Gary Bertwistle Blog

Notes

13/05/2009

It constantly amazes me how few people take notes during a conference. Time and time again I sit or stand in rooms with some of Australia's best speakers presenting to see people sit there and not take notes. Organisations and individuals pay a lot of money to hear speakers and/or each other speak. Venues, food, wages, speakers fees and audio visual equipment are all expenses that are being borne by you and/or your company. That aside, your most precious asset is your time and you are willingly giving that to be in a room to hear someone speak. So why wouldn't you take notes? The Institute of Accelerated Learning states that only 1 in 10 people actually learn or process new information simply by hearing it. So why is it that people sit there eagerly shaking their head, agreeing with what you're saying and supposedly learning something, yet they write nothing down?

Given the quality of people I see speaking to audiences its hard to believe that they're not getting some cracking nuggets to implement for themselves, their family, their children or their workmates. If you think you're going to remember the content past leaving the room and having your first up of coffee, you're kidding yourself.

Learning is like watching a bird in a tree. While its in front of you and its conscious, its great, but the minute you turn your back the bird flies out of the tree and is gone forever. Take notes! Buy yourself a good journal and whenever you go to a meeting, conference, seminar or a training session, take your journal with you and record your notes. Trust me it will become your ultimate learning and development resource in your pursuit of outstanding.

Melbourne Leadership Breakfast REMINDER

5/05/2009

Just a reminder that the Melbourne Leadership Breakfast is being held on 21st May 2009 in Melbourne. The event will be hosted by David Parkin and all proceeds from the event will go directly to the Tour de Cure cycling foundation to assist in its efforts to raise money to cure Cancer.

Speakers:

Bernie Brooks, CEO of Myer - A retail veteran of more than 30 years with an enviable track record in some of Australia's largest retail companies. Bernie will share his insights into retailing in Australia, leading change and the future of Myer.

Gary Bertwistle, Creative Thinking Expert & Author - Gary is Australia's new pioneer in thinking. As an author Gary has published 'The Keys to Creativity' and 'Who Stole My Mojo?'. His third book, 'What Made You Think of That?', is due out in bookstores in August 2009. Gary will share his thoughts on how to think differently and get back your Mojo in challenging times.

Date: Thursday 21st May 2009

Venue: LSV Sandridge Beach, 200 The Boulevard, Port Melbourne

Time: 7.00am for a 7.15am start

Cost: $60 per person, includes full breakfast & a copy of Gary's book The Keys to Creativity, & Musashi samples

If you would like to attend please click on the following link to purchase tickets: http://www.stickytickets.com.au/1603

For more information, call Tom Carra on 0409 192 326

Wheelies

1/05/2009

Rodney was an attendee in an audience at a speech I was giving in Toowoomba in Queensland. He was a member of the TASC Inc. During my speech we were discussing the rituals which are the downtime that people create in their schedules to allocate to creative thinking, pondering and dreaming. I talked through my theories behind rituals and then threw it to the audience. Rodney said that his ritual was when he wheeled. He said when he's in his wheelchair he'll go out and wheel around the car park or around the office, and while he's out doing that is his creative thinking time.

He said he found it odd that people who were able to walk didn't want to walk, yet people who couldn't walk, were the ones who wanted to. I thought this was beautiful and asked him to explain to the audience. He said that he sits and shakes his head when people try and park as closely to the entry of a shopping centre as possible to save them from having to walk. Wherever possible people who are able bodied will take a short cut to save them from having to walk too far. Yet people who are in a wheelchair are the ones who would do anything to be able to walk again. Ironic but true.

Unexpected

27/04/2009

Recently I delivered a keynote in Adelaide around Leading Innovation. My challenge to the group was to consider the last time they did something quite unexpected for their customers or clients. When did they truly astound or surprise their customers or clients with something to do with their product or service?

As the audience sat and contemplated this thought, one of the attendees relayed a story about his favourite restaurant. He said every time he eats at this restaurant the chef has something new on the menu or the staff do something that completely blows his mind. He said its not an expensive restaurant but he can't believe the sorts of things that are done to not only satisfy the patrons but also wow them. Of course I thought this was great and again I asked the group when the last time was that they did something mind blowing for their own business, with respect to staff or customers?

This is where the true innovation will lead in the future. Yes its all well and good to keep tinkering and finding small consistent improvements in keeping with the Japanese philosophy of Kaizan, however this may not be enough going forward. While small incremental improvements are being made, at the same time we also have to look to do the bigger, mind blowing, unexpected innovations for our business or service. Don't leave it to the brains that you most admire to be the ones to do it. This can apply to a law firm, an accountancy firm, a doctors practice, a biscuit brand or a car company and is pertinent when recruiting staff, training staff, rewarding staff, as well as finding and maintaining your customer base. It's irrelevant whether you make widgets or envelopes, if you have customers and you have staff then there is always something that can be done to completely blow their mind.

A World First!

24/04/2009

On 6th May I will be releasing the first issue of the world's first newspaper for those people who think differently. The Espresso is not for everyone. It's for those who challenge status quo, hate to sit still with the same old same old thinking, and want to find new and better ways to improve every part of their world. The Espresso is dedicated to the mavericks. Its for those restless people who like to go against the grain.

Its free and it will be delivered to your inbox every Wednesday morning. With features in business, sport, lifestyle, kids, people, technology and books, The Espresso will be a short, sharp jolt of creativity to get you pondering over your first cup of coffee each Wednesday morning. If you'd like it delivered free, click the link below and subscribe. If you think you've got a friend who would like an Espresso first up on a Wednesday morning, then feel free to share it around. We look forward to bringing you the best news in thinking from around the globe.

Yes I would like to receive The Espresso each week.

Tough Times

20/04/2009

Prior to my presentation at a TEC meeting recently, the Chair spoke to the audience and passed on a message he had heard from a consultant he'd worked with. He said that during these tough economic times, leaders and businesses have get tougher, get faster, play to their strengths and get fitter. He said these economic times are forcing us to make tougher decisions and where once business was able to roll along and be quite profitable with little or no differentiation and in some cases mediocre performance, today they must get tougher and really hunker down.

Business must get faster. No longer can you take longer to make decisions, either good or bad. Business must get faster in its decisions, faster in its communication with customers and faster in it's delivery. Organisations can no longer suffer weakness. They must understand their strengths and play to those points. Some of the best business and brand writers in the world like Marcus Buckingham and Seth Godin are reiterating this point through best selling books. And finally business must get fitter. I think this applies just as much to the CEO running the organisation as it does to the orgnisation itself. No longer can you be unhealthy as a leader or an organisation. We have to get fitter, faster, tougher and play to our strengths.

It was a quick intro by this TEC Chair but I thought it was very poignant in the climate we're in and certainly something that all of us must consider. We must make tougher decisions, get faster in everything we do including our thinking around innovation and our customers, we must play to our strengths and at the same time get fitter, leaner and smarter as an organisation.

Too many reports?

30/03/2009

I was in Canberra recently presenting at the AM Institute conference and I had the privilege of spending time with the MC of the event. Not only an interesting character but also very very funny, John was sharing different stories from his business career. John talked about working for not-for-profits and the layers of bureaucracy that stifle the creative process. He said if he had a meeting with somebody to generate funds or support for a project, he then would have to write up to 3 reports to different people outlining that the meeting happened, who attended and what was discussed. He said he spent his whole time writing report after report.

The problem with this is that you spend your whole time doing reports and nothing happens. What really annoys me is that you do these reports that no-one reads. The problem with bureaucracy is that its like being on a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere. Bureaucracy, politics and red tape don't just slow the creative process, they stop it. Look at your own business, your own team or your own world and audit whether the meetings you're attending are well organised with a proper agenda and are necessary. Are the reports you're writing really necessary? Is the person you're writing the report for really going to read it and it is really going to take you somewhere?

Red tape, bureaucracy, meaningless reports and endless laborious meeting will steal your creative mojo. Its time for you, your business and your team to do an audit and look at what is really necessary in order to take you to the next great idea.

Standards

27/03/2009

This week I was in the UK, where I presented my Who Stole My Mojo? speech at the Talk Performance seminar at Lords Cricket Ground. In this speech I talk about Raising the Roof and the standards people hold themselves to.

After I'd finished, one of the delegates approached me. He said standards have got nothing to do with what you do in life. An astronaut can have a bad day the same way that a bus driver can have an outstanding day. Standards have nothing to do with your profession. (His reference to the astronaut was to do with the fact that Charlie Duke Jnr who was the 10th man to walk on the moon as part of Armstrong's mission control back in the 60s, was also speaking at Talk Performance).

I tended to agree with him and I told him how the day prior, on my way back from Winchester, I had asked the guard which stop I should get off at to get back to Clapham Junction. With great pride, she gave me the instructions and moved on. When the train arrived at the appropriate station and I was about to get off, she made a point of greeting me and letting me know that the next train was only 4 minutes behind and which platform to go to. Then she turned on her heels, blew her whistle as loud as she could, checked the platform and re-entered the train, looking as proud as punch that this was her train and she had it under control. It was really great to see somebody doing a job that others would disregard, with so much pride and the highest of standards.

Regardless of what you do in life, do it with enthusiasm and people will love you for it. Everyone has good days and bad days, its got nothing to do wth your job, your status in life or your background.

Melbourne Leadership Breakfast

25/03/2009

As part of the ongoing fundraising efforts of The Tour de Cure cycling foundation (www.tourdecure.com.au), I have helped organise a Leadership Breakfast which will be held on 21st May 2009 at the LSV Sandridge Beach in Port Melbourne. Both myself and Bernie Brooks, the CEO of Myer, will be speaking at the breakfast, which we hope will continue to raise much needed funds to help in the fight against Cancer.

If you would like to attend please click on the following link to purchase tickets: http://www.stickytickets.com.au/1603

Please also pass the attached flyer on to any friends or colleagues you think may be interested in attending!

Restless

23/03/2009

I get to meet a lot of creative genius' in lots of different areas and I have to say that the one thing that separates most of the greats from the average person, is their constant dissatisfaction with status quo. People who have a true passion for creativity, innovation and really want to think differently, just can't stand to have things sit still for too long. They've got a burning, deep desire and passion to keep moving forward and ask 'What else?' For them, status quo hurts. It makes them bored, and if nothing else it makes them restless.

I've written a lot about creativity and imagination, and there are hundreds of books, podcasts, vidcasts and speakers all talking about this topic. In fact right now it seems to be the hot topic on the speaking circuit. However no speaker can convince you to be more creative unless you have convinced yourself deep down that you're going to make it a priority in your life. It's only when you become restless, when you can't stand status quo, when you've got a burning desire to get your ideas heard, that you will really dig down and make the best use of your creative talents.

Channel 9's Sixty Minutes recently interviewed Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay. They're being hailed as one of the biggest bands in the world, alongside if not in front of, U2. They are currently embarking on a massive sold out world tour, yet at the same time they're about to complete their next song. The interviewer asked, 'Don't you ever stop, don't you ever have any down time?' Chris Martin replied, 'No, I'll do that when I'm 35. Right now I'm too intent on writing the perfect song.' To me, thats why these guys have been so successful. They're professional, they do the right things, they work hard, they hold themselves to outstanding standards and they've got a constant deep down burning, gnawing desire to write the perfect song.

I love it when you hear the greats who started out in a humble 2 bedroom flat in London and are now international superstars, talk about their approach to creativity, innovation and song writing. The same principles can be applied to anything you do in or out of the workplace. If you don't have that deep down burning desire to challenge how things are currently done or ignite your own creative spark, then you truly will never know what you're capable of in terms of your imagination.

Pixar Animation

16/03/2009

I was listening to a podcast recently on the Harvard Business Ideacast channel, and the interviewer had Ed Catmell, co-founder of Pixar, in the studio talking about the collective creativity of Pixar Films. Pixar recently won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film with Wall-E. As I was listening to the interview something he said caught my attention. When asked the question 'How does Pixar define creativity?', he said, 'We believe its something thats new and unexpected.'

My question to you is - What are you doing for your client that's unexpected? What are you doing for your staff that's unexpected? In fact what are you doing for your family, your children or your loved ones that unexpected? Creativity comes in lots of different forms but if we hold ourselves to a standard of delivering unexpected then surely creativity and innovation has to follow? Too many businesses right now are doing the same old same old. They're repeating the same old marketing plans, the same brand plans, the same recruitment strategies, the same strategic plans blah blah blah. Its time to deliver the unexpected. There are some leading brands throughout the world who are delivering the unexpected and surprise surprise they're the ones who are outdoing their competition and truly setting benchmarks in their category.

What's creativity to your company? Something thats new and unexpected? What are you doing for your customers, your staff, your management team and take time to think about this - what are you doing for your family and loved ones thats unexpected?

Who's Swimming Naked?

12/03/2009

The world renowned financial investor Warren Buffet is quoted as saying 'You only learn who's been swimming naked when the tide goes out.' Nothing could be more true than in the area of marketing and brand. When times are good people can get away with not having a solid brand. When times are good you can get away without having a clear point of difference. When times are good you can throw caution to the wind and spend money on so called marketing activity and in most cases not have to see a justifiable or accountable return.

However when the tide goes out you can see who's swimming naked. When the tide goes out and times are tough and every dollar counts, suddenly you're being held accountable for every marketing dollar and you must get a return. Suddenly your customers are saying 'Do I have to spend any money at all, and if do have to spend money, who am I going to spend it with?' Right now more and more companies are going back to the fundamentals of their brand and realising that they don't actually have a brand, all they have is a logo they've up till now banged on and invoice or the side of a box. A lot of companies are realising their brand stands for nothing. Too many brands are realising that there is no clear point of difference between them and their competitors. They're giving no justifiable reason why their customers, who have their revenue taps turned off, should continue to do business with them.

Warren Buffett was also famous for saying 'When people are greedy be fearful, but when people are fearful, be greedy.' Now is the time to get on the front foot and ensure that your brand is the one that people choose.

Brand U

6/03/2009

Last Thursday night I was asked to be a guest key note speaker for the National Speakers Association. This is a group of some of the most recognised and newest speaking talent in Sydney, ie key note speakers, trainers and presenters in general. The core of my speech was about differenitating yourself from being a speaker into a brand, and how you go about doing that.

My speech was around the thinking that speakers and presenters or anyone who runs workshops or training sessions needs to apply to themselves in order to become a brand. I've had many of Australia's best speakers approach me in the last couple of months about their brand. With this in mind I've developed a brand new programme called Brand U. Its not for everybody. Its targetted purely at speakers, presenters and trainers or sole operators. Its done over coffee and doesn't do the thinking for you, but instead I'll facilitate your own thinking to help you establish your brand. Check out Brand U at this link.

Vidcasting

6/03/2009

I came across a hot new platform called Vidcasting. Vidcasting is internal corporate communication via video. People don't read emails anymore and this is the way for a management to communicate with their team via face to face video. A new company called Vidcasters are experts in this area. They'll come in and create a short video segment of the CEO, brand manager or the marketing manager to camera and then edit in point of sale, graphs, figures, rewards, results and so on. Its a really cool idea that the staff can then pick up on their laptop, blackberry, iPhone or iPod. It has to be the new era in corporate communication and you can go to www.vidcasters.com.au to check it out. I reckon its pretty cool and we're currently vidcasting from our website.

Speaker of the Year

3/03/2009

Last Thursday night at a small function at the TEC offices in North Sydney, I was presented with the TEC Speaker of the Year award for the second year running. In 2007 I had set winning the award as a goal, but in 2008 it came as a complete surprise.

Many years ago when I first started speaking for TEC I had always visualised and planned to receive the award. It's funny how when you set your mind to a goal, see it clearly in your mind and then set about holding yourself to the standards required to win that award, the rest will take care of itself. I guess that in 2008 I just kept the same standards for myself and lo and behold I was privileged to be handed the trophy again. The award was voted on by well over 600 CEO'sof Australian businesses and organiastions.

Naturally I'm a fan of the TEC organisation (www.tec.com.au) and especially during these tough economic times, where we need better leaders. We need better leaders in the workplace, better leaders leading people, better leaders within our family and certainly better community leaders. If you're looking for a mentor, network or support group to support you as a CEO or a business leader, then I highly suggest you at least check out TEC because right now they are the leaders in Australia of developing better leaders. If you're a TEC member reading this blog, my thanks go out to you for your vote, challenging questions, support and constant drive to bring the best out of any TEC speaker.

Go Gerry Go!

25/02/2009

Flying back from a speech in Perth on Friday night I glanced across the aisle to see probably Australia's most successful retailer sitting not far from me in the economy section. As a shareholder of this retailer it is gratifying to see the head of the organisation sharing the back of the plane with his shareholders. Be it a sign of the times or just the way that this businessman rolls, either way, I think its all good. Go Gerry Go!

Worrying Times

23/02/2009

During a telephone call with well known photographer John Clutterbuck, he said something interesting that had me thinking. John said right now people are worrying about keeping their jobs rather than getting on with their jobs. Its such an interesting concept to consider when you reference Steven Covey's 'Circle of influence and circle of concern'.

In his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey talks about the two circles. The circle of influence are the things that you directly have an impact over, they're the things that move you towards your goals, the things you can actually do and have a bearing over. The circle of concern are the things that you get yourself caught up in that don't move you towards your goals and in fact there's nothing you can do about them. Right now alot of people are spending much of their time in the circle of concern. They're worrying about what might happen, what people are saying, what the media is going on about and how anaylsts are viewing their world and the world at large. Others are working on the circle of influence. They're not worried about losing their job, they've got their job firmly down and are working to make sure that they're doing the best possible job at this very moment in order to keep their job. They know that if they are the one in the organisation who is the most outstanding contributer, they'll be the last one to leave.

Its worth considering. Yes, it is tough and times are challenging for all of us, but now is the time for us to raise the roof and get on the front foot. Don't be worrying about keeping your job, worry about keeping yourself busy and focussing on the right things. The circle of influence is where you must be sitting right now. Whether you're a brand manager, CEO, MD, financial controller, receptionist, or delivery manager, you have a responsibility to do the best you possibly can each day. Undoubtedly its the people who aren't focussed on the circle of influence but moreso spending their time in the circle of concern who will be the first to go. Each day think about whether you are doing the best thing to move yourself towards your goals, and focussing on the right things. British Olympian and gold medallist Sally Gunnell would always go to the start line of every race and ask herself two questions - 'Am i focussed?' and 'Am I focussed on the right things?'

Facebook

17/02/2009

There's no doubting the power of Facebook with 140 million users worldwide. It seems like everyone is using it. And because of this the natural progression is for corporate brands to jump on the bandwagon and try and use Facebook to connect with their audience. I received an email last night from an ad agency saying can corporate brands do this and get away with it, and in their opinion the answer was yes. In my opinion, no way.

If you listen to the social networking experts who live and breathe this territory, they'll tell you that the minute you take your product or business into this area as an overt, commercial and quite blatant exercise to sell product, you're doomed. You see, Facebook is exactly as its described. Its a social network for you and your friends. Its not a place for corporate brands. The minute a corporate brand starts intruding without permission into your own world, you're not only annoying the consumer, but you also become labelled and tarnished with the try-hard banner that will end up being talked about sure enough through the social network, only in a negative way instead of a positive way.

Today consumers want brands that are authentic, that have a true story and that talk to me not at me. How can a brand possibly have its own Facebook page and/or infiltrate my social network without blatantly selling to me and in no way whatsoever help me? This will be the challenge for brands. The idea of creating a brand is to get people talking about you. However, the challenge will be having them talk about you in a good way and not a negative way. Word spreads pretty quickly when you find yourself in the loser basket, and I'm sure in the years to come we'll see a lot of brands in the loser basket as they try to over commercialise what's become a fabulous social networking machine. It will only be the clever marketers who will find a way through this maze and unfortunately it will only be a select few as there aren't very many clever marketers around.

TED Conference

13/02/2009

The TED Conference is happening now in the US. Here is a great interview with Seth Godin (author Purple Cow, The Dip, Meatball Sundae) from the TED conference. A must watch for any business owner or marketer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6vpBDFoMqc

Gary Brings the Mojo to London

9/02/2009

On March 25 I will be speaking at the Lords Cricket Ground in London at the Talk Performance conference. I'll be speaking about personal performance and how you get and maintain your personal Mojo. The Talk Performance conference sees some of Britain's best key note speakers joining together for one day at a ticketed event at Lords. The one day conference is all about effectiveness in the workplace on three levels - personal, team and organisational. This topic has never been more relevant in business than today.

The conference will explore new concepts and solutions that will create a pathway to improve effectiveness in the workplace. One interesting keynote speaker will be NASA Astronaught Charles Duke. Charles Duke was the tenth man to walk on the moon and he will be speaking on the performance that he draws on from an illustrious career at NASA - the ultimate high performing team. In addition, the line up includes Olympic medallists, corporate CEOs, professors and performance experts all of whom will have a wide and varied approach to being your best and personal performance. To check it out, go to www.talkseminars.co.uk.

ps...late January saw the launch of Who Stole My Mojo? in bookstores throughout Britain. Although it has a different cover it is the same book that has been selling successfully here in Australia. If you want to check out details of the UK release you can go to my publisher's website and click on www.wileyenews.com. All details are there plus a full press release for the book.

Enhanced Memory

3/02/2009

Last week while I was up in Tamworth presenting to a TEC group, it occurred to me that although there is a lot spoken about going on holidays and having a break, sometimes we tend to overlook the real medical advantages of doing so. The group of CEO's in Tamworth were reconnecting after the Christmas break, and one of them mentioned how he had actually gone away with no phone, no email and no outside with the business world. He said what he found remarkable was that upon returning he felt he regained his memory. He explained that in 2008 he'd had a terrible memory, so much so that within minutes of meeting someone he would forget their name. Since his holiday, he has found he can recall names, faces and details with complete clarity. I quite often hear people talk about the recovery they require to recharge but we don't often hear about the clinical and medical advantages it brings with it. This guy was beaming as he recounted how his memory had returned and how he was so clear in his thinking.

The next CEO agreed. He'd just come back from a 3 week heli-skiing trip to Canada where they were in the most remote snow fields, miles from anywhere. No email, no sms, no blogs, no staff and no meetings. He commented that he was finding it hard to get back into work because of the complete sense of disconnect he had with his workplace. What a nice problem to have!

Enormous or Massive?

26/01/2009

Last week I had the pleasure of having dinner in Bairnsdale with a fellow Tour de Cure rider and his son. Just in a local pub, we sat and had what I found to be a particularly stimulating meal. What made it so, was a seemingly simple yet intriguing dinner conversation based on the menu.

Now this may seem odd, but the topic of conversation turned to the Lamb Shanks. The menu described the dish as being "enormous"! Naturally, I needed to know just how big that was, and when asked, the waitress said it was massive! Once our orders were taken we started joking about how you judge enormous... and according to who? Let us be the judge of that Chef!

We then continued on... well is it enormous or is it massive and which is bigger? We tried all sorts of qualification and it ended up being a very thought provoking, funny and intriguing conversation, with opinions swinging from one to the other. In the end, we decided to wait and see the SHANK!

So which do you think is bigger? Enormous or massive? Is a massive building bigger than an enormous building? Is a massive beetle bigger than an enormous beetle?

This sort of conversation and the curiosity it generates is good for the brain. I talk a lot about exercising your grey matter and this is a simple, fun, yet powerful way to get your brain's connections working. It makes for terrific dinner table chatter, when you pose questions where people can take opposing positions and challenge each other's views, without too much emotion or personal pride at stake. It fosters curiosity and really makes you think.

By the way, my mate's son is only 15, but has an IQ of 121! What a wonderful treat it was to be able to have this sort of chat with such a gifted and inspiring young man. Di Vinci said "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" and the simplicity of this kind of conversation over dinner is wonderful for both kids and grown ups alike.

Gone Fishing

19/01/2009

Whilst my steak was cooking on the BBQ at my beach side accommodation near Kingscliff in Northern NSW, two young kids about the age of 12 walked past me with fishing rods in their hands. They'd had an unsuccessful afternoon and had caught nothing. It made me remember the times that I had been fishing when I was a kid and come home empty handed. But you still go out the next day, you try a different location, different bait, a different time of the day or even a different rod but everything was focussed on catching the next fish. See when you're a kid, you don't think about all the days when you didn't catch fish and you don't throw the towel in and not go back. When you're a kid and you go fishing, you just keep looking forward to the next opportunity to throw the line in. All your attention is on getting the next bite. You don't worry about yesterday and the fact that you didn't catch any, because by the time you get home that's gone and all you can think about is where to next cast your line.

I think its a great analogy of how we must face this year. Yes it has been tough, yes we've all had our challenges but we can't throw away our rods because we're not getting any fish. We have to be like these kids and just let yesterday be yesterday and go out with a fresh attitude and cast the rod in believing we will catch fish. See when you're a kid, every time you cast you have the expectation you're going to catch a fish. Regardless of how many days you go without a bite, you still believe that tomorrow you'll get one. Whereas in business and in life in general we worry about yesterday and we let yesterday's failures impact today's business. In every aspect of our lives we have to go fishing with the attitude of a 12 year old and the full belief that the next time we cast we're going to bring in a fish bigger than Moby Dick. Kids don't go to the fishing hole dejected or disappointed because they didn't catch anything yesterday, they go there excited with anticipation of landing a massive fish. Every day we have to front up for our jobs with the anticipation of landing a great piece of business, a new client or a successful campaign. There's no doubt you'll need to do a lot of fishing in 2009 but fish like a 12 year old and not a 43 year old.

Can't afford the time to pee?

8/12/2008

Recently I was the guest keynote to a conference at the Sebel Hotel in Sydney. As I normally do, I arrived early and sat outside of the conference facility, pondering my presentation. During that time I watched a number of people go in and out of the conference rooms that were facing the foyer that I was sitting in. In total, 10 people left their conference room, went to the toilet and went back into their room. 9 out of 10 of those people, upon leaving the conference room, either reached for their mobile phone to check messages and/or were on their mobile phone when they left the toilet (I hope they washed their hands!). People could not even go to the toilet without feeling the need to see whether they are needed or not on their mobile phone through sms or email. Has society come to a point where we can't even pee without worrying about who is trying to contact us about something?

I was absolutely staggered by the fact that people would leave the room and straightaway reach for their pocket. In fact, by the end of my stay in the foyer it became a little joke in my own mind as I waited for each person's right hand to go for their pocket. If they didn't reach for their pocket going into the toilet, they certainly had their hand on their mobile phone as they left. Surely in this day and age we're not that important that we all have to check our mobile phones in a toilet break? I'm even betting that most of the people actually sat on the toilet and checked their messages!

If you want to truly inspire your own creative spirit, have a healthy mind and fire up your mojo, then take a lesson from these unfortunate people who are addicts to connectivity, and disconnect.

Listen and learn

25/11/2008

There's a saying - when the student is ready the teacher will come. Whilst watching a documentary called 'Iconoclasts', US comedian Dave Chappelle was meeting the amazing Maya Angelou. Maya Angelou has been an activist, an author and an incredible inspiration to black American's for many decades. As Dave Chappelle left the interview he made a statement to the camera - 'She was the teacher and I was the student. Did I get a lot to think about today? Absolutely.'

If you approached every conversation you had with somebody else and visualised them as being a teacher and your job in that conversation was to learn, or find things to think about, would it make a difference to your interaction? If in the back of your mind you knew that there was something that you could learn from this person and your curious mind was given the opportunity to work its magic, would it be a different conversation? Too often in conversations, people are waiting for their turn to talk and they're not really listening. It reminds me of one of my favourite scenes from White Men Can't Jump starring Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes. In the cast scene, Woody Harrelson pops a cassette of Jimmy Hendrix into the player. Wesley Snipes asks Woody Harrelson what he's doing and Woody says 'I like to listen to Jimmy.' Wesley Snipes then says, 'Thats the damn problem with you white folk, you're listening to Jimmy but you can't hear Jimmy.' This is what happens quite often in conversations. You're listening but you're not really hearing what the other person is saying. You're too busy thinking about the next thing that you want to say or waiting for them to take a breath so that you can interrupt.

But what if when you sat in front of somebody you gave them the respect that Dave Chappelle gave to Maya Angelou, glued to every word, every statement and every thought that the person had? What if every time you engaged in a conversation you looked at the person opposite you as a teacher and you asked questions and truly listened and heard what was being said, to find those little nuggets of importance? Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning. Try it for yourself. Next time you are engaged in a conversation with a work mate, a friend, a family member or a taxi driver, look at that person as a teacher and see what a difference it makes to your listening and hearing. Our real job in a conversation is to draw out interesting facts and information from the other person and in that way you will truly educate yourself. Rather than looking around or sitting in conversations waiting for your turn to talk, look around for teachers. And when you start looking, you'll find the teachers will appear....

It's all about the senses

17/11/2008

During a recent speech on the changing face of marketing and brand, one of the attendees relayed a story about his wife. He said she'd taken their BMW in for a service and while she waited for it to be completed, she sat on a leather couch and received coffee and chocolates. She relayed the story to him and described it as a wonderful experience. He asked how much the service cost, and she said 'I don't know but the chocolates and coffee were lovely.'

Touch, taste, smell, sight and sound are increasingly becoming part of a good marketing strategist's armoury. Just yesterday I was talking with a senior executive from a musical instrument manufacturer. He said it's not enough for their keyboards to feel and sound right for the muso, they now also have to look great. The CEO of a large metal forging company was recently telling me that his business had doubled recently because someone from Europe had seen his website and as a result employed his company - purely on the look of their website. This guy works in factories and metal forging yet his website is fantastic. It centres around beautiful photography which takes up most of the screen, and within 2 pages of this website and its photos, you get a sense of what the company does, how they do it, how professional they are and a feel for people who work there.

Martin Lindstrom has recently written a book about this exact topic. He talks about the blue colour of the Tiffany box that women crave, the unique shape, feel and taste of Toblerone, or the new bottled fragrance that Rolls Royce have for the interior smell of one of their cars. As a marketer its time to think differently and innovate your marketing and brand. The challenge is finding a way to incorporate the senses into what you're doing. The thing you need to do it is to remove thoughts such as 'Oh we're in stationery so we can't possibly involve the senses.' Through my speeches I now give out a creative thinking tool made of chocolate. It's a big hit during afternoon key notes and being easter egg chocolate its yummy. This is a good cue for me back to what I do, how I do it, and an example of how the senses can be used if you just spend the time to innovate.

I'd love to hear from any marketers who are currently doing this and using the senses successfully.

Idea Vampires

10/11/2008

Recently I was invited to meet with the Director of a large FMCG company. The guy had heard about some work that I was doing in Vidcasting and was keen to chat. He prefaced our discussion by saying it was an 'informal' discussion. He then went about giving me an indication of what he wanted to do and then naturally we started our discussion.

I gave him some thoughts on how he might approach his project but as the conversation progressed something triggered in the back of my mind and I asked him how he planned to move this forward. He said "I'm going to meet with a number of people, ask them to submit their ideas and from that I'll draw my strategy. I'll then get the strategy approved by my 2 heads of department and once approved and I have a budget, I'll will then brief my strategy into the market and pick someone to do it". So I said to him, "In essence what you're going to do is ask everybody for their ideas and use them to write your own strategy and then brief it out so one lucky company will get to do the job but they'll have the fortunate privilege of having everybody's ideas." He said 'Basically, yes'. When I challenged him on this, he said that someone had done the same thing to him once, when during a consultancy a client had taken his ideas and presented them to a competitor. The competitor had won the business and then basically reproduced his proposal. I said 'It sucks, doesn't it?' And he agreed. I then asked "So why are you doing it to us?" Suffice to say, not long after this the meeting came to a fairly abrupt close.

Essentially what you're seeing here is an example of an ideas vampire. Someone who sucks ideas from everybody and then farms them out to somebody who's lucky enough to get the business. These idea vampires have no respect for your thinking, your ideas or your imagination and they will use and abuse you in order to get what they want.

You need to be very careful of how much you share in this corporate day and age. Never give anybody the full picture when you're pitching for business. Maybe its a bit like John Travolta's character in Get Shorty when asked 'What are you going to say to him?' and Travolta said 'No more than I have to'. I'm not sure that there's any way to truly protect our ideas but you need to be careful with how much you give away until you actually have a contract to do the work.

If anybody out there has a clue as to how to go about protecting your IP then I'm sure we'd all love to hear it. This is one of the greatest issues facing creativity, innovation and the ability to think differently when pitching for business. I don't think these sorts of people will ever go away, but we can certainly limit how many of our ideas they suck out of us.

Seeing the Sunrise

13/10/2008

On the way back from Perth recently I was reading the newest book from former Australian cricket star Justin Langer called 'Seeing the Sunrise'. I've always admired Justin Langer, being a fellow left hander. His mental capacity, concentration and ability to bounce back when he was dropped have always captured my attention. Anyway, during his book I came across a paragraph at the end of a chapter that I thought would be nice to share with you and invite your comment:

Most of us miss out on life's big prizes -the Pullizter, the Nobel, Oscars, Emmys, Grammys - but we are all eligible for life's smallest pleasures - a pat on the back, a kiss behind the ear, a 4 pound barramundi, a full moon, an empty parking space, a crackling fire, a great meal, a glorious sunset, hot soup, cold beer or a laugh with your mates. Don't fret about getting life's grand awards. Enjoy these tiny delights. There are plenty there for all of us.

As Australian's I think we share in one of the greatest lands on the planet and there's plenty to celebrate. We're big on mateship, the country and R&R. I'd love to hear from anyone who would like to share some what they think are some of life's smallest pleasures.

The 2008 Day of Inspiration

16/09/2008

I was proud to close the 2008 Day of Inspiration. What a cracking day with some of Australia's best key note speakers and some incredibly inspirational special guests. Olympic Gold medalist's like Duncan Armstrong and Suzy Balogh joined some of Australia's finest corporate speakers in Peter Baines, Avril Henry and Andrew May. We thought it would be hard to top the 2007 Day of Inspiration but as is the case with our team, we raised the bar yet again. There were so many great take outs from the day, I defy anybody not to have left with pages and pages of thoughts, quotes and new ideas to inspire them for bigger and better things.

Although I had pages of notes, one that stood out to me came from Andy May. Andy is known as the accountability guy. His speech was based around performance, productivity and holding yourself accountable to be your best. Unquestionably one of the more entertaining speeches of the day, he told some wonderful stories about his running career and his training exploits with the Kenyans. One that stuck in my mind was the story he told about training with the Kenyans and how they would quite often talk amongst themselves and use the term Hapa Hapa. Andy would run up alongside the Kenyans and ask them to explain the term Hapa Hapa, but they would politely look at him and say "You white guys wouldn't understand." Andy persisted and persisted until finally one of them stopped, looked Andy in the eye and said "Hapa Hapa means Slow Slow."

Anybody who saw the Kenyans, Ethiopians or Tanzanians at the Olympic games would know they are anything but slow slow. However in order to go fast the secret is to slow down. Any great performer whether in business, religion, community or in sport, will know that the best results come from your recovery. Andy May is becoming famous as the guy known for his thoughts on recharging. But Hapa Hapa is something which has stuck in the back of my mind and is something that I talk a lot about now with the guys in the Tour de Cure when we're out cycling. I've heard a similar premise talked about in Formula One racing and also in business when people like Bill Gates will take an entire week out every six months to go and stay in a cabin in the mountains with no telephone, no laptop, no computers whatsoever and just sit, slow down and think.

So next time you're racing around stressed, ticking things off your to do list and breezing past your family on your way out the door to go to another meeting, just think of the Kenyans. Hapa Hapa.

To learn more about the whole process of Recharging go to Andy's website - www.rechargelounge.com.au. This is an invaluable resource for information about slowing down and the fulfillment you get by being at your best from Hapa Hapa.

Wisdom

12/08/2008

We all know people who are inspiring, but just how does one inspire others? Here are ten simple ways you can inspire people to be their best:

Be a good example. People watch what you do more than they listen to what you say. Be someone worth emulating.
Care about others. People don't care about how much you know until they know how much you care. Ask questions. Take a genuine interest in people.
Encouragement. Everyone goes through tough times. When you support and encourage them through these times, you'll be inspiring them to see the best in themselves and the situation.
Be inspired yourself. Look for people, ideas, environments and knowledge that find you inspired and motivated.
Share from your own experience. You may have more to share than you realise. Min the rich experiences of your life and share your wisdom from your unique point of view. You may be the only one who can touch someone with your inspiring message.
Be vulnerable. Be willing to share your failures as well as your successes. Others will relate to you. They'll understand that they're not the only ones with challenges.
Tell stories. Facts tell and stories sell. They inspire too. We learn best from parables and we all need to develop our own inspiring stories.
Be a good communicator. Increasing your ability to communicate effectively is a critical element for you to inspire others. Watch how you speak and what you say. Invest in your communication skills.
Challenge people. Many of us have had teachers who at times seemed more like tormentors than mentors. They challenged us to do our best, and we were not better for it. Practice 'carefrontation' - the careful and caring confrontation of others.
Read. It may not follow that all readers are leaders, but certainly all leaders are readers. Stay informed. Share what you read with others. Tell people about books that have inspired you. Share the knowledge.

A Fish Goes Bad from the Head

12/08/2008

You've heard me mention this saying before. It's a saying that I learned on the back of a fishing boat with my mentor, the old Greek fisherman, whilst fishing for mackeral off Moreton Bay in Queensland. He taught me that all organisations, families, community groups, religious groups or sporting teams are dictated by the attitude of the leader. Attitude reflects leadership.

Anyway, I was doing a speech recently in Noosa for a large insurance organisation from New Zealand. After I'd finished my keynote, a CEO from the crowd approached me to share a story. He said he got to a point in his life where he decided he needed to get into shape in order to be able to say relatively young for his children and be able to chase them around the park on the weekends. Consequently he decided to go to the gym during his lunch hour. This was very unusual in his organisation and completely bucked the system. In fact he and most of his team used to work their way through their lunchbreak. Yet he started to notice over the months that followed, a number of executives in the organisation joined him. When he enquired as to what was going on, they said 'Well we figured if the boss was here then it was ok for us to do it too. We've always wanted to but we were worried because we thought you'd frown upon it'. He was comforted that he'd influenced the lifestyle of his team simply by his actions.

Remember, a fish goes bad from the head. If there's ever a bottleneck in the bottle it will come from the top. I was working with an advertising agency who had a very beautiful and I suspect very rent heavy office on Sydney Harbour. They had this beautiful deck over the harbour for which they were paying enormous rent - that no-one used. When I asked the CEO where she had her lunch, she said she ate in her office while on the phone in front of her computer. Yet she couldn't understand why her staff weren't using the beautiful deck. It suddenly dawned on her that they were staying at their desk because they were mimicking what they thought were the expectations of the CEO. So now at lunch time she downs tools, grabs her lunch and sits on the deck with her team.

This stuff ain't hard to understand or to do, but it's often the simplest things that are hardest to do. In the same way, if you're a parent, have a think about the things that you do that are being mimicked by your children.

Sometimes its better not to know

5/08/2008

As some of you may be aware I've just returned from the French Alps where I had the amazing experience of cycling the mountains following the Tour de France. A couple of mates and I went across and rode the mountain stages of the French Alps supporting Cadel and the other Aussies in the Tour. One of the highlights of our climbing escapades was the chance to ride up Alp D'Huez, the mythical mountain that has determined the winner of many a Tour de France. The afternoon we rode Alp D"Huez was the day prior to the Tour de France riders scaling the same mountain. We rode the entire stage the Tour de France riders rode only the day prior. This was the stage that Cadel was put into trouble by the CSC team. The mountain was alive with music, bbq's campervans and people of all different nationalities. It was quite an experience.

The next day, our tour bus descended Alp D"Huez to a city called Bourg d'Oisans for the start of the next stage. As our coach ever so slowly made its way down Alp D"Huez I peered out the window. I have to say that I was shocked at what I saw - 14kms of sheer drop with roads including 21 switchbacks, most with a percentage grade of 10% or more. It actually took my breath away thinking that we'd ridden up the day prior. I reckon that if I had actually driven down the mountain before climbing up on my bike, I would have had a completely different approach. Driving down in the bus made me appreciate just how steep and hard a climb Alp D"Huez was. However the day prior we rode to the base and just started climbing unaware of what was ahead of us, and probably just as well.

Sometimes not knowing what is ahead can be a good thing. This same view was shared by Paul Cave who started the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb. It took him some 9 years 11 months and 2 weeks from his initial idea to having the first person walk over the bridge. He said that if he'd been aware of how hard it was going to be he never would have started. He also agreed that sometimes its better not to know. Sometimes in order to get your creative dreams off the ground its just better to take the first step and get started. Yes you should visualise what the outcome would be, yes you should carefully think though the strategies that need to be employed to get there, but don't labour on the hardships, don't labour on how hard or difficult the venture may be just begin. It's like getting out of bed on a cold winters morning to go to training. Rather than lie under the covers and think about how cold it will be and how warm it is in bed, sometimes you're better off just throwing off the covers and putting your feet on the ground. Most of the time once you're up and about its nowhere near as bad as you thought it was going to be.

The Dip

22/07/2008

I was given a present last week which was a book called The Dip. Its only a small book but written by best selling author Seth Godin who also authored Purple Cow and Small is the New Big, along with Mission Marketing and All Marketers are Liars. The Dip is a really good read. It will only take you a couple of hours to get through it but it talks about all the things that I've been banging on about in my marketing and branding workshops for many years about being the world's best. It also succinctly talks about the concept of raising the roof in Seth's own imaginative way around The Dip.

If you're looking for a good read to read on the plane, between Sydney and Melbourne in a day, then grab The Dip, you won't be disappointed. Seth talks about the dip being the rough patch you have to get through before achieving your big goal - if in fact you're chasing the right goal. It's also the key to your career, your company's future and it may be your ultimate happiness. I highly recommend this little book. Don't be put off by the size of the book, because as he says in the introduction, sometimes writing a small book is harder than writing a big book.

Creative Skills Training Council

14/07/2008

Last week I had the privilege of speaking at the Creative Skills Training Council get together at the Entertainment Quarter in Sydney. This is a very interesting group of individuals who are like-minded in the areas of creativity and innovation, and they get together every so often for an informal brainstorming and sharing session. It's a very eclectic group but quite fascinating. Each meeting they have a special guest and I was privileged to be the special guest for the session last week.

Anybody who's looking to ignite their own creative flame and would like to enhance their skills, network with other like minded people and learn and be introduced to some very interesting ideas in the area of creativity, innovation and problem solving, I suggest you contact Ralph Kearle at the Creative Skills Training Council on rkerle@cstc-apa2.com.

Ralph is a terrific guy and is very passionate about this area and has put together a very interesting group of members. They meet in a coffee shop, its informal, its fun, the people are really lovely and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. If creativity or innovation is an area that you're interested in to any extent then please contact Ralph and check it out. The Creative Skills Training Council is a worldwide organization and Ralph runs the newly formed Australian chapter.

Day of Inspiration 2008

23/06/2008

In 2007, I established the Day of Inspiration as another endeavour to raise more funds to cure Cancer. Backed by the Tour de Cure organisation, the Day of Inspiration took place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney and featured key note speakers including Steve Waugh, Olympic Gold Medallist Kerri Pottharst, world creative award winning direction Siimon Reynolds, Iron Man Guy Leech, Mark Gable from the Choir Boys, Golden Guitar winner Drew McAllister, Red Balloon Days CEO Naomi Simson, World Base Jumping champion Heather Swann and more.

We are currently busily putting together the 2008 Day of Inspiration, which will take place once again at the Four Seasons Hotel on George Street in Sydney on the 9th September. This year's line up is already looking stunning. Already confirmed as hosts for the day is Channel 9 news anchor Mark Ferguson and the Comedy Channel's Cam Knight. Guest speakers so far include Olympic Gold Medallist swimmer Duncan Armstrong, Olympic Gold Medallist shooter Susi Bolog, Golden Guitar winner and singer Drew McAllister, one of Australia's greatest adventure seekers Glen Singleman who is the current World Base Jumping champion, with more of Australia's most popular names in sport and business to be confirmed shortly. This will be a fabulous day to be truly inspired by some of our country's greats, so mark the day in your diary now. Tickets are available from www.tourdecure.com.au. If you have any questions just post a blog back to me and I'll be sure to get back to you.

New Ways to Market

19/06/2008

I had the privilege of meeting a truly remarkable lady last week called Lisa Messenger from Messenger Publishing. Lisa and her team publish books for people who'd like to use a book to market themselves or their brand. Lisa is a truly incredible marketer and has created not only a wonderful brand for herself but has produced some astonishing results for her clients through the publishing arm of her company. If you've ever had a desire to publish your own book to share a message, promote yourself or help your brand along, then you should definitely give Lisa a call. I'd highly recommend you go to Lisa's website (www.messengermarketing.com.au) to look at the career of one progressive young marketer.

In That Moment

13/06/2008

There's no doubt that the Sex & The City movie has been a much anticipated film, particularly amongst young ladies. The excitement around the movie is simply astonishing! So, curious about the attraction of one of the stars, Sarah Jessica Parker, I watched an interview with her on 'Inside the Actor's Studio' with James Lipton. This is a wonderful series and gives you real insight into today's great actors. During the interview, Sarah Jessica replied to a question from James Lipton that had a lot of merit in the area of creativity.

James asked "Do you like to do a lot of run throughs for your films or do you prefer to go in cold?" Sarah Jessica replied by saying "No I don't, I prefer to live by the notion that in that particular moment, anything could happen." This is one of the biggest barriers facing people in the area of creativity. We don't sit there in the moment, excited that anything could happen and the world is our oyster. Instead we sit there judging, procrastinating, and being fearful that our idea may not work or someone may not like it. People should approach brainstorming sessions and creative sessions in exactly the same way. They should sit there with a completely bland canvas in their mind with no judgement, no fear, no preconceived notions and know that at that exciting moment, there's a white canvas in front of you and anything is possible.

The great creators, whether it be a child of five, a painter of sixty seven or a business man of thirty two, the great creators are the ones who actually don't worry about judging ideas until they've gotten the idea out and played with it. You never know what a piece of plasticine is going to be until you actually start doing something with it. This is a great premise for anybody approaching the creative process at any level, at any stage. Approach it like an actor, where anything is possible and the world is your oyster, and its full of exciting ideas and who knows, one of the ideas you've got just may be 'it'. Just know that when you're sitting there in a creative session, in that moment, anything is possible, and who's to say you haven't just thought of the next great idea!

Talk Leadership UK, May 08

23/05/2008

Earlier this month I was invited to be the opening address at Talk Leadership, a ticketed event at London's Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Following my speech was Commander & Major General Patrick Cordingley who lead the desert rats in the Iran/Iraq war, and Dame Stella Rimmington who was the leader of MI5, London's Secret Service for many years. My topic was Leading Innovation which in itself was quite a departure from leadership styles of Peter and Dame Stella. The idea for my speech came from the requests of many teams that I speak to regarding creativity, innovation and problem solving and the common dilemma that most teams are left with which is "It'd be really great for our management team to do this".

It was quite clear that management teams are not being skilled in knowing how to create, lead and manage an environment of creativity within their culture. The speech that I presented is basically if you lead a team or an organisation, how do you and your senior management team create a culture where innovation, imagination and creativity flourish. Its a topic thats really become an important issue in today's economic conditions for business. Whether it be a small enterprise through to multi nationals or global organisations, leaders need to know how to draw great ideas out of their teams. Interestingly a lot of the leaders also found it quite helpful in terms of their responsibilities in leading a family. If you're a mum or a dad you have a responsiblity to lead your children forward for them to realise their potential as a prince or princess of possibilities. Leadership doesn't end in the workplace. Leadership has an equal place, if not a more important place in the home, and in this speech I was able to cover off both aspects for the mums and dads who were attending. Its something I've been asked to speak more and more on, and in some cases, for some magazines in Britain, write articles about. In the coming months I will write more about it, as it is becoming a critical ingredient for any great leader. For information regarding Talk Creative, go to their website - here.

Tour de Cure Melbourne to Sydney April 2008 (Days 7 and 8)

26/04/2008

Day 7 and Day 8 of the 2008 Tour de Cure. Well it seems like months ago that we left Melbourne to begin this journey and now we're entering the final days of the Tour...... (click the thumbnail to the right to continue reading Gary's postcard)

For more information on the Tour de Cure, please click here.

Tour de Cure Melbourne to Sydney, April 2008 (Day 2)

22/04/2008

Tales from the road - Day 2 of the Tour de Cure 2008. Day 2 dawned crisp & clear (read "pretty cold and dark") in Cranbourne....After another awesome breakfast, we were on our way again to Sydney..... (click the thumbnail to the right to continue reading Gary's postcard)

For more information on The Tour de Cure, click here.

Talk Creative UK October 07

20/10/2007

Gary has just returned from another very successful trip to London.

Once again he presented at the TalkCreative conference at Lords Cricket Ground. His Keys to Creativity session was very popular and as such he also sold quite a few copies of his book!

The training arm of the British Navy, Flagship Training, requested Gary come back and present a half day Creativity session to them again, following the success of his day with them in July.

As well as this, Gary also presented The Keys to Creativity at the Institute of Sales & Marketing Management (ISMM) conference to 1500 delegates. This is the first time Gary's presented to ISMM, and it was a great privilege for him to be asked.