I cannot state it strongly enough. Question everything. Your business needs a plan that is based on the uncertainty of these times. You might do really well if you are able to adapt to the volatility we will face. You might find that you need to “rightsize” to just keep the lights on until the worst is over. You also might find that hibernation is the safest way to preserve your assets.

Including your people in what you're trying to achieve will often look messy, complicated and pointless at the start. People argue, battle for power and position and influence and really just behave like any other group of human beings. But, you're the leader and you can set the tone by leading. Calm, encouraging, intolerant of bad behaviour, focused precisely on what the problem being solved is and keeping that at the forefront of peoples minds until they get what they're doing and start collaborating rather than competing.

An Honest Conversation will cost you $250.00 excl GST and it just might be the best money you’ve ever invested. If you choose to move forward with Regeneration HQ to support transformational change in your business, the $250.00 will be rebated against the cost of future service.

Just remember that it is so much easier to treat a sniffle than multiple organ failures, so be vigilant and remember that it's the little things that can kill you.

Also, don't forget to ask for help if you think that might be a wise thing to do.

It’s just a thought, but if you are out there feeling cold, lonely, rejected and in despair about what’s next, call Regeneration HQ. Warm your feet around the fire and let’s see what’s possible. By the way, there is a real outdoor fire and many feet have been warmed by it. Try it, you might like it and it might just transform where you are now.

This might seem a strange thing to say as someone who unfortunately is doomed to be called one. You look for other ways to describe such people and you end up drifting off into a euphemism fest that only clouds the water further.

Then COVID-19 happened and the world just became a different place and will probably be different forever. The first question to be asked is whether your business is still relevant in this new normal. The answer could be yes, definitely; it could be maybe if we do things differently; or it may be unfortunately what we do has no place in the new environment.

Be kind, be fair, be honest, be clear and proud about egalitarian values and don't step over the rotten, putrid puddles of ugliness and discontent that are everywhere.

New Zealand - 100% pure. We aren't yet, but imagine if we could and how satisfying would be that journey?

So, we were designed with two ears and one mouth. We just need to learn how to use them in that same proportion. Next time you are about to fill the space with some wisdom, shut up and listen. You’ll be surprised what happens when you provide the space for others to speak.

Having someone to talk to. Someone to answer your calls when you are worried about the future. It matters. The temptation when you're in a hole is to hunker down and stop communicating. It's the worst possible thing you can do.

So, it makes me all the more determined that I be a leader. I want to support those who are less empowered than I am and I want to demonstrate every day that being a kind, decent, compassionate human being is what makes the darkness recede. This is what RegenerationHQ is all about.

When people feel they are respected, informed and honoured for what they contribute, they will move mountains. Not because they have to but because they want to.

There’s so much more to leadership than I’ve talked about here, but just imagine what it takes to get your own team, your suppliers and your customers to be all pulling in the same direction. Knowing that you are working for the ultimate benefit of all of them is a potent way to influence what they do and the decisions they make and when you’re all rowing together, there lies the route to productivity, efficiency and profit.

Planning is such a broad subject. It can do your head in. For some people, they just can't see the point. They know what they want to do and they want to just get on with it. For others, they start with a big picture and immediately get dragged down the rabbit holes of detail and what-if?

So, to my commitment. I back myself as someone who has spent a lot of time in distressed businesses and I know I've made a real difference. When things go a bit sideways, it all seems to go wrong. Staff, suppliers, customers, shareholders, directors. They all get stressed and the pressure comes on you to DO SOMETHING!

John Luxtons thoughts on winning in business

My happy place is where everyone has enough to live a good life and have something to spare where they can choose to use that to do something worthwhile with it.

COVID-19 has provided us all with a golden opportunity….