GLOSS October 2017 by GLOSS MAGAZINE

BUSINESS | MONEY | LIFE | REVIEWS | YOU

OCTOBER 2017

n the classic movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy, a quiet country girl, and her best friend Toto the dog are transported by a tornado from their home in Kansas to the Land of Oz. Their dream, their goal in the story, is simply to return home, so they ‘follow the yellow brick road’ to the Emerald City to find the wizard who can make any wish come true. Along the way they meet the Scarecrow, who believes everything would be perfect ‘if only he had a brain’, the Tin Man, who wants a heart, and the Cowardly Lion, who thinks life would be sorted if he only had courage. When our band of adventurers finally arrives at the Emerald City after fighting off the Wicked Witch of the West, they are grateful to be granted a meeting with the wizard. Until, that is, they discover that he is in no way magical, but merely a wise old man. Still, the fake wizard delivers on his promise, if not in the way they had expected: he gives the Scarecrow a diploma, the Tin Man a heart-shaped ticking clock, the Lion a medal for courage, and Dorothy a chance to fly home in his hot-air balloon. So what’s the point of sharing this story? As we make our way along our personal yellow brick road, our own journey, we can make plans and set goals but too often we make excuses for what we lack. ‘If only’ becomes the catchcry that holds us back from our dreams when in fact we already have the answers for what we seek within us. It’s simply a matter of choosing to accept who we are — our strengths and our weaknesses, our good and bad bits. In his book The War of Art, Steven Pressfield describes the “if only” as resistance. He shares that “Resistance cannot be seen, touched, heard or smelled. But it can be felt”. He adds, “It’s a repelling force. It’s negative. Its aim is to shove us away, distract us, prevent us for doing our work.” Resistance’s aim is to feed our ‘if only’s’, stopping us dead in our tracks and leaving us standing still on our own yellow brick road. You need to own your vision and what it is you want to achieve in your career and in life. Say yes to goals that ensure forward momentum, and say yes to owning who you are and who you want to be. This issue of GLOSS is jam packed with articles to help you deliver your “Yes’s” to the world with everything from business to finance to life. And make sure to read the interview I did with Jacinta McDonell – inspiration all the way and proof that if you are hungry enough and the fire is burning brightly you can absolutely follow your own yellow brick road.

Janine Garner | Publisher & Editor

2 GLOSS | OCTOBER 2017

The people we connect with can make or break our ideas and future success – Lisa Messenger Networking genius – Kieran Flanagan

Networking matters but it’s YOUR personal network that matters more. Learn to network the right way www.janinegarner.com.au

17-279908

Finally — a fresh alternative to networking that makes sense – Dr Jason Fox

CONTENTS OCTOBER 2017

BUSINESS 15

NICK HOLZHERR

EMMA BANNISTER

RACHEL KELLY

ALISON FLEMMING

Engaging fewer employees and delivering more work

KATH CREEL

FEATURE

30 MARGOT ANDERSEN We all know that the best leaders bring out the best in their people. Be it sporting leaders, cultural and community leaders or organisational leaders, they all somehow seem to possess the keys to unlocking the ‘shine’ in those who are fortunate enough to work with and for them.

JACINTA MCDONNEL Co-Founder Anytime Fitness Australia, Founder Human Kind Project, Founder Urban Yoga

32 EMILY VERSTEGE

KATH CREEL We say to our customers, “Never underestimate the importance of using good quality, high impact audio visual equipment.” It is the crucial difference between a forgetful corporate event and an exciting experience

32 EMILY VERSTEGE

We’re in the middle of the largest, most rapid change in human history. It’s driven by an exploding population obsessed with making and consuming smarter, faster and cooler technology.

GLOSS PUBLISHER Janine Garner

MONEY 35

MELISSA BROWNE

MILLY BRIGDEN

EDITOR Emma Hancock DESIGN Magazines byDesign P: 02 8883 5890 www.bydesigngraphics.com.au

YOU 41

DEBBIE Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;CONNER

LISA LOCKLAND-

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Margot Andersen Dr Jenny Brockis Melissa Browne

BELL 46

JENNY BROCKIS

AH-HA MOMENTS

LBD OUT & ABOUT

MONEY

noun 1. a current medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes 2. coins and banknotes collectively

YOU pronoun 1. used to refer to the person or people that the speaker is addressing

EDITORIAL / ADVERTISING support@thelbdgroup.com.au MEMBERSHIP / FEEDBACK support@thelbdgroup.com.au PUBLISHED BY LBD GROUP All content in this newsletter is protected under Australian and International Copyright laws. Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of The LBDGroup is strictly forbidden. The greatest care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information in this online magazine at time

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INVEST IN YOU

f you are a Pretty Woman fan, (who isn’t right?), you might remember the scene where Julia Roberts gives her old flatmate a wad of cash to go study and tells her, “we think you got a lot of potential”. We love that scene because it reminds us that people are worth investing in. Yet when we talk about investing it tends to predominantly relate to fiscal matters. We talk property, shares, savings and super. We talk about our strategies for investing for the future. We sometimes even talk wardrobe. I am sure you’ve heard the term ‘investment pieces’. Yet so rarely do we relate the word to the most important investment there is. In ourselves. This is a little crazy. After all, we are our best assets. Each one of us is the single most important resource we have for creating success. Yet many of us put ourselves last and see time or money spent on furthering ourselves as a little indulgent, a luxury or something that can wait. We often feel guilty taking time out for learning and development; think the time is better spent on something urgent or something for someone else; our partner, kids, boss, customer, family or friends. Yet investing in us is important and reaps long term rewards. These rewards are also multi-dimensional; mental, physical, emotional, financial, societal and even global. Hopefully you put money aside for investment purposes, but how much of that is put towards your key asset, you? Investing in yourself every day, every month and every year is not just a smart choice, it is vital. We call this a ‘self investment strategy’ and hopefully you have one in place. If not, it is time you considered creating one. Some tips on creating your self investment strategy.

1. See yourself as an asset Change your mindset and see yourself as a valuable asset. Know you’re worth and value yourself. Like any asset, look after you. If you are still struggling with the notion of you as an asset, try to reframe looking after you from ‘a nice thing to do’ instead see it as vital. We think you’ll see a pretty good return on investment!

2. Take time to plan Having clarity around the kind of growth you want is powerful. Knowing what skills, habits, networks, challenges or learning you believe will take you to the next level is something too few of us do. Try mapping

out at least annual and quarterly self investment goals. Then try and break them down into monthly, weekly or even daily actions. Our Year of You event has been specially designed to do just this and if you want to know more visit yearofyou.com.au we’d love to share this work with you and help you make next year stellar.

3. Get a mentor Having someone to push you, challenge you, listen to you and support you is a great investment in you and the right mentor can really accelerate your growth. Most of us if we have the funds don’t mind paying a personal trainer and we get better results for it. The same is true of a great mentor, you get better results. But so many of us see it as an indulgence. If we see mentors as personal trainers for our lives we can shift this opinion. If you can’t afford a mentor see if you can find someone willing to mentor you for free. But as with all relationships make sure you are bringing value back to them.

4. Get a learning habit Having a learning habit is a great way to continually invest in you. Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual learning habits can make a world of difference. If you don’t grow you eventually slow. Make learning not a nice to get done but a must get done. We get it, you’re busy, it’s a modern condition. Working out how to ‘learn in the cracks’ is a great idea. Finding ways to fit learning into your life. Try reading an article a day, a book chapter before bed or a book summary in between meetings or listen to a podcast in the car. Invite a really smart friend for a walk and talk. Try what Matt Church of Thought Leaders Global calls ‘tedmilling’ meaning he watches a Ted talk on the treadmill. On top of your ‘in the cracks learning’ make sure you put bigger learning into your plan. Try to attend a learning event, podcast or course within a year, or even more if you can. Above all remember you really are worth the investment. Whether it be energy, time or money the more you put into you the more you really do get out. We sure think ‘you’ve got a lot of potential’. Janine Garner & Kieran Flanagan

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DRIVING CHANGE ONE PROJECT AT A TIME - AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH

Jacinta McDonell

ometimes you get the opportunity to spend time with someone that challenges your norm, inspires you to do more and most of all lights a fire of belief in you that anything is possible. For me this was a conversation I had recently with the incredible Jacinta McDonell in her stunning offices in Surry Hills. Our paths have crossed many times over the last few years. Finally we were able to connect in person and I feel incredibly grateful to now consider Jacinta part of my network of amazing women that truly understand the path I am on and what

GLOSS | OCTOBER 2017

collectively is possible when we work together. Surrounded by amazing office design, inspirational quotes adorning walls, a natural light and energy filled atmosphere and the buzz of a team all committed to driving change, Jacinta and I chatted all things business, family and life before she jetted off for a relaxing family weekend in Byron Bay. Jacinta is an inspiration to many Australian business women. A mother of three, Jacinta McDonell was the co-founder behind the launch of the highly successful US franchise Anytime Fitness

into the Australian market in 2008. With over 430 clubs in Australia and over 3,000 clubs with three million members worldwide, Anytime Fitness has grown to be Australia’s number one health club chain. Jacinta has now exited Anytime Fitness and has turned her entrepreneurial passion towards two new business ventures that aim to change the way businesses view ‘Giving’ and ‘Social Responsibility’. She established The Human Kind Project in 2015, a not-forprofit foundation that funds life changing projects in Africa and India, connecting

CO-FOUNDER ANYTIME FITNESS AUSTRALIA, FOUNDER HUMAN KIND PROJECT, FOUNDER URBAN YOGA

projects to businesses to build brand equity whilst creating lasting social change. In December 2015, Jacinta opened a new style of yoga studio in Surry Hills, built around music and immersive design. Jacinta is now creating the companion online yoga and meditation platform due to go live in October with the view to redefine yoga, meditation and how we view wellness. From spending time on Necker Island with Richard Branson and the Virgin Unite team to time in small rural villages in Malawi with The Hunger Project – Jacinta continues to inspire many who are lucky enough to cross her path. Here’s what Jacinta had to say. Janine: What drives you and keeps you going? Jacinta: What drives me is making an impact and a

contribution. Impact and business go hand and hand. If we’re creating a new brand or we’re launching something, I always think – does it have a social impact in the world? If it doesn’t, I won’t be engaged. We travel with Human Kind back to communities that we’re supporting and that’s a real totem for me to stay on purpose. As an entrepreneur, you can have tough days, and think - “Geez, why am I doing this? It’d be easier if I just didn’t.” Then, I remind myself of the opportunity that I have with my education and where I live. I remember I have a purpose, a driving force. Janine: Can you share any specific moments when you’ve stopped and said to yourself “Wow. I am making a difference here?” Jacinta: During my last trip to Malawi I was lucky enough

to travel with a group of entrepreneurs that are really close to me and my network. As a group, we all agreed to fund a community to help them obtain self-reliance, which was actually a pretty big individual financial commitment - for all of us to commit for three years. A lot of the group were really stretching themselves personally and financially to do it. I think that was probably the moment where I realised it’s not just me, with one foundation, writing and donating my money. I always felt I could write a cheque but I want this to be bigger than just me contributing. I want to create a community of people, a collective that are fostering change. It was a really big moment for me, when all of us said, “Let’s do this together.” It’s $700,000 over three years between us. My thoughts were, “Holy

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feature Shit.” Others said “I’ll do this.” Now, as a group, we catch up every two months and talk about how we’re going. We are supporting over 37,000 people. That’s a lot of people! We’ll go back in three years and hopefully by then, the community will be self-reliant. I’m so excited. It was a really big thing for me to realise what, as a collective, can be achieved. Janine: That reminds me of the Margaret Mead quote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”. Does the concept of collaborating in this way apply in your work life, too? Jacinta: Yes it does. I’ve always enjoyed creating things with people that I enjoy spending time with. That’s a huge part of what we do here and why I love working closely with people that I’ve known for a long time. My team are passionate about Human Kind, which is pivotal. It’s embedded in everything that we’re doing now. We are launching a brand later in the year - collaborating with other brands with the same message. Everything that we’re doing within our new brand is one for one. Every product that is purchased from our brand impacts a human. Having collaboration is so important in everything we do.

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Janine: How on earth do you keep yourself match fit with so many projects on the go? Jacinta: For me, there are a few non-negotiables. Yoga and meditation are part of my week - they keep me 80% on point. The other 20% is making sure that I’m prioritising really well what I need to get done, what is important and what’s not important. It’s easy to get caught up in something that seems so big and so important at work, but keeping that perspective – to know it actually doesn’t matter and it probably doesn’t even make a difference if I don’t do it - is really important. And having time being present with my kids is a huge priority. If ever I feel like I need to reset, I’ll leave work early and not get caught in the, “ I need to do this or I need to do that.” Janine: When you look back, what set you on the course you are on? Jacinta: I think business was something I never envisaged, but entrepreneurship - I grew up with. My family owned a business in fitness so being an entrepreneur was always what I was going to do. In the early stages of Anytime Fitness, about eight years ago, I heard Muhammad Yunus speak about social business and it really struck a chord for me. I didn’t do anything about it until four years ago when I went to Malawi with Business Chicks and The Hunger

Project and that was it. I had to do something. Janine: Life isn’t all rainbows, unicorns and wonderful. What strategies do you have in place to hack yourself out of what could be a downward spiral on those not so good days? Jacinta: Part of my mindfulness practise is giving myself the space and permission to figure out if I’m getting caught on something and what is actually concerning me or holding me back. My aim is to ultimately take ownership of whatever is going on. I reset by asking: What am I doing? What haven’t I done that I need to do? Why do I feel like this? What do I need to do differently? It’s easy to blame someone else and not easy to take ownership but you have to learn, let go and move on. Janine: Do you have a core group of people around you that are supporting all you do? Jacinta: Yes. I have a really close core group that understand me and all of my strengths and weaknesses. We have a shared vision that changes over time. The core group that I had 10 years ago is not the core group that I have now. It’s definitely evolved in the last four years. As Human Kind has evolved and, I guess, I’ve evolved in the way that I am, the core group has changed. I think

it’s absolutely critical that the people that surround you are a representation of where you want to be and who you are now, not who you were ten years ago! I was a very different person 10 years ago, so I think it’s critical. I don’t want to lose energy on, or have meaningless conversations with people that don’t share the same values or the same vision as me. I value my time and energy, so I want to share it with people that really nurture me, who I love and want to spend time with. Janine: What’s been the toughest time in your business career so far? Jacinta: I think Anytime (Fitness) was interesting in the journey that we’ve had. We had growth issues - we

grew too quickly in the early days so we struggled with retaining staff and outgrowing staff. That was a tough few years. The exit process has been interesting – coming out the other side. My brother and I had always been in business together and now, it’s just me. It’s been exciting and challenging. I’ve had a number of businesses and they didn’t all do well. People always ask, “Do you regret anything?” My answer is always “No.” Some businesses just aren’t going to work. So, dust yourself off and try again. Janine: What is the big dream for Human Kind? Jacinta: Human Kind exists to connect businesses with causes, taking out the hard work involved. Dealing with

non-profits is a different language. There are so many entrepreneurs who want to do something, but they don’t know where to start. It takes a lot of time and entrepreneurs are already busy with their business. So as much as the desire is there, it’s not always that easy. We go… “Okay, group of amazing entrepreneurs wanting to do something amazing. Here’s a project.” Human Kind have looked into everything, we manage everything. Essentially we help people and brands make a difference. The big plan for Human Kind is to have a whole variety of projects over the next 10 to 20 years. We want to play a huge, active part in ending hunger and poverty by 2030. That’s our

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feature main goal. We focus on any projects that are working towards that. We want to connect entrepreneurs with projects that are completely sustainable and are not bandaids. Everything that we do in terms of our projects is generationally sustainable change. Janine: So how do people get involved? Jacinta: We run leadership trips every 18 months which entrepreneurs and business leaders can attend. We do a full immersion - five days on the ground, in communities learning and seeing resilience in its absolute. You witness leadership from the lives that you’re changing. We also go on safari – so its 10 magical days together as a group. Sometimes, I’ll meet people who are interested in working with us and in this instance, we sit down, discuss what they want to do and if people want to do things where our projects aren’t aligned, we will help steer them in the right direction, providing suggestions and offering ideas. At Human Kind we stick to our core values supporting charities that we’ve looked into heavily and understand what they’re working towards. Janine: If you think of somebody who, by definition, is living a successful life, who would that be? Does it even exist? Jacinta: I think it does. To me, success isn’t, “I’ve got

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an amazing, multi-million dollar business.” I’ve seen a lot of people that have that and they’re unhappy and very stressed. For me, it’s just about freedom. Are you doing what you love? Can you do what you love to do each day and are you enjoying it? That to me is success. I’ve got friends that definitely don’t have multimillion dollar businesses but are hugely successful in terms of how they live their life. I try and keep pretty free and flexible. Do I want to go away next month? Where am I going? I always want my business to allow me that freedom. Success is not having to be somewhere because something would fall over if you’re not there. Travelling at least once a year to see what’s going on and what needs to happen in terms of social impact is key. On my last two trips, my teenager came with me. I want my children to see, sit in the dirt and understand what is happening in a country. I am creating generational change with my kids. Janine: If there was one piece of advice you keep hearing that you wish people didn’t have to hear what would it be? Jacinta: I think it’s the belief that you have to work really really hard and push really really hard and then you’ll make it. It’s not actually true. You could push really hard and not make it. Or you could do things really well and (for

you) it’s not that hard and you do really well. There’s a real misconception about, being an entrepreneur and starting a business. It is not easy, it’s not for everybody, but - it’s not about working harder either. It’s about being smart about it. Work out why you’re different. Don’t just try something because you feel like it’s a good idea. Work out what your purpose is. The underlying purpose for us is to create change in the world and yes, we have a business as a platform to do that. I know for me, if I didn’t have that underlying value, I would not have the energy to keep picking myself up every time business smacks you in the face. That’s what gets me through the tough times. Without it, people would just give up. Resilience is key. The ability to bounce back. You have to enjoy what you’re doing. There is no point working countless hours if you don’t care! There is no overnight success. People say Anytime Fitness came from nowhere. It didn’t. It was 10 years of hard work. Ten years is a long time in business. I think there is a lot of hype and excitement, but it’s like anything. You have to be really good at something for it to be successful. Nobody can just do it. You have to work out why you are truly different. Why does anyone care about your product. I think entrepreneurship is seen to be more glamorous than what it actually is.

Janine: What’s your personal mantra? Jacinta: To truly be who I am all the time. No matter whether it’s business or personal relationships, the conversations I have with people are completely honest and transparent. Sometimes my staff are like, “Geez, that was tough.” But it’s true! Always being me. I want to be who I am, express myself the way I want to express myself. I can be seen as a little blunt - but I don’t care. I think my mantra would be “be who I am, do what I want to do and wherever that lands, that lands.” I don’t care what people think, which is nice. There is freedom in saying “I actually don’t give a shit if you like it or not, but I want to do it so I’m going to do it.” Janine: Who inspires you? Jacinta: The Country Director of The Hunger

Project in Malawi, we see each time we go over. He’s the most amazing human. The resilience to do what he does, day in day out, and his leadership skills. He could be the CEO of any corporation. I know he gets job offers all the time. He once told me “this is what I do and this is why I’m doing it.” People like him inspire me most. Their purpose is bigger than themselves. Janine: What can you learn from people like that? Jacinta: I think too many of us lack perspective. We get caught up in the way things are done - so that’s the way we have to do it, versus actually thinking, how do I want to approach this differently? How are we going to achieve the result not doing the same thing we’ve always done? We get so micro in our businesses

that we don’t allow ourselves to get macro and look at it with fresh eyes. A lot of people say, “you can’t do that because nobody’s done it.” What if it works? Maybe it’s fun doing something differently. Janine: Do you think intuition has a part to play in successful leadership? Jacinta: Yes it plays a huge part. I didn’t always listen to my intuition – when I couldn’t logically explain something people wouldn’t entertain the idea. Now I know to trust my gut. I trust it more than I trust my logical brain. Sometimes it’s wrong but sometimes it’s right. I naturally make decisions trusting my instincts. If you want to know more about the Human Kind Project you can contact Jacinta at jacinta@ humankindproject.org.au

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{business}

noun 1. a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regular occupation, profession, or trade 2. commercial activity

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business

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WHY I’M EXPERIMENTING WITH

REMOTE WORK I’ll be experimenting with working remotely for the next 3-4 months – working from co-working spaces in Australia, Japan, Vietnam and India. This article is about why.

ver the last 24 months our team has organically moved towards a more and more globally distributed team. It wasn’t deliberate at first, but has now become part of who we are as a team. There are a few drivers for this change: Step 1: Hire remote talent We found super-talented people who wanted to join our team who were located outside our home city of Birmingham UK. We decided to hire them anyway and have them work with us remotely. It really worked for us – the talent we brought onboard was really high calibre and it felt like our team was more productive than we’d ever been before. Step 2: Build remote culture We quickly realised that we needed to build a deeper culture around remote working in

order to make our team a rewarding one to be part of - for everyone. If half the team is onsite and the other half work from elsewhere – it’s easy to adopt a “local team” vs. “remote team” mentality – judging each differently and having a different level and type of communication with each. Here are a few examples of things we changed to create a remote culture in our team: • All meetings which include a remote person are automatically held via Google Hangouts – and each team member logs in separately. This is important – because otherwise it feels like the remote person is separate/further away. If everyone is on Google hangouts, it changes the feel of the meeting. • We still wanted to build strong bonds between everyone in the team, so, we started organising team retreats. Our first

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one was to Budapest in March 2016, our second to Prague in December 2016. We flew the whole team out to live, work and spend time with each other in person. Step 3: Remote policy We made it a policy that anyone can work from anywhere. Those of us working on-site still ended up in the office. But, over time, this team is also starting to work remotely. Each of us spend afternoons or entire days working from home or from coffee shops, and Viktor, our CTO, moved to Edinburgh to explore a new city. Back to my plans So, it’s in that context that I’m travelling for the next few months. I’ll be working from co-working spaces around the world (https:// nomadlist.com/ is a great resource for that!) Roughly my plans are: March: Australia & Japan April: Vietnam May: India Managing timezones In each time zone I’ll be shifting some of my working day to later in the day in order to make it easier to work with the UK (World Time Buddy is an awesome tool to help) Australia GMT + 11 - work 19:00 - 22:00 (UK 08:00 - 11:00) Vietnam GMT + 7 - work 18:00 - 21:00 (UK 11:00 - 14:00) India - GMT + 5.30 - work 18:00 - 20:00 (UK 12.30 - 14.30) So, it’s that easy? To be entirely honest, I’m a little stressed at the concept of not being in the office. But I like the idea of working remotely, and I like to push myself to try new things. So here goes. Biggest challenge: Attending meetings. As a product/sales CEO, I’m often in meetings. Those will need to take place remotely now – although I can fly back for some meetings of course. Minor issue: Post. I’ve actually found some cool companies that open my post and scan

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overhead business non-junk to my email – they even pay in cheques! I’m pretty sure I’ll be using them when I’m back in the UK also! Expected benefits I’ve definitely been inspired by Joel from Buffer and my other remote-working friends to take this jump. Buffer have a great blog post on the big benefits of working remotely and I look forward to seeing how it works out for our team. You can read their blog post here: https://open.buffer.com/distributedteam-benefits/ That’s all from me! Here’s to a productive 3-4 months getting loads of stuff done while working remotely! You should try it - Go on I dare you! Thanks to: Joel Gascoigne for the original inspiration to do remote working and; Jodie Cook for recommendations on Nomad List and World Time Buddy.

NICK HOLZHERR Nick is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO of HR software company Air (www.joinair.com) and food tech company Whisk.com. He raised over $2m in funding from technology investors and pitched Whisk. com to Lord Sugar after getting to the final of the BBC Apprentice 2012, where he achieved the series’ best task-win record. Nick also blogs at nickholzherr.com and is available on twitter under @nickholzherr. Key links: www.joinair.com | www.whisk.com | www.nickholzherr.com

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ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE

FROM THE GET-GO

t a recent conference, the presenter before me started strong with a great topic and a room full of people. But she soon started struggling. She read – no, rambled – from prompt cards, so we couldn’t understand what she was saying and then completely ran over time (15 minutes into my time slot). Realising she was late, she then rushed the end, skipped over cramped slides and key points and left not with a bang, but a slow,

dying fizzle. Everyone in the audience was left wondering, what just happened? When we present, we only get one chance to impress our audience, to engage them and make an impact. We are judged from the moment we open to the minute we finish – our squeaky voice, shuffle of feet or terrible clip-art slides and prompts. That’s why it’s imperative that you invest the time to plan and practise a presentation, if you want your audience to invest their time in you.

“You must make your audience feel like the hero of your presentation – not like they are burning in hell.”

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Start with a strong foundation Your presentation content includes the way you plan, prepare and create what you are saying and how you say it. It is the foundation to successful communication and to engaging your audience.

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Why are you presenting? What is at the heart of what you want to communicate? These may seem like obvious questions, but it is amazing how many people put a presentation together without having clear answers to these. When you know WHY you are giving a presentation, you can decide what content goes in, and more importantly, what content stays out. Without this, you could be the best speaker in the world, but still fail to engage or influence your audience. Take your time Presentations should be treated no differently to any other marketing collateral or consumerfacing information. In fact, you should invest more care, attention, time and effort into them because shareholders, customers, clients, colleagues and the public see them time and time again. The challenge most of us face is pulling the information for a presentation together and designing the slides to be on brand – often at the last hurried minute.

“Being invited to present is a privilege; but failing to deliver can be career suicide.”

If you don’t nail your foundation, through a well-planned structure and message – your presentation will remain rocky, forever. The truth is that the design and delivery of your presentation are not the main factors that will determine if your presentation hits the mark and delivers on your objective – it’s actually your content. It relies on how you define your purpose, how your message resonates with the audience, the words you’re using to transfer that message, and your images that will present it.

Finding the time to research, write, design and rehearse is a constant challenge. We’re often run off our feet with an increasing workload and other deadlines. You might be doing the best you can, but sometimes the best is not enough. Take the time to assess the beliefs, values and needs that make your audience tick. You’ll need to get into their shoes at the start, walk with them through the presentation in the middle and listen to their feedback at the end. Renowned motivational speaker Tony Robbins thoroughly researches his prospective audience before a presentation or event so

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feature business that he understands what drives them, and can tailor his material specifically to their needs. Consider: • Who is in your audience? • What do they want to hear? • What do they already know? • Why should they care? • What problems will this solve for them? • What reasons will convince them? • What’s in it for them? Plan a Hollywood blockbuster Think of the last good movie you watched. It likely had bright images, a compelling script, music, rhythm and heroic characters. All these elements came together and made you feel something. They made you feel an emotion – excited, sad, angry even apathy. Stories, whether it’s the latest Hollywood blockbuster or an investor presentation, provoke our emotions. They help us feel something towards the person telling the story, i.e. the presenter, you, which helps create connection, credibility and trust. A good presentation reads like a good movie. It needs to balance analytical logic with an emotional connection. In the business world, emotion was once seen as inappropriate because of it was thought that problem solving and decision making should rely on our logic and analysis. This simply isn’t true.

In fact, studies have shown that 74% of participants have changed their decision after their emotion was changed. So it’s this kind of connection you are aiming for. Make it personal The more authentic and personal you are in the delivery of your presentation, the more your audience will connect with you and your message. Remember you are sharing a story so your tone needs to match the tone of your presentation visuals and your personality. You must make sure you are remembered for your passion and persuasion, not for rambling and making everyone late. Practise your presentation, over and over, again and again. There’s nothing worse than watching someone looking down, reading a script from scorecards. While very few people get a presentation right the first time (and you can only learn from getting it wrong), it is this preparation that will help reduce any nerves and anxiety on the day. If all else fails, Duarte, the world’s leading presentation company, has a GOLDEN RULE of presentations:

Don’t deliver a presentation you wouldn’t want to sit through!

EMMA BANNISTER Emma Bannister is passionate about presenting big, bold and beautiful ideas. She is the founder and CEO of Presentation Studio, APAC’s largest presentation communication agency, and author of upcoming book ‘Visual Thinking: How to transform the way you think, communicate and influence with presentations.’ Presentations Studio’s three-stage training programs are available for public workshops and corporate teams: 1. VISUALSTORY® Understand your audience, define your message and discover the art of storytelling to improve understanding, retention and drive action. 2. DESIGN 101 Learn the tricks of the trade so you can design faster, more effective and visually appealing slides that leave your audience impressed. 3. PUBLIC SPEAKING Master your delivery and improve your voice and gestures. Boost your confidence, and ensure you are remembered for all the right reasons. www.presentationstudio.com www.emmabannister.com

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Our communication training

BRINGS OUT THE BEST PRESENTATION SKILLS IN EVERYONE Presentation Studio are providing world class presentation training from the Global leaders, Duarte – exclusively throughout APAC.

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Understand your audience, define your message and discover the art of storytelling to improve understanding and retention, whilst driving action.

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Public workshop dates or team bookings are available: Call: +612 9046 7000

Email: training@presentationstudio.com

Website: www.presentationstudio.com

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THE ENGAGED CUSTOMER

THE NEW GOLD AND HOW TO GET IT On the one hand, you’ve got a few seconds to engage your customers; on the other, you’ve got to engage them over a lifetime.

upposedly we now have an eight second attention span, a second lower than the notoriously distracted goldfish; and with endless consumer choices, moving targets and shifting sentiment, we have to work even harder to keep the love that we have. It’s a difficult challenge, one that retailers face every day. But one study after another has confirmed that customers who are more engaged with us, stay and spend more. So being focussed on engagement makes absolute sense.

Customer engagement - the new gold Engagement can seem quite complex when you first wade into the pool of customer loyalty statistics and techniques. On average though, the majority of consumers say loyalty is driven by likeability. Trust and consistency are also important and personalisation is a way to get it. Brands need to recognise that ‘customer’ is not a department that a team owns, or a function on an organisation chart - it’s a mindset - that needs to be embedded across the business - from business strategy all the way to the shop floor. True ‘customer intimacy’ means knowing the ins and outs of each specific customer 1. Why they need your product - if it’s discretionary, why are they coming to you rather than your competitor? 2. Why they like it - is it the brand values, quality, availability, packaging, value adds? 3. What they like about it - including what parts of your offering they prefer, if you have a large range.

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4. How they consume it - that’s not just about the lifecycle, for example, do they start with a sampler and build to favourites. We also need to know about their instore versus online behaviour. How do you know? Ask them. Directly. But, you need to read between the lines - the answers they leave behind are in their data, each time they engage with you. The big brand mistake - ‘what’s your name again?’ Imagine if every time you went to brunch with a group of casual friends one of them asked, what’s your name (again)?

overhead business After a while, it would become quite frustrating. You would assume, probably correctly, that the person didn’t really care about you. You would feel less valued and likely become disengaged, sit somewhere else or ignore them next time around. Brands do this a lot. I think brands that treat every customer as if they’re any other customer are making a big mistake. In this day and age there are countless tools that help customise and personalise communication. Or go a step further and show customers, rather than tell them, that you value them. How? 1. Be personal. If you send out electronic direct mail (EDM), use a first name. 2. Be friendly. Speak to them, don’t write at them. We know naturally how to interact with friends, yet somehow freeze up, add a layer of risk aversion, become corporate and distant when addressing customers. 3. Respond to them. Half of customers would take their business to a competitor within a day of experiencing poor customer service. People want good, fast customer service and are willing to spend anywhere from 3% to 20% more on items from a business that engages with them through Twitter. 4. Make them special. Do you have VIP nights for loyal customers? Do you have ways to say thank you to people who love you rather than putting all your time and energy into acquiring new clients? Think about the message you send when new clients get the special offers, the premium queues. Once a provider loses a customer, 68% of consumers will not go back!

5 tips for brands 1. Know your purpose. If you know what problem you are trying to solve, you know what customers you will acquire and the kinds of team you need to serve them. It sounds like business 101 but a lack of clarity leads all sorts of brand chaos. 2. Know your customer intimately. Segment your customer by whatever dimensions you need to get respectfully personal. 3. Be where your customer is. If most of your customers visit your store on a Saturday at 10am then so should you. Spend a day on the floor. Be a mystery shopper, rather than outsourcing your mystery shopping. 4. Invest in always-on training. Training must be at the heart of your business. Staff should know your product inside out. You should be able to anticipate and answer every customer question, in store or online and in interesting ways, like using small, social videos on your website. 5. Empower your teams to provide solutions. Have team meetings. Set frameworks without dictating minutia so you can let staff show initiative and personality. Make service about living your brand values, rather than rigid rules. Be authentic.

RACHEL KELLY Rachel is founder of The Retail Collective, an expert at building global retail brands and organisational transformation and integration. Passionate about shaping and empowering the next generation of retail leaders and entrepreneurs to realise and unlock sustained value. Rachel@theretailcollective.com.au | theretailcollective.com.au

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ENGAGING

(fewer) (more) EMPLOYEES AND DELIVERING

More with Less If you’re in a situation where you are being asked to deliver more work with fewer resources, I have four words for you you are not alone! For some people, knowing that they are not alone might provide comfort. These leaders will get on with the job, support their teams the best way they know how and look for opportunities to improve morale and celebrate successes as they come along. For others, it will not provide comfort at all and they’ll continue to discuss (at any opportunity) how unfair/ unsustainable/outrageous these situations are. These leaders belong in the 80’s… because they clearly lack the skills and emotional intelligence that is required to lead teams in today’s ever changing and challenging environment.

Employee Engagement Employee engagement gets talked about a lot these days and quite rightly so! We are working in a time where the 40 hour work

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WORK!

week is talked about as something that existed in ‘the olden days’. Our employees are often contactable and available 24/7, and the right to be who you are wherever you go is (finally) starting to prevail over having to live up to a predetermined corporate image. Employee engagement is about creating a work environment where all employees can contribute their best through being themselves to achieve both organisational and personal goals. Think this sounds simple? Then why do so many leaders find this so hard? The approach required to lead an engaged workforce is a far cry from the good old times

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of ‘Command and Control’ where the boss (traditionally pale, stale and male) would bark orders from the corner office and everyone else would diligently run around fulfilling his requirements. Men were dressed in suits and women wore an appropriate variation of blouse & skirt or neck to knee dress. Oh how perfect! Except the people weren’t happy. The only saving grace was that people weren’t at work for that long. Nowadays people work longer and harder, so they have developed the desire to want to enjoy what they do while they are at work. They want to like the people that they spend time with at work, and they want to be respected for who they are while they are there. Multiply those three needs by the number of people you have in your business and this is the number of needs you are aiming to meet to

achieve an engaged workforce. But thankfully, it’s really not that hard. Personalisation And by personalisation, I don’t mean you should monogram all your staff! But the same logic does apply. Make it personal to them. The best thing leaders can do as they start to engage their teams, is just get to know them as people. Of course

this assumes that all teams are made up of people technically competent enough to do their jobs, so we’ll leave performance issues for another article. Getting to know employees is the first step to understanding what they like, what they dislike and what they need to work excellently in your team. Are they morning or afternoon people? Introverts or extroverts? High needs or low needs? – knowing all of this helps leaders take a personalised approach to leading a team, regardless of size. You can work on a one size fits most approach for somethings and then have a more unique approach to others and before you know it, the majority of your teams needs are met. Work Life Blend Most people have given up talking about striving for a ‘Work Life Balance’ and they now just accept there is simply life. Taking a whole

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possible in their roles. Additionally, helping your team set some personal goals at the same time as you are setting up their annual business goals is a great way to show that you care as much about them as you do about the work that they do.

of life or a blended approach to managing teams and getting to know people is also an effective way to build employee engagement. Instead of pretending employees should leave their private life at the door on the way in, they should be encouraged to share what’s happening at home, or at the very least know they can if they chose to. Pretending to be someone you are not requires a lot of energy! Energy that could be otherwise channelled into their work. Stuff happens…constantly! Why pretend it doesn’t? Having your employees know that it’s safe to talk about personal problems or celebrate personal successes at work is critical to having them in the right headspace to be as effective as

Clear Visions vs Deadlines I’m a MASSIVE planner. I’m all for setting deadlines so teams are clear on what is required and when. However, I’ve discovered a far more effective way to get greater engagement and a better overall result is to share the clear vision or big picture of what I’m trying to achieve and why I’m trying to achieve it. You still need to include timeframes and requirements in your message, but in my experience sharing information (the WHY) will get you better results than requesting the WHAT every time. Sometimes, you’ll even get things delivered sooner too. Simply providing a deadline makes people focus on a date and a process, but sharing the story gets them focusing on so much more. Leaders spend a lot of time under pressure, and all too often that pressure results in them underestimating what their teams are capable of. Focusing on creating an engaged workforce that supports both employee and employer goals is the key to unlocking everyone’s full potential and creating opportunities of personal and commercial success.

ALISON FLEMMING Alison Flemming is General Manager, Operations Finance for Scentre Group (owner and operator of Westfield Shopping Centres in Australia and New Zealand). Alison ensures her team of over 60 hold superior business partner relationships in the delivery of the operating profit results. Alison is also a mentor with Chartered Accountants in Australia & New Zealand and Layne Beachely’s Aim for the Stars. Alison describes herself as a lifeaholic who squeezes as much into her life, both personally and professionally as possible. aflemming@scentregroup.com

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Your Next Career Move VIDEO SERIES > Are you FRUSTRATED that you can’t get in front of a recruiter? > Do you hear about roles AFTER they’ve been filled? > Do you always come SECOND to ‘someone with industry experience’? This five part video series has been created to assist Senior Executives be more strategic in their next career move. After 17+ years of Australian recruitment experience, 1000 roles filled and 5500 interviews we know how frustrating engineering your next career move can be. If you are not approaching your search with a strategic mindset, you will lose control and become powerless in what may already be an emotionally vulnerable time.

For an investment of $150, this video series will give you and your job hunt the best chance at success. Learn insider tips from an expert who cares about people, not numbers; careers, not jobs. Visit The Shop at www.karaatkinson.com

T 02 9899 4455 E hello@karaatkinson.com Level 5, Nexus Norwest 4 Columbia Court, Baulkham Hills NSW 2153

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THE IMPORTANCE OF AUDIO VISUAL IN A

SUCCESSFUL EVENT We say to our customers, “Never underestimate the importance of using good quality, high impact audio visual equipment.” It is the crucial difference between a forgetful corporate event and an exciting experience that leaves a lasting message.

udio visual communication is a productive form of communication. Using sound and lighting equipment improves communication by heightening the awareness of your audience’s sight and hearing. Audiences who use more of their senses to engage at events remember those events for a longer period of time. Their retention of the event material 3 days after an event is 6 times greater when the information is presented using creative AV. Not all people are auditory learners who can obtain information from lectures and speeches. Many people are visual learners who respond better to still or moving images. It is the combination of sight and sound that promotes and reinforces this retention, and enables an audience to better connect to the brand or message. AV makes

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it easier for your audience to psychologically access and remember information once they have left the event. AV can also save your business time! If a subject matter contains too much information, the ability to widely present projected visual aids such as pie charts, graphs, diagrams, photographs, video shorts and animation can often help explain a subject matter quickly, and again be more easily absorbed by the audience. Audio visual equipment allows the presenter to engage the audience, provide additional information, reinforce key points, emphasise whatever is being said, clarify points, and create excitement. Presenters that use AV build audiences that are better equipped to put event information

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to use in real life business situations. And presenters who use AV are more persuasive than those who don’t. We all know competition in the business world is as strong as ever. It is important to stand apart from your competition in the minds of people who matter i.e. stakeholders,

customers, investors and the press. Using quality AV equipment is an effective way to achieve this. At Impact AV Australia, we improve the communication of our customer’s brand and message through the use of sound and light.

KATH CREEL Kath Creel is known for providing excellence in audio visual services for more than two decades. Her company, Impact AV Australia, is a leader in the Australian events industry since 1998. Communication is the hallmark of her brand and as an excellent communicator Kath Creel strives to communicate clients’ brand and message. Kath Creel, Marketing Director, Impact AV Australia P/L 14/4a Bachell Ave, Lidcombe NSW 2141 PH Australia: 1300 633 328 Intl: +61 2 9643 5844 Fax: +61 2 9643 8602 E kath@impactav.com.au W www.impactav.com.au

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LEADING OTHERS

TO SHINE We all know that the best leaders bring out the best in their people. Be it sporting leaders, cultural and community leaders or organisational leaders, they all somehow seem to possess the keys to unlocking the ‘shine’ in those who are fortunate enough to work with and for them.

n today’s rapidly changing world, this commitment to unlocking the shine in others has never been so great. Why? Because when individuals shine, they maximize not only their performance

merely a noun. Its true effectiveness lies in the everyday actions we take to grow capability, create options, problem solve and inspire others to achieve more. Edward Hallowell, author of Shine: Using Brain Science To Get The Best From Your People notes “All people want to work hard and will work hard, given the right job and the right conditions, because it feels supremely good to excel. Deep within us all beats a primal desire to contribute something of value to this world and to stand out as a positive person in the eyes of others. Great leaders and managers make this happen.” Like a puzzle we therefore need to firstly make sure that we have the right people, in the right place at the right time. This can be easier said than done, especially when you have a change in business direction that requires new and

“People who shine from within don’t need the spotlight” Anon and efficiency but they show up engaged, committed and ready to act. When we have a whole team that shines we maximize organisational performance and by default our own capability and leadership potential. All to often we hear about the need for more leaders but really what we need is more leadership. Leadership is most powerful when used as a verb and not

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different roles and a loyal workforce that has become comfortable in what and how they do things. Failing to address these changes though, is like death by a thousand paper cuts that slowly bleeds

So what can we as leaders do to cultivate high engagement and opportunities for others to shine? I would encourage you to consider the following 7 steps: • Get clear on your business/team goals: In order to create opportunities for those in our team, we need to be crystal clear on what it is we need to do, the timeframes and why. • Know your own strengths and those of your team: Understanding your strengths (and blind spots) allows you to operate with not only a higher degree of productivity but also bravery and curiosity. When you and your team are able to be honest and transparent about what you do well, you will attract opportunities that capitalize on your individual and collective talents and passions. • Align talents with opportunities: Complete the jigsaw – match individual talents with business opportunities. It is only when we do that the best in each individual will be bought to light.

away all elements of success, engagement and potential at both an individual and organisational level. As Edward Hallowell notes, it is only when people are in the right jobs that their brains light up.

• Build connection: It is important that individuals build connection between what they do and why as well as with whom they do it. Identifying and building this connection is of paramount importance if we are to build lasting success. Great leaders create a connection to what is possible: too many people in our workforce are disconnected with themselves and what they do because they can no longer see or believe what is possible. • Create a ‘psychologically safe’ workplace: If we are to commit to growth and innovation we need to create workplaces that allow us to explore, ideate and become curious without the fear of retribution or penalty. It is only when we feel safe that we are prepared to take the risk to try new things! • Recognise valuable contribution: Creating a culture that recognizes valuable contributions, motivates others to strive for greatness and peak performance. Creating a culture that helps people to shine is a catalyst for future success.

MARGOT ANDERSEN Margot Andersen is a global leadership and talent mobility expert. Working with organisations to eliminate siloed ways of thinking and working she essentially helps leaders to get people and information moving to drive innovation and commercial success. www.margotandersen.com | margot@margotandersen.com 0400 336 318

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EXPERIENCE:

YOUR FUTURE GAME PLAN World, disrupted. We’re in the middle of the largest, most rapid change in human history. It’s driven by an exploding population obsessed with making and consuming smarter, faster and cooler technology. There are three forces shaping the business landscape in our disrupted world. • The world is flat. We’re not trying to outplay an influential accountant in the next suburb; we’re competing with outsourced intelligence from India. We’re not pitting ourselves against a personal trainer on the other side of the country. Instead, we’re up against global players like Nike Training Club and celebrity trainers like Jillian Michaels or Shannan Ponton. • The signal is the noise. There are more smartphones on our planet than people

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(PwC, 2013). We see two million TV commercials before we reach ‘middle’ age. You can shout all you want, but trying to get your voice heard is like standing under a waterfall and using an umbrella to stay dry. Pointless. • The power is the people. We are courting people who are loaded with options and not afraid to flex their choice muscle. For every Woolworths, there’s a Coles. For every Uber there’s a Shebah. There are thousands of hours of ready-to-stream content on Netflix (or Stan). There’s so much choice, choosing is impossible. Your future needs a new game plan. The more choice, higher expectation and less attention trifecta means beige businesses bust. We need to do things differently in

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order to stay afloat. But what? There are three options. 1. Sales. (The money game). A hardcore game, played by giants. It focuses on product and price—specifically pushing more product at a cheaper price. This strategy is like an arms race: you can only drop price or quality so far to compete. Unless you’re Amazon or Alibaba, someone, somewhere will beat your offer. You’re a commodity. When you’re competing on price, the market sees you as disposable. They’re happy to buy what you’re selling while the price is good, but when something better comes along, it’s hasta la vista. Your customers are in a constant state of readiness to actively disengage and go somewhere else. 2. Service. (The feel-good game). Admirably, this game focusses on building relationships between you and your customers. It is the foundation upon which great business is built. But it’s yesterday’s A game and it’s not enough to future proof you. A service focus gives business owners a false sense of security. It’s a bit like chasing a 10km run with a cheese cake: on one hand we’re choosing exercise, while on the other hand we’re white-anting our fitness goals. Fact is, you can’t outrun a cheesecake and it’s the same with service: eventually you’ll be caught by a competitor who’s lifted their performance to the next level.

3. Experience. (The future game.) The experience game recognises humans buy with their hearts and not with their heads. Experience is everything that makes your customers feel something: it’s not a widget. It’s not a bespoke product, beautifully packaged and sent express to your door. It isn’t a smoothly connected online and offline environment, nor is it creating memories for your most valuable business assets; your customers. It’s all of these things. And, it’s the only way to future proof your business. When you focus on experience you make: • A name for yourself. People know what you stand for, which makes it easy for them to choose you. Two-thirds (64%) of people cite brand value alignment as the reason they shop with a brand (Ion Interactive, 2017) • Your customers happy. People feel good dealing with you. Companies whose focus in on experience realise a 20% increase in customer satisfaction (Forbes, 2016) • More money. People pay more for a better experience. And because they’re happy, they’re loyal. You don’t need to keep shelling out on customer acquisition. Just a 2% increase in customer retention is the same as a 10% decrease in costs (Ion Interactive, 2017) As Robin Sharma says, businesses who miss the memo on emotional drivers for purchase decisions might just lose their business. What are you doing to deepen engagement and deliver experience?

DR EMILY VERSTEGE Dr Emily Verstege is a strategist, who makes it simple for people to thrive amongst complexity, stretched purse strings and data overload. By asking the right questions and focusing on what people want, Emily helps her clients build better products, deliver stronger financial returns and make their customers happy.

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{money}

noun 1. a current medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes 2. coins and banknotes collectively

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money

WHY ARE WE SO FUCKED UP

WHEN IT COMES TO MONEY?

few years ago I was asked to speak at the launch of the ultimate bad sex guide, 50 Shades of Grey. Now, I appreciate it may seem strange to ask a financial advisor to speak about money before a film that is almost completely about sex. Perhaps you’re thinking I was the metaphorical bucket of cold water. Whatever the reason, I was so glad to be asked. Not because I wanted to watch 50 Shades of Grey. I still haven’t read the book and wouldn’t have watched the movie if left to my own

devices. Not because I’m a prude. I simply object to bad storylines. After all, if I’m going to fill a sneaky few hours with sex, I’d rather fill it with sex and fashion by watching an episode of Sex and the City, or sex and laughter by listening to a podcast of My Dad Wrote a Porno. Sex and awkwardness while sitting in a dark theatre with fifty others, watching Christian Grey earnestly spank someone, just doesn’t appeal to me. Strangely. So why was I so happy to speak before a movie I felt so uncomfortable about?

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Because of the connection between sex and money. Once upon a time sex had an almighty ‘ick’ factor associated with it. Sex simply wasn’t a subject that was talked about in polite company. Nice girls didn’t talk about it – and they certainly didn’t own up to wanting more of it. Thanks to Sex and the City and other television series, books, magazines and movies that dealt with it irreverently and cleverly, it gradually became OK to talk about sex. Not just over cocktails (when you hoped you wouldn’t remember the conversation in the morning), but suddenly it’s OK to talk blowjobs over brunch. Somehow the ick factor was removed from sex because the shame was lifted. Simply by bringing the subject into the light of day and talking (and laughing) about it. Fast forward to me, an accountant and money expert, talking financial fairy-tales to a bunch of women (and some poor blokes) who had flocked to watch a movie that was unashamedly about sex. I, for one, would love money to be given the same treatment. Now some might argue it already has. The movie The Wolf of Wall Street certainly idolised money, and there have been many books and films both before and since where the making of money has been lauded. But what about the vulnerability associated with money? What about the shame?

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What about the ick factor, which means we aren’t prepared to have those awkward money conversations (which is most money conversations that don’t involve property prices if we’re completely honest)? So, we don’t ask a girlfriend during a long lunch if she’s racking up a large credit card bill because she seems to be doing a little too much emotional spending. We don’t want to cause offence by asking a beloved relative whose husband has passed away if she is going to be able to pay the bills. And we don’t talk about exactly how much we want our business to net a profit, because we don’t want to be judged. I’ve found myself in all three financial scenarios and I’m sure you can relate to at least one of them. The question I have for you is, did you speak up? If not, why? I can answer that for you. It’s the reason why for at least one of those situations I said nothing. We still feel awkward, uncomfortable and impolite talking about money. Which is exactly why we need to start having real conversations about finances. I met with a good friend to talk about her business. I think she beautifully described why we don’t talk about money. At our very first meeting it quickly became clear she felt she wasn’t in a great place financially and was extremely embarrassed about it. She told me she felt incredibly vulnerable about coming to see me – and gave me a long explanation as to why that was, before she even began to talk about finances. She even told me that she’d cancelled the appointment twice and had been tempted to cancel again. Eventually, we were about to get started. She stopped, grabbed my arm and said, “I feel like I’m about to get naked.” Her choice of words and her vulnerability capture why I was so pleased to be invited to speak before a movie that was all about sex. The reason so many women leave the lights off in the bedroom to have sex is the same reason we’re also leaving the lights off on our finances. We’re ashamed that someone will see and judge us.

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And, often, even we don’t want to acknowledge the mess we’re in. Which means yes, I know some of you aren’t even opening bank statements or other financial correspondence you don’t feel comfortable with! If you can’t look at something or talk about something, it’s going to have an almighty ick factor attached to it. Which is exactly what’s happening with money. Part of the reason I believe we’re so vulnerable and feel so icky about money is because of the extremes associated with it. If you don’t have enough money, if you’re not earning what you think you should be, or if you have too much debt, there can be enormous shame involved. Perhaps it’s because we worry what people will think of us if they see the financial mess we’re in. Or perhaps we don’t think we’re earning enough to keep up appearances for the suburb we live in, the school our kids go to, or the people we associate with. Whatever the reason, we’re ashamed because of our perceived deficit. Or perhaps it’s more to do with the opposite extreme. While it seems to be quite acceptable for men to say they want more money, is it OK for a woman to say she wants to be financially successful and wealthy? Particularly if, say, like me, she has chosen not to have a family? Or if she is a working mother? Does that make her selfish somehow, or less feminine? Is there judgement involved with women wanting to have more money, in the same way that, pre-Samantha, women might have felt about coming out and saying they enjoyed sex and wanted more of it? Or if you’re a man and your wife is earning more than you, does that make you feel less of

a man? Or just if your mates found out? What about if you chose to stay home and look after the kids for a year? Do the (mainly) women at the school ground think less of you because you’re not a provider? At the end of the day one thing is clear – even if we’re not talking about money, there’s a whole lot of judgement involved. Which is why we may as well talk about it. I believe we need to acknowledge the vulnerability and awkwardness involved with talking about money and have the conversation anyway. To begin talking about all facets of money, not just the socially acceptable parts like buying property – and by talking about it, remove the ickiness. So rather than talking over coffee or cocktails about your latest sexual adventures, why not move on to talking about money: your goals, your dreams, how you’re going with them and where you’re really at. It’s time to turn on the light in the bedroom and remove the ick factor from one of the last remaining taboos: money. Or at the very least, get financially naked and take a good look at yourself in the mirror. Acknowledge your situation today for what it is. Perhaps it’s not something you’re proud of – but is it something you’re prepared to work on? I mean, for f*ck’s sake, let’s just get over ourselves and start adulting when it comes to money. Melissa’s new book Unf*ck your Finances will be available in all book-stores in February 2018. You can start financially adulting with her at The Money Barre www.themoneybarre.com.au

MELISSA BROWNE Entrepreneur, accountant, financial adviser, author, speaker and shoe addict. melissa@byata.com.au | 1300 692 228 www.melissabrowne.com.au

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money

Find your inner

FREAK Arthur Conan Doyle says… “Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly recognizes genius.” The question is what is your talent? Your genius? What are you freakishly good at?

While you’re scrolling back through your mind to find your inner freak, you’re probably smiling to yourself about your crazy skills. I’m great at jumping out of bed after a late night and flying out the door for a run. My family’s good genes I guess. With one, well placed question, you already know I have drive. I like to exercise, I like to stay up late and I have an energetic family. If you really listened to my answer, you’d already have four contacts points to continue the conversation. And that’s the skill of engagement; customer engagement, family engagement, supplier engagement - engagement with people. Ask the right question, then listen to the answer and ask the next right question.

Great questions lead to great conversations.

You know that great feeling when you meet someone for the first time and you quickly get to a place of comfortable conversation? That’s not a fluke, it’s an art and better still it can be learned. As a business owner, I’m naturally inclined to talk a lot about my brand: it’s capabilities, it’s key benefits, it’s one defining difference, but I’ve learnt to flip the conversation and ask the most powerful question of all: What do you want?

Everyone yearns to be heard.

When I approach a potential customer, I remind myself of my genuine desire to meet their needs because I’m providing a highly skilled real estate service that they don’t

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have. I look for genuine responses that lead to a wealth of information I can use to quickly identify how my brand can meet their needs. And for me conversation means all communication with the public. Brief everyone who represents your brand to empathise with the target market, have real conversations about their issues - big and small. Get them thinking positive thoughts about their own brand of freak and how you understand them, then provide the solutions, solve the problems, create the good outcomes.

Define your freak.

Have a point of difference and love it. Change it when it gets stale or is copied. A good friend of mine always asks the dinner party question. Would you rather sit next to someone successful, famous or interesting? You need to be the interesting one at the dinner party. One topic won’t cut it. If you’re a runner and the guy next to you only ever exercises his JAG, talk about the scenic route on your last run. A brand that can change the conversation and still stay on message can last the distance and the dinner party.

Learn to love all feedback.

Having a clear plan, knowing how to execute it and then being able to revise it is a great plan. Test and learn! Tell your market: “Here’s something we think you might like”. Do they like it? Well, sales will tell you but to truly connect - invite comment. Social media is all about being heard. If you understand your market, you’ll naturally

money

have more targeted conversations. With good analysis, you can overlay the feedback on your Business Model then decide what’s valid, what’s interesting and where you could best correct or broaden your offering. A twoway conversation allows you to be agile and deliver services and products your customer really wants.

How much is too much?

We’re all aware of the ‘keep it simple’ mantra but my enthusiasm can often overwhelm my good intentions. So, I keep listening and looking for the signs of Milly Brigden brand fatigue. Make sure there’s an ‘unsubscribe strategy’ in all communication, even face-toface conversations. As soon as it’s not fun, it’s boring. You don’t want to be ‘that person’ at the dinner party. Keep it short and simple, one message at a time. One clear message leading to another clear message.

Remember to say thank you.

Seriously. Follow up is so important and it starts the next conversation. Negative feedback needs a thank you too. Sometimes harsh criticism cuts through to the core issue and exposes gaps in your communication. In my face-to-face business as a property buyer, the conversations are the single most important part of my work. Starting a conversation is not a tactic, it’s human nature to connect with others and if it’s genuine, whether or not you progress through to a sale, you’ve made another valuable connection and reinforced your brand. It’s the fast track to loyalty and growth and it’s been successfully practised for thousands of years. If you’re wondering what I’m doing when I’m up late, I’m fine tuning my conversational skills at dinner parties. Mostly. Tell me the one thing you’re freakishly good at, I’d love to hear from you.

MILLY BRIGDEN I’m Milly Brigden owner and founder of Milly Brigden Property Advantage. I have 23 years experience as a property investor. Property Investment Specialist | Buyers Agent | Licensed Real Estate Agent m@millybridgen.com.au | www.millybrigden.com.au T 1300 662 666 | F 1800 662 666 | M 0418 522 422

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{you}

pronoun 1. used to refer to the person or people that the speaker is addressing

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you

feature

my way

IN CONVO WITH

Debbie O’Connor 1. Where were you born and where did you spend your childhood?

I was born in a small South African bush town on the boarder of the world famous Kruger National Park, called White River. I spent most of my childhood there before being shipped off to boarding school at the age of 13. Even though I’ve hardly lived there since, I still think of White River as home.

hugely condescending, I knew that I had to prove to him that creative people could be as successful, (if not better) than what he deemed a decent profession (doctor, lawyer or accountant). It wasn’t until I started working in the design industry that I realised I was entrepreneurial as well and had a knack for being able to tap into the personality of a brand.

2. Where did your professional dream begin?

4. What have you learnt about yourself during your career?

Growing up in Apartheid South Africa where we had sanctions imposed on us, meant I wasn’t exposed to a lot of brands. However, without any of these companies ever advertising their products, or having their products on our shelves, I somehow still knew about brands such as Nike, Pepsi and McDonalds. This fascinated me. As a naturally artistic child, I knew that my career had to involve creativity in some form or another. So after graduating with a degree in graphic design I set out to conquer the world and change the direction of businesses one brand at a time.

3. Tell me a little about your business and where your passion comes from?

I’ve always been creative. I loved drawing and painting as a child, collecting packaging from products and later on, choosing my wine based on what the label looked like! My father used to introduce me as his ‘eldest, unmarried, arty-farty daughter!’ While

I’ve learnt so much. As a designer you’d think that I would be very detailed, but I’m more of a blue-sky thinker. Detail irritates me, so I’ve learnt to surround myself with detail people. I have a talent for branding that enables me to build what others find incredibly hard. I’ve learnt that I’m more resilient than I ever gave myself credit for and that an ‘arty-farty’ person can be successful and significant.

5. What 3 key gems of advice would you share?

1. A lways look for the win/win in each situation as everyone will then be happy 2. You have one mouth and two ears, use them accordingly 3. Look after your team, they will help grow your business far more than any client will

6. What are some of the mistakes you made and learnings from them?

Oh god! Where do I start? I have so many. I think that holding onto a staff member for

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too long was one of my biggest mistakes. It caused so many sleepless nights and started to poison the rest of the team. It was stressful and draining and the relief when she left was proof that I should have followed my gut and got rid of her long before I did. I think it was Alicia Beachley who said, “hire slowly and fire fast”. Words of gold!

7. What keeps you going?

When I was 17 I was in a freak train accident where a bunk bed full of people landed on top of me. My body was completely crushed and I broke my back, three ribs and fractured my femur. When I was picked up out of the mass of falling bodies, it was discovered that I was paralysed from the waist down. This news was devastating and I recall lying there thinking of all the things that I wouldn’t be able to do. I can’t walk. I can’t dance. I can’t swim… My mind was filled with the word ‘can’t’. Deep in the darkness and silence of the night, I got the most excruciating pain in my legs. I call it the ‘exquisite pain’ as even though it felt as though I was being stabbed by hundreds of knives, the realisation that feeling was coming back lifted my spirits. Within hours, my ‘can’t’ turned into ‘can’. Reminding myself of that night, and the many months of rehabilitation afterwards is what keeps me going. That and my kids, husband, team, clients…

8. How important is it for women to have mentors/their own circle of excellence to guide them? Women are more powerful than we give ourselves credit for. We can make things

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better with a simple kiss, solve problems with our ears and lift those around us higher with our steady shoulders. We can also crush spirits, destroy reputations and question ourselves. Tall Poppy Syndrome is a real thing. With so many haters out there, having a tribe of strong, independent, encouraging women around you is key to success. Knowing that regardless of what happens or what people say, you have this unbreakable circle of women who have your back, know your worth and rejoice when you achieve.

9. What’s next in the journey of BRAND YOU?

Life is exciting and there is always something to plan, do and achieve. I recently launched my personal brand DebbieO with a focus on consulting, training and speaking. It’s a little nerve wracking as it means that I have to step into the spotlight. I’m not sure if it’s what I want to do as creating brands (with personality) is my first love and I’m not sure I can live my days without it. Watch this space, it may just be another learning to add to my list…

10. Your favourite things: •

• •

estination: Just one? South Africa. Other D than it being home, it really is a melting pot of culture, colour and adventure. Drink: Skim latte – my day isn’t complete without one App: Instagram – love it!

11. If you were a hashtag what would it be? #brandmagic

say yes to new

adventures

feature my way

IN CONVO WITH

Lisa Lockland-Bell 1. Where were you born and where did you spend your childhood?

3. E very time you speak, speak with attention and intention; leave a legacy that inspires and motivates.

2. Where did your professional dream begin?

6. What are some of the mistakes you made and learnings from them?

Ararat in Country Victoria

Growing up on a farm, I spent most of my days transforming the top of our water tank into my world stage. From here I would sing out to my world. This is where I started to develop the intricate craft of singing and performing.

3. Tell me a little about your business and where your passion comes from?

I am a trained Opera singer and have sung all over the world. Fortunately, I have been struck down with Cancer, twice by the age of 34. I say fortunately because it revealed my true passion: By aligning my skill based training within the physical voice and my life experience, which forced me to get in touch with my internal voice, I saw an opportunity to help people express themselves freely. Today I work as a Vocal Coach within the Business world, training professionals who simply must be heard.

4. What have you learnt about yourself during your career?

I have learnt that it is ok to be creative. I do not have to fit into a box with everyone else. I am an incredibly sensitive human being, many have said overly so. But I know now, this strength allows me to be great at what I do. By feeling every nuance and inflection that resonates from my clients I can quickly identify the barriers to where they want to be and deliver the strategies to get them to there

5. What 3 key gems of advice would you share?

1. I ntuition is the essence of survival: trust your gut every time 2. Practice the impeccable truth: don’t lie to yourself about anything

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I did not listen to my gut. I tried to become the projected vision of who other people thought I should be, just to make them happy. I got so lost and was ready to give up on my life.

7. What keeps you going? Stubborn, pig headed Aries determination.

I have an abundant amount of fire and passion inside me that just won’t let me give up.

8. How important is it for women to have mentors/their own circle of excellence to guide them?

I grew up with a bi-polar, schizophrenic father who drilled into us that we were never to air our dirty laundry. So, I have found it difficult to open up to anyone. However, through my life experience - Cancer, I leant that I needed a team of people to support me. I created an A team of professionals and colleagues who helped me understand, grow and develop. This allowed me to strengthen and move forward to where I am today. It is not important it is essential.

9. What’s next in the journey of BRAND YOU? I want to change the way the world communicates. Eliminate fear of speaking up for self and, to be cliché… be the best version of myself that I can be.

10. Your favourite things: • • •

Destination: Lago Di Como Italy Drink: Homemade chai App: Yoga

11. If you were a hashtag what would it be? #you’vegottabebothered

feature you

FUTURE THOUGHT:

IT’S TIME TO THINK “It’s not what we know, but how well we think that counts.”

t seems ironic that at a time of so much opportunity, rapid technological advance and accessible information, that we find ourselves battling to stay at the top of our game. Fatigue, overwhelm and burnout have too often become our common bedfellows. Much depends on us playing evolutionary catch up, to master those thinking skillsets already earmarked as critical to our success in the 21st Century and to integrate well with our new technologies. Which is why choosing to initiate your Future Thought game plan is important. Future Thought depends on three critical components. • Your Renewable Energy Sources • Working Smarter By Design • Getting on Well With Others

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Your Renewable Energy Sources.

In a world drowning in information, effective filtering and organising of all data is crucial. To achieve this your brain needs sufficient cognitive energy to allow for that extra discretionary spend of effort and power you though your day. Better thinking starts with a higher level of brain fitness; those lifestyle elements we intuitively know are important, but have allowed to slide down our list of priorities. Multiple studies have shown time and again it’s all about getting enough good quality uninterrupted sleep, sufficient physical exercise, access to healthier food options and regular practice of those measures you’ve found useful to maintain your stress resilience and emotional wellbeing. Understanding how you can manage your mood, regulate your thoughts and elevate

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your cognition by using your renewable energy sources can be a game changer.

Working Smarter By Design

Your cognition is how well you think, learn and remember. While the concepts of design thinking, critical thinking, appreciative inquiry and mindfulness are not new, their magic lies in their application facilitating your ability to retain clarity of thought, solve problems fast and make consistently good decisions, providing you, your cognitive and competitive advantage. The paradox in a society crying out for the need for speed, is that we get more done, and build greater efficiency and effectiveness when we slow things down. Pressing pause and engaging in deeper reflective thought engages the imagination, fires up creativity and boosts our level of insight. Which is why scheduling your time to think is your most important appointment on any given day. Safety at work is a great example of how better thinking keeps us all safe. While critical risk management, policies and procedures to avoid trips, slips and falls are important, they fail at the human level. Sorry to shock you, but we are all deeply flawed, irrational and imperfect. You may know the drill, but how you respond at any given moment will be greatly impacted by your level of stress, anxiety or uncertainty. Safety starts with paying attention, noticing what’s happening and making a reasoned decision for action. Learning how your breathing affects your stress levels and cognition can make all the difference when dealing with a difficult client, toxic work colleague or when worried about a sick family member.

Staying open minded, increasing awareness of our cognitive biases and limiting self beliefs can help us to overcome some of the challenges we face on a daily basis.

Getting On Well with Others.

Scientists are only just starting to tap into the true potential of the human brain. Our magnificent multi-faceted complex organ is capable of so much, but it is when minds come together that results become amplified. Beyond being able to share knowledge and ideas, working well with others creates effective teams that are fully adaptive, collegiate, contributive and collaborative. We are hard wired to connect, which is why coming together as groups works so well. Whether it is an LBDGroup event, grabbing coffee with a friend or attending a stand-up meeting at work, the collective buzz of minds is what drives engagement, motivation and inspiration. That’s why creating a brain safe workplace environment where everyone feels valued, respected and supported builds competence and capacity. It’s no surprise that these are the happiest places to work, enjoying higher levels of productivity and performance through visible progress and strong positive interpersonal relationships. The future of work is here and your personalised blueprint for success is now available. If you’re interested to discover how you can enhance your work performance, resilience, creativity or memory skills, the time to start is now. Our ability to think will determine our future success. Are you ready for Future Thought?

DR. JENNY BROCKIS Dr. Jenny Brockis is the founder of Brain Fit! Best selling author of Future Brain and specialist in high-performance thinking. www.drjennybrockis.com

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feature ah-ha

H AMOMENTS MELBOURNE

Annual Queen Victoria Winter Night Market

QUEENSLAND

Digital Futures Lab

SYDNEY

Titanic the Exhibition

WHATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ON AT LBD? MEMBERS ONLY DINNER 4 OCTOBER LADY FAIRFAX, RADDISON BLU Announcing our special guest, the fabulous Kieran Flanagan of The Impossible Institute. Make sure to RSVP your attendance!

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out & about

OUT

ABOUT 20 September Great ‘Discover Success’ breakfast today at the Microsoft Flagship Store, where our inspiring speakers shared their hints and tips to a room full of small businesses and start-up’s.

August 25 Margot Andersen with Melissa Browne Doing a quick spin around the Business Chicks 9 To Thrive event this morn and guess who was there working her magic with style and finesse... and who had the most crowded stand! Big congrats Melissa Browne ...so lovely to see your message landing with oomph x

Celebrating her husband’s CONSPICUOUS SERVICE CROSS for performance in naval aviation

At the Sydney Design Awards ready to pick up our Gold Award (yes! Gold!) for the branding we did for Awards Agency (owned by Melinda Leyshon) I bumped into this lovely lady! Go Gwen for winning 3D Design packaging! LBD ladies past and present - this network is forever!!! GLOSS | OCTOBER 2017

Thoughtful provocations for the quietly dissatisfied. A limited edition, independent magazine venturing beyond conventional wisdom. The Cleverness Biannual actively seeks complexity and ventures deep into philosophical paradox. It explores the darker elements of pioneering (an often lonely journey), providing a fuller spectrum of perspective outside of the success stories and hero-worship. Be it business, philosophy or artistry, The Cleverness Biannual relishes in the hidden or overlooked. Inside: Art, poetry, tasting notes, and evergreen essay contributions from a carefully chosen mix of people whose minds captivate our own. These are thought leaders, artists, executives, purpose-driven leaders and other curious, kind and eccentric individuals from around the world.

win Win a copy of The Cleverness Biannual Tell us in 50 words or less what cleverness means to you! The best response will receive a copy of The Cleverness Biannual Send your response to emma@thelbdgroup.com.au with your full name, email and postal address by 2 November 2017. *Terms and Conditions Apply. The winner will be notified by email on 17 November 2017.

Yours to keep, at:Â cleverness.com/magazine @the.cleverness

“The Cleverness Biannual” PROMOTION TERMS AND CONDITIONS Information on how to enter and the prize(s) form part of these Terms and Conditions. Participation in this promotion is deemed acceptance of these Terms and Conditions. Entry is only open to Australian residents who are aged 18 or above. Employees (and their immediate families) of the Promoter and agencies associated with this promotion are ineligible to enter. Immediate family means any of the following: spouse, ex-spouse, de-facto spouse, child or step-child (whether natural or by adoption), parent, step-parent, grandparent, step-grandparent, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, brother, sister, step-brother, step-sister or 1st cousin. Promotion commences 02/10/2017 and ends 11:59pm AEDST on 02/11/2017 (“Promotional Period”). To be eligible to enter, eligible individuals must tell the promoter in 50 words or less what cleverness means to you. To enter, eligible individuals must, during the Promotional Period, email the response with their name and contact number to emma@thelbdgroup.com.au. Entry and continued participation in the promotion is dependent on entrants following and acting in accordance with The LBDGroup Terms and Conditions which can be viewed at www.thelbgroup.com.au/terms-and-conditions/. Without limiting the generality of the above, entries must not contain any material determined by the Promoter in its absolute discretion to be obscene, offensive or inappropriate. The Promoter reserves the right, at any time, to refuse to accept any entry that it deems, in its absolute discretion, to be obscene, offensive or inappropriate, or infringing upon the rights of any third party. Entries must comply at all times with the provision of clause 18. The Promoter reserves the right, at any time, to verify the validity of entries and entrants (including an entrant’s identity, age and place of residence) and reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual who the Promoter has reason to believe has breached any of these Terms and Conditions, tampered with the entry process or engaged in any unlawful or other improper misconduct calculated to jeopardise fair and proper conduct of the promotion. Errors and omissions may be accepted at the Promoter’s discretion. Failure by the Promoter to enforce any of its rights at any stage does not constitute a waiver of those rights. The Promoter’s legal rights to recover damages or other compensation from such an offender are reserved. Incomplete, indecipherable or illegible entries will be deemed invalid. Multiple entries are not permitted. If there is a dispute as to the identity of an entrant, the Promoter reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to determine the identity of the entrant. This is a game of skill and chance plays no part in determining the winners. Entries will be individually judged based on literary merit and originality. The winners will be notified in writing by email and a Facebook post on the LBDGroup Facebook page and then asked to contact the LBDGroup to provide a postal address. The Promoter’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. The best valid entry, as determined by the judges, will win a copy of the The Cleverness Biannual valued at $35. If for any reason a winner does not take a prize (or an element of the prize) by the time stipulated by the Promoter, then the prize (or that element of the prize) will be forfeited. If any prize (or part of any prize) is unavailable, the Promoter, in its discretion, reserves the right to substitute the prize (or that part of the prize) with a prize to the equal value and/ or specification. Prizes, or any unused portion of a prize, are not transferable or exchangeable and cannot be taken as cash, unless otherwise specified. Entrants agree that they are fully responsible for any materials they submit via the promotion including but not limited to comments, stories, letters or articles (“Content”). The Promoter shall not be liable in any way for such Content to the full extent permitted by law. The Promoter may remove or decline to publish any Content without notice for any reason whatsoever. Entrants warrant and agree that: they will not submit any Content that is unlawful or fraudulent, or that the Promoter may deem in breach of any intellectual property, privacy, publicity or other rights, defamatory, obscene, derogatory, pornographic, sexually inappropriate, violent, abusive, harassing, threatening, objectionable with respect to race, religion, origin or gender, or otherwise unsuitable for publication; their Content shall not contain viruses or cause injury or harm to any person or entity; they will obtain prior consent from any person or from the owner(s) of any property that appears in their Content; the Content is the original literary work of the entrant that does not infringe the rights of any third party; they consent to any use of the Content which may otherwise infringe the Content creator’s/creators’ moral rights pursuant to the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) and warrant that they have the full authority to grant these rights; and they will comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including without limitation, those governing copyright, content, defamation, privacy, publicity and the access or use of others’ computer or communication systems. Without limiting any other terms herein, the entrant agrees to indemnify the Promoter for any breach of the above terms. As a condition of entering this promotion, each entrant licenses and grants the Promoter, its affiliates and sub-licensees a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, worldwide, irrevocable, and sub-licensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish and display their entry (which shall include Content) for any purpose, including but not limited to future promotional, marketing or publicity purposes, in any media, without compensation, restriction on use, attribution or liability. Entrants consent to the Promoter using their name, likeness, image and/or voice in the event they are a winner (including photograph, illustration, film and/or recording of the same) in any media for an unlimited period without remuneration for the purpose of promoting this promotion (including any outcome), and promoting any products manufactured, distributed and/or supplied by the Promoter. If this promotion is interfered with in any way or is not capable of being conducted as reasonably anticipated due to any reason beyond the reasonable control of the Promoter, including but not limited to technical difficulties, unauthorised intervention or fraud, the Promoter reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to the fullest extent permitted by law (a) to disqualify any entrant; or (b) to modify, suspend, terminate or cancel the promotion, as appropriate. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions limits, excludes or modifies or purports to limit, exclude or modify the statutory consumer guarantees as provided under the Competition and Consumer Act, as well as any other implied warranties under the ASIC Act or similar consumer protection laws in the States and Territories of Australia (“Non-Excludable Guarantees”). Except for any liability that cannot by law be excluded, including the Non-Excludable Guarantees, the Promoter (including its respective officers, employees and agents) excludes all liability (including negligence), for any personal injury; or any loss or damage (including loss of opportunity); whether direct, indirect, special or consequential, arising in any way out of the promotion. Except for any liability that cannot by law be excluded, including the Non-Excludable Guarantees, the Promoter (including its respective officers, employees and agents) is not responsible for and excludes all liability (including negligence), for any personal injury; or any loss or damage (including loss of opportunity); whether direct, indirect, special or consequential, arising in any way out of: (a) any technical difficulties or equipment malfunction (whether or not under the Promoter’s control); (b) any theft, unauthorised access or third party interference; (c) any entry or prize claim that is late, lost, altered, damaged or misdirected (whether or not after their receipt by the Promoter) due to any reason beyond the reasonable control of the Promoter; (d) any variation in prize value to that stated in these Terms and Conditions; (e) any tax liability incurred by a winner or entrant; or (f) use of a prize. The Promoter collects personal information (“PI”) in order to conduct the promotion and may, for this purpose, disclose such PI to third parties, including but not limited to agents, contractors, service providers and prize suppliers. Entry is conditional on providing this PI. The Promoter will also use and handle PI as set out in its Privacy Policy, which can be viewed at http://www.thelbdgroup.com.au/privacy-policy/. All entries become the property of the Promoter. The Promoter will not disclose entrant’s personal information to any entity outside of Australia. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. Entrants understand that they are providing their information to the Promoter and not to Facebook. The information an entrant provides will only be used for the purposes outlined in these Terms and Conditions. Any questions, comments or complaints about this promotion must be directed to the Promoter and not to Facebook. Facebook will not be liable for any loss or damage or personal injury which is suffered or sustained by an entrant, as a result of participating in the promotion (including taking/use of a prize), except for any liability which cannot be excluded by law. The Promoter is The LBD Group a subsidiary of Curious Minds Pty Ltd (ABN 78 094 035 354) of PO Box 4216 Balgowlah Heights NSW 2093

CONNECT, INSPIRE, SUCCEED.

WHERE ARE WE. Our members are based in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane

WHO WE ARE. Looking for your tribe? LBDGroup is a unique exclusive networking group developed for female business leaders and entrepreneurs. Its about connection, contribution and collaboration It's about business leaders, senior executives and entrepreneurs building commercial and personal success for themselves and each other. It's about never having to make critical decisions alone

EVENTS. Members enjoy exclusive events including private dinners, quarterly Immersion Days, networking nights, annual Retreat plus access to The HUB - an informative learning environment

JANINE GARNER. Founder and CEO of LBDGroup Janine Garner is known as one of Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most insightful experts on leadership, networking and collaboration. Janine is also a Partner at Thought Leaders Global which helps clever people become commercially smart. She is the author of Wiley published books "Its Who You Know" and "From Me to We"

CONNECT. Want to find out more? Visit TheLBDGroup.com.au or email us info@thelbdgroup.com.au.