Over the last month I have travelled over 2000 kilometres around country Victoria and I mentioned in a previous blog my angst with the activity, or lack of it, in the main retail strips in country towns.

In the workshops I have been facilitating in country regions the question of buying on the internet always gets into the conversation and when I ask who has bought off he internet in the last three months nearly all hands go up. Yet when I ask who has a formal internet strategy and a professional internet site that is in sync with their business, you hardly see a hand go up. Why is this happening ?

If you have a business of any kind and have not made a real effort to understand how you can use the internet to grow your business you have no one to blame but yourself. I bet you that someone in a business similar to your's in some place around the world has developed and implemented a strategy that is successfully in building an online presence and growing their business.

Your generation Y customers are now more interested in going to a gym and /or drinking at a local coffee shop than they are in going shopping in a bricks and mortor store. Where I live in Albert Park/Middle Park  in Melbourne the coffee shops and eating places are packed. Their customers are not shopping in the local shops as they do that on the internet.

If you want to really get a handle on what people are buying online go the nearest Australia Post parcel depot as see the volume of parcels moving through the facility.

One prime example for me recently was trying to book motels in country towns. The web sites range from crappy to good. No wonder I drive pass lots of motels that have very few customers. If you are like me you do your research online first before making a booking. The I usually book through whatif.com.au

Your internet site is your gateway and fist impression to thousands of potential customers.

Finally , it does not end with just web site , its the whole jigsaw. vidoes, facebook, twitter etc etc

This has been another week where the press is covered in stories about companies putting staff off.

So, it was refreshing to attend a breakfast briefing this morning put on by Matthews Steer, Chartered accountants and hear a successful private business owner tell his story. This family business, is in high-tech engineering and surface coatings.

They survived the impact of the last four years without having to put one person off and, in fact, employed some new staff. They had a typical successful family business attitude that their staff come before higher profits. The family believes that persistance is the key ingredient to their success and decided to just work harder to get through tougher times.

They understand the value of innovation, partnering with institutions such as universities and the CSIRO and seeking outside assistance where they have identified a weakness.

Finally, judging by the presentation I heard this morning, they understand the vital leadership attribute of humility.

I was involved in a discussion today about culture within a business or a Not For Profit and the question revolved around who drives and/or leads the culture within an organisation.

As usual, this monthly group had some different points of view. That's fine because it makes for a robust discussion and enables us to consider different aspects instead of having a one-sided debate. The real question was what role directors play in influencing a culture that ensure success.

I once saw a great definition of culture that stated Culture is what people do when no-one is looking. I believe that the culture within a business needs to be pervasive as everybody embraces the principles that make a business standout from the crowd. It the way people in an organisation behave, their over-arching beliefs, the unwitten rules, the respect for each other and the ability to work towards a common and shared objective.

I also personally believe the standards are set from the top of the pyramid in a traditional heirarchy type business structure and the directors must be more involved in the business in way that they can see and understand the behaviours and actions at grass roots level. After all that is where our customers experience the culture within a business. Just as the Chairman of board can set the standard for board effectiveness, the CEO sets the standard for the management team who in turn can make or break what filters through the whole organisation. A poor CEO will result in a poor culture throughout. Therefore the Chairman has a responsibility to manage and mentor the CEO as well as the board.

Two reference points worth looking at is a book titled The Maverick  written by Richardo Semler and the other is a book titled The New Gold Standard by Joseph Michelli. The first will challenge you on a different business model and the second will explain how The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company have a culture of customer service that is ledendary.

In my experience, over a number of both large and small to medium businesses, the great ones are those that have been successful in winning the hearts and minds of all employees and everyone is on the same bus heading in the same direction. They don't need to be told or micro managed. Everyone just does it.

Many of you will know the story.

You put a frog in a pot of boiling water and it will jump out. Put it in a pot of cold water and then gradually turn up the heat the frog will eventually boil to death.

This is how I relate to most of us  with regard to having regular health check ups. We go along putting up with the minor creaks and pains and before we know it - Bingo , a heart attack. The same applies to bowel cancer, without regular checkups we wake up one day in pain, go the specialists, have a colonoscopy and find we have bowel cancer.

This is so for those over forty. You would'nt let your car go without servicing for a couple of years yet this is the way you treat your inner health, you never get it serviced.

As someone who believes in acting the minute something sounds or feels wrong, I would have had open heart surgery by now if I had not noticed a minor change in my efforts at the gym  a year ago. One of my sisters would still be with us today if she had gone to the sepcialist when she first had pain. No, she was a nurse and knew better. She chose to ignore it, thought it would go away and she died too early. Again, I would have had the same issue had I not had regular tests.

You are no use to your family and your business if you are out of action due to your own stubborn atttude and do have regular check ups. I don't mean just going to your GP, go and have an echo stress test on your heart, have a colonoscopy, get you skin checked by a specialist, have your eyes checked, get your hearing checked and measure your various blood levels for potential early warning signs.

If you don't then your are not only a dill, but also selfish. Just make sure your life insurance is paid up.