Agents2Change - Smart Business Thinking

Financial Alchemy for Business from Morganan Rae

Today I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 8 of the Virtual Blog Tour of author Morgana Rae whose book Financial Alchemy: Twelve Months of Magic and Manifestation launches on Amazon on Wednesday January 23, 2013.

Morgana Rae is an internationally acclaimed life coach, speaker and author of Financial Alchemy: Twelve Months of Magic and Manifestation. Widely regarded to be the world's top Relationship with Money Coach, she has been featured on ABC-TV, PBS, NPR, FOX News Radio, United Press International and The Wall Street Journal online, and is frequently a featured expert on programs with Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson, John Gray, John Assaraf and T Harv Eker. Named one of 2012's Top Women in E-commerce by WE Magazine, Morgana has guided thousands of entrepreneurs, artists, healers and humanitarians to thrive in their purpose, attract more than they chase, and make things happen with ease, flow and synchronicity.

In her book, Financial Alchemy, Morgana walks you through her time-tested program to turn your personal Money Monster of scarcity into a Money Honey of abundance. The book is a self-guided system to help you uncover your limiting blocks to abundance, and transform your relationship with money using a SUCCESS FORMULA that keeps you on track and positively "magnetic".

Yesterday, Morgana visited Krystalya Marie’ at http://www.empoweredspiritinsights.com/spirituality/morgana-rae-financial-alchemy-virtual-interview/2013/%monthnum/14/, where they talked about why smart/skilled people get stuck around money, why living a charmed life is not egocentric and how money can get in the way of love. 

Today, I'd like to share with you a recent interview I had with Morgana when I got to ask her some questions on the subject of big businesses and incorporating financial alchemy.  I hope you enjoy it.

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Can organizations also attain Financial Alchemy® in the same way that individuals can? 

Morgana Rae: Yes, we can change the relationship within an organization because any organization has its own sort of flavor and its own personality.

But organizations don’t attain Alchemy in the same way an individual can, because the individual journey is so personal.

The way to change an organization’s relationship with money is through the individual relationship transformations within the organization.  It’s the only way. 

I would start at the top with the CEO, with the decision makers.  When they have a healthy relationship with money – and now I’m going to sound economic – it trickles down.  They set the tone.

If they feel confident and they feel generous and they are making good decisions based on value and integrity, it will set the tone for the whole company.  And the employees will feel more safe and follow that model. 

The way to change the organization is through the individual, by addressing individual issues of values and personal worthiness, safety, and truly bottom line, love and love-ability.   And that’s how you teach a company to make money by putting love first: work with the individuals to change their relationship with money. 

Inner change has this magical ripple effect that who you are and your own personal breakthrough will touch the lives of everybody around you.

Can companies create Money Honeys and dispel their Money Monsters?

Morgana Rae: Yes.  And again, I would do that through the individual.  Money Honeys are contagious and so are Money Monsters. 

Even after you’ve changed your own relationship with money, there are going to be things going on in the world, in the news, with family members, with other companies.  They have their own Money Monsters which can be very, very seductive.

To you need to commit to your own Money Honey--your new relationship with money that champions your value and your values. This is a personified money that brings out your best as a human being, your joy in living, your confidence, and your ability to respect others and add value to other lives.

I would not design a group Money Honey.  This is way, way, way too personal for that.  But it would be interesting to see what evolves in a culture of Alchemists--the community aspect of everybody talking the language of Money Honeys and Money Monsters.  There’s so much potential to support each other. 

When somebody comes to work, and they’ve had some personal setback, or life happens and they’re feeling off-center; it’s so wonderful to be surrounded by people who are on a healthy conscious path. Imagine being surrounded by people with a good, healthy relationship with money to reinforce a good, healthy relationship with money for yourself. 

If everybody is coming from that place, can you imagine what is possible financially for that company?  I have individual clients who are making tens of thousands of dollars within a day or two? Imagine a whole company of people with that power. Wow!

How can public sector organizations benefit from the principles behind Financial Alchemy®? 

Morgana Rae: Oh my lord!  The thing about public sector and not-for-profit organizations is they are always created from such a good, altruistic service base, very often with spiritual principles in the background.  

And the problem is that the very people who are drawn to service--because they want to give back and save the world--are also often the people with the most antagonistic relationships with money! I call this “reverse snobbery” around money. And I'm only sharing this because I’m part of the club. We’re “too spiritual” to charge. We’re “too spiritual” to talk about money.  We show contempt, fear, and disgust about money; because we’re spiritually “enlightened.” 

This anti-money prejudice is so unhealthy. It kills your ability to really serve your people if you cannot be grown up and healthy in relationship with money.  It’s really dysfunctional. So this group of people, who I will call the do-gooders of the world, have a naturally monumental Money Monster. 

We were told that loving money is the root of all evil. We don’t want to be the Bernie Madoffs and the bad guys. We took this other path.  Nobody goes into the public sector to become rich.  So what we’ve done instead is we’ve rejected money.

Financial Alchemy® creates a new relationship with money that puts love first.  There’s a way, a new way of putting money and love and service on the same team, where when you make money you’re being your best self. 

And the conflict of the greed and the scarcity, it’s out of the picture.  When I talk about loving money, I’m talking about real love, unconditional love, love as if money were a person worthy of your deepest admiration-- that has nothing to do with cash. 

Love is not greed, or theft, or stealing, or hurting people.  It’s not scarcity.  It’s not a sin.  Love is generous.  Love is healthy.  Love brings out our best. 

And if we could get every non-profit person, every public sector employee in that kind of relationship with money, based on self-respect, self-worth, and respect for others, as well as love and service and joy… can you imagine what we could do in the world if money wasn’t the bad guy anymore?

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 I hope you enjoyed this interview with Morgana Rae and that you’ll check out her book Financial Alchemy: Twelve Months of Magic and Manifestation at http://morganarae.com/book-launch/pages/pre-launch.php

 

Here's why:

 

Money, Love & Magic Telesummit!

 

11 Money, Love & Magic Mentors Share Their Wisdom on this

FR*EE 3-Day Online Event

January 15th, 16th & 17th, 2013

12pm Pacific/3pm Eastern/8pm UK

 

Book your place FREE at
http://morganarae.com/book-launch/pages/telesummit.php  

 

Over the course of 3 days, Morgana and her guests will be exploring how unlock your magical powers of manifestation to attract money effortlessly by putting LOVE first.

 

Here's Morgana's wonderful guest line-up:

 

• Morgana Rae – Coach, speaker, author of Financial Alchemy: Twelve Months of Magic and Manifestation 
• Lynn Serafinn - Coach; marketer; author of The 7 Graces of Marketing
• Bob Doyle – Author; CEO of Boundless Living, Inc.; Teacher in The Secret 
• Chris Howard – Author; philanthropist; founder/CEO Academy of Wealth & Achievement; CEO of Million Dollar Mastermind
• Noah St. John -  Author; trainer; creator Inner Game of Success; media personality
• Mali Apple & Joe Dunn – Relationship coaches; authors; founders of Soulmate Experience
• Cynthia Kersey – Author; speaker; founder non-profit UNSTOPPABLE Foundation
• Jeffrey Van Dyk –Conscious business movement leader; found Expansion Lab
• Debra Poneman – Law of Attraction leader; Founder Yes to Success Seminars
• Debbie Bermont – Author; business growth strategist; transformation agent

 

This special 3-Day telesummit is Morgana’s FR*EE gift to you

to celebrate the launch of her book, Financial Alchemy

coming out on Wednesday January 23, 2013.

Getting to grips with prioritisation

Prioritisation is a great concept when you have the space and time to do it.  The trouble for busy managers and executives is that they often don’t.  They find that their already stretched capacity continues to be spread thinner and thinner, as the responsibilities and priorities increase.  It can become a vicious circle that is very difficult to break.

 

“Jack had a demanding role as head of operations for a global manufacturing group.  He had always been good a delegating and getting things done and had worked his way up from junior management to his current role and was good at thriving under pressure and delivering against all the odds.

Lately however the demands of his peers and his directors in this matrixed organisation were becoming overwhelming.  Everything was urgent; every was a 'Strategic' initiative with a Board member behind it; and saying no was just not an option.  As a result, he and his team felt like they were working their way into the ground.”

 

Jack’s situation is not unusual, and in modern matrixed organisations, competing priorities are often evident.  But prioritisation needs two key levers in order to be most effective.  

1. It needs to be clearly linked to the company strategy.  When new lines of business or new sectors are targeted, then efforts need to be justified in terms of how they support this strategy.
2. Efforts must show a relationship to the bottom line. Strategic initiatives are almost always linked to growth, but it's not unusual for senior managers to lose sight of this; and the relationship of their teams in delivering it.  At the end of the day, or your performance year;  you will be measured as much by business performance as you will on any other target that has been set.

 

Some tips to help you with prioritisations include: 

• Ensure that your annual performance targets are clear and comprehensive.  They become your employment contract for the year ahead, so a clear and well documented set of priorities will help you when the pressure starts to build.
• Where there are priority conflicts, such as competing department goals, escalate this through the hierarchy for resolution  (up to the board if necessary) rather than getting in the cross fire with peers or functional directors.
• Always keep the consequences of non-delivery clear in your mind.  Some targets will have minimal impact, whilst others may have a major impact further down the line. Consider the inter-connectivity of some priorities, which may not be your immediate concern, but will have a major impact for other areas of the business further down the line.  If it becomes a major resource drain on your area, ensure it gets included in your annual targets.

 

If you would like to hear more about how our coaching packages can help you to become better at prioritising, contact us at:  [email protected], for a free, no obligation chat.

 

We can also provide public speaking engagements on the subject of prioritisation.  Contact us at:  [email protected]

Authentic Leaders Only - Apply Within

Authenticity is one of those words that is bandied around quite a lot these days, almost to the point where it loses credibility.  But before you are tempted to throw it in the ‘new age mumbo jumbo’ bucket, let’s just take a few minutes to consider its relevance for the modern business leader.

 

Today’s leaders are under constant pressure to perform, to engage their staff and to communicate to their shareholders.  It is far greater than anything that was experienced by leaders of the last century.  With the global economic crisis, this pressure has intensified considerably, as we see the fall of major corporations like Lehman Brothers, the finger has pointed not only to the policies and strategies of the corporation, but also the behaviours and characters of their leaders.

 

Authenticity is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘of undisputed origin’.  The word originally comes from the Greek word ‘Authentikos, meaning  'principal or genuine'.

 

If the global crisis had taught us anything it is the need to be principled and genuine in business.  Leaders of today’s global organisations need to be able to display a consistent set of behaviours and values that reflect steadfast and reliable principles in how business should be done, if they are to rebuild trust in their institutions and regain the support of their shareholders.

 

Qualities associated with Authenticity include:

 

• Being a really good listener – Authentic people know how important it is to understand and acknowledge other people’s perspectives.  This does not mean agreeing with everyone.  In fact most studies on engagement and communication show that acknowledging differences in opinion heightens rather than diminishes trust.
•  Admitting your limitations – Authentic leaders know that they are not super-human and therefore understand that creating an illusion of being all-knowing is a recipe for disaster.  Acknowledging your limitations openly has a counter-intuitive effect, in that it enhances people’s perceptions of your abilities.  Why?  Because you have displayed self awareness, one of the highest character traits for the authentic leader.
• Empowering others to be creative - Authentic leaders are really good at creating an environment of engagement and participation; it is second nature to them.  They do this because their leadership style is not driven by a power-hungry ego.  Instead, they see power, status and control coming through sharing responsibility across a wide network of players. 
• Deeds and words are in sync – perhaps the most important rule of them all for the authentic leaders is sticking to his or her word.  Reliability in actions is the ‘killer’ ingredient.  It only takes one or two slips on your promises to lose huge ground in the trust of your people. 

 

If you have some experience of authentic leaders, or the impact of not having authentic leaders, please do share your comments below.

 

If you would like to hear more about how our coaching packages can help you to become a more authentic leader, contact us at:  [email protected], for a free, no obligation chat.

 

We can also provide public speaking engagements on the subject of authenticity.  Contact us at:  [email protected].

The Rise of the Corporate Bully

One of the things that we have observed in our work is the rise of the corporate bully.  Bullying in the workplace has the same characteristics to the playground bully, and the motivations of the bully are also similar, but as they are masked in adult behaviour, they can often be ignored or even encouraged by organisations.

Why, I hear you ask, when so much evidence tells us that supportive and engaging leaders achieve more and get far greater levels of commitments than a bullying leader, would organisations encourage such behaviour?

One word – Fear.  The playground bully is a child that feels compelled to bully because he or she feels fearful.  This may be because they are not very smart in the classroom, or they observe dominant and bullying behaviours at home.  They bully to gain power and control.  They crave this because at a deeper level, at the sub conscious, they do not feel worthy of love or respect, and therefore believe that if they can’t have both, they will settle for respect, or at least what they misconstrue as respect. 

Those very same feelings that are observable in the school child of 10 or 12 years old, are virtually identical to those motivations behind the senior corporate bully.  The head of marketing who insists on humiliating under-performing team members; The Head of IT that shouts and screams when team members have missed an important deadline; The Head of Finance that forces his or her team to work late to fix accounting issues to ensure a positive report to the Board, each and every one of them is driven by an innate sense of their own unworthiness or likeability.  They mask the deep hole that these feelings bring by creating fear, distrust and keeping everyone at a distance.

But what of the bosses of these bully managers?  What motivates them to tolerate this behaviour, even if they personally do not sign up to such tactics?  The answer also brings us back to the same issue – fear.  Whilst their fear is not wedded to their sense of self, it is linked to poor organisational performance, a track record of poor delivery and a belief that something is needed to turn this around.  Often exacerbated, they turn to the corporate bully to pull everyone up by their boot-straps to ‘get us out of this mess’.  But does such a strategy work?

According to the CIPD bullying cost UK businesses over £2billion per year (2005 CIPD report).  A workplace bullying survey found that over 38% of Americans have reported bullying at work.  Corporate performance does not fare well in bullying environments.  In fact the losses may be even higher than some estimates have suggested, if we factor in reduced creativity, low morale, and increased turnover — all factors that weigh heavily on the bottom line.

Strategies to help you or your team if bullying is a factor:

• Have your targets and delegated duties written down.  If your boss has a tendency to change their mind, or blame you for not delivering something that was outside of your control, written documentation will help.  Always follow up with an email confirming your understanding of requirements.
• Find an independent mentor  (either in your department, or in another division) who can be a sounding board and the voice of wisdom when you are feeling under pressure.
• Think deeply about how important this role or this organisation is to your long term plans.  If it is very important, then start to network to build a wider span of influence beyond your immediate team to build support.  If it is not important, then start to consider your exit strategy and focus on what qualities and culture will be important in your next role.

If you are affected by these issues, website resource that might help include:

http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-topics/bullying-harassment.aspx

http://www.bullyfreeatwork.com/blog/

http://blogs.hbr.org/research/2010/03/create-a-bullyfree-workplace.html

http://www.workplacebullying.org/individuals/problem/being-bullied/

If you would like more personal support, then we can offer confidential, focused and targeted coaching package to give you strategies to support your needs.  Contact us at:  [email protected].

 

We can also offer engaging and highly participative public speaking and seminar sessions if you would like to bring this or matters of people and performance to your corporate event.  Contact us at:   [email protected].

 

 

Olympic performance and how it provides a framework for performance everywhere

With the Olympics and Paralympics now coming to a close, its with a sense of pride that the host nation can look back on its achievements. Officially the most successful Olympics ever for Team GB and the biggest toll of medals per capita of any nation competing in the events. These achievements, together with the exemplary organisation and event management have lifted the spirits of a whole nation. But these achievements tell of considerable work, organisation and focus behind the scenes. When we blogged about the 2008 Olympics, we talked about the crystal sharp focus on goals and performance for athletes and disciplines.

This was something that was quite new to British Sports, which had a rather haphazard development before this time. Some people commented that the approach taken was quite hard, almost brutal in determining where funds went and who got attention. Perhaps it was, but performance requires a clear set of goals that are then rigorously followed. Taking an egalitarian approach (all sports are equal) whilst very inclusive, rarely leads to exemplary performance.

We also saw that discipline follow through to the Paralympics where Team GB also finished 3rd in the overall medal table and won an astonishing 34 gold medals and won the heart-felt pride of the British nation. But there too, it was performance that drove their success. What can corporations learn from these examples as they look to raise the morale of their people and motivate them to raise their performance to something truly exceptional.

Sports psychology and the Olympics bring many lessons to leaders in business. What Sports do naturally is:

• Putting performance in the context of a stretching and inspiring vision; Is it clear where the finish line is, and how long it will take to get there? 
• Providing a performance framework in which to define, monitor and measure performance. How clear are the goals for your team this month? This quarter? This year? If you cannot answer this, neither can they, so ensure that goals are clear and readily accessible to all. 
• Feedback on a regular basis on performance. In business we can shy away from this, yet in sports its as natural as breathing. Constructive, regular feedback is like an extra muscle. Once you practice and hone it, you can rely on it whenever you need it. 
• Celebrate success: Sports are excellent at celebrating success, but how good are modern companies. How often is time taken to tell everyone of a job well done? Taking time to acknowledge achievements makes a huge difference to team morale and performance. 

So take a leaf out of the Olympic book and look for ways to provide a fun, challenging and competitive environment to help raise the performance of your team.

Turning a bad day into a good one - sharing some great tips

There is a great article from Inc.com about how to turn a bad day into a good one.  We can often find we start the day feeling a bit stressed, negative or overwhelmend.  Often the bad mood can escalate into a really bad day, but it does not have to.  Very often how we think about something can affect its outcome and learning to thing positively is a great way to improve your chances of having a great day.

 

In his article Geoffrey James of Inc.com reminds us to: 

• Remember that the past does not equal the future.
• Refuse to make self-fulfilling prophesies. 
• Get a sense of proportion.
• Change your threshold for "good" and "bad."
• Improve your body chemistry.
• Focus on what's going well.
• Expect something wondrous.

The tips sound simple, but can make a powerful difference in how you feel and how you work.  Read more here and see if it has a positive impact on your day.

 

Bye Bye BlackBerry. How Long Will Apple Last? - Article from Forbes

When we look at game changing technology, it's often tempting to have a myopic perspective.  If we look back just 5 years ago, Blackberry was the be all and end all of the Smartphone market and Apple was less than a twinkle in the eye.  But as Blackberry are just going through a major re-trenching effort, due to falling profits and poorly focused products, we are reminded of how quickly things can change.  Just five years ago, “BlackBerry” was virtually synonymous with “smartphones.” It was well on its way to becoming a generic trademark, like Kleenex or Band-Aid, that would seemingly forever be associated with its entire sector. “For many, the Blackberry is a must-have gadget, a wireless hand-held computer that can send e-mail and make phone calls,” noted a 2005 NPR story on the “CrackBerry,” as some BlackBerry addicts referred to the device. (Incidentally, the story compared the BlackBerry to the Palm Treo, an equally popular device at the time.)  Read more here: via www.forbes.com

How Social Media can humanise Leaders

In an interesting article from emarketer, they suggested that a new study had shown that increased use of social media such as blogging or twitter had had a positive impact on the relationship and reputation of CEOs.  We have written in the past about the game changing nature of social media, particular mini blogging platforms and how they can enhance engagement.  Here is a another example of how it could bring great benefits.

According to a study by social media branding firm BRANDfog consumers and employees regard company leaders who engage on social media platforms positively.  Read More: via www.emarketer.com

About us

Agents2change works with some of the world's largest companies on change and engagement issues.   If you’d like to know more contact us at:  [email protected]

Want to share your experiences of social media in your business?  Post a comment here.

Virtual Teams Can Outperform Traditional Teams

We've featured the value of virtual teams in the past. Once seen as the poorer cousing to real teams, as technologies adapt, companies become more diverse and cultures merge, we see the real value that can be derived from virtual team. This article from HBR blog network, gives a great overview of how to do virtual teams well.

via blogs.hbr.org

The Five Personalities of Innovators: Which One Are You? - Forbes

We have just completed a two-parter on personality types  (Myers Briggs and the Four Temperaments, and as if to complement that, Forbes have just published this article on the five personalities of innovators.

The Forbes Insights study surveyed more than 1,200 executives in Europe across a range of topics and themes. Using a series of questions about their attitudes, beliefs, priorities and behaviors, coupled with a look at the external forces that can either foster – or desiccate – an innovative environment, a picture emerged of five key personality types the play a role in the innovation cycle.

Are you a:

Movers & Shakers;
Controllers;
Star Pupil;
Experimenter;
Or a
Hanger on?

 

 

 

Read More here:  via www.forbes.com

 

 

About us

Agents2change works with some of the world's largest companies on change and implementation issues. We regularly use personality frameworks for leadership, team and organisational development.  If you’d like to know more contact us at:  [email protected]