I was recently fortunate to have spent a delightful 10 days in Tasmania with my girlfriend. The trip was everything I love in a holiday; out there experiencing new things, getting off the ‘beaten track’ as much as possible, making some great new friends and sampling plenty of the local produce.
But as we cruised around the Apple Isle in our campervan which we affectionately nicknamed ‘Pamela Vanderson’ (I was pushing for ‘Jean Claude the Damn Van’, but got outvoted), there were a number of experiences we had which got my brain ticking and even taught me a thing or two.
I have found the trick for me is tuning into what’s happening but then thinking one step beyond my normal daily experience; sometimes I find a lesson, point of interest or message in it that I feel inclined to share with those around me. Often it requires just considering ‘why’ something works (or doesn’t), or how an experience is similar or related to another part of my life or the world.
Granted it could be considered easier to think clearer when you’re on holiday, but there’s no reason why you can’t choose to give yourself this mental space in whatever it is you do each day. The lessons are out there for anyone who opens their senses for long enough to see what’s happening beyond the surface level.
If nothing else, I hope this post is a gentle prod in the ribs to those clients and others I speak to daily who say “I have nothing to blog about” or “I just have no ideas on what type of content to share on Social Media”. All of the stimulus you need to create a helpful asset or source of value for others is in the world around you, if you care to take a look.
So what did I take away from Tassie and decide to share with you today? Well here are the Top 5 Business (and maybe even Life) lessons I learnt in Tasmania:
1. Riding a sheep on the boat to MONA
For those who have visited Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), you will agree that it is a sometimes weird, sometimes wonderful but truly a unique experience. Nestled on a beautiful peninsula North-West of Hobart, the view is superb and the museum is an eclectic mix of Ancient Egyptian Mummies, wacky experimental art and epic architecture and stonework.
But what impressed me most wasn’t MONA itself, it was the boat trip there. Jumping aboard a ‘cow camouflage’ boat, you are presented with the inside of a ferry that resembles a swanky bar, with its smooth music, delicious local cuisine and array of Tasmania’s finest beers and wines. And the seats on the outer deck are shaped like sheep.
By the time we got to MONA, we felt like we’d had an awesome time already! In fact, the experience of visiting the museum and the ferry ride to and from Hobart were one and the same.
Lesson: Your client or customer’s experience starts from the very first second they engage with you, often before they have entered your building. What message are you sending clients before they enter your building?
2. A visit to ‘Joyville’
Arriving in Hobart a few days before Easter, it made sense of us to pop our heads into the Cadbury factory. As we walked through the backstreets of Claremont, along Cadbury Road and past Bourneville Crescent, the child in me was re-emerging (some may say he never left).
As we entered the gates of the factory precinct and were met by Messrs Freddo Frog and Caramello Koala and a bunch of signs directing us to “Joyville”, it’s fair to say that excitement was pretty high.
But as we entered the front doors, we stepped into CHAOS. The chocolate shop had no separate exit and entry (which on a busy day like Easter Thursday didn’t work well), and the visitors were frustrated at the mayhem that ensued. The flow on effect meant the staff were clearly frazzled as they vigorously threw eggs onto shelves, carelessly poured milk into cups at the ‘hot chocolate’ bar and ‘huffed and puffed’ around the visitors centre.
People were walking into Cadbury with smiles on their faces, but leaving dishevelled and exhausted. There is no doubt that there were significant challenges thrown at the Cadbury factory that day, but how the staff dealt with them sent a message, and a pretty negative one at that.
Lesson: A clever marketing campaign concept like Cadbury’s ‘Joyville’ only works if your whole business lives and breathes it. Your business may ‘talk the talk’, but do they ‘walk the walk’?
3. ‘Meeting’ a prisoner at Port Arthur
As a former convict settlement, Port Arthur has a rich and often sad history. But as with any tourist attraction of historical significance, it can be hard to immerse yourself in the past when there are so many distractions in the present. Indeed, often experiencing a place like Port Arthur through the lens of ‘Smartphones’, wondering when your next meal will be or worrying about what time you will arrive at your hotel that night means that you don’t truly transport yourself to a time gone by in a world different to the one you currently live in.
However upon entering Port Arthur, everyone was handed a playing card. Each of the 52 cards in the deck represents a prisoner and as you walk through the Port Arthur Museum, you can follow the story of the prisoner in your hand. Some stories are sad, some are triumphant but all are 100% true.
As your emerge from the museum into the main historical site, reality shifts. You realise this isn’t a ‘set of old looking buildings perched on a beautiful piece of coastline for you to take photos of’; it’s a relic from the past and a place that housed thousands of human stories, just like the one you are starring in right now.
Lesson: Humans are hard-wired to relate to humans. Whatever business you are in, how are you helping your customers or clients connect to the human side of what you actually do?
4. Climbing across rocks at the Bay of Fires
There is some conjecture as to how this magnificent stretch of coastline in Tassie’s north-east got its name. Some say Captain Tobias Furneaux coined the name in 1773 as he saw the local Indigenous community’s numerous fires along the beach, but others say this name owes itself to the beach’s numerous granite boulders, covered in an orange-hued ‘lichen’.
Regardless of the truth behind this, it was these boulders which piqued our interest as we arrived in this pristine part of the world. My girlfriend and I decided we were going to climb across to the furthest rock in the ocean; a feat which would no doubt be exhilarating, but on first glance appeared pretty difficult (especially for someone like me who is as sure-footed as a newborn giraffe).
But upon confronting the task ahead of us, I realised our climb to the furthest rock was merely a series of smaller boulders, stacked next to and on top of each other, forming the impressive rock mountain in front of us. So what appeared to be quite daunting at first, in reality was just a series of smaller steps and minute by minute we ascended to the end and were rewarded with a view we will never forget.
Lesson: What can appear to be a mammoth task or goal is really just a series of smaller ‘micro tasks’ or goals. Sure, you sometimes need to take a bigger leap than is naturally comfortable, but by focussing on what you can do in each step, you will eventually get to the top.
5. Two thumbs up at the Weldborough Hotel
Established in 1876, the Weldborough Hotel combines the beautiful architecture of yesteryear with everything that is great about a good ol’ Aussie pub. We were told in no uncertain terms that we had to check out this pub by a ‘grey nomad’ couple we met in the south east of Tassie. They remarked that the pub boasted ‘every boutique beer and cider made in Tasmania’, as well as a terrific menu.
So even though the pub was on a small country road and certainly not on the most direct route we could have taken that day, we decided to check it out. We arrived at the pub, had a couple of lovely beers and decided to split a humble steak sandwich. But as we bit into it, the quality of each and every ingredient was simply mind-blowing. After mentioning this to the publican, he proudly brought to our attention that all of the ingredients had been sourced from a farm, about 2km up the road; “it doesn’t matter what food we serve ya, we only use the best ingredients”.
We have relayed this story to multiple friends visiting Tasmania this year because the experience was so great that we felt compelled to share it with others, just like our ‘grey nomad’ friends had also felt similarly compelled a few days earlier. This can only mean good things for an unassuming pub located off the beaten track.
Lesson: Shortcuts lead to mediocrity and ‘sameness’. Focus on the quality of what you do and the ‘word of mouth’ will spread. What are you and your business known for?
These were just a few of the business lessons that were highlighted to me during my wonderful holiday; I hope they have sparked a bit of ‘food for thought’ of your own.
More to the point, what business lessons are happening everywhere in your daily life that you have either not tuned into, or not seen the opportunity to turn into valuable content for your clients, customers, business or network?
What’s going to happen to you today that you can share with the world around you?
“Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere” – Chinese Proverb