Below the Surface

For the past month I have been learning about Strategy. The main point the lecturer wants to get across is the concept of Icebergs. It is the centre point of the course.

Most people would of heard of the metaphor of the icebergs: Only 10% of the iceberg is above water. The rest of the iceberg is under the water and is not seen. This is the point that the lecturer is trying to get across. When looking at the facts of a particular situation to see how to plan a strategy it is important to look under the surface. A strategist needs to look at what is not immediately obvious.

I think (and I assume the lecturer does too) that many people fail at business because they don't look below the surface. For example, there would be many times where a person has had product selling well in a country. They think to themselves that another country has double or triple the population so their product will be very successful over there. Unfortunately when they try to sell their product overseas they end up losing their money. Why did they fail? They did not look under the surface.

Under the surface a strategist would of seen that there were differences between cultures that would stop people from wanting to buy the product. Maybe having that product is not "cool" or is embarrassing to talk about. Maybe there is a history of cargo going "missing".

The strategist may not be able to find what they are looking for just by reading books. Below the surface are things that people know but do not talk about or have not written down. The strategist may have to talk to people to find out the truth. Even then they might not get the whole truth.

So remember : Look under the surface! Even if it is just going past the first page of results in Google.

Organising Trips

This post related to another post http://myuniquequad.blogspot.com/2008/12/power-plant.html

It has been a while since I've made a post. Looking at the Google Analytics I can see that people have been reading my blogs from multiple countries. It is about time that I gave them something new to read.

I have been busy since the last time I made a post. I organised a trip for a group of international students. I took the group to see the power plant and mine that supplies electricity to most of the state. I had not organised a trip before and so I learnt many lessons that will help me become a better leader.

Ensure that you get commitment

Send out the invitations well in advance so that people can have time to respond and also be able cancel other activities that they may have planned that day. Also make it clear that a person needs to let you know if they have changed their mind and won't be coming. On this trip some people were polite enough to notify me a week in advance they were no longer able to come. Unfortunately the group were delayed waiting for latecomers who did not show. This not only meant that people had less time for activities. The people who came on the trip had to pay extra to cover the cost of the people who did not turn up. It is recommended that the organiser collects a non-refundable deposit to cover costs.

Plan, Plan and Plan!
Planning is very important. It took about a month to plan the trip. Make sure that the destination will open on the day, double check the prices and estimate the travel time required. It is also important to ensure to plan the best ways to get to the destination, and have an alternate route. From the Navigational aspect, I already knew how to get to the destinations of the trips so focused more on getting transportation.

Check for hidden fees when hiring a minibus
Hiring a minibus and driving was the best option in this situation. Public transport options were limited for the area and hiring a tour bus with driver would of cost several thousands of dollars. When hiring a minibus it is important to shop around and look for the hidden costs. Each company has their own rates and hidden fees. You will have to pay extra for insurance if you are under the age of 25 years. Also, remember it is part of the contract to fill up the fuel tank before returning the bus. I paid $1.06 per litre for fuel by filling up at an independently owned petrol station. It would of cost $2.60 per litre if I were to fill up the bus with the fuel supplied by the hire company. It is also important to mention that there will be a processing fee added to cost of speeding fines and for not paying for the tollway.

Get to know people
At the beginning of the trip make sure you know all the people and then make sure everyone knows each other. I forgot that, even though I knew most of the people, half the people on the trip never met the other half so I did not introduce people to each other. Fortunately everyone introduced themselves and got along well.

Conclusion
Overall, the most important components of the trip are planning and communication. Ensure that you know what all the costs are and that everyone else also knows the costs so that there is no argument. Also remember to notify the group about any changes.

Tech Site Gives Entrepreneur Advice

I finished my IT degree last year. During the time of studying the degree I had subscribed to receive newsletters from Sitepoint (http://www.sitepoint.com/). I subscribed so that I could keep up to date with the latest IT news. Now that I am studying Leadership I have found a new purpose for the newsletters: Entrepreneur Advice!

How could a tech site provide entrepreneur advice? They probably realised that people in the IT industry have brains wired for technology, not entrepreneurship. A developer could make the best website ever but have no idea on how to get someone to buy it (or buy products from it). Technologically minded people also have the habit of building what they think is best and not what the customer really needs. Sitepoint helps the developer with issues by providing marketing tips and techniques for drawing in customers and getting the right price.

Not only does Sitepoint have free articles on their website and free newsletters, they also write books. You can get samples of their books for free if you subscribe to their newsletters. They also maintain a database of HTML and CSS codes that developers can use. They also have a twitter site that is followed by the Prime Minister of Australia! That is a good recommendation.

Article Review: "Growing a high-performance culture"

Earlier in the year I had to spend a whole semester at university studying how to create a high performance organisation. Now this article sums up most of the course in a few bullet points:

http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,27753,24510063-5012427,00.html?referrer=email

In the class I had to watch a video about how to make an organisation high performing. It cost the teacher $600 and it only went for half an hour. This article is similar and is free.
Update: I found the book for the video. It cost $60.

First Entrepreneur Post

Welcome to my new blog! This site will be looking at ways to be entrepreneurial and how to improve leadership skills. I will also be trying to spell entrepreneur correctly. I think most people would have the same problem. I have even more trouble saying it. Fortunatly it is easier to become an entrepreneur then to have to spell the word.

To get things started, I will give a link to a site I have contributed to:
http://glpcommunity.wetpaint.com/page/Creating+Leadership+Capacity

Here is my part of the Wiki:
http://glpcommunity.wetpaint.com/page/Social+Identity%3A+Knowing+Yourself%2C+Leading+Others+%282%29

See another blog I am working on (more fun):
http://www.myuniquequad.blogspot.com/

Also see the News Blog:
www.newsupdatequad.blogspot.com