Personal, Social, Political and Organisational Belief-Systems Consultancy

Personal & Small Business Coaching

To small business entrepreneurs

Small business entrepreneurs have a creative free spirit that is often denied large business employees and managers (who must be more attuned to, and aligned with the in-grained systems, culture and politics of large organisations).

Lasso your future

As the founder and director of an engineering business that supplied advanced fire-protection systems for major corporate data-centres, I understand, respect and champion the independence, spirit and 'can-do' attitude of small business owners.

Small business entrepreneurs often start out, as I did, to explore new ways of doing things, of doing things better, and with a strong desire of being their own boss (and for some, of having their "name up in lights"). It's all good - it's all about personal development, freedom, exploration, risk, rewards, stretching and growth.

But perhaps most of all, small business entrepreneurs enjoy testing their intuition, their 'gut-feel' for what will work.

If I had to identify one aspect of running one's own business that is most important it would be the unmatched buzz of testing and relying on our initiative and gut-feelings for how best to do it (running and developing the business, interacting with customers, managing and mentoring employees etc.).

If this at all "speaks to you" then please read on.

Begin with the end in play - Health and Wellbeing

It's easy and quite common to believe that illness and early death is due to factors such as disease, poor diet, lack of exercise, obesity, smoking and genetic disorders.Begin-brochure

But according to the results gained from nearly 30 years of research by Sir Professor Michael Marmot, those factors account for around one quarter of the causes of illness and early death.

The primary, majority cause of illness is "psycho-social" – our personal beliefs and expectations, and the social environment (community, nation and culture) in which we live.

Welcome

The Belief Institute is an information resource and a bureau of consultants who provide tools and information with which to clarify, consolidate and expand understanding of personal, social and organisational belief-systems.

Generally, the Belief Institute is a specialist service providing mentoring, coaching and training for

  • c-class executive officers (CEO, CFO et al.)
  • business entrepreneurs, creative directors, artists ('creatives')
  • politicians, management consultants, life coaches
  • scientists, medical and alternative health practitioners
  • academics and teachers
  • new-age & spiritual teachers

Introduction to process

The following list details some of the principles and techniques by which we may analyse belief-systems.

  1. Observe and question
    One of the first freedoms to disappear in frightened, repressed societies is the freedom to ask questions. Questions can engage deep unconscious processes that help initiate change and action.
    Questions such as "what do I really want?" might require significant change in one's life. Socially awkward questions are often avoided in order 'to get along' with friends, family and the community. Generally, the depth of our questioning reflects our capacity for growth.
    a.  Include
    As a corollary of point 1, if we genuinely wish to observe and question, we need to include anomalous phenomena. Anomalous phenomena are examples of how our existing belief-systems are inadequate, incomplete or of limited scope and applicability.
    Presently, the field of quantum physics research offers a rich field of anomalous phenomena which have generally not been incorporated into the mainstream belief-systems of science, religion, politics, psychology and sociology.

Factors in employee health, wellbeing and resilience

[Copyright Steaphen Pirie Belief Institute 2009]

Introduction

This article is an introductory analysis of the factors determining health, and how awareness of these factors can form a useful guide for employers.

These factors are derived from the long-term research conducted by Sir Michael Marmot, who has found that one's 'psycho-social ecosystem' is at least two thirds* responsible for health and longevity.

A checklist of considerations is provided to help the development of workplace policies. The "Begin with the end in play – Health and Wellbeing" program has been specifically developed to focus on, and enhance the "psycho-social" factors that lead to health and wellbeing.

* According to the research, factors such as smoking, obesity, poor diet, lack of exercise and hereditary issues account for only 1/4 to 1/3 the total cause for ill-health and premature death.

Social Determinants of Health

When considering the nature of employee health within organisations, it is worthwhile to expand the context to include as many factors as possible that may impinge, directly or indirectly on the quality of health.

In the 2003 World Health Organization’s report on social determinants of health, Dr Michael Marmot and Dr Richard Wilkinson reported that:

“Even in the most affluent countries, people who are less well off have substantially shorter life expectancies and more illnesses than the rich. Not only are these differences in health an important social injustice, they have also drawn scientific attention to some of the most powerful determinants of health standards in modern societies. They have led in particular to a growing understanding of the remarkable sensitivity of health to the social environment and to what have become known as the social determinants of health."1

The research into social determinants of health is sufficiently broad and rigorous to link social factors with corresponding levels of health and life expectancy.

  1. 1. Michael Marmot & Richard Wilkinson, Social Determinants of Health: The Solid Fact (Second Edition, 2003). World Health Organisation (Europe), Page 7. Ref. www.euro.who.int/document/e81384.pdf

Personal & Small Business Resources

Creating space beyond competition

Creativity = 4 x competitiveness?

Research confirms that "... a company's choice of where to compete is almost four times more important than out-executing its competitors in its market."1

Why then the primary focus on sales training, and other competitive focuses when a focus on creativity, innovation and potentials would yield far greater growth?

Three key elements of creativity in contemporary business reality:

  1. Creativity and Innovation is not only crucial to getting “ahead of the pack” but also of simply “keeping up” in an increasingly interconnected, interactive global economy.
  2. Creativity is an inherent ability within all, and the exercising of ‘creativity’ is central to a sense of value and fulfilment (and thus the productivity) of employees.
  3. Innovation is a collaborative process that is highly dependent on the top-to-bottom cultural belief-system within an organisation.

Introduction

Research confirms that those companies that lead2 in terms of innovation (e.g. Canon of Japan) have a corporate culture that is creative and innovative from the top down. “It is well documented that (Mr Jujio Mitarai, Chairman Canon) sees things in an imaginative way that goes beyond the conventional wisdom.”3

Accordingly, to enhance creativity and innovation within an organisation requires concerted awareness of the influence that the corporate culture (belief-system) has upon the ability of individuals and teams to be creative, and on their ability to convert creative ideas into effective and innovative products and services.

  1. . a. b.
  2. 2. Canon was chosen number one in innovative success in 2004 and 2005 by the Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizan Shinbun (among a list of the top 500 companies every year)
  3. 3. Fangqi Xu, Tudor Rickards (2007). Creative Management: A Predicted Development from Research into Creativity and Management, Creativity and Innovation Management 16 (3), 216–228. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8691.2007.00445.x

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Lasso your future

"It doesn't pay to stay the same in a changing world."

Good business folk know the value of having S.M.A.R.T business goals and objectives (Specific, Measurable etc.), strong Project Management skills, and effective business systems.

Lasso your future

But few are aware of the real drivers to business success and change being due to the S.M.A.R.T.E.S.TTM business strategies and drivers.

There’s no point in ‘visualising’ and achieving your business goals only to find you or your team aren’t that excited or engaged in the business.

Can you imagine hearing “the worst thing about Fridays is having to wait two whole days to come back to work” and that it is genuinely meant? It is possible! What quality of life, both at work and at home do you want?

Many companies develop good systems, habits and routines that help them succeed, but those habits and ‘ways of doing things’ can become like freight-trains – really difficult to stop or change. We can easily forget just how much of our thinking and choices are based on past experience, knowledge, systems, and culture.

Why 'systemize your business'?

If you're seeking or wanting to

  • spend less time on the day-to-day running of your business,
  • sell your business,
  • improve employee morale, engagement and productivity,
  • have more fun at work, in a relaxed environment,
  • help employees "fire up" with creativity and enthusiasm,
  • sustainably increase efficiency, turnover and profit,
      or
  • simply take a holiday, free of worry about business performance and activity

then you will benefit greatly by 'systemising' your business so that it effectively runs itself.

The value of good business systems

Try this Quick Quiz, a quick litmus test  for any small business owner:

  1. The Barack Obama Time-out Test
    Are you able to take "big chunks of times during the day when all you're doing is thinking"1 about your business? Can we assume President Obama has good systems, and competent people able to take care of business while he's taking 'big chunks' of time to think about climate change, and the fate the human race?
  2. The Time-Away Test
    If you were unable to be contacted - no mobiles, emails, nothing! - for two to three weeks, would your business run as normal? Or would you need to be there, because you're "indispensable", micro-managing the business, having not yet systemised and delegated the day-to-day running of the business?

  1. . a. b.

The business value of purpose and meaning

As many business entrepreneurs appreciate, the really important things in starting and running a business are primarily 'mental' -- it's our vision to make a difference, to do things better and to test ourselves that fuels and motivates.

But what about the people that we employ?

It should be no great surprise that for "businesses that pay most regard to the deeper needs of their employees are the ones that perform best."1

The challenge faced when creating a strong, vibrant culture in a business is the intangible 'mental' dimensions - what we think, feel and believe about our work, fellow employees, customers, the work environment etc.

  1. . a. b.

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