BLT Topic – The Comfort Zone, Basic Fears & Laptop Monday

BLT Discussion “When was the last time you pushed yourself outside of your comfort zone?”

BLT Discussion Summary:

• “The brain craves security” – I think this was Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs rearing its head once again….not for the first time in our discussions!
• “In corporate, you generally spends 80% of work time either defending your position or attacking that of others v 20% actually doing ‘good work’ – this reverses when you are self-employed” – which was interpreted as anybody who is ‘self-employed’ is by definition ‘outside their comfort zone’ because you are operating away from the security of a monthly salary
• “Job descriptions prevent people from pushing themselves” – interesting how the conversation kept coming back to what was wrong in the corporate world? The point here being that job descriptions encourage ‘jobsworth’ behaviour (a tautology or an irony?) – redefining this as the ‘purpose of team’ or the ‘purpose of role’ works far better
• “When you’re on top of your game, change your game” – a quote from a book on how Business Leaders could learn from the All Blacks Rugby Team
• And finally, a poignant thought ,“Do you HAVE to grow if you are happy & complacent…or will the world change around you in the meantime?”

Other topics from the BLT Meeting

• Laptop Monday – Mark Harris (Enterprise Doctor), takes place fortnightly on Mondays from 25th Jan (actually it started at the beginning of the year, but I thought I’d be forward-looking) for £15 a session at a business room in The Bird in Hand pub (or 14th Century Coaching Inn if you prefer!), Bath Road, Knowl Hill, Berkshire, RG10 9UP
• Marlow Chamber of Commerce – Tony Thornby (President of Marlow CoC) pointed out
  it’s great value! The year ends in Apr-16, so for £25 you effectively get a 4-month trial, with 1
  meeting per month and a web page on the Chamber website.

About BLT

BLT (Business Let’s Talk) is a networking group which meets for breakfast (7:15am – 8:45am) every Thursday fortnight at The George & Dragon in Marlow.

Pre-booking is required and there is a (flexible) limit on attendee numbers in order to keep the meetings personal and to facilitate group discussion.

The chairperson for each meeting selects a theme which is discussed over breakfast (this could be a discussion topic, a guest presentation, a book review….in short, anything) alongside the usual networking activities.