New Year | The Barefoot Spirit

5 Ways to Make the New Year HAPPY !

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 27 Dec 2018 18:00:47 +0000

For the next few weeks, you’ll hear a lot of folks wishing you a Happy New Year! And you, like us, will no doubt wish them the same. Everyone wants something better for themselves and others, and hopes that a fresh start is possible in the coming year. So, this is the time of year when people feel obligated to make resolutions, create goals, and plan out the year ahead.

But instead of all those pronouncements, perhaps what we really need is to return to a few classic principles. Perhaps we can rediscover some daily practices that will actually help achieve that often wished for, and sometimes elusive, truly Happy New Year. Here’s 5 time-tested principles to help make the New Year…HAPPY!

Civility – Practice Dignity

Value good manners and dignity. Practice respect for others, especially for those with whom you disagree. Shun and refused to participate in language that dehumanizes others. Don’t contribute to conversations that lead to hateful suppositions. Don’t view degrading remarks as amusing but as a threat to the very fabric of cooperation and compromise. Take the highroad and encourage others to join you.

Don’t be a sucker for simplistic views that lead to division and support for demagoguery. Realize that there are no simple answers. Look for and listen to the multiple facets of every challenge. It’s not “just the one thing!” Promote high school civics and the humanities.

Resourcefulness – Do More with Less

Be less wasteful of everything from money, to water, to food, to fuel. Think about the most efficient way to conserve and better utilize the precious resources that we have. Look for more efficient ways to get to work and use less energy. Try to borrow as little as possible, get by with less, and save as much as you can. Are you really hungry? Or is it just time to eat?

Look for ways to solve problems and make a difference with what you have. Stop restricting yourself by excusing your inactivity by stating what you need. Find new solutions with what’s at hand. Look for and use your hidden resources. Recognize what you have and be grateful for your many blessings.

Empathy – Show Respect for Others

Put yourself in the other person’s shoes. What do they want, and more importantly, why? Empathy is the backbone of cooperation and cooperation is the backbone of peace. By truly understanding the other parties needs you will be empowered to discover and suggest an arrangement compatible to both sides. As Ivan Misner, the founder of IBN, the world’s largest business network puts it, “Take off the bib and put on the apron!”

Condoning or ignoring any form of group marginalization is ultimately self-defeating because it gives permission for that type of behavior to be perpetrated against your own group. What really makes America great is diversity. Let’s embrace and celebrate what each culture has to add to our future as a nation.

Sustainability – Vote with Your Purchases

We all grew up with books and movies that pitted man against nature. We admired the heroes that overcame the forces of nature and “tamed” her. The idea was that nature was there for the taking. The atmosphere, the land, the plant life, the animals and the oceans could all absorb an infinite amount of harvesting and man-made pollution – forever! That notion was promoted by producers who provided us with products whose very manufacture and use assumed that same fallacy.

In less than a century, that type of thinking has resulted in detrimental climate change, micro-plastics in our food supply, and threats to our own health and welfare. Even if we can’t compete with the powerful lobbies that have rolled back environmental protections, we can vote with our purchases for sustainable products. And we are thrilled that according to Nielsen, our “votes” are beginning to influence the producers!

Healthy Living – Take Care of Yourself!

Know when it’s time to put the phone down, walk outside, stand up straight, look up, take a deep breath, go for a walk, and appreciate nature. Just 3 walks per week significantly improve the mental processes. So it will improve your work as well as your memory.

Take public transportation, bike, or walk to work whenever possible. Shop local and visit your farmers’ market. You’ll get to socialize in real time with real people. It’s more fun than shopping online. And the food is better for you, your community, and your environment.

Develop an interest in doing something that inadvertently puts you in a natural environment, like photography, hiking, jogging, birding, climbing, or gardening. Anything, really, to get outside, exercise your body, clear your mind, and get your eyes off the screen.

Here’s to a truly HAPPY New Year!

Cheers!

M&B

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post 5 Ways to Make the New Year HAPPY ! appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

Change the Future by How You Spend Your Money in the Present

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 02:00:04 +0000

How would you like to improve the world in the New Year? How would you like to really make a difference? We’ve often said, we vote with our money. Every time we make a purchase, we are “voting” for more of that product or service, where it comes from, and how it got here. We are voting for the labor practices, environmental practices, and political views of the producers of those goods and services. Our money goes into their hands to continue practices that we may have some serious issues with.

Recently we read with horror about shrimp-shelling factories in Thailand that enslave refugees and force them to work inhumane hours in virtual incarceration. The shrimp is then dumped on a very fungible market where those slave-peeled shrimp are almost impossible to track when added to other supplies of shrimp from other factories that respect human rights. Because the shrimp is used as a generic supply by brokers who sell to wholesalers who then sell to the big box stores, American consumers don’t know if their appetizers or their cat’s food has slave-peeled shrimp in it. We don’t even know which products to boycott! But it has to make us all think about buying any shrimp that cannot certify humane labor practices. At least we are asking now. And we hope that you will too. It’s the only way to change the world. We all must become more aware about the products we are buying.

Instead of acting like there’s nothing we can do about commercial practices that hurt the environment, or harm people or our health, we can take action in the New Year with our “voting” dollars. Here’s how:

Ask about origins and practices. If you don’t get an answer, go to your local farmers markets and ask them. They will answer you. We make it a point of buying most of our food from local growers we know and trust. We feel good about supporting their practices and not contributing to a fungible food supply that doesn’t know the origin and practices of their suppliers.
Reduce your dependence on petroleum. Think twice about using your gas-powered car. Look for alternative means of transportation, use technology, a bicycle, carpool or look into an electric car. Even as the world knows that we are pushing carbon emissions beyond the tipping point, drilling for oil continues as if there will never be an alternative. Terrorism runs on oil.
Don’t just buy the cheapest thing. The purchase price might be cheap but the medical bills and environmental damage is unaffordable. Do you really want to save a few bucks today by “voting” for something that results in long term-costs that will come back to you in the form of increased taxes? Who paid for the Katrina superstorm or the drought-ravaged fires in the west? We all did!

So, if you really want to change the world in the New Year, consider the power you have as a consumer. This is, after all, the world’s largest consumer economy. The world’s producers vie for a position in the American retail market. They want our money! But we may not want to give them our “vote” to prosper in the short run if we have to pay for the results of their practices in the long run. Ask more questions about where your money goes. Support merchants and producers who stand behind their products and practices. Send a New Year’s message and make your “vote” count! Here is to a prosperous – and healthy – future!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post Change the Future by How You Spend Your Money in the Present appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

Happy Old Year! Be Thankful for What Went Right to See More Go Right!

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 24 Dec 2015 00:49:54 +0000

It’s easy to get carried away with the new prospects for the New Year. After all, this year is over (finally!). And not all the news was good… The media has done a fine job of frightening us by focusing on the negative. Then there’s the personal frustrations of all the things we wanted to do that got derailed, delayed, or deferred. It’s easy to complain about what went wrong last year. We almost can’t wait to put the past behind us and move on to a new world of all possibilities. There are New Year resolutions, plans, goals, and a general attitude that things will somehow get better.

But we’ve found that best way to make the New Year better is to take some time over the Holidays to make a list of what went right this last year. We call it our Annual Accomplishments List. It forces us to really think about all that we have accomplished in the “Old Year.”

Every year about this time, we spend an hour or two going through our calendar to help us recollect what happened. Then we make a list of everything we’ve accomplished, everything that did go right, and all the great times we had. We also add all the great people we met or did business with. We take the opportunity to continue to grow these new relationships by putting them into our contacts and sending them a personal note of appreciation before the year end. If you use this method, it’s amazing, but you will discover that you are making progress, making new friends and achieving your goals!

By taking the time to put together your “Old Year” list several great things can happen. You become more grateful instead of frustrated, hopeful instead of fearful, and most importantly you have real evidence that you can achieve your goals. All this results in an attitude you can take with you into the New Year where you will expect solutions. You will be looking for them at every turn. You will be less likely to overlook solutions just because they weren’t wrapped in a pretty package and hand delivered. The more you appreciate what you have the more you get what you want, if for no other reason than you are focusing on what you want and not what you don’t!

Now you are ready to work on your New Year’s resolutions with the confidence that comes from success. You can more easily visualize your new goals finding their way onto your next year’s Annual Accomplishments List. Why? Because you took the time to appreciate your progress this year, saw it all on one list and said, “Yes! I can do this!”

We want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who has followed us and shared our blog posts, joined us on social media, and attended our talks and Keynotes throughout the year. We hope that our experience has made a positive difference in your lives and businesses.

Michael and Bonnie say thank you for a great Old Year and we wish you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post Happy Old Year! Be Thankful for What Went Right to See More Go Right! appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

7 Steps to Setting and Achieving Your Goals for the New Year

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 18:00:48 +0000

Yes, it’s that time of year again when we start thinking about our goals for the coming year. Before the New Year begins is the perfect time to see what you have achieved over this last year and identify what you have yet to achieve.

Reviewing your achievements is a great place to start. This will remind you that your goals are doable, and will give you the enthusiasm to get down to business with your new set of goals. After acknowledging your achievements, take a look at your uncompleted goals, revise them as needed, and start your list for next year with those. If you are like us you will have several to get you started!

So how can you better prepare to achieve your goals in the coming year? Here’s the checklist we use:

Clearly State your Goals. Seems simple enough, but it actually requires some thinking. Adding in details will create a stronger image in your mind. So, under the goal of “Clean the attic,” for instance, write “Reorganize the boxes into categories of tax files, holiday decorations, camping gear, etc.; toss out the unused items; donate old clothes.” Be sure your goals are reasonable. What kills most goals it that they are unreasonable.
State your Deadline. Just putting a deadline on your goal throws a switch in your brain that says, “We’re really going to do this!” Is it doable in just one year? Or is it part of some master five-year plan? If you want to use that camping gear next summer, then put in an earlier date. Be sure to include your life goals – some people call this their “bucket list” – and record the progress you make towards them throughout the year.
Identify your Strategic Allies. Make a list of the folks who you will need to work with in order to achieve your goal, and what is in it for them. List what you need from each person. Again make sure it’s reasonable. They are helping you, so don’t blame them if they don’t come through.
Lay out the Sequence. Plan the chain of events that are dependent upon each other to bring your goal into fruition. Understanding the interdependencies will give you the confidence to keep going. What has to happen first, second, and third? Determine the milestones. Important – get started on the first milestone immediately.
Identify the Lead Times. How long does each sub-section of your goal take? Who has to be notified, give approval, or complete a project? How much notice do they need? Work backwards to discover when each detail needs to be accomplished. This way you won’t be surprised by a road block you could have seen coming and easily removed with adequate preparation.
Track your Status. Put your goal and your strategy to achieve it at the top of the page and enter your progress weekly. If you have no progress one week, that’s a great time to review your past progress posts. This will give you the confidence that you are making progress. It’s also a great time to review your goal, your plan, your allies, and your lead times. It is okay to make practical adjustments as you go.
Celebrate! Yes, plan a reward for yourself and others for achieving the goal. Maybe it is a camping trip once you clean the attic! Maybe it’s a dinner out, a party, or a purchase, but it is an acknowledgement that you have succeeded. Plan the reward when you set your goal to create the mental picture of yourself as happy and fulfilled after having achieved your goal. There’s nothing like a prize to make you want to win!

We have kept a goal book for years, which we regularly review. So, what’s stopping you now? Use this checklist to begin achieving your goals today!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post 7 Steps to Setting and Achieving Your Goals for the New Year appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

A Wish for the New Year: Let’s Have More “B” Corporations

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 04 Jan 2014 18:46:43 +0000

As we make our wishes, resolutions and plans, we would like to suggest that we see more “B” Corporations in the New Year ahead. “B” stands for “benefit,” and this new type of corporation distinguish itself from the traditional “S” and “C” Corps because B Corps are not only for profit, but also for the public benefit.

B Corps are typically defined as “people using business as a source for good,” and are certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. They have a much wider fiduciary responsibility that includes a responsibility to their employees, the community, and the environment as well as to their shareholders.

Is it Socialism or is it smart 21^st century capitalism? Here are three good reasons for electing to create a B Corp:

1. Transparency. Today’s information revolution has created a demand for transparency. Consumer’s now know that they are voting with their money and consequently for the policies and behavior of the companies whose products they purchase. Companies that hurt the general welfare are being exposed daily, whether it’s for poor treatment of employees, disregard for the community, or environmental damage.

2. Engagement. Employees want to work for companies that stand for more than their mercantile products and services. They want to know that they are participating in a company that is making the world a better place. They want to “brag” about their employer’s higher standards to their family, friends, and followers in social media.

3. Investment. Investors increasingly are looking for companies that will make a difference while returning a profit. Investors realize that companies that have reduced turnover and engaged employees will be more profitable, and that companies that give their customers a social reason to buy their products will have greater customer loyalty.

As more B corps demonstrate profitability, sustainability, and popularity, the old paradigm that “good deeds only come at the expense of profits” is slowly but surely coming to an end.

Maryland was the first state in the country to authorize the creation of B corps. Since then, California, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Virginia, and even “corporate haven” Delaware have joined the movement. Why? Because it’s (finally) just plain good business.

When we started Barefoot Wines in 1986, there were no B Corps, and there was no such term as Social Entrepreneurship. But as cash-strapped outsiders, we stumbled onto a way of getting the word out on our brand without paid advertising. We called it “Worthy Cause Marketing,” and years later when we finally could afford to advertise, we chose to continue our support of non-profits as our sole means of spreading the word about our product.

Not unlike today’s definition of Social Entrepreneurship, we supported social and environmental causes that were important to us and to our customers. The membership of the non-profits we supported had a social reason to buy our products. Our employees were engaged because they knew they were making the world a better place. The success of Barefoot Wine is proof positive that social entrepreneurship works!

Today’s new B Corporation is an excellent way for companies to tell the world, including their investors, employees and customers, that they are making a difference. We would like to see more states pass legislation this year to enable this new corporate structure of social entrepreneurship. We hope more companies and start-ups will elect to become B Corporations in the New Year, making it a happier New Year for all!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post A Wish for the New Year: Let’s Have More “B” Corporations appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

9 Steps to Achieving Your Goals for the New Year

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 07 Dec 2013 15:31:40 +0000

As the current year winds down and we look forward to the New Year, start thinking about your annual goals. Don’t wait until the New Year is upon us. These last few weeks of December are a great time to identify what you want to achieve during the next year. Writing goals seems like a daunting task, but we have discovered a fun and easy way to get started:

List Your Achievements. How have you progressed so far? How many goals have you achieved this year? Reviewing your achievements is always encouraging because you can see the value in setting goals.
Identify Your Incomplete Goals. What goals did you set for this year that are yet to be achieved? Are they still relevant? If so, they need more time, so those are a great place to start your goal list for next year.
Write Your Annual Goals. What are the big goals you want to achieve for the New Year, for your business, your career, your health, and your education? Add those to the list of this year‘s goals that need more time. Now you have a core goal list.
Study the Year Ahead. Take a good look at a calendar with holidays and events already printed on it. This is the landscape of the New Year. This is the layout you can’t change, the one you must work within.
Set Your Deadlines. Break down your annual goals into achievable milestones to be completed before each 3-day holiday weekend and post them on the calendar. Make a list of the milestones for that period and keep it handy throughout the period as a reminder to keep you on track.
Set the Lead Times. Calculate how long it takes to prepare for any event. Look to see if there are there overlaps. By working backwards from the events, you will see when you must begin preparations.
Post the Must-Attend Dates. Identify the dates that you absolutely must attend, whether it’s at work or for a social affair. Those are the dates you can’t be on vacation.
Identify the Holiday Periods. When does school begin and end? Vacation spots are less crowded and often less costly when students return to school. When are the three-day weekends? These are great for short getaways. When are the key selling seasons? Some business people must plan months ahead to assure all is in place for essential selling seasons, and can take a break only after this essential work is completed.
Book Your Vacation. Now that you understand the fixed landscape of the coming year, when would be the ideal time for you to take your vacations? Buy your tickets now! You’ll get a better deal and you will have some hard dates by which to accomplish your goals. The rest of your work will fall in “magically” around your vacations.

By working with your goals on an actual calendar, you will be more likely to achieve them. When you discover the existing dated landscape that you must work within, you are setting yourself up for success. You will see the practicalities of the New Year and use it to your advantage. Your personal time-off rewards will be visible and your milestones will be more realistic.

You’ll be surprised how much you can achieve when you can see the end of the tunnel whether it’s a booked vacation or a three-day weekend. Nobody wants to come back to unfinished business and you won’t either. Be practical about your goals, the calendar, and your much-deserved rewards. Book your vacation now!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post 9 Steps to Achieving Your Goals for the New Year appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.