It’s been a crazy few months of work, being a mummy, and trying desperately to find time for friends and me time. As a result I’ve neglected my writing. But I’ve decided that October is as good a time as any to commit to a blog a week.
In the past week I’ve given two 20-30 minute speeches. The first was on leadership in turbulent times, and the second was on how communications can grow your business. I was so nervous before both of them. Key to them being a success was being prepared, and having a point of view. I don’t think you can ever be over prepared.
There was one common theme across both my speeches. Purpose. What is your purpose as a leader? What is your purpose as a brand and an organisation?
It’s not always the easiest of questions to answer. Most people will answer with what they do or how they do it. But what we really need to get to is why we do what we do.
Once you are clear about your purpose, you can have that at the core of everything you do. Guiding decisions you need to make, and keeping you focused. It can also help you decide when you (or you business) is going to stand up and be counted. And that’s more important than ever before.
As I scrolled through twitter today I felt myself getting more and more angry at what was in the news and the venom with which people were interacting with each other. There was the appalling behaviour by the Spanish Government, the lunacy of Donald Trump, the distasteful banner and ‘hangings’ in Manchester, and the usual aggressive tone of political ‘activists’. At worst this is barbaric, at best it is totally unacceptable. I’m still certain that the majority of people all over the world agree that we can’t go on like this. And so we need to be bold, be brave, be generous, be kind, and ultimately stand up and be counted.
So spend some time thinking about what your purpose is and what your willing to stand up for. I certainly intend too.