Geoff HIrsh BBG Briefing

Packform defying the odds - Phillip Weinman seems to have a 10X formula!

The ongoing debate: to go public with an IPO or stay private with more freedom? 

"I always say to #startups, the longer you can avoid taking external money, the longer you can control your own destiny."

Wise words from our #Packform co-founders Philip Weinman, Peter Williams and Preston Geeting who were recently interviewed by Yolanda Redrup from The Australian Financial Review (Fairfax Media). Read the full article here:

https://lnkd.in/gn-Jdgd

#packaging #entrepreneur

What some people have said about the BBG Forum

What an SME needs to do to mitigate the risk of Cybersecurity

Small Business cyber security Guide

The dangers of Cybercrime is real .... and every business should have strategies in place to mitigate their risk.

Cyber security expert, Paul Pius, CEO of Moonspace and cloud Solutions expert , shared a link of a “Cyber Security Guide” - published by the Australian Government , which is invaluable!

The guide discusses the following 

Cyber Risks such as 

• Malware - malicious software - viruses, spyware, Trojans and Worms
• Scam Emails - Phishing - dodgy emails - asking for money (Nigerian Prince)
• Ransomware - licks your file for ransom

How to mitigate these risks 

• Software updates
• automatic Backup
• Multi factor authentication
• Responsible person focussed on Cybersecurity
• Access Control of system and data
• Passphrases Vs passwords (see example in picture )

Let me know if you would like me to send you the guide and I will send it to you.

Desperation is not referable - “the new best friend”

This is gold from BNI founder, Ivan Misner 

When people demonstrate certain behaviors as part of their networking efforts, it’s a tell-tale sign of desperation.  

There are four types of behaviors that desperate networkers exhibit. “The New Best Friend” is the final of these four “desperate networker behaviors” that he shares 

The New Best Friend

Follow-up with the people you meet at a networking event is important.  But be a professional – not a stalker.

The New Best Friend is the over-eager seller who after you meet at a networking event – calls you, emails you, social media messages you, and tries to become your New Best Friend in the space of just a few days.

Generally, they’re not actually trying to help you – they simply want to sell something to you.  Granted, they may want to sell something to you because in their mind – it’s only to “help you,” but it’s never really about you.  It’s about what they want from you.   

Desperation seeps from their pores.  I’ve experienced this many times over my career.  

The one that stands out the most in my mind happened a couple years ago.  I met a young man (late 20’s) at a networking event and he went right into “New Best Friend” mode – calling several times, emailing every day, messaging me on Facebook etc.  But when he wrote me and said that he thought of himself like my son (yes, seriously – he said that) and he needed my help in his business venture – I had to pull the plug.  I tried to pull it gently by talking about the importance of establishing credibility before pitching something and that the process of developing credibility takes time.  Curiously, my “new son” abandoned me.

networking is more about farming than it is about hunting. 

Building a relationship and becoming a best friend takes time , collaboration, contribution and commitment.

There are no short cuts 

Check out these links to the other three types of “desperate networker behaviors” below:

• The Card Dealer
• The Space Violator
• The Premature Solicitor

The Great Reset Post Covid

Inspired by an article by – Graham Kenny

Regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review

You can connect to or follow him on LinkedIn.

And our BBG Forum with Tony Surtees on the great reset .

There needs to be a new way 

.... how often have you heard this....

 “but my firm is so conservative. They just won’t change. We do what everyone else does in the industry”. 

It’s time to find a step-change in your business’s performance - to help your business reach its competitive potential. And this is a perfect time for you to get this happenning.

Each of our business’s have  agreed to retain consultant(s) , mentor(s) and coach(s) to create a path and develope strategies to grow to 2025.

At our last BBG forum we had Tony Surtees present “the Great Reset” - he suggested that 

this is a perfect time for consultants to be helping businesses who have the opportunity to scaleup and take advantage of opportunities that will present itself post Covid-19.

Scaleups have a perfect opportunity to ask the relevant questions - with a view to plan the next 5 years (which, in my view has massive growth potential for those that are riding the wave of businesses that can grow using the technologies available. )

• What’s your point of difference ?
• Is it your purpose?
• What’s driving your business forward?
• What is your niche?
• What does your business look like in 2025? 
• Do you  want the brightest and the best knocking at the door wanting to work for you?

• What does your competition look like at the moment .... in the professional service field ....

When it comes to the big firms ..... The culture in the industry are 

• process-driven, 
• risk-averse, 
• uncaring when it comes to junior staff, 
• and highly competitive within the firm. 
• It’s a fairly cut-throat culture.

Where are you now?

• how many people in your team ?
• Annual employee turnover?
• How many customers - who are your current customers ?
• Who is your ideal customer ?
• Average revenue per customer ?

• Have you got an advisory board?
• Have you got a coach?
• Have you got people who you can share your ideas with?
• Do you belong to a BBG Forum?

Many businesses I talk to tell me that 2020 is a “write off”. They’re laying off staff, freezing new hires, halting training, and cancelling advertising among many other cost-saving manoeuvres. 

• In this environment - what should you be doing?

• What are the trendsetters doing both inside and outside your industry?

Things will pick up - and quickly - will you be in a position to be the number one or two in your niche?

As Anthony Surtees said at our BBG Forum last week 

“be optimistic and opportunistic - never waste a good crisis”

Unpacking the Great Reset ThinkTank with Tony Surtees

Natalie Sassoon - The emotional connection to change - use mindset and  technologies to propel us forward - both personally and in business.

• The use of  mindset and technology as a combination to propel 

• "If you are feeling under control, you are not going fast enough."

• "Don't waste a good crisis and taking advantage"

• Use this time to look at our environment and find ways to make it more efficient 

• Speed at the way change has happenned from governments to individuals - out of necessity - using substitutes such as zoom and BBG - One tends to adapt to survive 

• A great example of innovation is the way we use  BBG and Zoom - how technology is working together creating productivity and creativity - allowing us to connect and collaborate.

Gotto love coincidences!!!!

The BBG Superforum with Tony Surtees - the great reset

BBG June Super Forum with Tony Surtees

JR introducing the BBG Super Forum with Tony Surtees

Introducing Tony Surtees and Framing the Knowledge Share

This presentation is about the unique opportunities that have resulted from the current crisis.
Specifically Digital Transformation - realigning and reassessing
This is about being Optimistic about the future

Be optimistic - find the opportunity and ride the wave

Change was going to happen - Covid has just accelerated this change 10X

This is just a part of a cycle - and this is an opportunity for you to be at the forefront of what the changes are going to be.


For Companies, Enterprise and Governments to survive they will need to pivot - entrepreneurs are used to this.

SMEs are going to be key to the economic recovery - and limitation of resources will act as a stimulus to inovation.

Be part of the tailwind - ride the wave

 "don't waste a good crisis"

Timing and being ready for Change is key 

Timing is key and change is everywhere and ability to be in right time at right place with right value proposition is significant

Changes have been occuring - exponentially  - Moores Law - Thngs are happenning faster and cheaper (storage, processing, bandwidth, 5G - Ubiquitous Connectivity

IOT - 3D Priniting, VR, Blockchain, Machine Learning

Change post COVID 

People resistance to change - Covid had to find the substitute

• Change in the Covid World
• People had to change - fast
• Substitutes being found - eg zoom - complementary technologies worked
• Substitutes - better than going to work
• Better cheaper faster -
• Remote working - increased productivity

This challenge has been creating opportunities

CANVA story

The Investment Framework - Post COvid-19

Pause - Problems - on pause - retail, restaurants, planes, elective surgery - some will go back to level before - some greater - Local travel - will explode

Accelerated Future - Online shopping; VR tools (properties entertainment, banks ), Decentralised organisations ; Food Security - supply chain and agtech

The New Normal - consulting opportunities - businesses needd to transform - need to have fundamentals right - need to meet needs of customers and stakeholders - what are the market opportunities  -redefine market opportunities

Consultants to engage strategically and operationally - help organisations with a transformational opportunity

CASE STUDY - LAAVA 

Tony Surtees - Close

Tony Surtees Think Tank and Q&A

The think tank process

Natalie - The importance of using technology at hand to make your business more efficient so you can focus on nuts and bolts -
Tony
"just because you have a telephone in your business - are you in the telecommunication business?"
Business success of Afterpay and Zip - are they in the technology business or banking business?
Bridge gap with a commercial model - applying the imagination to a commercial model - and then use the technology to solve the problem"

The capacity to ask questions and listen to advice - solve the problem and then use the technology is the key to success

Milind - VR and AI - not much intake why? 
Tony
 - barrier to entry that you cant leverage the technology in your hand - hardware cliff to be dealt with
Telemedicine and Education - big implications - there will be massive change using these technologies

"Phoria" - make it easy to code VR content

Les - Impact on Covid-19 working from home and Productivity - whats your view?
Tony
- Productivity and government decisionmaking dramatically improved -
- we have had a taste of another type of life - and its been good - remote working - control over working lives - array of technology available at little or no cost - ZOOM -
- Change of productivity - employees happier
- Productivity impact to be examined pre and post

Eric Tjoeng of BGES - Unpacking the Think Tank with Tony Surtees 

Eric , Hendrik, Brendan, Damien and Eddie

• Now is the time to realign and reimagine in a digitised world 
• SME Challenge to come up with the strategy and the action to move forward - how - this is an opportunity for consultants to help
• Hendrik -  barrier of a cultural change - 
• Benny - blended office environment - going to be the new normal - will probably be an improved efficiency 
• Eddie - AI and Robotics - whats going to happen with the people? Future of work? Universal wages? 
• Change was going to happen... just faster 
• Damien - Being Agile - is certainly the new normal - MVP - fail fast - scale up or down - come up with quick solution and then change 

Craig Saphin - Scaling New Heights - Unpacking the Think Tank with Tony Surtees 

Craig, David Hodes,  Martin Collins and Alex Tees

• Matrix - interesting - different industries or business in each quadrant - whats actions for each - consultants - needed in each quadrant - nailing the  purpose is key 
• Process - What is the Questions to ask to get momentum going  -  Tony responded  - " What problem are you trying to solve?" - thats what business is about - solving problems
• Working remotely - Get the process and systems right - mental and psychological support and safety for both staff and clients is important  - How important is face to face - managing people using EQ is key - how to get best productivity out of them. 
• Innovation in legal field  - Martin Collins - land and environment court - digitised and Alex Tees - Docs lodged electronically - no more piles of documents 
• Meeting face to face is still key 

Larry Dorfan - Unpacking the Think Tank with Tony Surtees 

Yen, Guy, Adam, Goerge and Laurence

• Quadrant model - where we are and where we need to be 
• Blockchain is key going forward - will be as important as internet itself - example of validation of product; use of blockchain and IoT - to track products as its moved internationally - laava
• How do you know who you dealing with - more remote - harder it is - still nothing better than face to face 
• Investments - if you can afford to lose money - then you cannot afford not to invest
• Great insite from VC - if you can take a punt - take the infoormed decision - upside massive - VC is a powerful asset class 
• Worthless constraints can be done away with if needed - institutional resistance to change - if you need to change can happen quickly 
• Challenges of working remotely - security of information - use of multiple latform - each has hook for hackers - oy!! what solutions
• Need for helping SMEs - any change - unless we are innovators we have to wait in line for price to decrease - SMEs dont have capacity to become early adoptors of new technology unless you are an innovator 

Natalie Sassoon - The emotional connection to change - use mindset and  technologies to propel us forward - both personally and in business.

• The use of  mindset and technology as a combination to propel 

• "If you are feeling under control, you are not going fast enough."

• "Don't waste a good crisis and taking advantage"

• Use this time to look at our environment and find ways to make it more efficient 

• Speed at the way change has happenned from governments to individuals - out of necessity - using substitutes such as zoom and BBG - One tends to adapt to survive 

• A great example of innovation is the way we use  BBG and Zoom - how technology is working together creating productivity and creativity - allowing us to connect and collaborate.

4 networkers that you just want to avoid!

Ivan Meisner - founder of BNI and the king of referrals share with us 4 traits that you should not o at a networking event!!!!

Networking is a great opportunity to meet someone and focus on a BAMFAM - “book a meeting from a meeting” 

Referron is a great way to not have to be a card dealer - and get details of people in the room! 

Below are the 4 

The Card Dealer

This is probably the most common form of desperation that I’ve seen over the years. The Card Dealer is a person that darts around the room passing out cards like they’re at a poker table. They don’t spend time really getting to know anyone (unless they think they can get something from them). To the Card Dealer, networking is mostly a numbers game. The more people they can pass their cards to – the better they’re doing (or so they think). Card Dealers tend to have a network that is a mile wide but an inch deep because they don’t spend time building relationships. It never works in the long-run and they just look inexperienced, frazzled, and yes – desperate.

The Space Violator

Here’s the guy that thinks the closer he gets when he’s talking to you, the more you’ll be interested in what he’s saying. Nope. Not true. In fact, it has the opposite effect (especially if his breath has the aroma of a smelly camel). So, what’s the right distance to stand from someone without getting into their personal space? The answer to this question varies based on the cultural standards of the country you are in. In North America, it’s fairly common to have conversations at roughly “arm’s length” for people that you meet at a networking event. From my experience that distance is definitely less in some countries around the world. What’s also interesting is the issue of gender and personal space or “proxemics.” According to a “Journal of Psychology” study, “male-male pairs tend to interact at greater personal distances, whereas female-female pairs tend to interact closer.”

The Premature Solicitor

This is the person who confuses networking with direct selling. They meet you and immediately go into sales mode. They want you to do business with them without asking questions about you, your business, your interests, or your needs first. To this person, everyone is a target and every target is a dollar sign. These people are the reason why many individuals don’t like to go to networking events. They go to meetings and feel slimmed by people soliciting them for business. They leave the meeting and run home to get a shower.

The New Best Friend

Follow-up with the people you meet at a networking event is important. But be a professional – not a stalker. The New Best Friend is the over-eager seller who after you meet at a networking event – calls you, emails you, social media messages you, and tries to become your New Best Friend in the space of just a few days. Generally, they’re not actually trying to help you – they simply want to sell something to you. Granted, they may want to sell something to you because in their mind – it’s only to “help you,” but it’s never really about you. It’s about what they want from you. Desperation seeps from their pores. I’ve experienced this many times over my career. The one that stands out the most in my mind happened a couple years ago. I met a young man (late 20’s) at a networking event and he went right into “New Best Friend” mode – calling several times, emailing every day, messaging me on Facebook etc. But when he wrote me and said that he thought of himself like my son (yes, seriously – he said that) and he needed my help in his business venture – I had to pull the plug. I tried to pull it gently by talking about the importance of establishing credibility before pitching something and that the process of developing credibility takes time. Curiously, my “new son” abandoned me.

Desperation is not referable. Remember these behaviors when you go to networking events and whatever you do – don’t demonstrate these behaviors yourself. Remember that networking is more about farming, than it is about hunting.