it was not done in such an elegant way.  Step Three: Partially successful.

 

Step Four- Checking in.  All I had to do now was work out how to check in, then work out where the gate is (actually to be totally truthful I could not actually work out what a gate was at the time- it is an odd name don't you think?), and then I actually had get on the plane. 

I decided to use the "sheep philosophy" to check in.  All I should do was just follow everyone else.  Truthfully I remember feeling more like a possum in the headlights (but just wearing beautiful shoes).  Wow. The queues were long.  No electronic check-in back then!  I got up a rhythm after a while.  Put bag down, put sewing machine (opps- laptop) down, rest coat and umbrella on suitcase. Put handbag on top of suitcase.  Once you'd just finished that.  You'd then instantly repeat the exercise in reverse and move 2 paces forward. Then again, put bag down, put  laptop) down, rest coat and umbrella on suitcase. Put handbag on top of suitcase. After repeating the exercise 57 times, I also learnt how annoyed I would get with the person a few people in front of me not paying attention who would leave at least an 8 pace gap between them and the person in front, delaying the methodical rhythm the rest of the 140 of us had.  By this stage, I'd also worked out that I no longer needed to go to the gym that evening as my upper body work-out had concluded by the time I reached the check in counter.  Surprisingly, this step went smoothly and I was able to watch my suitcase disappear into the distance and be handed my boarding pass.  I remember how important I felt to see my name nicely printed on the boarding pass, until I saw with horror that boarding was in 15 minutes.  OMG.  What is a 'gate' and how do I find it in 10 minutes? Step Three: Moderate Success

 

Step Four- Finding The Gate.  I'm just pleased that I was quite a fit person back then, as by this stage I was near sprinting through the airport looking for any sign with the word 'Gate' on it.  I also never realised that wearing a pencil skirt is not a good thing to wear when moving at a fast pace with a laptop, handbag, umbrella and coat in tow.  So I found the sign that had my gate number on it.  I then had another odd experience.  For some reason, there was yet another journey.  The sign that said 'Gate x' was not actually the gate, and it was yet another 2km trek like the air-port car-park.  Cardio workout now completed, I arrived at what looked like a badly furnished waiting room.  Why can they not just call a gate a 'Waiting Lounge' - isn't that what it really is?  Looking at my watch I remember thinking at the time that it felt like I had been going for hours.  I looked at my watch- I think it was something like 6.45am.  OMG.  My day had not even started yet!!!

 

Too add to the terrifying feeling that I had at least another 12 hours ahead of me or more, I now had a panic on as I wasn't 100 percent sure I was actually in the right place.  I remember manoeuvring close to someone to try and take a peak at their boarding pass to make sure I was actually in the right place for the right flight.  Yes, I had actually worked it out.  A short 45 minutes later had me in a further panic that I had actually missed my flight.  I was then to find out that routine fibbing on a boarding pass about your boarding time is actually quite a standard thing and the fact they had printed on my boarding pass that I was boarding in 15 minutes was merely to ensure that I had an early morning cardio work-out and they were simply looking after my health. Finally the flight was called.  'Its now time to board flight xxx to Wellington'.  Step Four: Accomplished, just.

 

Step 5 - Surviving the Boarding Stampede.  What happened next was something that I recall being between a beautiful dance and a civilised stampede.  It was almost like being at school ' first one to the front of the line gets a gold star?'.  At this point I realised that there is actually a technique to this process, and I did not know it.  Apparently you need to be strategically positioned.  Preferably near the gate entrance and always in standing position.  You always need your laptop bag handle facing up for a quick pick-up and you must never have anything else in your hand other than your boarding pass.  Yet another Rookie error for me.  I swear in the time it took me to search my handbag for my boarding pass, pick up my umbrella, coat and laptop, the whole 'waiting longue' was in the queue except me, the pace was like a silent stampede.  Did I blink?  Wow.  I was clearly a virgin traveller.  I would have to take more notice on my return flight! Step Five: Success- narrowly avoided mass crushing.

 

Step 6 - Boarding the Plane

Finally boarding the plane, I discovered I was actually dyslexic, which was apparently a new discovery. Somehow when I looked at the seat numbers, I could not understand the little pictures- If I had a 'D' on my boarding pass- did that mean I was nearest the window or nearest the aisle?  Did the numbers mean I sat in front of the number or behind as they seamed to be off centre?  OMG.  I also realised that the smaller the number the better dressed people seamed to be and the more relaxed these people were.  Odd at the time to realise this.  My number seamed to be large, which also meant I would be right down the back of the plane.  I had a mind jog back to the check-in queue.  More stop - start.  Some people seamed to take forever to get into their seat.  How hard is it to simply put your bag in the locker and sit in your seat?  Apparently its not that easy so I found out, especially in a tight pencil skirt and a full baggage locker as you are almost the last person on the plane.  I remember thinking - by process of elimination, there is only a middle seat and a window seat left, I must be in the window seat as the other 2 letters are used.  At least I conquered my seat numbering dyslexia, even if was by process of elimination.  Step Six: Fail- personal space confrontation with unknown passengers.

 

Step 6 - Making Baggage Lockers Look Simple

When I realised there was hardly any room in the baggage locker I was a little puzzled with what to do.  I looked at my oversized laptop and coat and umbrella and looked again at the small hole left, knowing the whole process could end up with the guy in seat F gaining a broken neck.  Then from no- where, a hostess came and like some odd Houdini movie, somehow in the flash of an eye stuffed my luggage into the impossibly small space.  Wow- she must have learnt origami at a young age to know how to turn that manoeuvre! Step Six: Success: Someone else did it for me!

 

Step 7 - Actually sitting in your seat

To my horror and possibly to the man's delight in seats E and F, I then realised that my beautiful high heels and the tight pencil skirted me now had to work its way over to the window seat.  I looked at the others seated in my row and my second horror wave came over me.  They were not moving anywhere, they had their seatbelts buckled and I now had to perform some odd gymnastic like move to get past them.  I still hope to this day that it was mainly my hand-bag that was brushing against them, but I fear it was not.  I finally wedged myself into my seat before looking at them reading realising my book was not with me.  I am not going to get it, never, not now, it can stay there. 

 

It was at this point that I also realised I had also lost a battle I never knew I was participating in.  I now call it "Arm-Rest Ninja Battle".  What is up with that?  I sit down and the guy next to me is gripping onto his arm rest like his life depends on it, he pretends not to notice me sit down.  I look across the row.  OMG.  You have to be FAST around here. He was staking his real-estate alright.  "I see you one arm rest and may have to later raise you one annoying toilet break mate"...then we'll have round two of "Arm-Rest Ninja Battle "...and this time I will win!  Step Seven: Fail: "Arm Rest Battle Ninja" Final score- 2 to 'Guy in Brown Jacket, 0 to me, clearly I need a new technique.

 

Step 8 - Performing the Chicken-Wing Breakfast Dance

Way back when I was 22, they actually served food on every flight.  I know- can you believe they actually did that and you didn't have to pay!  Amazing.  Unfortunately the free food never came with any instructions as to how to consume it.  I never actually realised how important elbows were when eating or where they were positioned in space until I first had a meal on a plane.  When I picked up my first rather over-processed looking item, I then realised that I didn't know the "Chicken Wing Dance".  I elbowed the guy right next to me and had to apologise (However he had just beaten me at Arm-Rest Ninja Battle so quietly.... I didn't really feel that sorry for him).  Then I looked further across the other side of the aisle  at the others eating to realise that there bodies were twisted into some odd position like they were all wearing some invisible straight-jacket, many struggling to actually get their eating utensil to their mouth.  I almost couldn't stop starring it was so odd.  OMG. Now I had to work out how to do it.  I swear I dropped at least half my food as I struggled to work with the "Chicken Wing" rhythm with the guy next to me.  Should I lift my arm if he has his arm up and is poking food in his mouth or do I wait until he lowers it for the next go and I take my opportunity?  I was just no good at it- his rhythm was too hard to follow.  Perhaps I'll just have my orange juice instead.  Another rookie mistake.  No one mentions that the air-pressure changes and again their is actually a special way to open orange juice.  Who knew that there was actually a technique to opening water and orange juice? To make matters worse, much, much worse, someone also packages yoghurt in planes in the same way.  **&^$#.  So I open my orange juice and it was like a fire hydrant had gone off.  Orange Juice everywhere.  Again, I had to apologies to the guy next to me (I'm still not over Arm Rest Ninja Battle at this point but have spotted that his arm is no longer on his arm-rest....do I starve and try and win round 3?).  It was becoming a habit and I think he possibly knew what was coming next as he strategically positioned his napkin a different way, I at first thought his manoeuvre was simply an Arm Rest Block- yet another tricky technique to stop me winning round 3....but...No.  He knew.  I didn't.  Yogurt time.  OMG.  You think the airline would learn!  Clearly I had not.  I couldn't even bring myself to say anything to the guy next to me this time, I didn't need to- he knew!  And dam it, he just won Arm Rest Battle Round 3 due to my exploding yogurt.  Will I never learn?  Its all about speed and precision.  Obviously.Step Seven: Fail: Not all food in mouth, nor did I master the Chicken Wing Dance.

 

 

Step 9 - Exit Stampede

Another odd phenomenon was getting off the plane.  Really, really odd.  We landed and I remember thinking OK, now I have to find my suitcase, where-ever that may be about now.  But then all of a sudden, literally as the plane stops moving and the seatbelt light went 'bong' - another odd stampede started.  Nearly everyone at the same time rushed to get out of their seat, madly grabbing luggage and vying for the best position again closet to the door.  I remember looking at these tall business men in suits in the middle seats half bent

over, half in and out of the aisle, like frozen statutes not able to move forward or backward.  The oddest thing was that it was at least 10 minutes before they could move.  Why the rush?  The doors were not even open.  Still to this day I do not understand this odd rule, yet I learnt how to play the game myself and follow the pack. What an odd thing to do!  But guess what. in all the excitement, I won Arm Rest Ninja Battle Round 4.  The other guy on the other side just looked at me and smiled, it was almost like I saw him mouth...."don't you realise, Arm Rest Ninja Battle time ends when the seat-belt sign goes off?"  I sat for my few minutes of bliss, feeling good for having my arm on that arm rest, even if just for a minute.  It may have even been the highlight of my flight!  Step Nine: Success- Even if I didn't know what was going on!

 

Step 10 - Meet the luggage eating 'cougars'

I decided that my day couldn't get any stranger until I saw my fellow travelling companions at the luggage carousel.  It was like they had turned into hungry luggage eating cougars, ready to strike at any moment.  It appeared to me that the people actually winning in this odd 'cougar' game were those with a trolley. They could simply 'shove' the trolley into a space that did not exist in the weird luggage circle we were not all part of.  The odd thing was that the luggage circle is simply not big enough to fit all of the luggage eating cougars around.  I saw Arm Rest Ninja Guy and decided that I would not tempt fate this time and stayed well away.  I realise I do value my body parts and felt with his tactics I could end up in a moon-boot before exiting the airport if I stood anywhere near him!  I did realise however, that to be a "luggage cougar" your primal side really had to show.  Become a cougar or an elephant- the choice is yours.  As soon as what I thought was luggage one cougar identified with came around, then there was an almighty 'pounce' to get the new piece of meat, which was actually just a suitcase.  It was an odd game which I stood and watched initially from a distance as I was actually too frightened to move into the circle of luggage.  I finally plucked up the courage and then realised that having a black suitcase is actually not a great plan. No one ever told me that for some reason everyone in the world shops at the same place, or so it seams.  I watch several cougars do the 'pounce', catch their meat and then decide the seasoning was a little off and actually returned the suitcase to the carousel.  OMG.  I do not want to do that- how embarrassing.  Finally I learn the pounce and drag my suitcase away from the other cougars.  Job done.  Step Ten: Success  (I just hope its actually my bag).  Too proud to look before exiting the airport.

 

Step 11 - Find a taxi in Wellington

Luggage in tow, I look out the doors to see nasty weather.  At least I have my coat and umbrella.  I felt quite proud of myself at this point.  The best I felt all day, despite it only being a touch after 8.00am.  I put my umbrella up and take two steps forward and I swear it was like I was Mary Poppins.  Apparently I was the only person in New Zealand that was unaware that Wellington Airport is actually a giant wind tunnel and as soon as you exit the safety of the terminal - its every man or woman for themselves.  I was blown, battered, cold and in search of a taxi.  I look across and I swear I had blurred vision.  There were at least 6 taxi drivers in identical cars, identical dress who all had an uncanny resemblance to each other, all beckoning me there way.  OMG.  Which one do I choose?  How do you choose

?  Stress. Another move I had yet to learn.  I just walked in a straight line across the road, that's how I picked.  I finally arrived at the Wellington office, luggage in tow and was glad just to be there, already exhausted and ready for a full day of work, it was just after 8.30am!
Step 11: Partial Success- now look like a wreck!

 

 

Step 12 - Accommodation

As odd as it may sound, you actually need to be told things about accommodation.  As a rookie business traveller, I was actually told about this, until other rookie travellers I have had working for me over the years.  Yes, you actually need to check in AND check out.  I have acutally been charged for an additional nights accommodation due to one of my rookie staff travelling who never knew you had to check out,.  They just left the key on the table and left!  Needless to say, when I finally got to my accommodation that night, I felt like I had done a 22 hour day.  When does anyone actually tell you that business travel is NOT actually FUN!

 

For all my years of travelling, I must say I have really loved every minute (almost), except for those times you bag doesn't turn up, your flights are horribly delayed or there is terrible air-turbulence.  After many years of being a road warrior, I try now to keep my travel to a more enjoyable level.  I leave you on this note, "may the force be with you Ninja- may all of your future battles of Arm Rest Ninja be fair and if they are not, learn to play dirty like I do".  Just raise the arm rest (if you can) and don't play at all!

 

Please comment and share your experiences of first time business travel- I'd love to hear them.