What I learned on a Motorbike in Bali..

I rented a small motorbike whilst working in Bali - from memory it was a 175cc Honda.
Leaving Denpasar and following the coast road - Jalan Gumbrih - Lalanglinggah, through Pekutatan I eventually came to a ferry port at the western tip of the Island. Turning right I headed for the hills and the rode through some of the most amazing scenery I have ever seen.
After leaving the main road to head back to the hotel, I noticed that I was being followed by another motorbike and noticed that I had a slight power to weight ratio disadvantage when compared to the young lad following me. On the flat and downhill I could pull away, but uphill he definately had the advantage...
We "raced" through forest roads until we came to the outskirts of  Denpasar and had to stop at a set of traffic lights. While we were stationary he asked me where I was from - so I explained that I was originally from England but that I was living in Las Vegas now. Knowing that I was English, he immediately invited me to go and have tea at his family business.
So I agreed and followed him through some of the poorest housing that I have come accross, until we came to what was essetially a shack built out of plywood and corrugated iron. This was the family business - a street cafe serving tea, coffee and snacks.
He insisted that he buy me a cup of tea and a portion of Rojak - spicy fruit salad. He introduced me to his family and was intrigued about this crazy Englishman who lives in Las Vegas and rides a motorbike off the tourist routes.
What I learned was that whilst these people had virtually nothing - they were proud to invite me to eat and drink with them and give me the gift of hospitality and unconditional friendship, I was equally humbled and grateful. To give without the expectation of recieving was my lesson from some of the most genuine people it had become my priviledge to know.

Eastern Promise...

I was invited to give a series of presentations to business owners and budding entrepreneurs in Bucharest, Romania. After one of the talks, I was approached by someone from the audience and invited to go outside for a cigarette.

I don’t smoke, but realised that this was just a code for a discreet chat about the contents of my presentation.

During the discussion, I asked whether he felt that things were better now than they had been under Ceausescu.

His answer surprised me, he said that everyone now had the “freedom to be uncertain”, and that whilst he wouldn’t want to go back the days of the dictator, at least back then people had certainty in their lives and things were more predictable.

He explained that getting a car used to mean waiting 5 years just to get a Lada, but at least you got one. Everyone had a job, the state provided everything and life ran according to a comfortable, predictable pattern.

Having had 100% certainty removed from their lives, the people of Romania and other similar Eastern European states, find it challenging to cope with the “freedom to be uncertain” that we take for granted in the “West”.

For some, the chalice of freedom has been poisoned with the venom of unpredictability; personal choice and responsibility have replaced comfortable reliance on a Soviet state.

Its all about you..

Your business, your life and results are all about you...

If you want to get a different output then look at the inputs you are making. Your philosophy towards yourself, your business, team, customers and suppliers will all show up in the results you get.

In business, your profits are just a barometer of how everything else is working. If profits are down, then we have to make an adjustment to your philosophy, or the product, process or promotion activity you are doing, equally if profits are up then this is also a consequence of the quality of activity you are doing.

This is why systems are so important - without systems, all results are a surprise; with systems all results are a consequence of something we can measure, fine tune and adjust.

Results don't just happen - they are always engineered..

www.resultsrulesok.com