A story of 5 monkeys

Often large, cumbersome organisations are as fast to change direction as a beach oil tanker, but by creating a culture which allows and appreciates the questioning of processes and procedures.

Scientists did an experiment where they put 5 moneys in an enclosure and left them be. One day at the top of a staircase in the enclosure the scientists placed a large bunch of bananas to the delight of the moneys.
As they reached the first step they were squirted with water repeatedly every time they approached until they decided to give up and go about their lives, not worrying about their goal – the bananas.
Later on the scientists took one of the monkeys out of the enclosure replacing it with a money who had never seen the water sprayed. The monkey saw the bananas and ran towards the stairs only to be held back by the other four monkeys until it gave up trying.
The scientists then proceeded to remove, one by one of the original monkeys and replace them with monkeys who hadn’t seen the water blast until there were five monkeys in the enclosure, not trying to reach the goal and not one of them ever seeing the obstacles that preventing them from reaching their goal. In fact the scientists had turned off the water!
Allow people to make mistakes within reason, to question the path that people have tried to take before as we live in a ever changing world where technology is able to solve countless problems and our workforce is more diversified than ever – so embrace it!

Not sure who invented water … pretty sure it wasn’t a fish!

When you are caught up within your organisation you can be too immersed in a problem or situation to see the other ways to do something or fix that problem within your organisation.

When new people come into your team, give them a pen and paper and for at least the first week, get them to write down everything from first impressions, questions about processes and thoughts about the company from an outsider.

You will never be able to look at your company through the same eyes as someone new to the organisation so be mindful of this and be open to the new team members ideas as they will feel that they are making a difference and are valued within their first week of your organisation and who knows what might come out of it?

Systemising Your Business

Where to start? The systemising of your business is one of the most painful but in the end most rewarding endeavor that you can take on. Once you have put the systems in place not only is your business worth more (I’ll explain in a second) but it also means that you can develop your teams faster, grow faster (increasing scalability) and ideally work on the things in life that you are passionate about and love doing (and yes golf can be one of those things!).

Once of the interesting observations that can be made about a number of business owners is that they have know idea why they got into business in the first place? Is it for lifestyle? Is it the flexibility? Is it to grow rich and take over the world? I don’t know and not for one second claim to but it is something that every business owner or someone about to start a business should really think about. If it is for lifestyle, what better thing to have a business work without you even being there? If it is for riches, what person in their right mind is going to buy a business off someone for millions of dollars to go and work in it 75 hours a week? It is by implementing the right systems in place that can allow business owners to remove themselves from the business and do the things they want to do with the people they love or to sell the business for the largest price possible.

When speaking to business owners for the first time about systemising their business I’m often asked – “where do I start?” The answer I give is “what’s the one part of the business that you dislike the most or gives you the most trouble?”. The thought of not having to do that specific task and then have the ability to show someone to how to do it without being in the room (by using the system you have created) will drive them to systemise that section of the business quickly and see how they don’t have to be always present for the work to be completed in the right way.

How do I create a system. An easy methodology that I have seen and used for creating systems within our own business and others is by following these simple points:

What: What is it (summary) you’re systemising. This is just a heading with a one line sentence explaining what it is.

Why: Why do we have this system in place, so that your team knows the ramifications of what happens if the system is not followed, even tell a brief story so the team understands.

When: When does this system get used? In what scenario? Is there any exceptions?

Who: Who, within the team, is responsible for upholding, checking and keeping the system up to date (use work titles, not names, as people leave)

What: What is it that is done every step of the way. E.g. Cutting a tomato – get 12 inch stainless steel knife out of top draw, get out green chopping board (green for fruit & veg, red for meat) and so on.

If you follow this simple system above it should create a system that will get your team most of the way there in terms of completion but like all great systems, they are continually worked on and changed to suit the changing work environment and ideas that come to the table.

So to what extent should you do I it? My rule of thumb is – that if your mum or dad (lets pretend for a second their not business owners or business people) have to ask questions after reading through the guidelines of procedure within reason, then it’s not good enough!

There are many other points that I will talk about in regards to systemising a business especially as it is an area that is quite specific to the franchising sector and allows our chain to not only grow quickly but with managers of million dollar stores who are only 18!

til next time,

Stuart

From the eyes of a young CEO

Life as a young executive has many different ups and downs as you often stumble blindly through a dark forest with only small pin pricks of light to guide you towards the right direction.

I became the CEO of an quick casual franchised restaurant chain, Zambrero Fresh Mex Grill at the tender age of 23 with no previous management, franchising or food experience and in my first 18 months in the role has seen a the company grow by of over 600%, into multiple states and have been fortunate enough to be recognised in a number of business awards around Australia . Though out this journey I have had many experienced business men and women come in and out of my life, passing on priceless lessons learn more so through business failures and negative experiences than successes and guiding me and the company through common pitfalls. I feel honored to have met so many and gained so much knowledge and wisdom that has led to success that I see it only fitting that I may be able to pass this onto those who have a passion for business as much as I do – so please enjoy!

Stuart’s Reflection on the Trip

Wow! What can I say, but what an amazing, memorable, truly worthwhile trip to be involved with.

This trip was my first time to Sri Lanka and although a 26 year long civil war, ending the month before, the fear of swine flu and dengue fever, was some of the warmest, most appreciative people I have ever met in my travels.

Sri Lanka itself is an amazing beautiful place where crazy driving through rolling hills, scattered with farmers and women picking tea is the norm, a place that in the coming years will become a tourist hub.

The environment in which the children studied in these rural schools placed them at an immediate disadvantage to their counterparts in the developed areas. Hearing this from the children, teachers and parents that made me realize how important technology is for these children and how I take it so much for granted. One particular remark from a parent “thank you so much for these computers, I now won’t have to have my child change schools” left me particularly touched.

Another area which really took me by surprise was the misunderstanding about the correct first aid for snake bites, especially as Sri Lanka has some of the deadliest snakes in the world (behind Australia). It was this addition to the trip that has really made the future of my work with the E-magine Foundation even more exciting.

But lastly as with every speech or report, one thanks the people who made this possible, and this is no exception. Firstly Sam Prince and his company whom I work for – Zambrero need to be thanked. It was through Sam’s generosity and true passion for the cause, did he fully fund this entire trip with his own money. To the doctors on the ground who had selected the schools and prepared them so well for our arrival that we finished with a week to spare, it gives me great delight to honestly say that we will be able to in the next two years to reaching our goal of 100 schools.

Sri Lanka Trip: Tuesday 16th – Thursday 18th June

The next three days were but a blur to the two young Australians, Dr Sam Prince and Stuart Cook, visiting 9 out of the 10 schools fit out with IT centres. There they implemented their new approach and taught and trained approximately 1,000 students, teachers and parents on basic first aid of dengue fever and snake bites.

They both were overwhelmed with some schools gratitude towards the foundation’s contribution of computers – at a couple of schools, the children, parents and teachers all stood in two lines, forming a guanlet of applause as Sam and Stuart walked through.

It was moments such as these that both Sam and Stuart truly understood how needed and appreciated these computers were for not only the children but also the parents and teachers in retaining the school’s number of children, as some children’s parents move the children to schools with a greater amount of facilities.

Sri Lanka Trip: Monday 15th June – the start of something new

Dr Sam Prince and Stuart Cook today were taken by the IT Officer for the Kandy region, Sanjeowa Bandasa, to view not only computers bought by the foundation but also four of the ten schools that are to receive the support of the E-magine Foundation.

Dr Sam Prince, Stuart Cook along with the help of others have decided that their work in Sri Lanka will take a slightly different path than first intended. They have also decided to use the computers as a medium to also educate and train the children on first aid for dengue fever (which is currently killing hundred’s of Sri Lankans) and snake bites (Sri Lanka has the highest mortality rate from snake bites in the world).

It was through the story from the family we were staying with and how their last caretaker had died from a snake bite. The sad part of the story was that the villagers, instead of taking him to the hospital, were running around looking for the snake! Upon hearing this story, we realised that the energy that the kids had for learning about technology would be best served by also giving them information that could save their life.

With this in mind, Sam and Stuart worked long into the night, researching snake bites and with Sam’s medical knowledge, they constructed a presentation for the children for the following day’s trip.

This day we believe, at the emagine foundation, will be an important one in our history, as it may very well expand and magnitude of their projects

Sri Lanka Trip: Friday 12th June

Dr Sam Prince, Stuart Cook and our new Director for Sri Lanka, Dr Jayantha, today officially handed over the computers to the principals of 9 of the 10 schools within the Kandy region. The ceremony was held at the regional office of the education department, where the local director for education headed up proceedings.

The principals were very grateful to the E-magine foundation and encouraged us to continue helping the other schools in the region as the work would change the lives of so many children. The E-magine foundation has the full support of the principals and education department for the region which will help to decrease the time it will take to achieve our the Foundation’s dream of fitting out 100 schools with computers over the next 3 years.

The afternoon saw Sam and Stuart return to the school of Dharmapala and give the room to be fitted with computers, a fresh coat of paint.

One unlikely turn of events came during the packing up and cleaning stage after painting had finished – due to a miscommunication through the language barrier, both Stuart and Sam washed their hands in what they were told was turps but in fact paint thinner! This caused several hours of discomfort due to minor chemical burns on their hands and arms. Not to worry they are both okay and laughing about the event, but are expecting to lose most of their skin on their hands in the coming days.

As Stuart is a Rotarian at the Rotary Club of Sydney Cove, both he, Sam and Jayantha visited the Rotary Club of Kandy Heritage, where they were warmly welcomed and through talking with the members about some potential joint projects on the horizon. The E-magine Foundation thanks the Rotary Club of Kandy Heritage for their hospitality and look forward to working with them in the Future.

Sri Lanka Trip: Thursday 11th June

Dr Sam Prince and Stuart Cook today were taken by the IT Officer for the Kandy region, Sanjeowa Bandasa, to view not only computers bought by the foundation but also four of the ten schools that are to receive the support of the E-magine Foundation.

The schools of Eragama, Dharmapala, Bosella and Hungampola ranged between 150-300 students, sometimes catering from kinder garden all the way through to Year 13. Sam and Stuart along with the help from their wonderful hosts, Mahendra and Kusum Wijeratne, spoke to each of the principals of the schools as well as some of the children. They are very grateful to the Emagine Foundation for the computers they are to receive and explained how this would help them to succeed throughout their schooling.

The Foundation have decided to profile some of the children and over the next few years to continue to stay in touch and follow them through their education and how IT has impacted their lives.

The evening brought two doctors, Dr Udeni Rajapakse and Dr Jayantha Weerasekera, to the accommodation where Sam and Stuart are staying. These doctors, led by Dr Jayantha, have been instrumental in sourcing and liaising with the schools and organising wholesalers of computers and equipment. Discussions took place about exciting new ventures, which are now in the pipeline to help improve the education of children throughout Sri Lanka and other schools around the world who fall within the reach of the Emagine Foundation.