The Hunger Project is setting a whole new pace for charities.  They are one of the most financially efficient ‘Not-For-Profit’ organisations on the planet. They are committed to spending less than twenty percent on overheads, which includes fundraising and administration, while they go about the business of changing both the lives of the donor-investors and their recipients as equal partners in the process.

For example in 2012, thirteen percent of their income went toward fundraising and administration, while eighty seven percent went directly to programs.

They are setting new standards for the Not-For-Profit sector globally, in particular for women in the workplace, not just in the countries they are working in to end world hunger (more on that later) but also in companies of the developed world with whom they partner.  For example, one of Australia’s ‘Big Four’, the Commonwealth Bank, sends their top executives overseas on tour with The Hunger Project every year to learn more about leadership, diversity and entrepreneurship with deeper learning gained from every visit.

The Hunger Project does things differently.  They believe that hungry people themselves are the key to ending hunger. By changing mindsets of their village partners in India, Bangladesh and Africa, they empower women and men to bring about change in their own communities. Top-down, aid-driven charity models often fail to reach the people who need the most help. To be sustainable, The Hunger Project discovered three critical elements that, when combined, empower people to make rapid progress in overcoming hunger and poverty:-

1. Mobilisation for self-reliance
2. Empowering women as key change-agents for development
3. Making local government work

Here are some of the companies which are standing up, taking notice and getting on board with this this very small but influential global organisation:-

•    McKinsey and Co
•    Commonwealth Bank
•    Business Chicks

What is The Hunger Project doing that is getting people so excited and enthusiastic?  They are getting their investors deeply involved with the experience and process of working to end world hunger in the developing world and they are giving those of us who decide to help them in this quest a deeper sense of meaning and purpose in our own lives, through their process of investor engagement.

As world renowned psychologist and author Dr Martin Seligman PhD, states, “There are five key parts to leading a great authentic and purposeful life”:-

•    Positive emotions
•    Engagement (losing oneself in the moment and losing all sense of time)
•    Relationships (positive relationships)
•    Meaning and purpose
•    Accomplishment

The Hunger Project manages to not only help their village partners tap into all five categories, they also help their investors to tap deeply into every one of these aspects.  This is an example of an organisation that doesn’t try to take the credit – they are constantly giving credit to others at every possible turn.

This is how THP makes such a huge difference in the lives of both the givers and receivers…

Firstly, they ask people like you and me to agree to fundraise $10,000 to give to a community in the developing world.  Then they take us and other likeminded contributors along with them into that community to immerse ourselves in the project and witness first-hand the difference we are making.

They educate us as investors to look out for the incredible leadership skills we observe while in that village partner community. By asking the people of those communities to share their own stories with us, they ensure that we, the audience, receive genuine value from hearing those stories.

They educate the women in those communities who are being helped and encourage those of them who want to, to step into positions of local power. This takes a lot of courage for the women involved. Not every woman wants to and that’s okay.  The Hunger Project does this because statistically the women are far more likely to give back… to make a difference…  and to seek ways to empower their entire community.

They encourage participating investors who have been on the tours to run leadership programs for others.  They give them a stage to share the leadership stories that they have witnessed which in turn recruits others who may want to join the process as well as inspire people to give more and be part of making a much bigger contribution to the world.

The Hunger Project leaders think differently. They involve people at every level. They are forging new paths and opening minds in the process.  They are not just a charity, they are revolutionising the way people think when they give and are setting new standards of personal involvement.

Bruce Poon Tip, CEO and founder of Global award winning tour company G Adventures, made the comment that happiness has three components:-

1.    People need to feel connected (to each other/to a cause/to the planet – they just need to feel connected)
2.    They need to feel that they have control over their own life
3.    They need to be part of something bigger than themselves

G Adventures and The Hunger Project are examples of two organisations that allow their clients to do just that and the positive impact of their efforts are beginning to be felt around the globe.

Drop me an email at brian@precisionprofiling.com.au if you would like to discuss further how to join our September study tour and create the environment that attracts and retains the young leaders of the future for your organisation.

Until then… Let’s seek to understand more and judge less. Have a great week – Brian

Precision Profiling – What Makes You Tick? Through ‘Motivational Fingerprinting’ we uncover what you do, how you do it and why you do it, and most importantly, the hidden patterns that lead to your success, and that of your team.

The story of Reho Travel reads like a journey through the changing of the guard of business and society over the past thirty years.

Bucket Shop – The 80’s

The name Reho Travel originated in the dark grey streets of London back in the 70’s. In those days, many of the airfares sold were one way, and for only a few pounds one could escape a drab existence and create a brand new life on the shores of ‘the lucky country’ on the other side of the world. In 1982 the brand came to Australia and helped to transform the industry with the “bucket shop” concept, where low price was the key market differentiator.

Transformation – Building Values (90’s)

With the 90’s came the emergence of the internet and a time when low cost competition started appearing on every street corner. A decision was made at Reho Travel to transform its business. It felt that a strategy which was focused purely on price was simply a race to the bottom of the pool. Words like ‘quality, flexibility and creativity’  became commonplace; substantial investments in business re-design were made; major travel industry awards were won as a result and suddenly Reho Travel was picking up a new kind of traveller – the business traveller. Within a few years its clients became a mixture of corporate and leisure travellers with a diverse range of needs.

One specialised niche that grew exponentially during those years was the group travel market – in particular the management of Study Tours for universities, schools and private corporations which was a major contributor to its gross turnover.

Maturity – Developing Brands (The 00’s)

By the turn of the century, its clientele represented by the individual business traveller had morphed into a suite of global corporations and universities and Reho was rapidly becoming recognised as a Travel Management Company. At the same time the occasional group departure had developed into a separate division specialising solely in Study Tours, in addition to the corporate and leisure brands. It was now a highly visible travel management company where phrases like ‘Duty of Care, Self Booking Tool, Compliance and Data Analysis’ were significant considerations.

Throughout this time of progressive change over the last twenty years, Reho Travel’s CEO, Karsten Horne has been the driving force behind developing the business into the highly visible award-winning and customer-focused establishment that it is today… a company that has grown from humble beginnings into a $30 million company.

With rapid technological and social change being witnessed in the second decade of the new millennium, Karsten and his people at Reho Travel have been broadening their horizons and re-thinking what it means to be a thriving business in an increasingly interdependent world. This comes in the form of a new level of sophistication regarding Reho’s place in the world as a global citizen.

The future – Making a Stand

As Reho Travel has grown and matured, its aim has been to create a work environment that attracts and retains high quality staff who are motivated to provide exceptional service and continuous innovation in a company that is highly respected within the travel industry.

But more importantly, Reho has also realised that it has a responsibility to take a stand and show leadership with its environmental and community initiatives. Everyone working at Reho Travel understands what a privilege it is for them to work for a company and in an industry that provides them with unlimited opportunities for personal travel and career development. It is essential for their own advancement that they travel widely to gain the experience and it is through seeing the world that they come to understand how lucky we all are to be living here in Australia.

Rehope – Making a Difference

Reho’s first step in taking on this more holistic perspective of global citizenship was the opening of Rehope Microcredit Agency in Malawi.

This initiative grew out of a chance meeting some years ago with a young street vendor in Malawi by Karsten Horne while he was on one of his many overseas travel experiences. Karsten was struck by the amazing spirit of hopefulness in one young man whose life seemed surrounded by despair and misfortune.  That young man was Alick, a talented student who was selling his artwork from the roadside in Malawi. At 21 he was one of the few older people you see on the streets of Malawi, with half the population under 15 and an average life expectancy of 34. Alick clearly reflected his country, full of hope, tentatively taking small steps onto the world stage but in need of support and encouragement from those with more experience and the resources to make a difference.

It was with this in mind that Reho Travel chose to support Alick. Not long after he was off the street and studying art at university. After graduating from the University of Malawi with honours, Alick moved to Lilongwe to further his career and work as a teacher at a local high school. He then embarked on a research project into the viability of establishing ‘Rehope’ as a micro-credit institution in Malawi, initially operating in Nkhata-bay.

Rehope’s aim has been to provide small affordable loans to extremely impoverished people in the country’s languishing communities for self-employment projects that will allow them to diversify their income in the hope of bettering their lives.

Since that original seed of an idea and the action taken by Alick supported directly by Karsten and his team at Reho Travel, Rehope Micro-credit Agency is now fully accredited by the Government of Malawi and authorised by the Reserve Bank of Malawi to operate as Microfinance Company. The establishment and administration of Rehope Micro-credit Agency is fully funded out of the profits of Reho Travel. The launch of Rehope Micro-credit Agency drew together senior government officers in Nkhata-Bay, the business community, civil servants, fishermen and so many other interested parties who have a keen interest in seeing this initiative take hold. Each year, two Reho Travel team members are selected to travel to Malawi and spend a week helping out in the Rehope Microcredit Agency office in Nkhata Bay and meet recipients of the loans in the district.

Reho Travel has now expanded its horizons and its reach further through its collaboration and involvement with the Empower Foundation. Empower is an Australian sustainable development organisation that works with rural communities in Malawi and Sri Lanka to action their holistic vision for a sustainable future. Empower develops and manages a network of like-minded partner organisations (both local and international) that collaborate to enable entrepreneurs to build self-reliant communities. Their approach involves a five year partnership with rural communities based on their own inclusive and holistic vision for self-reliance.

The Reho Brand

The Reho Brand is not just the logo, it’s so much more than that.  Reho Travel’s by-line, ‘Let our experience add to yours’ should be represented at every level according to Karsten. Reho’s team is experienced in many areas. They are all well travelled, have many years in the travel industry and a rich variety of life experiences, so it is no surprise that the people who work there have an emotional connection to their leader’s desire to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than themselves living on other sides of the world.

As soon as you walk in the door of the up-beat premises of Reho Travel in the heart of the business district of St Kilda Rd, Melbourne, or in the Sydney CBD, you feel a buzz. It is immediately evident, that here is a culture of people who are fully engaged and on purpose, working in an environment where their values are not just words on a wall, but behaviours in action.

A Culture of Opportunity

Not only has Reho Travel created a culture of opportunity for its staff and its thousands of loyal customers who walk through its doors every year, but also it has now embarked on creating a culture of opportunity for fellow travellers on life’s journey through its direct engagement at a global level within the communities of developing countries.

In the words of Karsten, “Our journey to make a difference does not end with the setting up of the Rehope Micro-credit Agency in Malawi. It is just the beginning. Who knows where the next ten years and beyond will lead us?

But one thing is for sure as we develop our brand offering further, we would like to think that we can find more partners and collaborators from within the ranks of our suppliers and clients and their respective companies who share our beliefs and support initiatives like these to make a difference in very tangible ways.

Maybe the only way forward for our planet and its people will be for commercial enterprises of the future to be driven by purpose-driven profit, where the shareholders of a company are not the only beneficiaries of its market success.”

In our opinion, the story of Reho Travel and its development from being a price driven commodity business; through years of full service offering; and then on to comprehensive travel management and finally now to the realisation of its wider responsibility as a global corporate citizen, is a journey that has been and will be repeated many, many times over by similar businesses as they now undergo a transformation into new levels of engagement with the world and its people. This encompasses a far more inclusive world-view where the term ‘stakeholder’ doesn’t just end with those who are in direct relationship with an organisation but draws its inspiration from the wider community at large both at the local and global level.

Drop me an email at brian@precisionprofiling.com.au if you would like to discuss further how to join our September study tour and create the environment that attracts and retains the young leaders of the future for your organisation.

Until then… Let’s seek to understand more and judge less. Have a great week – Brian

Precision Profiling – What Makes You Tick? Through ‘Motivational Fingerprinting’ we uncover what you do, how you do it and why you do it, and most importantly, the hidden patterns that lead to your success, and that of your team.

After returning from a backpacking tour of Asia, in 1990, Canadian Bruce Poon Tip founded Gap Adventures (renamed G Adventures in 2012) with nothing more than two personal credit cards and a burning desire to create an authentic, sustainable travel experience like nothing the world had ever seen before. By offering adventure-craving travelers an alternative to the resorts, cruises and motor-coach tours they were accustomed to, he not only changed the way people looked at their holiday time, but changed the face of travel forever. What started off as a one-man show has since grown to become the world’s largest adventure travel company with over 1350 employees.

But it doesn’t just begin and end with unique travel experiences. G Adventures is itself a social enterprise, creating positive social change. They sell tours to countries all over the world that utilize local services, contribute to local economies, and provide employment opportunities and training in under-served regions of the globe that rely heavily on tourism as their only economic import. They even give grants for seed funding along with training to get new travel initiatives up and running in some cases.

The entire G Adventures enterprise was founded on the concept of sustainability and established travel practices that show due consideration for natural surroundings and local cultures. By limiting the average travel group size to around twelve people, and by using local transportation and staying in small, locally owned hotels and guesthouses, G Adventure travelers are able to minimize their footprint in foreign communities and gain maximum exposure to the local culture.

Poon Tip’s organisation supplies these locally operated businesses with ongoing tourism and the people at G Adventures are very passionate about the difference they and their clients make to the communities they serve. In return, their globetrotting tourists get engaged and motivated CEOs (the company calls all their Tour Guides, CEOs or ‘Chief Experience Officers’) and can witness first-hand the real difference that their presence and their tourism makes to these local communities. The families and the communities within G Adventures’ travel network benefit in so many ways from the extra income. It creates a ripple effect within the local economy connecting small businesses, cooperatives and even rural families directly to its supply chain, thus enabling more tourism dollars to stay in the local community.

G Adventures’ business model varies greatly to that of all-inclusive resorts or other tour operators. In a staggering statistic from the UNEP (United National Environmental Program), on average out of every $100 spent by a traveler in a developing community in an all-inclusive resort, only $5 actually benefits the local community. Bruce believes that travel can be the greatest form of wealth distribution on the planet if it’s done correctly. and it doesn’t rely on donations or handouts – it just relies on travelers making smart choices about how and who they travel with.

This is a business that cares, with a founder who is a revolutionary thinker and a great leader.

Planeterra Foundation

Established in 2003 by G Adventures as a way to give back through travel, The Planeterra Foundation is a legally constituted non‐profit organization that supports social and environmental solutions in destinations around the world via its global network of travelers. Planeterra works to ensure that communities are benefiting from the opportunity that tourism has to bring. Working directly with G Adventures to minimize the impact on the world’s great destinations and to promote sustainable solutions and economic growth for communities worldwide, Planeterra manages over 50 current and funded projects in threatened and developing regions all over the world. 

Together, G Adventures and Planeterra have partnered with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in a multi-million dollar initiative that will promote sustainable, community-based tourism in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Peru. This is the first time that IDB have partnered with a private organisation, and this highlights the great work that together G Adventures and Planeterra can achieve. The on-the-ground component of this joint venture (hiring, training etc.) is managed by Planeterra, who develop tourism projects, services and small businesses in these communities that have not historically benefited from the travel industry. Planeterra brings the knowledge and expertise in developing sustainable projects, while G Adventures provides a ready-made market for the product.

“Tourism is one of the largest industries on the planet. Vital to the livelihood of eighty-five per cent of developing nations, it creates employment opportunities, battles poverty and strengthens economies,” says the Executive Director of Planeterra. “Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on developing community-based tourism worldwide with little benefit to the hosting communities. The tourism industry has not traditionally been involved in international development activities. Where it has, it was only engaged at the very end, yielding high failure rates and unsuccessful projects. In order for community-based tourism development to be sustainable and effective, the private sector, specifically tour operators that possess the market power, must be engaged at the beginning and throughout the entire process.”

Some of the Planeterra projects include…

• A Women’s Weaving co-op in Peru. This is an incredible project that taught local women ancient weaving techniques as well as natural fabric dye processes. As a result of this project, local women now have employment where there was previously zero employment of women and it has reconnected a community with the importance of their own history. Today all G Adventures travel groups visiting the Sacred Valley in Peru have a chance to see and purchase high quality textiles produced by these weavers, all sold at fair trade prices.
• New Hope Cambodia – a Vocational Training Restaurant in Cambodia, which provides marginalized people in that community with hospitality skills to help them obtain new dignified job opportunities.
• Hope Africa – a day school for HIV/AIDS orphaned children in South Africa.
• A foundation in Honduras to help women start their own businesses.
• A community school in Ecuador.
• A drop-in centre for street children in Cuczo, Peru.
• An NGO in Costa Rica for environmental and wildlife conservation projects.

Once Planeterra has made its positive impact, G Adventures then provides consistent market access through its travelers as a sustainable source of income for these local communities. Its travelers bring long term success to these projects long after Planeterra’s initial investment has gone, so it is a business model that measures the social return on investment as a priority rather than just the company’s profits, but in the same breadth ensures that it remains financially viable over the longer term. A perfect example of ‘making a difference’ without sacrificing financial sustainability.

G Adventures funds Planeterra by covering all administrative costs, so one hundred per cent of donor funds go directly towards supporting each project. G Adventures also contributes $30,000 per year in matching funds made through individual donations online. Whether a traveler takes a trip with G Adventures, volunteers at one of Planeterra’s projects, or invests in their projects worldwide – he or she is helping to make Planeterra’s work possible.

Planeterra’s mission is to support sustainable solutions in the places travelers love to visit and it does this through G Adventures – building projects into tours.

Global Recognition

The work of G Adventures and Bruce Poon Tip has not gone unnoticed. G Adventures and Bruce Poon Tip have been consistently recognized for leadership and outstanding business practices. G Adventures is among the Top 100 Employers and 50 Best Managed Companies in its country. Bruce has won Canada’s Entrepreneur of the Year and has been honoured as one of Canada’s 100 Leaders of Tomorrow.

In recognition of G Adventures’ dedication to ethical business practices’ and responsible travel, Bruce received the Ethics In Action Award. He has also received the Global Traders Award for his groundbreaking ideas in exporting services. In January of 2002 Bruce was invited to speak at the United Nations launch of the Year Of Eco Tourism in New York and in 2006 he spoke about the commitment to responsible tourism at the World Trade Organization’s ‘Ethics in Tourism’ Conference and at the World Tourism Conference.

Just recently Bruce was asked by the World Bank and UNESCO to represent a team to visit the Peoples Republic of China to speak on sustainable development.

Here are just some of Bruce’s tips for business leaders…
• Look beyond the triple bottom line and understand how to make a real difference.
• Sometimes big business can be alienated by the difference the smaller brands can make – allow them to understand the difference they also make by bringing a deeper sense of purpose and passion into their corporations. Bruce calls this ‘The Quintuple Bottom Line’ – People; Planet; Profit; Passion and Purpose.
•Bruce runs G Adventures using a happiness business model, where happiness drives performance, allowing G Adventures to maintain a global company culture that delivers on a very aggressive brand promise that differentiates itself based on a purpose-driven business model.
• Engage your customers beyond the product with every sale. Make them aware of the difference they make and help them to feel that difference every time they engage with your business.
• Engage with all people who touch your brand beyond the product.
• A company’s core values are more than just a sign on the office wall. Your employees need to live and breathe the company’s core values each and every day, and those core values must guide all decision making in the company.

The guiding principle behind everything that G Adventures does is quite simple… They’re about running their business in a way that respects people and the planet. A perfect example of ROI+I – Return on Investment and Integrity.

For more information contact me at brian@precisionprofiling.com.au.

Until then… Let’s seek to understand more and judge less. Have a great week – Brian

Precision Profiling – What Makes You Tick? Through ‘Motivational Fingerprinting’ we uncover what you do, how you do it and why you do it, and most importantly, the hidden patterns that lead to your success, and that of your team.

I sometimes wonder if we as parents and our schools have gone too far in over-protecting our children, pandering to their whims, and being hell-bent on saving them from accidents or disappointment in their young lives. Remember that old saying from the fairground… “Every Player Wins a Prize!” But should they? We all know that’s not the reality in the real world and we may be risking future emotional harm by trying too hard to smooth out the bumps in the road for our children during their formative years.

Political correctness gone mad and ‘safety first’ may be responsible for breeding a generation lacking in resilience who throw in the towel at the very first falter or knockback. I remember days of falling on the hard ground and skinning my knee; cutting my arm on a nail sticking out of the billycart I and my brother had built; breaking a collar bone in a football tackle; and discovering that what I thought was a ‘best in class’ composition only gaining me a B-.  Yet eventually the knee and the arm healed; the collarbone knitted together and I knuckled down and tried harder on my next classroom assignment.

And yes there was the occasional schoolyard falling out between friends when lunchtime games went awry, but ultimately we sorted things out and made up again the next day without the need for adults to come in and impose their ‘play fair’ rules upon us.

So if you like me, feel that protection pendulum has swung too far in the opposite direction here is a wonderful story about a radical new move to back away from over protection in the schoolyard. It originates from my old home town in Auckland, New Zealand.

I read this story on Australia Day and it is sourced from ONE News in NZ. The headline reads “School Ditches Rules and Loses Bullies.” Now that piqued my interest. Here’s the gist of it…
(Source: Television New Zealand Limited. www.Tvnz.co.nz )

…. “Ripping up the playground rulebook is having incredible effects on children at an Auckland school. Chaos may reign at Swanson Primary School with children climbing trees, riding skateboards and playing bullrush during playtime, but surprisingly the students don’t cause bedlam, the principal says.

The school is actually seeing a drop in bullying, serious injuries and vandalism, while concentration levels in class are increasing. Principal Bruce McLachlan rid the school of playtime rules as part of a successful university experiment.

‘We want kids to be safe and to look after them, but we end up wrapping them in cotton wool when in fact they should be able to fall over. When you look at our playground it looks chaotic. From an adult’s perspective, it looks like kids might get hurt, but they don’t.’

Swanson School signed up to the study by AUT and Otago University just over two years ago, with the aim of encouraging active play. However, the school took the experiment a step further by abandoning the rules completely, much to the horror of some teachers at the time, he said.

When the university study wrapped up at the end of last year the school and researchers were amazed by the results. Mudslides, skateboarding, bullrush and tree climbing kept the children so occupied the school no longer needed a timeout area or as many teachers on patrol.

Instead of a playground, children used their imagination to play in a ‘loose parts pit’ which contained junk such as wood, tyres and an old fire hose. ‘The kids were motivated, busy and engaged. In my experience, the time children get into trouble is when they are not busy, motivated and engaged. It’s during that time they bully other kids, graffiti or wreck things around the school. Parents were happy too because their children were happy,’ Principal McLachlan said.

But this wasn’t a playtime revolution, it was just a return to the days before health and safety policies came to rule.

AUT professor of public health Grant Schofield, who worked on the research project, said there are too many rules in modern playgrounds. ‘The great paradox of cotton-wooling children is it’s more dangerous in the long-run. Society’s obsession with protecting children ignores the benefits of risk-taking,’ he said.

Children develop the frontal lobe of their brain when taking risks, meaning they work out consequences. ‘You can’t teach them that. They have to learn risk on their own terms. It doesn’t develop by watching TV, they have to get out there.’

The research project developed into something bigger when plans to upgrade playgrounds were stopped due to over-zealous safety regulations and costly play equipment. ‘There was so many ridiculous health and safety regulations and the kids thought the static structures of playgrounds were boring.’

When researchers – inspired by their own risk-taking childhoods – decided to give children the freedom to create their own play, principals shook their heads but eventually four Dunedin schools and four West Auckland schools agreed to take on the challenge, including Swanson Primary School.

It was expected the children would be more active, but researchers were amazed by all the behavioural pay-offs. The final results of the study will be collated this year.

In the meantime Professor Schofield is urging other schools to embrace risk-taking….’

Isn’t it about time we took stock of what we are creating in our homes and schoolyards? I am interested in your comments.

Until next time… Let’s seek to understand more and judge less. Have a wonderful week and a prosperous New Year. – Brian

Precision Profiling – What Makes You Tick? Through ‘Motivational Fingerprinting’ we uncover what you do, how you do it and why you do it, and most importantly, the hidden patterns that lead to your success, and that of your staff.

Brittany Mathis was diagnosed with the small ping-pong ball sized tumour in December but can’t afford surgery to remove it because she doesn’t have health insurance to cover the cost of the operation. Already since her tumour was diagnosed, her medical bills have been piling up. The kind-hearted boss is selling his business to help his teenage waitress receive potentially life-saving brain tumour surgery.

Other members of the Mathis family work at the restaurant and De Beyer said he felt a moral obligation to help them out. “Here’s a family, they really work hard they have had a lot of stuff go against them in the past and they are not holding their hand out. They didn’t even ask anybody for help,” he said.

Brittany Mathis works as a hostess, server, and helps out in other ways at the restaurant. She has brain cancer in the form of a ping-pong ball sized tumour in her brain. Mathis learned that she had the tumour after a neurosurgeon examined her and conducted an MRI and CAT Scan.

Brittany had entered the hospital after complaining of headaches, poor vision, and dizziness. Brittany’s tumour is on the left side of her skull, which has led to a rash on the side of her face.

Her father John, reportedly died from a brain aneurysm caused by a tumour in 2000.

Brittany’s mum Barbara Mathis, who also works at the Kaiserhof restaurant with her older sister Kay, is desperate for any help she can get to save her daughter.

The teenager described the offer as an “amazing blessing” adding she “never thought anybody would do that”.

This story is a timely reminder of the true value of wealth creation in business and the difference we can make to the lives we touch through financial success. I am sure that the owner of the Kaiserhof, Michael De Beyer, will reap the reward of his act of kindness in many different ways, not the least of which is the worldwide attention that has been focused on his decision to sell and the potential buyers it may bring as a result. Both he and his young employee and her family who also work for Michael, will all hopefully share in the positive outcomes as a result.

Here’s the story in full.

Until next time… Let’s seek to understand more and judge less. Have a wonderful week and a prosperous New Year. – Brian

Precision Profiling – What Makes You Tick? Through ‘Motivational Fingerprinting’ we uncover what you do, how you do it and why you do it, and most importantly, the hidden patterns that lead to your success, and that of your staff.

Until next time… Let’s seek to understand more and judge less. Have a wonderful week and a safe New Year celebration. – Brian

Precision Profiling – What Makes You Tick? Through ‘Motivational Fingerprinting’ we uncover what you do, how you do it and why you do it, and most importantly, the hidden patterns that lead to your success, and that of your staff.

Nelson Mandela.

“No one is born hating…. People must learn to hate and if they can learn to hate then they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

Nelson Mandela achieved much, most of which will be praised and some of which may be challenged, but the enduring legacy for me will be his total commitment to compassion and forgiveness in his later years, through his ‘Truth and Reconciliation’ movement. It reminds me that we all have it within us to forgive and to look forward to a more compassionate future, and not backward to regret and recrimination.

Mandela endured so much over the decades of is adult years to right the wrongs of an oppressive system, but his indomitable spirit and his unwavering belief in the innate goodness of humanity shone through it all.

Vale Nelson Mandela

Contact me:- brian@precisionprofiling.com.au for anything at all you may need help with, especially if it involves your culture of engagement or your people and their performance.

Until then… Let’s seek to understand more and judge less. Have a great week – Brian

Precision Profiling – What Makes You Tick? Through ‘Motivational Fingerprinting’ we uncover what you do, how you do it and why you do it, and most importantly, the hidden patterns that lead to your success, and that of your team.

Society is heading towards a more sustainable, tolerant, progressive future. There are sweeping social and environmental changes that have been taking place this last decade that is being forced upon us by governments and consumers alike. And now it is taking shape as a business led movement driven by socially and globally aware employees; savvy investors for the future and inspired leaders of today. Just recently it was officially described as one of those deep-seated societal trends that we only see come our way every fifty or so years by the global trend tracking organisation Trendwatching in their September article “Demanding Brands.” So what is a demanding brand?

According to Trendwatching ‘Demanding Brands’ are ‘switched-on brands that are embarking on a journey towards a more sustainable and socially-responsible future that will demand that consumers also contribute.’ Even though that may cause some pain or inconvenience in the short term for the consumers when they are asked to respond to a meaningful demand on their time, energy or wallet, ultimately they will come to have a deep respect for those brands that push them towards taking action that they know to be right, as a condition of doing business with those brands.

Here are the four major demands that Trendwatching feels are beginning to have traction more and more in the hearts and minds of socially responsible businesses and consumers alike:-

The Planet: Demand action that is good for the environment, now or in the long term. (Think ‘reduce, re-use, recycle’ as an initiative of most local and national governments being promoted widely, taught in our schools today, and now promoted by more and more environmentally-conscious companies.)

Society: Demand action that is good for other people, whether that be close friends and family, local communities, or the larger sphere of society inhabiting our whole world. (For example, ThankYou Water and Zambrero here in Australia)

Lifestyles: Create products or services that demand consumers live healthy or behave well. (For example WholeFoods Markets in North America)

Nonprofits: Make demands on behalf of an established nonprofit, and insist that customers do something to support them. (For instance, our own Australian major charitable organisations of many years standing like World Vision Australia, Red Cross and their ilk are now increasingly looking at ways to partner with large corporations in a joint approach to the hearts and minds of consumers.)

Of course, consumers will not take action of this kind unless the brands that ask it of them are totally sincere, fully committed and completely transparent in their own efforts to make the world a better place. Meaningful action means just that, and those brands which don’t follow that golden rule of social consciousness will be caught out and discarded by the tidal wave of new consumers coming on to the scene in very quick time. So media stunts, one-off programs of the month, and consumer response promotions linked to customer loyalty programs fall into the ‘you’re not really serious’ consumer basket, and will be vilified and ostracised accordingly.

Authentic and concerted action by socially conscious brands in partnership with their equally concerned consumers is a trend that is growing bigger and bigger every day.

This demand on the consumer is a two-way street, because consumers everywhere are increasingly demanding it of their favourite brands. If you have any doubt about that, just consider how the ‘fair trade’ movement is rapidly gaining influence in the world today and the impact it is having on the coffee and chocolate industries of the developed nations as well as the current media and consumer focus on the Bangladeshi fashion clothing sweatshops and the impact that news is having on the ethical sourcing of products by fashion brands here in Australia.

Here are a couple of comments that describe the effect of this trend quite succinctly from the consumer-driven perspective… “91% of global consumers believe that companies must go beyond the minimum standards required by law to operate responsibly,”   (Cone Communications/ Echo, May 2013)….

and…..  “87% of global consumers believe business should place at least equal emphasis on social interests as business interests, and ‘purpose’ has increased as a purchase trigger by 26% since 2008.”  (Global Consulting firm, Edelman, 2012).

There are some excellent examples of brands that are making demands of their consumers as partners in this push to make a difference to our planet and all the people that inhabit it, in the feature article from Trendwatching titled ‘Demanding Brands.’ I think you’ll enjoy the examples they share with their global readership. I particularly like the one about the Brazilian soccer club, Vitoria, that promoted its charitable blood donation campaign through the progressive changing of the colour of the hoops on its players’ uniform strips each game from white to red to match the amount of blood being donated by their huge fan base each week.

From 17th-21st February next year, we will be leading interested executives from socially aware companies on a journey of discovery through the corridors of some of Australia’s most forward thinking organisations working in this sphere of social responsibility in harmony with commercial success. I would love you to join us on this study tour with a difference.

For more information contact me at brian@precisionprofiling.com.au and I will rush the details to you.

Until then… Let’s seek to understand more and judge less. Have a great week – Brian

Precision Profiling – What Makes You Tick? Through ‘Motivational Fingerprinting’ we uncover what you do, how you do it and why you do it, and most importantly, the hidden patterns that lead to your success, and that of your team.

While creating happy customers is one aspect of Naomi Simson’s business (and an important one), creating happy staff and stakeholders are equally critical components.

RedBalloon’s founder, Simson draws heavily on her experience as a senior marketer, having worked her way up over a 15-year period from marketing officer to product manager, marketing manager and director with well-known companies such as Ansett, IBM, KPMG and Apple. After leaving corporate life to become a mother, other priorities took hold and she decided to build her own workplace that people genuinely looked forward to attending every day.  Simson believes this is vital for long-term success and it’s something she is well versed in.  RedBalloon has secured a place in the list of Australia’s Best Places to Work produced by BRW four years in a row now.

RedBalloon are considered the pioneers of experiential gifting in Australia and New Zealand.

Although a recent arrival on the scene, here are some of the awards that they have won over the past few years:-

2013 –     #8 in the Top 50 BRW Best Places to Work in Australia (an award they are well and truly used to receiving) and one of only 9 companies to make this award 5 years in a row

2012 –     Secured a place in BRW Top 50 Best Places to Work in Australia.
BRW Fast 100 list from 2004 to 2009.  Red Balloon have also been a regular on the Deloitte Fast 50 for Australia, beginning in 2006.

2011 –     Australian Human Resources Institute HR Practitioner Of The Year – Awarded to RedBalloon Employee Experience Manager Megan Bromley.
-    Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Award – Awarded to company founder Naomi Simson (2011 Eastern Region winner for the Industry category).

2010 –    Hewitt Best Employers – One of only six companies to receive recognition.

2008 –    Nokia Business Award for Innovation – Presented to Naomi Simson at the Telstra Business Women’s Awards.

There are numerous other awards too many to mention here, and they are all centred around training, culture, team building and innovation.

In her book ‘Five Thanks a Day,’ Naomi Simson has compiled a collection of stories on the ‘how-to’ and science of saying thank you, the concept of which she also attributes as part of her success.

The name behind Simson’s endeavour was inspired by the 1956 Oscar-winning French short film Le Ballon Rouge (“The Red Balloon”), which takes viewers on a series of journeys with a young boy named Pascal and a whimsical red balloon that begins to follow him through Paris. That red balloon, a vibrant symbol of fun and happiness throughout the film, laid the foundation for Simson’s dream venture.

“I wanted to test if a business could be successful by simply listening to its people and its customers, and focusing on what would get people talking: the giving and receiving of experiential gifts that create memories,” Simson says.

Now, twelve years later, the company Simson founded in her family home has flourished into a six-time BRW Fast Company that has garnered many more accolades for its work environment, gift offerings, and employee engagement.

In an effort to bring RedBalloon into the business sphere, a corporate incentive service was created that offers employees reward points that may be redeemed for cash credit on the RedBalloon website. There are approximately 3,000 clients involved in this innovative program including such corporate heavy hitters as Qantas, Virgin Mobile, ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, Telstra and Origin Energy.

The work in this sector is not only rewarding for participating companies, but also for the RedBalloon employees coordinating the programs. “I have found my home in a business where they practice what they preach and ‘mix business with pleasure’,” says Matt Geraghty, General Manager of Corporate.

People Management

The work atmosphere at RedBalloon is just as upbeat and invigorating as the experiences they offer, and this is largely due to the high spirits of the employees.

“We believe that our people are our biggest competitive strength and, as a result, have shaped an award winning culture of fun, appreciation and recognition designed to attract and retain top talent,” says RedBalloon’s current CEO Kristie Buchanan.

A great deal of emphasis is placed on structuring the employees’ daily experiences to ensure that every work day is engaging and fulfilling.

“The framework – ‘Welcome. Tools. Grow. Flow. Appreciate’ – covers our approach to recruitment and on-boarding; what productivity tools we provide; how employees are kept connected to the flow of information; and finally, how they are recognised and challenged,” says Buchanan. “Our growth plans involve continuing to find more innovative ways to deliver meaningful experiences to our customers, our corporate clients and our employees. This could be in the form of products, in service delivery, in our marketing or technology.”

Check out for yourself why RedBalloon is one of Australia’s most sought after companies to work for and why it is also one of the fastest growing start-up brands in business today. I am sure it will give you food for thought. RedBalloon is another of the amazing companies we will be showcasing on our week long study tour in February of organisations that are changing the shape of the way we do business.

Drop me an email to brian@precisionprofiling.com.au if you would like to discuss further how to join our February study tour and create the environment that attracts and retains the young leaders of the future for your organisation.

Until then… Let’s seek to understand more and judge less. Have a great week – Brian