The life and times of Annah Stretton

Mrs. Fix It

2012-02-21T11:48:00.005-08:00

When did I suddenly become Mrs Fix It??? Inthe last ten days I have been approached by a myriad of people from alldifferent walks of life with their questions and challenges and I have endeavouredto assist. I suppose the question one might ask is…why? Perhaps I should justignore the emails, phone calls and Facebook approaches? I mean, I would havethe best excuse in the world as I truly am seen as a busy person! But then,isn't it the old adage ‘Give something to a busy person if you want it done’???
I suppose you get to a point when you simply have to make a call and start to prioritizeyour own work. I know the stuff that makes us money and keeps my large teamgainfully employed has priority but it does get harder as each approach hasmerit and if I know the answer, why not share it and perhaps halve their journeyto finding a solution?

A sample of my last week looks like this…

- I have assisted, both throughencouragement and funding, both team and family members on the track to ahealthier lifestyle.

- I have given up to two hours of my time (eachsession) with at least five small businesses that have either lost their way orare in start-up phase and need my help.

- I have worked to further a request from acharity (Torenzo’s visit).

- I have assisted my son get through asmall altercation in India.

- I have taken at least five calls frombusiness owners and people that I collaborate with to talk them through abusiness challenge… often these have been in the evening - And I have helped awoman put her life in perspective after the Christchurch fiasco. All these existalongside the nurture projects that I am involved in as well as my core businessof fashion and publishing.

The big question that I get asked from all of them is how to I work to selectwho I will help and who I turn down. It is very difficult to give an answer andit seems the more I do, the more requests I get.
Yesterday I spent the full day helping others… commendable one might think butpossibly not from a hungry team’s point of view; especially as they are alsolooking for my answers. The advent of Facebook and our ongoing activity in thesocial media space has given easy access to someone like myself.
So it simply becomes another management time challenge for me. I know thatthese people get so many ‘no’s’ from so many of the people that they pursue forhelp, so it becomes a lot harder to turn, especially the relevant requests away.

And speaking of social media… we haveentered a new space this week! Yes, there is always something new is thisarena... pinterest.com. Have a look… a simple idea as so many of them are thatenables some wonderful visuals to be placed... loving what this is!

View my pinterest by clicking here

Well only a few more sleeps and the Indian travellers return. They will bespending their last few days in a small resort (yep I don't know where thesepoor students got their money from either) in Phuket, Thailandto be exact and they the arrive home on the 27th Feb to start their uni year. AlthoughI have not had as many emails as the other mothers (I guess he didn't want touse up too many of his 1500 daily words on me) I know they have had beyond anexcellent time. I too hope to get to India late October… all going well.Now there’s just the small matter of the vaccinations as I have never beengreat with needles ARGHHHHHH

Exciting times for the company ahead as we have been invited to show at Galway, Irelandas part of the Volvo Ocean Yacht challenge finale in late June. This is anothermarket that our label has traditionally done very well in when sold via adistributor almost five years ago.

Our international expo season is in fullswing with our first bridal show in Brisbanelast weekend being a huge success and there are so many more to come. Watch outfor us… we may just make your town given that we are going to some very obscureareas!

The well practiced art of never forgiving

2012-02-18T11:31:00.000-08:00

One of my goals is to teach people how to move on and stop wasting thevaluable life that they have been given and always look for the opportunitiesin a challenge.

Last week I took a call from one of my senior mangers, urgent it said, as Iglanced at my phone at the start of a busy day. She had arrived at one of ourretail sites where we had just employed a new manager… to be handed aresignation!!! Arghhhhhh. Given that she had a personal interest in puttingthis girl up for the role it was even more of a challenge for her to have toreport the departure to me.

There are two ways that any employer can deal with this type of moment whichwill occur in all businesses…
One: we can lock down, air our frustrations and shut the employee out of anyprocess going forward. I mean, aren't we entitled as there has beenconsiderable time and money invested in her recruitment and training? Or two: wecan accept that people’s lives change, that people make mistakes and that thereis, at the very least, an opportunity that can be salvaged from this.

Fact: before the team member joined our ranks she was a customer and lovedour brand. She is also a woman that has, as most women do, an extensive rangeof networks, friends and contacts. Surely it is better to create a positivespace around the departure and protect the brand. A departing employee that hashad a good experience in exit is a lot more likely to continue her initialadvocacy and that, to me, simply just makes great business sense. Yep, cut outthe emotion and look for the business opportunities in every challenge thatarises and never close any doors (we have had so many capable people rejoin ourranks). This departure is not a personal stick-it-to-us moment; it is simply awoman who has changed her mind or had a circumstance change. This stuff happensand possibly happens a lot more with the number of women that we employ (180 onthe payroll last time I looked)!!! Next time you are presented with a challenge,take this approach: depersonalize and look for the opportunities anddetermining the outcome that you want to achieve. Not only will you saveyourself time but you will nearly always come up with a better result than youhad originally.

Business is not personal… a departing employee is not the same as your mantelling you he's having an affair and moving out so react accordingly... Goodluck!

Global Women - Out on the town in Nelson

Today is Sunday and I am in Sunny Nelson at a Global Women Retreat. Yep, itreally is sunny for all you sun starved Aucklanders. I hear that you are noteven having to water your vege gardens as you have so much rain. So I guess that'sa positive in some ways. The retreat has been excellent and a wonderful time toextend my pattern of thought and continue to meet so many women from suchdiverse backgrounds and all with huge levels of capability. Sure I already knowa lot of these women but the surprises have come from the new connections thatI have made both with and without a glass of Jane Hunter’s Pinot in myhand...

I have yet to hear from my travelling son. His last email simply insistedthat I stopped worrying and trusted that he was having a great time so I guessI have to hear that message.

And whilst there has been a huge requirement to focus on the content of ourwell organized days at the retreat I have a had a few lapses which haveresulted in the design of our WOW entry and the development of a menu for the newBirds Wine Bar environment (our first one in Barton Street, Hamilton). It’samazing what ideas a new space can generate and I still have an hour planeflight to go!!

Resolve to Evolve

2012-02-15T12:21:00.000-08:00

‘Resolve to Evolve’… mynew mantra… it’s not a matter of being thwarted by the daily challenges thatlife throws at you; it’s about looking at what you can do and remembering thatit is not and will never be always about me.

So how do I pay itforward? Sharing all this knowledge and ability that I have acquired over my 20years of running this wonderful company and ensuring that others do as well; andnot just the team that grace my payroll but also those that I network and workalongside.

I’m back at work in NZand the common catch cry is, “Bet it’s great to be back, Annah”. Well, yes andno given that technology pretty much enables me to achieve most of my dailytasks and decisions. But then there’s nothing like the face of my white boxerParis, the one that only a mother can love apparently, to really set my heartracing; especially on Valentine’s Day. And in reference to this day there is certainly not enough love beingdisplayed in our Head Office in that I didn't see one bouquet arrive so I hopeso many of you did feel and reciprocate the love that attaches to this day!!

I know there are manyways to show this love and for me, Valentine’s Day aside, we had the pleasureof hosting a 7-year-old autistic boy, Torenzo that has some huge skills arounddesign and a burning desire to enter a wearable arts competition. So my role inthe visit (he and his Dad flew from Nelson) was to enable this. What a powerfulspace it is when you can give credence to someone else's dream and vision when,without expectation, you can add to someone’s life. And all it took was mytime. I have quickly come to learn that my time is possibly the most valuablething that I have to give whether to my partner, my children or the team andother businesses that I support. So it is so important that I prioritize thiswell so that I never become time poor and that I never waste time as so manydo. I guess that’s why I am sitting here at 4am typing this.

Torenzo with Annah and her team at the Head Office

Why are there so few ofus that are not prepared to say yes to opportunities like this (and I knowthis, as to further my support for Torenzo I will have to enlist others withtheir skills and abilities and I know I will get ten no’s... before I get ayes). So much of my focus is around how I can drive the dreams and visions ofothers and how I can implement change for the better in people’s lives. Thiscan be as small as tackling health issues within the team to as big as gettinganother person’s business back on its feet. In any given day it is importantthat at least 20% of my time is allocated to this agenda as it is the stuffthat puts the balance in my life and I believe into the environment. Success inany instance is the only reward that I seek and nothing that I do is notwithout learning and extension for me. Torenzo’s visit involved the whole teamfrom design to operations. They got involved with a huge passion and energy althoughthey knew they had a mountain of tasks that had to be completed in that day forus as well.

Surely this also willencourage them to get involved in their own initiatives that have a pay-it-forwardflavour in that we can only take from the environment that we work and play in.My challenge to all of you is to look for one way every day that you can pay itforward to another. Where you willingly give your time to solve someone else'schallenges, take the focus off your orbit and see the differences you can make.And I’d love to hear about these…

Read more on Annah and Torenzo on Stuff

The update as to theIndian adventure… well I arrived at work yesterday and to my excitement as Iscanned my emails there was an email from the boy!!! I opened it quickly; excitedthat he'd made contact... “Hi Mum… here’s a list of what we have been doing ifyou want to include it in your blog ...

(Looked a bit like atravel itinerary on speed) “too busy to email or Skype... I love you xxx”

Yep, I have waited foralmost 5 days to receive the contact but hey, he's alive and appears to behaving the best time. And isn't that what life is all about? Make sure that youalways drive the outcomes.

The Best of Times

2012-02-10T15:29:00.000-08:00

What a week. Lots of new and wonderful foodie experiences… so a little bit more to get off the tummy when home… arghhhhhh. Lots of opportunities in retail that we are now negotiating to cement and all from the beautiful Australian city of Adelaide!
As a side, places to eat here: Press… brilliant. fermentAsian… fantastic in the Barrossa Valley although I don't know that I am so enamored with the Barrossa. We NZers are so spoilt with our wine and the supporting regions! The Barrossa has an old world feel to it with its roots stepped in German history. Just look at the labeling on some of the bottles. Although the wine is excellent we have been extremely conscious of the old saying ‘When in Rome’.... so it’s been many Aussie Shirazs’ for me (and have I picked some great ones)!

fermentAsian - Barossa Valley

The Night Patrol in Adelaide

The Press - My Favourite Adelaide Restaurant

This trip has not been without event at home and it has been a wonderful testimony to the team that I have employed and empowered as to the way that they have coped so well. Who would have thought that after all that has gone on in Christchurch they would suddenly decide to red-sticker our Rangiora store. So with 24 hours’ notice we were asked to vacate. A public meeting identified the building was at risk then set the time frames for departure. Rather than dwell on the ongoing issues that this will present, as so many of the others did, Angela, one of our senior managers, simply rallied the troops and a van and started to gut the store. Yep, lights, racking, mirrors and exterior signage to boot… amazing and all with no fuss and a barrage of humorous texts as she effected the destruction of Tony’s handiwork completed a year earlier. I love the capability of this woman and so many that I employ as it knows no bounds. The old face of the company would have seen an early return home by us to effect this task but not so today. So many of my team will happily get in boots and all and make the very necessary wheels turn. This has got to be the ultimate for me to have created this absolute self-belief in these women and I intend to raise this bar so much higher. It was Tony that said to me as we discussed the stores demise last night and the focus going forward, “Surely you can’t think that everyone that you employ seeks to be extended and empowered and offered opportunities to do so”… Yep I do. I’d like to think that everyone in my employ wants this. That they want to test the previous limits that they thought they had and see how far they can push themselves as to just what levels of success they can achieve within my environment with me right beside them mentoring and encouraging them every step of the way.

And still no word from the Indian travelers. They have made it to Thailand I hope so there can’t be a shortage of internet cafes in this country surely! I will just have to wait hoping that no news is good news as they, just as I am, are likely to be having the best of times.
The last day of our break today will see us having lunch in The Adelaide Hills (yumm) and making a decision on a site in Norwood, Adelaide which seems to be the best location for us.

Terrific Tasmania

2012-02-07T12:48:00.000-08:00

I’m definitely rating Tasmania as a place to visit. In fact, I’mgiving it a high eight out of ten (they only lost marks because of the weather…it’s freezing down here and it’s only the start of February. Give me land lockedHamilton everytime). We've had to do some homework to discover the best bits, especially givenour love of food and wine… they will always feature heavily in any of my breaksfor work or pleasure. We have discovered some great restaurants, travelledto their wine regions and I have a new love... the Tasy Shiraz; big andfull bodied and perfect for this weather. Global warming certainly hasn't madeit to this island and the biggest bonus… I think this place will beperfect for an Annah Stretton store… maybe even two! Launceston and Hobart. NowI just need to find that amazing girl(s)… so if you are reading this and knowher, you know where to send her… or perhaps you feel like a change… Now’s thetime. I’m hoping to have some great opportunities available here so let’s hopethis will get some sales superstar wanting to make the journey.
I’ve loaded some images so you can see the beauty of this place although I’m notsure re. the castle… this was a home that someone had built and was proudlyliving in just outside of Launceston… perhaps in celebration of the old Aussiemovie classic? Who would know... Aussies aye??

Castle

The time away hasn't been without incident but then, I have come to expectthat. The white boxer dog has had a fainting spell. Not great to hear when youare this far away and she's almost ten. I’ve had the 4.a.m skype call from India... “Mum,I’m sooooo sick”… yep he's finally caught Deli Belly so badly that he choose tostay behind in Goa for another day and let the team travel on to Mumbai. Not agreat thing for a mother to hear. Here’s hoping he's on that flight now andback to join the group. It will be a good day for me when he flies home in lateFebruary.

So what will it be like to do business inthese cities and yes. they are both cities. and just how do we go aboutselecting sites? Believe me, we have looked at a few. I guess we have developedsome very good site EQ; if you can call it that. It’s simply about doing thehard yards… looking, walking, talking, driving, sitting, eating, shopping, gettinga feel for the demographic and the area, assessing the fit to our brand, havingconversations with women that look like a fit for the brand (i.e they would buythe clothes), talking to the existing database (gathered from consumer expos inthese areas) and asking where do they see us fitting in their home cities andlooking for areas that clone the successful areas at home (NZ). Hobart, unbelievably has aPukekohe feel and, as this store works so well, so should one here.

Population of Hobartis around 200k (Franklin33k)… an easy size to build a brand and the population of Launceston 100k. Ifwe put in two stores the brand gets a stronger presence and it is a lot fasterand easier to get ourselves known than battling away in a 4 million population cityas Sydney or Melbourne.

So logic and the discoveries of the visit, whichhas been over four days, would say we are heading in the right direction. Wehave visited and revisited each area we are considering and we have looked atall options. It’s about making a good decision… one based on outcomes - notcosts!
Today is our last day in Hobartand there will be yet another day of site investigation and some decisions thatneed to be made. But it’s not all work as it will be punctuated by a visit tothe wine region just outside of Hobart…enjoy your working Wednesday!

Getting Serious RE Frocking the Ockers

2012-02-05T16:09:00.000-08:00

So I have finally made it to Hobart .. logic tells me that Tasmania may just be the next place in Australia to set up an Annah Stretton store. After a quick whistle stop in Canberra, with thoughts that this city may also be another retail option, the jury is still out given the capital constitution of this city may find the colour and frivolity of our clothes a little overwhelming.

I did however warm to a location called Manuka but given there where no obvious empty tenancies I haven't let my self get too excited. With 350K as the population it certainly will make a better entry for us than Sydney or Melbourne ever will and I have to report that the food here needs work as well as the retail .. two night meals in Canberra where less than inspiring one was positively horrid, not great when these places where recommended and it is after all the nations capital!

Canberra Japanese on speed - Tempura Sushi didn't quite work

Yesterday we flew into Hobart and after a fantastic lunch at Smolt in the Salamanca area, possibly some of the best food I have eaten in a while, we spent a wet afternoon at Port Arthur ... an extensive tourist attraction and vital piece of history of the Van Demon Lands (the old name for Tasmania) .. Given I am a bit of a Lesley Pearce fan when looking for a trashy novel to take on holiday I had some good insight into this place through the eyes of her book characters and definitely wasn't disappointed by the afternoons excursion.

Port Arthur

I suppose the worst thing about being away for me is all the ideas that flow .. and given the company is 20 years old on April the 14th 2012 I guess its been a potpourri of very successful ideas in the past .. so not only am I contemplating what our twentieth celebration will look like but I am also setting up a vision for the next twenty years... so being in new environments presents a myriad of new opportunities .. its also great to benchmark yourself against other similar operations and what better way to do this than on a global stage.

The original team

Have had my first Skype call from India .. the boy is in Goa and very pleased with the cost of everything, absolutely enthralled by its customs and cultures given that hes from a dairy farm in the Waikato, the cows that grace the beach beside him all in the name of sacredness are an amusement at least and the accommodation that ranges from $2.50 to $7.50 a night another wonderful benefit for a student on holiday.

Interesting moment in our conversation when he discussed their boat day trip to do some fishing, down onto the sand they went to negotiate the carrier for the day obviously the advances from boat operators where many and furious ... so how the hell does one pick? .. I suppose it becomes the loudest and most insistent and obviously the best price but given these are the traits of all the operators it was Edward who pointed out ... that all one of them needed was a point of difference and it could have been as simple as placing a shade cover on the boat, sure the others would eventually catch up, but for a while that operator would have an advantage ... business 101 is alive and well in India ???? Not yet !

Edward handing kites to young boys in India. Theywent crazy sprinting around and screaming with joy! The rest of that day he hadabout 50 indian
boys, aged maybe 5 to 10, never more than a metre away!

Today we head to Launceston .. I feel this little island of Australia is such a nice fit for the brand that if we look at setting up one store may as well consider two ...

A sneak peek at the next issue of Her Magazine....

2012-01-30T12:42:00.000-08:00

In this issue:

- Julia Hartley Moore reveals what the life of a private investigator involves
- We speak to 8 successful women spanning through generations about how time has changed the face of business.
- And we find out what drives women in some of New Zealand's riskiest jobs

But wait there's more... subscribe to Her Magazine in the months of February or March and go into the draw to win a Sony Reader Wifi Touch as well as a 12 month subscription to Her Magazine Digital.

Her Magazine is sold in all good supermarkets and bookstores and the Digital Version is avaialble for purchase here for the very special price of $20 for a year!

A New Land

2012-01-29T20:34:00.000-08:00

Well the Auckland Anniversary Weekend is drawing to a close. We made it toHahei in the Coromandel, but only after security in our local New World asked to search my bag… yep a random bag search at 7.30pm ona Friday night at a supermarket that I have been going to for 10 years. And I possiblydon't think that I look like your regular shoplifter… has management gone mad!!!!
What about some EQ guidelines re. who the security team should make thisrequest to… I can’t see my customers hanging around too long if I was toinstigate this in our retail environment.
Our weekend break was only for two days given the new Howick store is in themiddle of its fit out. We did however get to catch up with a couple of friends.My suggestion was to take them to one of our foodie discoveries over the Xmas/NewYear break and sadly, I have to report that the platter and wine bar we foundin Cooks Beach is seriously lacking (below left). I have created my own platter photo to compare (below right) This is how it should look!.

We ended up here as the cafe that I do love in Whitianga, Mill St Cafeand Bar, wasn't open for Sunday lunch... hard to believe given that the townwas heaving with holiday makers. Surely we can’t have been the only one wantingto wile away a long hot Sunday!!

The boy hasn't text from India so, youguessed it, I am starting to wonder and I have also been reflecting on how hewill be getting on with his food choices. As you can imagine everyone that hadever travelled there had lots of advice for him before he departed and given hehas such a varied palette, he's not averse to eating vegetarian. He's alsotaken up the free range crusade (not easy when you’re a student) so let’s justhope that the places he visits have the livestock wandering. I did manage tofind this very sought after shot on his Facebook page... Edward's the one tothe far right.

And this week I’m looking ahead at a week 3 day week, as I fly to Hobart on Friday for a retail site reeky in Hobart, Canberra and Adelaide. I have finallydecided that 2012 is the year that I will establish a strong presence in the Aussiecontinent. With a population of nearly 24 million people there’s got to bethousands of women that will love my frocks!!
Australian retail is not new for us. In May last year we opened inPaddington in Brisbaneand Noosa. Both of these stores have been hard work but the upside is that I nowknow why.
Plan to fail… isn't that what they always say and I sure as hell know that Ilearn my best and my fastest lessons from failure, Yet so many businesses seefailure as a personal indictment on their ability to run a strong operation. Businessis about taking risks; calculated risks. A person’s willingness to fail isactually their key to success. Whoever learnt to ski without falling over? Anddo you think Sir Edmund Hillary climbed Everest the first time? It is thisfailure that makes a business robust and strong. Sure you may lose some moneyalong the way but this is simply the price of the valuable lessons that youneed to ensure your subsequent success.
So the focus for me in Aussie is one that is a little off the beaten track;emulating the very successful formula we have here in NZ, therefore thedestination of my pending trip this week.
The latest Her Magazine hits thebook shelves next Thursday. I’m loving the new look and look forward to somefeedback from our readers. The digital version of the mag has had a stronguptake and has been an exciting new direction with some big learnings for thewhole team. We have known from the start the publishing of a mag in thesedifficult times. Even one that owns its own airspace as Her does takes ingoinginnovation and perseverance and we are certainly intending to be there for thelong haul!

2012-01-25T20:00:00.001-08:00

Designer Confidential - Kiri Nathan Sketch Book

With the upcoming launch of the Annah Stretton Kiri Nathan collaboration collection, planned for 8 March, here's a teaser from Kiri's sketch book.

The new evening gowns are divine, floor skimming numbers and every one takes around 4 days to hand sew.... ...

There is steam coming off the floor of the design studio right now as they race to complete the collection in time.

We are so looking forward to bringing you more soon…

Incubating Success

2012-01-24T12:54:00.000-08:00

For the last three days I have felt like a foolish woman in love… constantlychecking the phone for the very first text from Edward to say we have arrivedin Indiaand we are safe. Finally it arrived at exactly 8pm last night… a text from NewDeli. Yep and they are not without causality… it seems a soft drink hasbeen split on his laptop so that may hinder communication but they still havethe iPhone so I am hoping for some great images for the blog before theyreturn. And what did they do on their first night in New Delhi? No wonder we mothers worry… Quote “Gotdrunk in the city centre last night pretty unreal!!!” Really, no wonder he isnever far from my thoughts at the moment. It took me 21 years to get him tothis space and at times he seems to have such a careless disregard for life andall in the name of having fun. And possibly to make matters worse he's 21 onthe 31st of this month! God only knows how they will celebrate. I will keep youupdated…
Still on the topic of nurture – a trait that is intrinsic to all women,I have been looking at how I apply this trait in a business sense, after yearsof intermittent mentoring, which can be incredibly time consuming and veryunrewarding, I have decided to take another tact… an in-house nurture program. Thisis where I incubate new or existing talent with the intention of getting themto a level that they can then go on and run their business sustainably. The firstof these projects is my collaboration with Kiri Nathan, an established Auckland designer that hascreated some fabulous evening wear pieces. The goal is to look at how we getthese to market to create a sustainable platform of trade without bastardizingher handwriting. To effect this, we established a time of frame of six monthsand collaborated on 10 designs that will be made and retailed exclusively byand for us with Kiri taking a % of the sale.
The benefits of the arrangement have been on both sides. For Kiri theincubation in our system has taught her about pattern designing and marketingfor a commercial platform without encumbering her with the costs. So there isthe luxury of test and trial.
Working with a our established and experienced design and sampling team willand has taught Kiri so much about how to run a successful fashion business andall the while, I have remained in the sidelines guiding her around the businessmodel. We also will have the benefit of introducing her stunning gowns into ourretail environment. Working through the logistics of cutting and making thesealmost bespoke pieces hasn't been without its challenges, so some great lessonsfor us!
We are now heading towards completion and the inaugural launch which will bein Wellington at Homewood the residence of the British HighCommissioner, Vicki Treadell on National Women's Day March 8^th. Thewhole process has been incredibly rewarding from my end; far in excess of whatI was gaining from the mentor process and I can give Kiri her business wings. Ijust might have made real difference out there…

Love Yourself

2012-01-22T11:47:00.000-08:00

Well it is the start of the new week. I woke up at exactly 12.50am last night, uncanny as it would have been, approximately the time Edward was boarding his flight for New Deli. I wonder if the mothering instinct ever really dissipates as I know the next five weeks will leave me with a small knot in my stomach just knowing that he is so far away and likely to encounter so many new situations. At least the weekend offered up another set of opportunities.

A day in Auckland saw me make some great appointments re. our new Howick store as well as some decisions re. visuals for the fit out. We have so much that is planned for this year yet I still see so many of my retail colleagues suffering and they still they make such incredibly bad decisions when recruiting people. Great people are the life blood of business; not just people, great people and recruitment for us is an ongoing process.

I am always looking... if someone turns up on my company doorstep and I don't have an advertised opportunity, I am likely to create one. For me, it is always about looking at the outcomes that they can generate; not what they will cost me!!! I am surrounded by the most amazing women everyday. Women that feel physically sick if their store turnover drops, women that are so passionate about my brand that they continually advocate for it in and out of work, women who push themselves to higher and higher heights everyday (what they did last year will never be good enough) and lastly they are likable (yep, that is the key attribute that I look for when recruiting).

Likable people make for great company cultures and provide extreme levels of service when in roles that they love and offer the right opportunities to them. Likable people have an inner peace, they are comfortable in their own skins so have nothing to prove, therefore they are not disruptive; they simply get on and do the job. They self-assess and have no need to seek approval from others.Goal for 2012: we all need to become more likable.

And just so you don't think that my weekend was all about work, I managed to get in a bit of shopping. I am now the proud owner of a new Nespresso (coffee machine) as well as some new underwear. Yep, I decided to take the advice of our senior stylists and invest in myself. How often do so many of us overlook what we can't see... ill-fitting bras and shattered undies. Sunday was time out at a well-know brands lingerie store which showed no service, in fact quite the opposite. A very disdainful look from the assistant manager (I know this as she had a name tag on). She didn't like the pile of intimates that I had on the floor (I guess hanging it would have been okay). Little did she know that the floor pile were my keepers (never second guess people)... we all know that. It was everything she could do to say thank you at the end of what I would suggest was a large sale for them on a Sunday. Really... how hard would it have been for this lady to have been more likable at point of sale... and just think how much better I would have felt! I certainly wouldn't be reflecting on it in a very public format!

A New Journey

2012-01-18T12:33:00.000-08:00

I am very excited about the prospect of composing a regular blog. I seem to have so much that happens in my life that I am sure a lot of it will be of benefit to so many. The challenge being just where to start and what is the most relevant content. So what is my focus today... I suppose insanely enough it is not the frantic pace that surrounds me at work and makes me wonder if I will ever emerge from the end of each day with my sanity intact. Arghhhhhhh... the daily dramas of employing 150 women would have to make the best content ever for a book.

My focus at the moment is with my son, Edward who is about to embark on a 5 week trip to India and the surrounding countries for some absurdly cheap fare of $600 on AirAsia.com. He flies out of Christchurch this Monday at 1am, with five of his closest male mates to be met in New Deli by two male friends that have been over there for the summer teaching english in the orphanages. He is fully vacinated, thank God. Yep, we went for the rabies shot even though the chances are so slim (the shots cost more than the flights ) and has butterflies in his stomach at the moment. The ones you get when you really start to push yourself into journeys unknown. I love these and possibly don't get them enough these days. That feeling of being right on the cliff's edge and not knowing wether you will slip and fall or simply waiver.

It's not like he hasn't travelled as he was in Monaco with his girlfriend last year and was fortunate to do a gap year after his seventh form year at Camp America. This time it is a little more intrepid and I'm a little bit more apprehensive. He's also away for his 21st but what better way to spend it than in a country like India. In fact, I'm really very envious. I would have loved to have done this but am so nervous at the prospect. Maybe I can convince Vicki Treadell, our British High Commissioner and a colleague of mine to take the NZ women's delegation that she has often talked about to Mumbai as that would truly be a wonderful way to see this country or there may even be someone out there that thinks my skills around growing small businesses would translate well into this country. I will just wait as so much happens in my life, even in a day, that I never know what tomorrow will bring.

Annah's Life and Style Blog

2012-01-11T19:15:00.000-08:00

Looky looky

2012-01-11T18:00:00.001-08:00

I'm thrilled to bring you the launch of the new Annah Stretton and Annah.S 2012 Winter Collection Digital Lookbooks. Click on the below links to check them out

Annah Stretton Lookbook

Annah.S Lookbook