The reason Evolutionary Novel Behaviour…basically kids with a higher IQ grow up searching for the new stuff. This makes perfect sense and normally that fact would focus on the positive outcomes that you would expect to see, this though shows that it’s good and bad and of course gives me a reason for my willingness to indulge in an extra glass or three!

Although the articles are interesting, the comments left by people were more so…

“Drinking is a social lubricant; most days you don’t fit in but with a few drinks you do; Ignorance is bliss; Dumb people are happier; Intelligent people are more sensitive to what is going on around them, drinking creates a moment in time; Drinking helps to cope with the idiots”

The use of the word intelligence is also well debated; the studies used empirical data (IQ) but we have progressed enough to know that is only one measure, that is what makes the study of the brain so fascinating. Before anyone draws any egocentric conclusions on my behalf, I’m not putting myself in the traditionally intelligent bracket but I do have a mind that never switches off and the comments about alcohol creating a moment in time did resonate with me.

I was also taken by the social nature of all the comments, they weren’t about going home closing the door on a world that didn’t understand you and drinking in isolation, they were about fitting in, being social, getting on with everyone…the real element of “social” in our world of virtual networking.

So as the party season kicks off and we are at our social best, when someone raises an eyebrow at you enjoying a festive tipple or two, remind them you were a smart kid – kick back enjoy the moment and enjoy the company of all the other smart kids around you.

When was the last time someone asked you or even considered “what it was like to be you?”

This thought has been in my head since I watched The Help the film based on the book written by Kathryn Stockett.

Set in Mississippi during the 1960s, a southern society girl returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends’ lives – and a small Mississippi town – upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families as part of a secret writing project that breaks society’s rules and puts them all at risk.

Every day I am astounded by the lives that people lead, the number of different people they are caring for and or the difficulties with health issues they are trying to overcome the concerns, hopes and dreams they have for the future it is always inspirational and humbling.

It’s all about courage and taking the opportunity to change: starting with the simple premise just one person deciding to understand what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes.

When I get the opportunity to bring people together to work on global initiatives, it is always amazing that wherever in the world you live at a basic level what people are juggling is the same although the environments may be staggeringly different.

I have very fond memories of a night out in Jakarta with a group of women from Indonesia, Bali, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Thailand, Poland, Greece and the UK. We as a group represented every religious faith and cultural background you could mention and to begin with the conversation was polite.

As the night went on and we got to know each other barriers came tumbling down as it was clear we all shared the same thoughts, the things that occupied our minds were the same, the way we had to deal with them was different but in a way that we could all understand and take something from. That night changed the relationship I had with those women and dramatically changed the way we worked together resulting in the delivery of change within the project I never thought we would see.

If you are struggling to get an initiative to realise it’s true potential and you think that people are your blocker take some time to walk in their shoes, ask them what it’s like to be them right now, you could change the course of history.

The results of our mini survey show a pretty close 1,2,3 of work life balance, love of the job and money.

We explored the challenge of work life balance in our last blog, so next…

What makes one person love their job and another hate it?

When we are in a position to follow our own values and beliefs we seem more comfortable and confident with our actions and decisions. Believing that what you are working towards will make a difference somewhere somehow is a motivator and gets those happy hormones pumping.

We are not all the same so our values are also going to differ

It is up to us to ensure that there is a good match between our core values and our work environment. This doesn’t have to be a life changing statement (giving up the office job to be an NGO in the Niger Delta) it is just about being aware of why we love or hate what we do. This will change because we change and our environment changes.

Do you love or hate your job?

• Write an honest statement of what your job is
• Compare this to your actual job profile (is there a match?)
• If there is not a match, write down why. Are you being sucked into things because of bad management, process or the incompetence of others?
• Put a smiley face next to everything you love
• Put a sad face next to everything you hate

Do the math…

or

It is perceived by my nearest and dearest that I don’t have the right work life balance and they believe it has got worse. As I am sat on the plane ready to start my holidays I have some time to wonder why (and nicely prove their point at the same time!)?

Has the recession pushed me to work harder?

Throughout this credit crunch period I have been anti recession, believing that we could talk ourselves into and just as easily out of this mess. I don’t dispute there was a mess and that the decisions that were being taken in certain sectors that could not continue. There had to be fall out.

It is true, I didn’t want to be part of the fall out, so did this environment push me to work harder?

Like many (or all) business owners, I work everyday. I did before the recession kicked in and I have no doubt I will continue to do it when it’s gone.

I want Cheeky Monkey to be the best Change Management Consultancy it can be. I want the people who work at Cheeky Monkey to contribute in the best way possible and be the best they can be at what they deliver. I want Cheeky Monkey to be successful and that is what pushes me.

Success = being the best you can possibly be

Always Connected!

The recession may be playing a part but other things are having a bigger influence. We have embraced social media as a way of engaging with a broader spectrum of people and keeping us sharp. We are operating on a Cheeky Monkey cloud, access to everything by everyone without having to be at a desk.

To make sure we could do this efficiently we invested in the latest Blackberry’s and iPhones. Fantastic, I am linked to our client’s networks, integrated calendars, business and private emails, messenger and our whole social network from something that fits in my pocket. My god it’s efficient, and allows me to work 24/7 wherever I am. I am probably at 18/7 if I am being honest and my friends and family are constantly telling me its going too far.

My Blackberry has had the biggest effect on my work life balance.

Although I am one of those people who is in the pub checking my BB at regular points, at least I am in the pub. It was not long ago I made choices on going out or not going out based on how much work I had to do and most of the time it was the latter. Although my working day has increased, so has my social activity…

The lines between my work and life are blurred, what is wrong with that?

So, as we make our approach into Nairobi I am happy that I will be able to keep in touch with my fellow monkeys and our clients with ease and enjoy a fantastic family holiday. I have control over my work life balance, technology has given me this and it is for the better.