Together with a  friend Phindi, I have embarked on a project to provide a home for 6 young girls by 2016, as they will get 'kicked out' of the institutions and children's home they have been living in to date. At 18, the government stops funding their housing, school etc and these youth have to fend for themselves. I can't change the world, or the city, but I can make a difference to six young girls. 

Read more here.... 

We need not only funds, but contacts that can open doors, and for you to share your skills so that we can run a Lifetools programe to enable them to succeed. Why don't you join me?

The majority of unusual requests relate to food, with staff reporting they have been asked to provide 15 cucumbers a day, only the right legs of a chicken and a single glass of water to be delivered to their room on the hour, throughout the night. The sound of goat bells to aid sleep also made the list of most unusual requests.

Bizarre bathroom demands also feature regularly in the list of most unusual hotel requests, with the survey revealing several orders from bathing guests, including a bath of honey and one full of chocolate milk while one guest demanded the toilet to be filled with mineral water.

Most unusual hotel requests:
1. One glass of water on the hour every hour, throughout the night
2. 15 cucumbers a day
3. Toilet to be filled with mineral water
4. Bath of honey
5. Sound of goats bells to aid sleep
6. Only the right legs of a chicken
7. A dead mouse
8. Bath of chocolate milk
9. 16 pillows (for single guest)
10. Crocodile soup

The survey of 400 international hotel staff also revealed the unusual complaints that staff have been subjected to – from guests requesting a refund as their dog hadn’t enjoyed its stay, to a guest demanding his money back as he hadn’t been able to sleep due to his girlfriend’s snoring.

For some, location of a hotel is everything – but it’s difficult not to feel sympathy for the staff at a hotel in London’s prestigious Mayfair who had to diplomatically placate guests who were disappointed that the bedroom didn’t have a sea view.

Most unusual hotel complaints:
1. The sheets are too white
2. The sea was too blue
3. Ice cream too cold  
4. Bath was too big
5. Girlfriend’s snoring kept guest awake (discount requested)
6. Guest’s dog didn’t enjoy his stay (refund requested)
7. Hotel had no ocean view (in Mayfair, London and Italy, 80km from coast)
8. There was no steak on vegetarian menu
9. Waiter was too handsome
10. Mother of Groom wasn’t given the honeymoon suite

True service really comes from the heart - here are some great tips to help you and your staff deliver service excellence with love! - Wilna   

  By feature writer Bryan K. Williams

“If I have no other qualities, I can succeed with love alone. Without it, I will fail though I possess all the knowledge and skills of the world. I will greet each day with love in my heart.” –Og Mandino

It’s about your heart. With all I’ve written about touchpoints, anticipating needs and steps of service, none of them can compare with your heart. Your heart is what connects with people. Your heart is what allows you to listen empathetically. Your heart is what causes you to give a genuine smile to acomplete stranger, who you find yourself now serving. Yes, the heart is what pushes you to love. Love IS service, and service IS love. To create consistent, world-class service on your team, there must be a regular discussion about the heart and its role in driving service excellence.

S.I.F.I. (Superficially interesting, but fundamentally insignificant)There are those who will mentally fast-forward through any discussion (or article) about the heart. They view this topic as superficially interesting, but fundamentally insignificant. In their minds, they believe that tactics and strategy, alone, will enable them to accomplish their service objectives. Tactics and strategy are not bad things. In fact, they are a necessity. But tactics and strategy are incomplete without a discussion about the heart. Imagine a beautiful car with no driver, or a sleek jet with no pilot. Without the heart, tactics and strategy are simply shiny hunks of metal with no soul.
If you look at some of the world’s most iconic service companies like Disney and Four Seasons, you will notice  that they are blatantly open about their hearts and how much they care about who they serve. They don’t look at service excellence solely as a competitive advantage, but rather as their sacred duty.

So, how do we make the heart our central focus in delivering great service?

1. Be thankful for the opportunity to serve people who actually want the service/product you provide. Not only do they want it, but they want it from YOU! Don’t take that for granted.
2. Challenge yourself to WOW somebody everyday.
3. Before asking for anything, offer to give something first. Remember: Give-Share-Teach.
4. Learn at least one preference about one customer everyday (preferred name, hobby, pet peeves, favorite food/beverage, preferred mode of communication, line of work, birthday, anniversary date, favorite TV show, favorite music genre, etc). The list can go on and on.
5. Tell your customers how much you appreciate them (and mean it!)

“But I’m too busy! There’s no possible way I can make each customer feel taken care of.” Do what you can with what you have. Regardless if you have 30 seconds or 30 minutes, approach each customer with kindness in your heart. Always ask yourself, “how can I do more than the bare minimum with this customer?” By asking that question of yourself everyday, you will actually be forming a very powerful thing known as a habit. And since it is a good habit, allow it to take root and flourish.

More than the fancy furniture, expensive equipment, chandeliers, and manicured lawns, every customer is saying, “I want you to know me, pay attention to me, and care about me!” Love is service. Service is love. Use your heart to reach other hearts and success will surely follow.

Have you seen the five tips from Richard Branson? All things we have heard before in some form or other - but still worth reminding ourselves of as we face a new and exciting year! - Wilna 









Five top tips to starting a successful business
Richard Branson


As LinkedIn is a business that started in a living room, much like Virgin began in a basement, I thought my first blog on the site should be about how to simply start a successful business. Here are five top tips I've picked up over the years.

1. Listen more than you talk
We have two ears and one mouth, using them in proportion is not a bad idea! To be a good leader you have to be a great listener. Brilliant ideas can spring from the most unlikely places, so you should always keep your ears open for some shrewd advice. This can mean following online comments as closely as board meeting notes, or asking the frontline staff for their opinions as often as the CEOs. Get out there, listen to people, draw people out and learn from them.

2. Keep it simple
You have to do something radically different to stand out in business. But nobody ever said different has to be complex. There are thousands of simple business solutions to problems out there, just waiting to be solved by the next big thing in business. Maintain a focus upon innovation, but don’t try to reinvent the wheel. A simple change for the better is far more effective than five complicated changes for the worse.

3. Take pride in your work
Last week I enjoyed my favourite night of the year, the Virgin Stars of the Year Awards, where we celebrated some of those people who have gone the extra mile for us around the Virgin world. With so many different companies, nationalities and personalities represented under one roof, it was interesting to see what qualities they all have in common. One was pride in their work, and in the company they represent. Remember your staff are your biggest brand advocates, and focusing on helping them take pride will shine through in how they treat your customers.

4. Have fun, success will follow
If you aren't having fun, you are doing it wrong. If you feel like getting up in the morning to work on your business is a chore, then it's time to try something else. If you are having a good time, there is a far greater chance a positive, innovative atmosphere will be nurtured and your business will flourish. A smile and a joke can go a long way, so be quick to see the lighter side of life.

5. Rip it up and start again
If you are an entrepreneur and your first venture isn't a success, welcome to the club! Every successful businessperson has experienced a few failures along the way – the important thing is how you learn from them. Don’t allow yourself to get disheartened by a setback or two, instead dust yourself off and work out what went wrong. Then you can find the positives, analyse where you can improve, rip it up and start again.

I am always interested in knowing how to improve service standards and motivate staff to exceed guest expectations - here are a few tips I found helpful. Wilna 

Give feedback and coach
One of the most important things you can do to motivate your people is to give them feedback and coach them. This is where so many employers and managers fall down in dealing with their people; we are hopeless at giving feedback.

Most people want to know how they are performing in their job; they want to know if they are doing it right or how they could do it better. If you really want to motivate your people then you need to give feedback both affirming and constructive.

Affirming feedback is about giving the good news, giving people affirmations, regularly, that you are happy with what they are doing.

Constructive feedback is about letting the person know the behaviour you are not happy about, the improvements you want and when.

This is not a soft option, it’s about telling your staff when they are doing a good job and when they aren’t. Why? - Because it gets the job done, it’s good for the business and it’s easier for you. So how do you do it?

You do it when you observe behaviour that you are happy about or unhappy about. And here are some points to remember when giving feedback:

1. Do it right away. Good or bad behaviour needs to be commented on as you observe it.
2. Do it in private. Being reprimanded in front of colleagues is bad for everyone’s morale and it’s bad for business. Giving affirming feedback in public can also embarrass the employee.
3. Tell the person how you feel using ‘I’ messages. Take responsibility for your own feelings. Don’t say, ‘You’re doing really well’ or ‘You’ve got this all wrong.’ Far better to say, ‘I liked the way you handled that customer’ or ‘I would like you to handle that situation in a different way.’
4. Give the person time to absorb what you say and to respond. Get agreement on the change of behaviour you require and a timescale for improvement.
5. Thank the person and let them know that you value him or her. This can be difficult however less so if you give feedback on the behaviour rather than on the person. This is about business and is not a personal attack

Segment taken from a longer article by Alan Fairweather 

Wow - this is a great article and spoke wisely and to the heart of the matter. Even if you just implement one or two of these tips - your work life will improve! Wilna 


How Emotional Fitness Can Save You Countless Hours
Bruna Martinuzzi Author of Presenting With Credibility Recent Posts

In the area of work-life balance, the U.S. ranks 27 out of 36 countries in the Better Life Index issued by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Finding a better balance is, without a doubt, one of the biggest challenges most of us face today.

While we cannot control all of the conditions that cause a work-life imbalance, there is one area within our control, and that is our emotional fitness. Many focus on physical fitness, but don't give emotional fitness a thought. So what is emotional fitness? Emotional fitness is our ability to take control over our choices and to have the emotional strength to cope with whatever hand is dealt to us. Being emotionally fit makes us more resilient and helps us avoid many of the self-induced traps that rob us of precious time—time better devoted to pursuits that enhance the quality of our life.

Here are some practical tips for improving your emotional fitness.

Become aware of your hot buttons. Hot buttons are triggers that make us feel frustrated and annoyed, such as, for example, when we have to put up with people who don't respect punctuality. Knowing that this is one of your triggers, you can prepare for this so that you don't continually experience the same frustrations. If the offender is a friend or family member, you can arrange to meet them at home where their late arrival will not infringe on your activities. If it is a business prospect, bring along electronic devices that will keep you productive while waiting. Becoming aware of recurring acts as a shield that prevents these emotions from derailing you and wasting emotional energy. Manage disturbing emotions rather than letting the emotions disrupt your day.

Take the sting out of criticism. Criticism, even when merited, is one of the most difficult things to accept. It often elicits a defensive response which can become an emotional drain. No one can avoid criticism—as Elbert Hubbard humorously put it: "To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing." So, a worthwhile life skill to acquire is the ability to cope with criticism. In The Feeling Good Handbook, Dr. David D. Burns, M.D., advises that the simple, most important technique for dealing with criticism is to find some truth in the criticism. When you acknowledge the criticism, no matter how small, you disarm the person who is criticizing you. This immediately calms the interchange.

Curtail lunch engagements. Be discriminating about how many invitations to lunch you accept from people you haven't met. While it may seem hard to decline, consider that the time you save is time that you can devote to more worthwhile pursuits. The same applies to time spent with virtual acquaintances—guard against being dragged into online involvements, being signed up in different networking groups. Many can end up being digital one-night stands that lead nowhere. Being selective about how you spend your time is an important component of self-management; having the fortitude to decline without feeling bad about it is a part of emotional fitness.

Avoid pointless arguments. In Mojo: How To Get It, How To Keep It, How To Get It Back If you Lose It, Marshall Goldsmith says that "many of our arguments fall into classic patterns that, if looked at from a distance, would seem silly and beneath our dignity." One such argument is what the author calls "Let Me Keep Talking." This is when we go too far, and just can't stop. For example, the decision-makers have heard your point and want to move on, it can be difficult for a hard-driving, smart person to let go. Instead of accepting that we weren't successful in selling our point, we may find attempts to silence us as insulting. So we keep fighting after the bell has rung and ignore the many subtle signals we get to give it up: a decision-maker interrupting us, someone trying to change the subject, a colleague rolling his eyes. Part of emotional fitness is raising our self-awareness so that we recognize when it's time to pull back.

Don't magnify your flaws. Much mental energy is wasted in self-recrimination. If something went wrong in a situation, do you dwell on it exclusively, discounting the positives? If you have a habit of self-recrimination, you end up losing sight of your strengths. This is guaranteed to sap your mental energy. Make it a habit to acknowledge your values, your drive, and the energy and commitment you put to get to where you are today.

Temper your expectations for reciprocation. When you do something for someone, it is normal to expect a thank you or some sort of acknowledgment. When this doesn't happen, we notice it and we experience a negative emotion. This is another energy leak that is best plugged. Most likely the absence of a thank you is due to forgetfulness rather than lack of care or incivility. Do for others without expecting anything in return. Adopting this attitude adds to your emotional strength. It's liberating.

Long ago, Benjamin Franklin said: "Life is 10 percent what you make it and 90 percent how you take it." This is perhaps one of the best definitions of emotional fitness. A lot of what happens in a day is colored by our thoughts. Emotionally fit people understand this and use it to manage themselves so that they can enhance the quality of their life. In the process, they save countless hours that would otherwise be lost in unproductive mental states.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the most fit, where would you place your emotional fitness level?