Pre camping hype

so i guess there needs to be some real camping stuff here. right now we are in the countdown to our annual camping holiday to the beach. we go – we park up – we camp – we relax. summer in Australia, camping by the beach.

getting ready involves the highly repetitive process of pretending you know what you are doing, looking at last years lists, trying to decipher all the great ideas you had that you planned to do all year long so you would be ready. And no matter how well you are organised and plan you never have them all done, somehow life just got in the way for 10 long months and now you feel the pressure of the immediacy of it bearing down on you.

Then the camper seems so much smaller, or is it the kids and all their accessories are now just another year bigger. And you pack, and unpack and repack, and unpack and repack and curse (normally at your partner even when they have nothing to do with it), until amazingly everything fits (or you just decide to take 2 vehicles or make 2 trips) and you can feel the ocean breeze beckoning. Each year you always get by and each year you always seem to be better at it and things go better, you have a few testing moments (like last years huge storm that flattened half the camp sites) , but our family unit comes away from it happier, stronger and all the better for it and ready to take on another big year.

How does this parlay into business….

Small and Medium business owners go through much the same thing each year. Those that do, create some space to make a plan for next year. This invariably is either over Xmas breaks, or after full year accounting reports come in. You come up with all the ideas to implement over the coming year so you will be in even better shape next year at the same time, you promise yourself how you will become better at your job and how you will help your team be better at theirs.

You create the document and set forth into the new year. When that next year comes around you get to review the end result (of course you check in during the year) but many things are forgotten through the trials and tribulations of busy years. You forget how many things you achieved that were on your list and you find out the things you never got to or that part way through never really made sense.

You spend time all year wondering how you will cram in all the work or all the new thigns to get done, wodnering did the camper (oops office) get smaller or did just all your team get bigger (time to stop all those staff morale lunches) or is it that you find yourself with a much bigger family (team) at the end of another great year. Somehow they all seem to fit in and somehow (we all say it was well planned) you cope with the new things that have to get done.

What transpires is you adapt based on what you learned last time and what thinking you put into the planning phases, even if all the plans did not get one. Same thing happens at the tent site. What I have learned is that it is best to keep your plans small and measurable (or is that memorable), and review them regularly, and make sure you set up goals that stretch enough but are attainable and don’t just rip the fabric of your shelter.

Review them, enjoy them, don’t be fully ruled by them – some forces of nature just happen and fighting them costs you too much.

Each year ireckon our team comes back better for their breaks, we review what has happened and look forward to another exciting yer of amazing new things. I know i do.

2006 @ ireckon has seem some family leave – some after healthy long stints – and many new ones join. We have grown and constantly fight to maintain the service and standards teh way they have and should always be. Some days you win some days you fall behind, but each day we start with the tent upright and the family in tow, rested and ready to move on for another interesting day.

In 2007 we will probably need that 2nd vehicle, already we need to be looking at additional space downstairs in our office to keep up with our people. But even with all this ahead, it is our family (team), the lessons we have learned, and the simple plans we put in place that keep our head out of the water and some solid (sometimes sandy) ground beneath our feet.

I am hoping this year at the beach and next year at work, there wont be so many challenging moments, just memorable ones, and lots of funny ones. Hope everyone enjoys their holiday season like i intend to.

DK

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