I was recalling various work experiences, this one stick very vivid in my memory and taught me so much.
I was seeking a new role and career advancement so I saw an advert for a direct report to a site director for a large stationary company. I won't name and shame but I will share my experience with you.
I had to complete a few rounds of interviews some mock appraisals and review meetings with people on site. I also had to complete a presentation with some information and data I had been given. I thought this very professional and if this is the business then am going to enjoy working here.I was successful and looked forward to starting my new challenge and also my first ever company car. 
I had a weeks induction a good overview to the business and various departments, spent the day in tele sales. It was really refreshing to have a good induction and understanding of the business. I thought this is great.
I had a little niggle though I wanted to understand what was expected from working hours point of view. All I kept getting told "whatever it takes", I've never been shy of getting stuck in doing the hours in time of peak or when I felt that little extra was needed, so I understood "whatever it takes" to be just that.
Day one in my new role designate to site director I turn up in my suit and tie ready to lead the team and look to how I could improve the various department. I had travelled in my own car I asked what's the lead time for my company car to arrive as I am selling the one I have. I should have realised this was not going to go well when the Director was mortified that there was a company car with the role (it was one of my reason for taking the job), so reluctantly he had to order one.
Now as a leader I like to understand what the performance is current what's expected and any problems with services or errors that I could address. So that's just where I was going to start. I went to the office and was handed a little packet, being told you are going to need this. I opened it and it was a picking stamp (a numbered stamp to identify who had picked the customers order and was used to stamp the parcel on the order line), puzzled I asked why I would need a stamp. I was informed for when you are on the line picking "That's what we do here". I soon discovered all the leadership team were driving fork lift trucks, loading cases and picking orders. They were not leading looking for improvements they were merely over paid workers, boosting the site's performance as they weren't  recorded in the calculations of performance.
So just imagine am stood there in my best suit picking items putting them in boxes and loading them on the conveyor belt, not  just for a few minutes or when it was really busy but all day. I challenged this not because I am lazy but I could see where we could make improvements and Lead the teams to improve, that was met with deaf ears. I was frustrated and realised this was one of the biggest mistakes of my life to date. 
There were two shift one that started around 08:00 an overlap shit that finished between 21:00 -22:00 each day. So I arrived at work at 09:00 and left at around 20:00 for the first few days as thought I need to see what's happening throughout the day (in between picking). Imagine the surprise when I was requested to the office to explain why I was not there to open the site and close the site each day. Now I realised what the "whatever it take meant" you'll be here as long as we are operating. To make matters worse another colleague said wait till we are in peak we are here 18 - 20 hrs a day.
I lasted just over a month there until I went into my line managers office to discuss what I wanted to do and what was expected. It ended with me putting my car keys on the desk and requesting a taxi home. All sorts of emotions went through my mind, I was relieved as it was sole destroying and nothing like I was expecting. I was also not looking forward to informing my partner "Am on my way home because I've basically told them to stick the job". That was not a very pleasant conversation.
I still have the picking stamp in my office and often look at it as a reminder, how not to lead a team and to always be 100% sure the company I plan to work for is the right one and not just a mirage of something great.


Duggystone

More and more people are setting up their own business, unless it's a brand new product or services they face a lot of competition in crowded market space. 
I don't want to go into too much detail about niche markets and market share and all those kind of business strategy. That can wait for another time, what I do want to cover is a different way of viewing the market place and how it has helped  new business grow and create new opportunity.
Whilst on an international training program somewhat like an MBA, I had the amazing opportunity to Study at a number of Universities including  Stanford University (who ran the program). I was then fortunate to meet the Authors of Blue Ocean Strategy, W.Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne. If you've never heard of the book or read it well its worth the time.
The book looks at how you make the competition irrelevant. One of the key parts of Blue Ocean Strategy is the "Four Actions Framework", in this you look at a current offering and follow these 4 points
1. Reduce - Reduce the parts of the current offering below the industry standard , the things that people are not really bothered about.
2. Create - Create factors that the industry has never offered 
3. Raise - Raise or increase above current industry standards 
4. Eliminate - Remove the factors the industry takes for granted and that should be eliminated.


By following the above you can not only gain customers from the current industry , but attract new customers to your offering.What does that all mean I can hear people asking the question so some examples are required to make it relevant and easily understood.
A great example is Cirque du Soleil if you've never seen a show I can recommend truly great experience. Cirque du Soleil was entering a space occupied by the circus industry. They followed the 4 steps , 
1-Eliminated star performers, animals ,multi-show arena
2. raised - Unique venues ( Albert hall as an example , was a great show) 
3. Reduced - Humor, Thrill and danger
4. Created - Theme , refined environment , multiple productions , Artist music and dance (they don't use language as such so anyone can watch and enjoy)
These changes from traditional circus also attracts another kind of customer, those looking for entertainment such as cinema and theater. 
There are loads of examples to Blue Ocean , Budget airline, Hotel chains such as travel lodge just look how they have changed their industries with the 4 steps. There is obliviously more than the 4 steps but it give you a flavor.
I look for blue ocean strategy in other business, I am group Leader at 4n leamington Spa breakfast .
Let's look at 4N is that Blue Ocean?
1. Eliminate - Forces referral and attendance 
2.Raise - Introduce a 4sight slot not a sales pitch but informative, motivating
3. Reduce - Reduced the corporate approach making it more human, friendly 
4. Create - Introduced a passport system where your not restricted to any one meeting making it flexible 


So if you're looking to enter a crowded market re- thing your strategy don't just emulate what's already there create your own "Blue Ocean"
www.duggystone.com

Being on top in your market is a great achievement, brings rewards and opportunities to grow, money to invest and maintain a successful organisation.
Being on top can bring with it a number disadvantages.
1.Size - like comparing a giant fuel tanker with a small sail boat, the tanker is on course and it take a long time for it to change course, even slowing down take a long time. Were as the sail- boat might not have as much in the way of power and presence but can identify obstacle's and quickly change course its agile.
2.Mature Culture - now cultures are great and they are what makes an organisation what it is, a bit like a personality of an individual. Mature companies can be so focussed on what worked for them to give them the original success they miss things that are happening outside of their bubble.
3.Arrogance - The business believes they are the best, well everyone keeps buying our product so we must be here for the long term. they miss those subtle changes miss what the competition is working on and miss potential disruptive innovation. They don't believe they need to change anything !.
So what does all that actually mean where can we see what Strategic drift are there examples of companies?.
A classic strategic drift company totally top of their industry and their product was Nokia. Nokia were market leaders in the mobile phone market, the hands set were robust, battery life was brilliant. Everyone either had the latest Nokia or wanted one. 
They had focussed on the phone as a communication device, stayed with their original idea product. Whilst other companies identified the need for a Smart Phone allowing users to have more than just an amazing mobile phone. Nokia strategy had resulted in them drifting away from what was emerging in the handset market. Their market share and dominance were eroded with the emergence of companies like Apple and Samsung.
So could they have avoided their demise? ultimately they could have had the market share that Apple currently enjoy ( note I say currently). However it would have required a change in culture over a period of time, new developments and people in the organisation that not only could see changing trends and technology advancement but could change the companies direction. Just think about it if you are number 1 in your field and someone says, "these hand set are great but let's make something completely different" it's a big risk and as the CEO would you take that leap of faith. So Nokia could have remained number 1 but Culture, Size and arrogance prevented them from doing so.
The take away from this post is continually review your business strategy, what changing in the world that could affect your current position. For smaller organisations identifying these trends could result in your product or service rising up to replace the current organisation that occupy that space.
Being the biggest or the market leader is not always an easy position to be in. 
Remember change is not a bad thing what you originally set out to achieve may change don't be too precious on your original idea, product or service because if no one is buying it or wants it anymore its just your passion.


Duggystone 
​

So let's talk quality, in a previous post I discussed implementing 5's before attempting any business Quality improvements. if you missed that it's on my blog page, I suggest you read that also http://www.duggystone.com/kirks-blog.
So you are looking to improve your quality output, your productivity or improve your safety performance. I imagine your looking for consistent results right !.
So what do you need to do to improve your current performance and more importantly sustain that improvement?. 
My advice do not make quick assumption and implement changes that relate to the symptom and not the true root cause. I like to use analogies so here is one on the subject. 
Someone slips at work due to oil on the floor, the reaction to the symptoms would be to blame the house - keeping program and look at ways to step that up. Just hold on a moment and think about WHY and think WHY 5 times till you exhaust all the potentials and get to the true root cause.
Employee falls -WHY
Oil on floor - WHY
From material handling equipment - WHY
Leaking hydraulic seal - WHY
Equipment not serviced within guideline time frame - WHY
So from the original assumption its down to house- keeping, in fact the correct solution is to review the servicing program with the person or company responsible for the equipment. 
You can apply the method to everything you do, as it's vital to get to the true cause of the problems before you can get to improving or removing them completely. In the long run it will save you time and money as it prevents you wasting resources on a symptom and not the cure.
So if your producing widgets, have production problems or errors just step back for a moment and ask WHY. You should be able to identify the cause of the issue , word of advice don't look to blame someone as it better to get the whole team adopting and using the method. If they feel it's a witch hunt they are likely to find the wrong WHY. (obviously if the real root cause is a breach of company policy or an illegal act then that's a different matter, in that case if you don't have an HR department then I would suggest bringing in a professional to help deal with it https://www.linkedin.com/in/tarnyabrink this is someone I would recommend you use).
So my challenge to you review some of the problem's you are experiencing  and ask WHY, WHY,WHY,WHY,WHY... then solve it.
Let me know if you implement the 5 whys and what effect it had on the problem and solution.
www.duggystone.com
​

There are a whole host of different quality systems out there to choose from.
It can be confusing , frustrating so ill give you a head start and good foundation to work from. Starting here first will install a sense of change realize efficiency making any future programs easier to implement and accepted.
The system I always start with is 5'S , the impact is visual does not have to cost that much to complete and involves everyone in the workplace.
So what is 5's ? well it comes from japan and its basically workplace organization. The 5's are 
1 - Sort : remove un necessary items , tool equipment that clog up the working area making it less effective
2- Set in Order : In simple terms everything has a place , easy to find. reduces wasted time searching for items. Simple solutions, say for a mechanics work bench, tools would be stored on a tool board with the outline of the tool drawn around. Makes it simple to understand what's being used. 
3- Shine - In other words cleaning , a clean work area not only feels nicer, problems are highlighted quickly, machinery will last longer and your customers get a great first impression. No one really likes working in an untidy and dirty work - space.
4- Standardise - create standardised workflow and processes, assign task create schedules so everyone knows their responsibility's 
5- Sustain - People often think when they have implemented a new system that's the end of it, for you to benefit from the improvements you need to sustain what has been achieved. Any deviation however small should be addressed and rectified. As even the smallest changes will build until you find yourself back to the place you came from. 
This system involves the whole work force where it has the best result is where you get the senior manager, or business owner through to the machine operator's , working side by side to implement and maintain the systems. It drives a sense of pride, belonging and hunger to improve.
It's not a one - time fix and takes continual focus.
So before you embark on any form of improvement, business change program 5's your business. It's something you can do yourself or if you're not confident then look to bring in an experienced person or company to guide you through. You will recover more in efficiency than it cost you to implement. 
thanks for reading 
www.duggystone.com

I like to keep things simple as it makes things easier to explain, understand and implement. 
So when it comes to looking at any business and what makes them successful then there are three things you need to focus on which I like to call the 3 P's. These apply to any business, organisation & charities alike.

People
Your people should be pretty up on the lists of priorities, without engaged trained or dedicated people your dreams for a successful business , organisation or charity will not be possible.
People in your business are key to pushing forward business strategy, customer engagement. Ive seen it so many times where the companies employees are just seen as assets "human resources". They are more than mere resources like a computer , vehicle or machine. All too often we pigeon hole them it to widget per minute figures or sales per day. Now I am not saying we should not measure far from it I love KPI I love targets, but when the outcome is all we focus on then, we devalue the person and dilute their effectiveness.
It vital then to interact with your teams, treat them as you want to be treated yourself. Motivating people to do their best does not always involve financial incentives. Just think as a leader or business owner what motivates you get out of bed on a cold winters morning and make the effort to get to the office, it's not just about the money.
Without going into too much detail different generations are motivated by different thing, have a look at what makes generation x - y -z tick. They all have different veiw's on the world and what motivates them

make your people feel as important as your customers!.


Process

Process, every business needs process when ignored or not updated then chaos, inefficiency and quality output are at best a lucky outcomes.
What I have observed is generally a business  will grow from the original owner, where the process is known by them and the initial team. It works because they just all know what to do when to do it and what the outcome looks like.
When business begin to grow employ more people and begin to diversify as an example, the known process system begins to break down. Different departments or people in the organisation will interpret what should be happening and when, getting it wrong. It's the one place I normally review when I go into a business, try to map out the "day in the life" of the operation and department. It serves 2 purposes , I get to understand first hand what is really happening at ground level, what the people perception of reality is. The second purpose is it identifies gaps in the process and can highlight some process improvement ,thus removing the current problem the company faces. By reviewing process and ensuring everyone knows what happens and when then the resulting improvement is a consistent outcome (unless something changes).
When was the last time you reviewed your process, try asking various people to explain the process for their area you could be surprised 


Profit
People don't like to talk about profit it's seen as something to keep private. However it's the only reason a business exists or can continue to exist. Even a charity has to generate a ROI (return on investment) how else are they able to help the people or the issue they were set up to support.
Without profit your business will fail, focussing on turn-over as an example without understanding if  that turn-over generating a profit then you could have a multi-million-pound company, generating less profit than a company taking a few thousand a year. "turn-over is vanity profit is sanity"
Understanding how much a product or services cost you to produces is important. Let's say you are delivering a training course and on the day you invoice £500 not a bad amount of money for a few hours work. However if your travel to the venue, Hotel stay because it's away from home, the cost of the venue and materials you use on the day comes to £510 then it was pretty much a waste of time and you will not survive for long. There are obviously some exception you may choose to do some promotional events but as long as you know what that means in the bigger picture then it's acceptable.
Knowing your business numbers is vital, if you don't know them or the levers that affect them. You are blindly working without truly knowing what is happening to your company or operation. If you have ever seen Dragons Den one of the first questions they will receive, "tell me your forecast and your profit".
It is worth noting that cash flow, the amount of cash you can get your hands on quickly is very important. A very profitable business can go bust if the fee or sales come in too slowly and debts or liabilities have be settled. Keep a watchful eye on cash flow, payment terms both coming in and external,they need to balance.

I have a 2 step rule for business 

Rule 1. If what you are doing is not generating a profit or losing you money "stop doing it"

Rule 2. See rule 1

• Review you 3p's thanks for reading comments welcome 

Networking means different things for different people and their rationale for doing it. Some may say in this digital age where we can speak with people without even leaving the comfort of our home we don't need to network.
 
Well I started to network because the majority of my business is done remotely from home, It was a business choice and a family choice, it means one of us is here to do the day to day activities and be there for our son. It would make more financial sense to both be out on contracts 5 days a week, however we feel a balance in what we do and development of the family unit is just as important as putting food on the table or buying a better car etc.
 
So in 2014 I was working away generating a decent living from my desk whilst my wife and co-director was doing the main activity working across the Uk and Europe. I was sat there looking around wondering why I felt so low when I really had no need to be. The realisation was I needed some social interaction, did not really frequent the Pub a traditional place to socialise, I was not going to a regular place of work. So from day to day week to week the only real company I had, was a funny little jack Russell called Ned.
 
So I decided to go networking just to get out of the house not looking to grow my business but to spend a couple of hours with like minded people get my brain working and I may actually learn something from the experience. if I did get some business well bonus, but that was not my primary objective.
 
I cannot express in words really how it has affected me but I will try, I have met some amazing business owners, felt a sense of worth belonging and pleased to say now have some wonderful friends. There is no substitute for meeting people face to face, yes social media is great but something is missing which us humans crave, other humans in our presence not a digital representation of them.
 
I have also discovered where I now want my business to go and what even better I've got a network of people that can help me get there either free advice, yes people do help you sometimes freely. There are people I respect and have gladly paid for their professional services.
 
I've been reading a superb book "Business networking for Dummies' written by Stefan Thomas , it's really easy to read with plenty of hints and tips for the virgin and seasoned Networker and how you should approach it, I am pleased to say the way I had naturally approached it now I have some added bits I was not doing. I saw him speaking at a networking event funnily enough and just had to buy his book.
 
As a result of Networking I've taken my business in a different direction and working with some amazing associates, people I trust and respect. We are planning and developing workshop days for businesses or individuals that don't have the specific departments in their businesses, ranging from demystifying quality improvements, process mapping, safety risk assessment and HR. Things that business looking to improve or grow can benefit from without spending thousands every year on the dedicated teams. Makes sense to us and were looking forward to helping businesses gain a cutting edge against their competition. Due to the Network I am involved with it's going to be easy to tailor specific workshops pulling in Social Media experts, commercial accountants branding experts. The list is endless and all I will have personally got to know liked and trusted that's just amazing after all my business and brand is very important to me.
 
So is networking worth doing in this digital age, you better believe it, it's probably more crucial now with so many of us working in isolation in our home offices. People need people, businesses need people. So if you're in business or sat at home feeling something is missing de social media yourself for a few hours a week and shake someone hand drink a coffee and be human it will change what you do and how you feel. I am still on a journey in life and in my business and I am so glad I step through the door to my first event nervous but worth it. Read Stefan's book it will help.
 
Like everyone I love feedback so please drop a comment and even better share this with someone else especially someone like me sat at Home you could change their life literally.
 
duggystone
 

Well, that's a good question let look at how I go to where I am today.

I always had very successful teams and operations, I managed to climb the ladder from the ground up. Not the easiest approach but leaving school with average grade does not secure you a job in a high-flying career. Besides that at 16 when I left school I just wanted to earn some cash. I had been working since 13 in a butcher shop so that was the logical job for me, as I was already doing it.

Fast forward a few years and I find myself running a large supply chain operation for a major cement manufacturer. Some 150 staff and more HGV than I care to remember. I was at the top of my game well-respected leader, great peers, fantastic results. Now a majority of my role involved motivating, reporting results through presentations and graphical information, I was in my element loved it.

I decided that I was still hungry to progress so decided to look for the next step up, targeted a few organizations and managed to get a role as a Sector General Manager  for a global supply chain company , looking after over 200 staff , 3 sites across the UK with a budget of around £20m. Big responsibility, great remuneration package I was going places.

Then something strange happened, my interaction and reporting of improvements, results, and ideas went from very visual and vocal interactions to more  written reports and communication more via documents and emails. I was challenged on my use of words, missing words the wrong use of them (e.g wrong use of there and where). They were pretty critical about it and the perception was you could not be intelligent if you got all this wrong or indeed a good leader. The pressure was on but no matter how hard I tried I just kept getting it wrong.

I started to get stressed about this what was going on, then a friend of mine a journalist training to be a teacher said I thnk you could be dyslexic, I was surprised but listened as I discovered recently that my eldest son was dyslexic and dyslexia is a  hereditary  condition. 

So in 2010 I booked an appointment and was tested for dyslexia and they confirmed I was in fact dyslexic, to me it was a relief and explained as I looked back why I had felt as I did, why I had struggled at school with certain subject, basically why I was me.

I got to the point in my role where I dreaded going to work every day I would begin to feel sick every time I got in the car and set off. I remember discussing this with my wife one day (well after several other times).  She was finishing a masters degree and setting up a design company, the plan was another 2 years of me working for a company and then to start my own business as well. This particular night I just broke down I could not go on any longer, I felt very close to having a nervous breakdown. So when the opportunity to take redundancy came I took the opportunity. I vowed that day never to work for anyone else every again in my life. All the "backstabbing" and distrust I experience put me off for life, people may think my statement was a crazy thing to say. However 5 years later I still maintain I do not want to work for a company as an employee again I want to do things our way on our terms and work with people we chose to, not someone else's selection.

So we decided that my fantastic wife would take a project management assignment, I would take on interim assignments both via our company. Whilst building the design and handmade bespoke wall statement pieces http://www.smoart.com.We launched at Tent London in Sep 2014 offering bespoke work for private and commercial applications.

We have both worked on some amazing and challenging projects since 2010 not looking back once to wonder if I should have got "a proper job" (remember my statement never again ). We both work extremely hard 7 days a week we are doing something,  it does not feel the same as clocking in and out of the corporate tread mill. 

At the same time as starting a business I decided I needed to prove to myself and the world that I was not stupid by being labeled dyslexic. So though an opportunity for some European funding for small businesses I went to Coventry University as a mature part-time student. I graduated in 2012 with a Masters Degree in Global Entrepreneurship, I was extremely emotional that day I stood in the Cathedral with my wife and youngest son in the audience and my parents watching on live stream at home. I am immensely proud of myself ,that's allowed.

There is no quick fix to getting your business Idea of the ground and it's not always easy if it was then everyone would be just like Richard Branson. You need determination, attitude and confidence to pick yourself up even in the darkest hours. Having the emotional support from a partner or family is crucial as they will believe in you even when you have lost all confidence that you have anything good to offer the world.

I did not think this at the time, but I am forever in the debt of that company for breaking me down to the point I had had enough. I cannot begin to express my gratitude to my amazing wife for picking me up and dusting me down when I was at one of the lowest points in my life. 

So I will leave you with this thought, if you're doing a job you are not happy with and feel like you're just on that treadmill day in day out. Then look to do something that excites you something you're passionate about that make you wake up on Monday morning as happy as you are Friday afternoon. Then create something and never look back, never look back.

I hope you enjoyed reading my story please leave comments, I love feedback.

Kirk, Dyslexic Entrepreneur 

Being a leader or even part of a team can be very rewarding, frustrating and also confusing at times. Humans being humans don’t always do what you’re expecting them to do. Generally a specific pattern forms, we will cover the 4 stages and hopefully at the end of the blog you’ll understand why things are happening the way they are.


The four stages of teams generally follow a particular pattern, they may skip a stage and can even slip back. The stages are as follows


1.     Forming

2.     Storming

3.     Norming

4.     Performing

 

It’s catchy and relatively easy to remember once you’ve said it a few times, this is not a new concept as these stages were set out by Tuckman back in 1977. Even after 40 years they are still pretty relevant today and worth a bit of your time to understand.

I have worked with many teams over the years and also been part of more than I care to remember and still see the same patterns emerging.

I like using examples that people can relate to and have access to without necessarily being in the work place. My example choice may seem a little strange at first but in my mind this works for Tuckman’s theory. So I propose to relate each stage to the reality TV show Big Brother.

1.Forming

The stage where a new team is being brought together, as an example a new business is starting or a new department is being established. In this stage the group will be getting to know each other and generally up beat at the prospect of the future working or collaborating together. Getting familiar with their surrounding and co-workers. People are normally accommodating and polite but not necessarily showing their true colours or feelings, just yet.

Launch night of Big Brother is great to demonstrate this, people are excited to be in the house meeting and greeting each other. You can see them trying to make a good first impression and keeping their guards up. Whilst simultaneously trying to work everyone else out. They know why they are there (sort of), know their role but maybe not 100%.  The culture of the organization may not yet be established the “how we do things here”.

2.Storming 

The clue is in the name, after the initial excitement has begun to drift away, people start to lose the initial excitement they had in the beginning. They potentially realize their roles are not a simple as first thought and might struggle to meet the demands of customers. People’s day-to-day role or the processes are not habitual or automatic to them, there can be confusion on who should be doing what, when or even when colleagues decide to deviate from what they should be doing.

Even team members take it upon themselves to try and outline what should be happening. The result is conflict and frustration and frequent storms erupt or bubble away. This stage is counter productive to any group, team or business and the key is to get through this stage as soon as possible. Using clear leadership, training and establishing the culture. It is worth noting this can be a time when some team members will decide this is not for them and seek to leave the organization, potentially keeping the team in storming stage for longer than necessary.

Back to big brother, after the champagne bottles have been recycled and the buzz of the launch night is just a distant memory then the contestants slip into the storming stage. Who is doing the cooking or cleaning the rooms, keeping them awake at night partying can get on peoples nerves. The culture has not been set apart from the house rules, which all must follow or appropriate action will be taken. The time spent together also plays its part in the lack of leadership and clear direction can result in continued bickering. People are out of their comfort zone and feel threatened or unprepared for what is happening around them.


3.Norming

Normalizing takes place, as people better understand their roles, their surroundings, the result is things become more automatic. People understand their part in the organization the culture has embedded and generally things have settled down. The team performance may still be below the expected levels however improvements even in small increments will be noted and progressive.

Leaders either appointed or team appointed will have gained respect which makes it easier to motivate and guide them through to the final stages of performing

In Big Brother, the leadership battle will have emerged in the storming stage and people will naturally nominate themselves as the group leader. We see in the examples of Big Brother it is the other contestants that will subconsciously form a collective consensus who is their preferred leader. More often than not more than one group is formed with its own group leader.

3. Performing

Every business and leader wants his or her team to perform to its best, after all the better the performance the greater the chance the business will become profitable, grow and have longevity. The team at this stage has got to a place where not only are their roles natural and automatic team members have enough understanding to cover each others specific jobs. Maybe not to the same level but good enough to maintain a good performance in the short term. The culture is embedded and everyone know “how we do things here” they may not particularly agree but they generally conform and do what is required.

You guessed it a Big Brother comparison, we see this in the tasks the groups perform or the day to day activities. People generally slot into specific roles e.g. who does most of the cooking, the leaders and people that generally complete the cleaning or shopping lists. When completing tasks that benefit the whole group people put their differences to one side and contribute to getting the reward.

Now you think you’ve reached the performing stage everything is finished you can sit back and watch the team perform consistently with little or no input. In theory this should be possible but remember people are not machines and changes can affect how they react.  This is clear when contestants are voted out or new contestants are put in. There is a fundamental change to team dynamic and the team can move back to the storming stage. We know what happens there but hopefully the group and the culture established will quickly bring the team performance back.

What we’ve established

If you’re a leader of a team and your wondering why things are happening or why people are reacting in a strange way. Have a review of what stage the group could be in and what has changed to cause the affect you noticed. If you’re aware of the stages then at least you know that things can be improved given the correct leadership, processes and culture.

Discuss these changes with the group so they themselves can understand how they are feeling and its pretty normal. Communication is key in most situations this prevents people creating alternative cultures and or ways of working.

 I hope you’ve found my comparison and explanation interesting, pleased would you leave comments and share the blog on your social media.

Till next time

Kirk

The short answer to the question if you’ve not got time to read my amazing blog is "YES" they are. With every simple answer there is a more complex explanation so if you have a bit of time. Grab a coffee or your preferred beverage, sit down and read on. I promise not to be too boring and hope you enjoy my blog if you do please comment and share on social media for me that’s you're part of the relationship.
 
I discovered back in 2010 that I was dyslexic (i appologie now for any grammatical mistakes). This explained a lot of my educational struggles, feelings whilst growing up and work life experience. Due to a dreadful experience with a major organization I decided enough was enough and took a leap of faith and started out, "building our businesses".

To achieve this I decided to get a little more education, yes that’s right find out you're dyslexic and go to university at the age of 44. That’s me all over hit it head on and I feel most dyslexics are the same. I wanted to prove to the world that I was not stupid because I had this label. 
Far from it I just saw things differently, I consider dyslexia is one of my main asset, it's not a disability.

 It's like comparing a Mac with PC , both computers do the same thing but the operating system are completely different. 
They can communicate with each other, but sometimes its difficult due to the way the programming is written this can cause confusion.What I am saying is a dyslexic can confuse non - dyslexics because they are in a different place entrepreneurial, in fact, the potential to see thing before others do. That’s my view and what a great tutor told me at an interview.

So as my Master degree in “Global Entrepreneurship” progressed. I needed a subject to complete 14,000 word dissertation. 


Now as you can imagine that’s scary for anyone at the best of times let alone a dyslexic. I sourced a very good proof reader to help me, an ex journalist and off I went into the world of research, documentation and formulation of a balanced argument. Hours of head rubbing, coffee and lonely afternoons and weekends with our dog ned.

 

What is Dyslexia

Dyslexia is classified under the DDA 1995 (disability at work act), however this does not necessarily mean that it is a disability in itself. Dyslexia was first documented in 1896, which is staggering considering the perception of some people within the academic world. Some still do not believe the condition exists an put it the condition down to student not applying themselves or intelligence level. Dyslexics are not all the same but generally have trouble with

1.    Reading and Spelling

2.    Identifying difference between left and right

3.    Recalling sequential information (days of week numbers etc)

4.    Phonological tasks

5.    Clumsiness

6.    Organising information and materials

7.    Missing appointments, time management

To name a few of the main amazing dyslexic's


Dyslexic's subconsciously build coping strategies and therefore adapt to situation, as example over compensate, be very rigid in time management and meeting deadlines.

My way of explaining the difference

How I like to simply explain what happens in the dyslexic mind compared to a regular mind (if there is such a thing). 

Information in a non dyslexic is stored like a library with the image of something, the name and spelling all stored in separate files that come together in a split second to result in the sound of the ‘thing” the spelling or image.

In the dyslexic mind the best way to think of the same scenario is similar information stored in cylinders apposed to files like a library. When the dyslexic person see or want to say, spell  a word the information is sourced from the mix of information and retrieved. This is where some of the mix-up comes from and later I discuss the benefits.

e.g If  the non dyslexic wanted a pen they would think the image of a pen and ask for one or quickly write “pen”. A dyslexic however in the same scenario would go for the information in the cylinder  (remember similar things are grouped together) and as a pencil was similar to a pen could in fact ask for a pencil or completely misspell the word required.

That’s is a high level view but hopefully it makes sense (does to me, pass me a pen oh no a pencil)

n.b 10 – 20 % of the UK population is dyslexic so look how many people you have in your organization and you’ve have a percentage that are dyslexic. Tap into these people they are creative, dedicated people, you're lucky to have them on board.

Some famous dyslexics

Now there are loads of famous dyslexics we’ve all seen the list

1.    Winston Churchill

2.    Richard Branson

3.    Jamie Oliver

The list goes on these dyslexics are entrepreneurial in their thinking they can be very creative and think differently. However its worth remembering they are not always very confident.

Remember the cylinders from earlier well in a nutshell that one of the advantage of having the soup of information floating around in a cylinder’s.

It means the dyslexics make links with things non dyslexics don’t, they make fantastic problem solvers and come up with innovative solutions to problem or customer demands.

My dissertation "Are dyslexic's predisposed Entrepreneurs" also found that one of the reasons dyslexics become business owners is, they don’t fit into a lot of organizational structures. They feel trapped and frustrated. In other words they might not fit in but more likely don’t want to fit in and prefer to make sense of the world and its problems in their own way.

It's worth noting not all entrepreneurs are dyslexic and not all dyslexics are entrepreneurs. It just that there is an overlap in traits in both groups making them different but similar at the same time. The number of entrepreneurs that are dyslexic is much higher than the number of dyslexics that are CEO of organisations. Yet both groups of leaders have very similar roles, levels of responsibility and scale of businesses to manage.

So there you have it “Are Dyslexics Predisposed Entrepreneurs” YES! they are given the right environment and opportunities, they will grow and develop solutions to problems that don't yet exist.

I hope this blog has helped you understand dyslexics a little more. Please comments and share if you found it interesting. You never know it might help someone like me or the next Richard Branson.

 

Thank you giving me you're time reading my thoughts

Kirk