When I met Richard Harpin (founder of Homeserve), I knew it was going to be as inspiring as it gets. My head was on fire with possibilities after this lunch and learn. What really blew me away was that he is planning to give away his book: ‘A mind for business’ to all the schools around the uk. Those who are lucky enough to find a golden ticket in the book, will get Richard Harpin to come to their school to do a talk. Whats more, they will receive a flight in his helicopter. Can you imagine how much those children will be inspired by that? The impact will be massive on their future outlook. Looking back at Merlin’s ‘Marketing Leadership definitions’, you can really see that he is someone whose actions inspire others to ‘dream more, learn more, do more and become more’.
Here are some good one liners that I wrote down to stick on your fridge:
- Every ‘no’ is really a ‘yes’, it’s only a question of time
- Be convinced that you have the determination to succeed – tell everyone what you are going to do and do it, as otherwise you will be embarrassed!
- If you are not making mistakes, you are not trying hard enough.
- Test ideas before committing. Once worked, then think BIG
- Stick with it, really believe in it and it will happen
- Failures are just learning points along the way
- Find an opportunity in every problem
- Its not the idea, its making it happen
- Have a single minded vision
- Get the business model right
Here are some of his thoughts about characteristics of the right people in business:
- Stay close to their customers and push the boundaries for new ideas
- Have a sense of urgency
- Have a ‘not’ to do list
- Test,test,test; then they think big
Few other pointers to keep our creativity/dreams alive:
- Keep a file of your ideas and they will get better and better
- Walk back into work as if you were the newcomer– what will you do differently? What are your recommendations to yourself/peers?
- Read the newspapers (indicate potential problems that could be opps)
That’s it for now, keep your dreams alive 😉
Donna
