Do you know someone who always has to have the last word in a conversation or an argument? Everyone has come across this type of person and knows how frustrating or plain sad it is when you see it. [space height="HEIGHT"]
Having the last word is closely associated with ego. Egomaniacs always have to have the last word. It gives them a feeling of power, as if they immediate draw all of the power of the person they are communicating with and become powerful due to it. [space height="HEIGHT"]

Before it gets too hot outside I have to share a tradition we have at Marketing Eye Atlanta- FLANNEL FRIDAY!! All work and no play makes life barely bearable. In this office we truly live the expression “work hard, play hard.” When you have this many creative people in one room self expression is inevitable. Flannel Friday

I'm in Sydney and the weather is phenomenal, the harbour is drawing me in, and the team is so busy that I think that they are going to burst at some stage today - but somehow, they never do.

Instead, they step it up, take control, become better organised and push boundaries.

How does that happen?

When you have travelled the world as much as me, there is one thing that you know is always going to be a given – that hotels are a must.

Now, if you must stay in a hotel, then you usually either want your normal comforts or you look for something different to what you already have at home. Something better, sometimes something just different.

As we close our offices today until the second week of January, I realise that it's time to reflect on our wonderful journey and what we have all learned this year.

We have had the most amazing experiences, namely through our people and clients, who constantly amaze me with their insights, perseverance and determination to kick goals. 

There are so many ways in impress a new recruit when you are on boarding them in your business, but if you thought you had just got a handle on it, then you might want to read a little further.

Never give away everything at once, it's as simple as that.

Too many entrepreneurs get so desperate that they give away the kitchen sink when in fact all their prospect wanted to know was that they could do a good job.

As an entrepreneur, it's hard to start a business and to keep it going year-after-year profitability creating value and jobs. But many do so very successful, and yet those who fail seem to do so falling often on their own sword.

The lines blurred sometime in the last 10 years, but I don't know exactly when it happened.

 

Having started my first business at 25 years of age, specializing in technology marketing, I thought I had it all. A marketer who understood technology marketing and who could talk the talk which at that time seemed to be, the height of the dot com boom, the most lucrative marketing position one could hold.

 

Then of course, someone came along and started talking about company culture, and marketers took a turn to start embellishing the on-boarding process of new recruits, with a mixture of "people marketing" with "technology marketing" - and for a time, that was all the rage. It seemed to be the only thing people were talking about and marketers starting play a role in human resources, giving recruiters and in-house HR managers the tools to "sell their brands" like they were a front line sales executive needing to close the deal in order to reach their quotas.

The next 12-months is going to be incredibly different for people who work at Marketing Eye. After years of working hard at establishing a product and service that is unsurpassed by industry standards, driven by technology, systems and processes, we are now working tirelessly on how to build the right culture going forward.

There have been many hit and misses and lots of unnecessary frustration, but finally I think as a team we have hit the nail on the headand I am about to test it to the enth degree.

Flat Organizational Structure

Weaning employees off hierarchy-driven decision making has been a test of both patience and perseverance. Gen-Y's have been told that they need leadership in order to be successful, yet some of the most successful companies in the world, like Google, are saying quite the opposite. Their investment in a flat organizational structure has not only shown dividends on the balance sheet, but it has created a workplace and culture that the world-over admires and respects.

For smaller companies that have an established organizational structure, driven largely by an entrepreneur, it is more difficult to adapt to a flat organizational structure with the primary reason being that both parties; the entrepreneur and the employees, find it difficult to let go.

I have been travelling the world growing "my small business" and have found that it is almost impossible to be the leader I would have hoped to be, living the life I do. I certainly am no role model in this department, nor do I follow the many books I have bought over time on"how to be a good leader" no matter how much I try but ultimately fail in my pursuit.

If nothing changes, nothing changes

We learn most from failures, and it is with these experiences that we equip ourselves to adapt our ways to do things better and hopefully learn from our lessons.