EP001b: 3 Days with a Shark with Naomi Simson

My amazing guest is Naomi Simson. Naomi is the founding director of Australian online tech success story RedBalloon and Redii. She’s been blogging for a decade at Naomi Simson and is one of 5 Sharks on Network 10’s business reality show Shark Tank in Australia. You can join Naomi’s private online community at www.joinnaomisimson.com.   After spending 3 Days with a Shark, Tiffani shares her favorite lessons learned:   Naomi is committed: to her people and nurturing her staff Naomi admits that she’s better at leadership than management; she wants people to be aligned to the values and working toward the greater good.   Even though she’s successful, Naomi pushes herself every day. She’s still very hungry. She works so hard because want to be an equal with the people on her team and the community she serves. She doesn’t forget where she came from.   Personal motto: if it’s meant to be, it’s up to me. I don’t expect anything and I’m happy to keep sharing and being a role model to others.   It’s not about the budget, its what you do with them that makes the difference. Knowledge and reputation aren't just attached to businesses. You get focused on the return dollars and time. I can never buy another hour.   Time for reflection is equally important as productive time. If you know what the tasks are the people loathe, you can potentially find solutions to make their lives easier and create a better place to work.   Take the criticism that you’ll inevitably receive, and celebrate the greatness too. Everything is transparent with social media, so you have to really listen to the concerns.   In this episode: 5:07 – Commitment to people and nurturing the staff 6:18 – Management vs. Leadership 8:07 – Know your weaknesses (or non-strengths) 8:36 – Why you should surround yourself with the right talent 11:31 – Don’t forget where you came from 11:48 – Naomi’s personal motto 13:49 – Challenges small businesses face 16:55 – How to think about your time in a strategic way 17:32 – How Naomi’s book writing process took 14 hours a day but saved time in other areas 18:44 – How do I choose what is the one thing to focus on? 19:12 – If you’re relying on your phone, you are not in control of your life 21:15 – Why you should track your time 22:23 – What is RedBalloon? 26:44 – Why it’s about the experience of the experience 29:06 – How to take constructive criticism   Running time: 34:05   Subscribe on iTunes   Find Tiffani on social: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn   Find Naomi on social: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn