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21 things we know now that we didn’t know then

The things you learn when start your own business

As we prepare to celebrate our 3rd birthday at The Clear Thinking Partnership we have captured some of our most valuable learning and thoughts about being in business, and making the transition from corporate life to "new business" to where we are today.

The experiences and insights that others have shared with us on our journey so far have been invaluable and we hope that we can provide inspiration to others, just as we have been inspired by the stories we have heard and the people we have met.

Do get in touch to find out more or just to tell us what you think! "Every day's a school day!"

No. 1 You don't have to be brave......

"You don’t have to be brave to start a business but having the support of people close to you and enough confidence does help...….a lot!"

In the very early days people talked a great deal about how brave we were to start the business, how competitive the market would be and so how hard it would be for us to make our mark, and in our work with start ups and small businesses too, we’ve heard those words repeated by others many times.

Now, we don’t think of ourselves as particularly brave; we’re no more remarkable than the next person when it comes to bravery. Starting a business just felt right, everything seemed to be in place and above all we had our mindset right, so it made the decision easy. There’s a great quote from a Heineken ad, "Get the head right and everything else follows," and that’s just how it was.

In a competitive market there can be room enough for everyone, so long as you're good enough. Obviously we seek out our competitors and it's in our best interests to learn from them, and sometimes with them.

And finally, making our mark has had a lot to do with who we are and how we do what we do. Being authentic, honest and straightforward has enabled us to work with some really exciting organisations and helped us to make a positive difference with them. So, no magic ingredients, just having the right people around us and the confidence to get on and do it.

Image: Danilo Rizzuti FreeDigitalPhotos.net

No. 3 Dolphins and dinosaurs......

"Still having a sustainable business after 3 years has got a lot to do with being a dolphin rather than a dinosaur."

The dolphin - intelligent, graceful, agile; the dinosaur - very, very dead!

In the past three years our products and services have gradually evolved. We’ve not abandoned the ideals that we hold dear from when we started in business, we’ve just made smart and subtle adjustments to keep pace with what our customers need. It’s either that or be a dinosaur and disappear!

No. 2 When two women agree......

"When two women in business agree, one of them is unnecessary."

We know that we are very similar in our approach and this has helped to grease the wheels of our partnership. We think alike, we are excited and inspired by similar things, we respond in a similar way, and treat deadlines with a similar contempt! Being so alike can be good for harmony, but it can also be a hindrance when you are trying to look at things from as many perspectives as possible to produce the best possible solution to a challenge..

As we are fans of "touch talking" we are happy to be straight forward with each other and actively encourage this when we have things to achieve and deadlines to be met. We are always mindful of our similar approach, and the risks that this brings, so try to do things that combat this and challenge our thinking.

We involve the people around us, those we trust and who have a very different view of the world - they are our Dragons, charged with doing just what the Dragon's in the Den are reknowned for. They help us to review our progress honestly and plan ahead realistically and we get a measured, different and sometimes blunt opinion from their perspective too. Dragons wouldn't be dragons without the fire!

two women.jpg

Ron Mueck (Australian, b. 1958). Two Women, 2005

No.4 Being Indiana Jones......

"In the world of people development, making learning stick is like finding the Holy Grail, and we want to be Indiana Jones!"

In our experience learning sticks if you do something with it immediately, if it's relevant to the here and now.

Our approach has 3 steps:

First we have to get the learning out in the open so its visible to the learner,

then we make it relevant to them,

then we give it a job to do.

This approach means that learning oozes from the learner back into the organsation so both the learner and the business get a result, the learning sticks as a consequence and the new way of doing things becomes the norm. We call it Sticky Thinking.