Green Office Blog

Covid-19 has seen a forced increase of company teams, customers, suppliers having to have more interactions online. The world is changing, and this forced disruption has forced businesses to think and operate differently. We have seen an increase in online meetings within our own company, which has had its challenges.  

This must be one of the most powerful talks I have attended as part of the EQ Entrepreneur Network Durban South Africa.

Richard’s talk was filled with valuable insights and statistics on the biggest health epidemic of the 21^st century: DEPRESSION.

I was amazed by this South African man who had accomplished so much. Richard’s credibility is backed up with an incredible track record where he has worked with some of the world’s best athletes and businesses.

The talk was split into two parts, the ‘cause of stress’ and ‘how to be exceptional’.

606 kilometres, 2 days, 75 riders, ALL for 1 cause
Pedaling against poverty and empowering youth skills development

Having taken part in this worthy challenge for the past two years, one would think that I had completely lost my mind, and yes, perhaps you need to be a little crazy to take on this grueling task in such a short time span, but it was TOTALLY worth it!

“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” Dale Carnegie 

I recently read this amazing book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, by Dale Carnegie, and this raised the question in my head as to what impact our phone would have on developing relationships.

The current state of our nation and the world would suggest that the moral compass has gone a little haywire.  Almost every bit of news we read is filled with corruption, violence, greed, power and generally negative stuff.

I ask myself, what is going wrong with us?  Why can’t we get along?  Why are people stealing?  Why are we fighting one another?  Why, why, why? Have we lost the plot?  What has gone wrong?

I certainly don’t have the answers, but what I see is lack of leadership, people want more and they will do almost anything to get it in as little time as possible, we have become more and more self-centred and through this, our value systems are compromised. 

I was fortunate enough to share a panel discussion with Stephen Saad, founder and CEO of Aspen Pharmaceuticals. Something that he said resonated with me and I will certainly use it in the future.

When he was posed with the question, “What tips could you share with the audience that have assisted you in reaching your business success?”  He responded by saying that he continuously advises his people to focus on four things a year, only four.  To make sure that those four things get your undivided attention.  If something gets thrown at you that is not going to assist in reaching those four things, leave them alone. If you complete those four things, you will be amazed at what you can achieve.  

Managing Vendor Relationships is often focussed on finding suppliers with the cheapest price for a product or service, however, it’s about much more than just that.  Vendor management is about ensuring that the agreement between the company and the supplier is mutually beneficial for both parties.

By ensuring that you manage vendors effectively, you ensure proper service delivery at the required rate and satisfaction to help achieve your business goals.

Does the culture of a team have an influence on whether the team wins more than it loses?  

How often do long distance relationships work out in the end? It takes a special bond that will make it last. Any business, marriage, friendship or family relationship requires quality time in order for it to develop into something that will stand the test of time.

At Green Office we use our Culture Code to build Efficient and Sustainable relationships with people.