Don’t forget to celebrate along the way

Posted on June 15, 2016 by brandaudits

Brand + Business x Christine Moody*

Last week, I was invited to present to the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Business School’s Fostering Executive Women group as part of the ‘Executive Conversations’ series.

This series is designed to assist early- to mid-career female executives in their progression through the ranks. The format provides young women executives with the opportunity to have ‘real life’ conversations with speakers from a range of different industry sectors, who can share authentic leadership lessons.

For many years, I was a mentor and then the President of this group. I have always enjoyed listening to the leaders who present: witnessing the speaker’s vulnerability; and hearing first-hand that your career doesn’t always run to plan, but that you can learn from these setbacks and become a better, stronger leader.

…I reflected on the ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ moments and the valuable insights and lessons I’ve taken away with me.

Well, this week it was my turn to present. I decided to share the career ‘challenges’ I’ve faced over the last few years. In preparation, I reflected on the ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ moments and the valuable insights and lessons I’ve taken away with me.

While I didn’t want to dwell on the minute details, I did take time to relay how I’ve used the challenges and lessons to leverage up to the next level. I also touched on how to use negative outcomes as motivation to keep going (I shared this in my earlier blog, Turning bad into good).

…I’ve used the challenges and lessons to leverage up to the next level.

Delivering this presentation made me see that I’m getting better at handling challenging situations in my life. I’m also bouncing back faster and higher! The key I realised, is celebrating the wins along the way—no matter how small.

I celebrated when I handed my research thesis in last year. I also celebrated when I handed my book in to the editor this year. While these two events were work-in-progress moments, they were also major milestones that were hard for me to achieve. And these milestones deserved to be celebrated!

…my lesson to you is to celebrate every small achievement

So my lesson to you is to celebrate every small achievement. Each one means that you are further along your journey than you were the day, week, or year before. Celebrate by yourself or celebrate with you family and friends, but whatever you do, don’t forget to do it!

What are you going to celebrate today?

*Christine Moody is one of Australia’s leading brand strategists and the founder brand management consultancy, Brand Audits. With more than 30 years’ professional experience, Christine has helped a diverse client base of local and international brands, including Gold Coast City Council, Hilton Hotels, and Wrigleys USA, to develop, protect and achieve brand differentiation. Her particular interest is personal brand audits to assist executives realise their full potential.

For more information: chris.moody@brandaudits.com.au or +61 419 888 468.

The last five per cent

Posted on June 2, 2016 by brandaudits

Brand + Business x Christine Moody*

The hardest part of any project is the last five per cent. With the end so close, your focus wanes and you begin focusing on the next challenge or the next project. You may be exhausted and even bored with the current project.

But be warned, the last five per cent is critical. It can make or break a project. The last five per cent is when the ‘magic happens‘. It’s when you tie up the loose ends; add the finishing details; and make the last 95 per cent count.

In my work with startups and companies with innovative products, I often find that it is in the last five per cent that entrepreneurs give up or lose focus. I can’t help thinking that their business outcomes would have been better if they had given it their all—their 100 per cent focus.

If you invest years of time and money in a project, it deserves nothing less than you fighting for it to the very end with 100 per cent effort!

…the project deserves nothing less than you fighting for it to the very end with 100 per cent effort!

When I was writing up my Masters’ research thesis, I had two months to distill five years of work. It was scary and exhilarating at the same time. There were are few moments of panic and a few times when I thought, “I just can’t do this”.

To get through the last five per cent of my thesis, I gave myself a deadline and religiously stuck to a strict routine that required me to show up at my desk each and every day at 4am.

My days went a little bit like this: write my ‘to do’ list for the day and then write for about an hour and a half before getting ready for bootcamp. Go to bootcamp followed by a post-training coffee. Back at my desk, write until 10 am and then email my work in progress to my supervisors. Start my ‘real’ day, working on client projects solidly until meeting with my supervisors on campus at 4pm.

This cycle continued until one of my supervisors said, “I reckon this is ready to be submitted.” That was it. Masters completed. What an anticlimactic end to an epic journey. Part of me expected something more dramatic. I was hoping for at least the gold ticker tape similar to when they announce the winner on MasterChef Australia!

From my Masters’ experience, I learned that a dedicated focus on the last five per cent makes all the difference between success and failure.

…I learned that a dedicated focus on the last five per cent makes all the difference between success and failure.

This focus is just as important when you are launching a new, innovative product or service. While the outcome doesn’t have to be perfect—like my thesis—it does need your complete focus. And, if you are being honest with yourself, you will only feel completely satisfied with the project if you have given it your all and done your best.

What have you put 95 per cent effort into without paying attention to the last five per cent? Have you given up before the end?

*Christine Moody is one of Australia’s leading brand strategists and the founder brand management consultancy, Brand Audits. With more than 30 years’ professional experience, Christine has helped a diverse client base of local and international brands, including Gold Coast City Council, Hilton Hotels, and Wrigleys USA, to develop, protect and achieve brand differentiation. Her particular interest is personal brand audits to assist executives realise their full potential.

For more information: chris.moody@brandaudits.com.au or +61 419 888 468.
Photo credit: Christine Moody NYC 2015

How to get the best work from your Designers

Posted on February 2, 2016 by brandaudits

Brand + Business x Christine Moody*

How to get the best work from Designers? Step One: Back Off!

Earlier this week I shared The New York Times’ article, ‘How to Raise a Creative Child. Step One: Back Off’ on my social media sites. This article resonated with me because I see kids pushed to far towards maths and science to the detriment of creative pursuits but also because ‘Creativity’—is Design—is often under appreciated. While the article was clearly aimed at pushy parents it also contained many lessons for clients working with Designers. The reason I am writing this is not to criticise clients in any way, but to allow them to see ‘the other side’ and how they can achieve the best possible results for their businesses when working with Designers.

Creativity may be hard to nurture, but it’s easy to thwart.

One of the most standout comments from the article was, “Creativity may be hard to nurture, but it’s easy to thwart”. Clients may be unaware that they get the most value and the best outcomes when they treat Designers as the professionals they are, and leave Designers to do their job. Put aside the fact that most Designers are highly educated with broad, ‘real life’ experiences, clients are paying the Designer to bring in expertise that they do not possess. Clients therefore need to give Designers the freedom to do the job they are paying them to do.

Designer’s value add by immersing themselves in the business, thinking deeply about the problem outside of day-to-day operations, and creating original designs that communicates the business strategy. In a commercial world, working with professional Designers allow client’s businesses to achieve their objectives ie, to perhaps attract external funding (crowdsourcing or traditional banks); to assist in creating new markets; to allow them to stand out in a crowded marketplace; to attract the best staff and the best clients; and to create value in the business when it’s sold. If a Designer’s role is to simply to reproduce a more refined design of a client’s idea the client would be happy, but the clients are not getting the best possible outcome. Instead they are getting ‘paint by numbers’ and an under-utilised design resource.

Getting the best outcome is all about getting the brief right before commencing the project. The brief does not solve the problem but outlines what is known about the product or service at the time of writing. The best briefs are created together—with all stakeholders present—with the final outcome presented in the context of this brief. It’s about working together via work in progress meetings to see the development as the solution reveals itself and to gain an understanding of the thinking behind the design. It is not an aesthetic decision, but instead, a strategic decision. Design is a combination of creative freedom within the constraints of technical and budget reality overlaid with a strategic focus.

If there is one thing I know for sure, the more the clients leave the design to the Designers, the better the result. So remember—and I say this in the most respectful way…please clients, “Back Off”!

For more information: chris.moody@brandaudits.com.au or +61 419 888 468.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinejanemoody