Welcome to the What Is, Must Is. (Wi,Mi.) blog, sharing thoughts on leadership, systems, creativity and the realities of building businesses that actually work.

Hope you get a helpful tidbit - enjoy!

What That Document Won't Tell You.
Zara Bartels : What Is, Must Is. Zara Bartels : What Is, Must Is.

What That Document Won't Tell You.

Conversation & Observation exhumes the reality where the documented process meets how work actually happens.

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The Ball Was Never Dropped.
Zara Bartels : What Is, Must Is. Zara Bartels : What Is, Must Is.

The Ball Was Never Dropped.

"The team keeps dropping the ball."

If you've said some version of that in conversation, you're not alone. It's one of the most common things a business owner or leader brings to that table, and it usually comes with real frustration attached. Same person missing the same step. Same tasks falling through. Same apologies.

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Build Your Map.
Zara Bartels : What Is, Must Is. Zara Bartels : What Is, Must Is.

Build Your Map.

Say "audit" to a business owner and something in them braces.

~ Receipts. Spreadsheets. A stranger with a clipboard finding what's wrong with your numbers. ~

That's not how I approach an audit.

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My 1st Question
Zara Bartels : What Is, Must Is. Zara Bartels : What Is, Must Is.

My 1st Question

Before I open a spreadsheet, sit in on a meeting, or ask to see an org chart, I ask every business owner the same question. It costs nothing, takes no preparation, and usually gets answered in under 1 minute.

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The ‘Holiday’ Audit.
Zara Bartels : What Is, Must Is. Zara Bartels : What Is, Must Is.

The ‘Holiday’ Audit.

A business that can't run without you isn't an asset.

It's the most demanding relationship in your life, and the one you can't resign from.

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Why I Came Home To Build.
Zara Bartels : What Is, Must Is. Zara Bartels : What Is, Must Is.

Why I Came Home To Build.

Trinidad and Tobago is full of brilliant entrepreneurs, ambitious business owners, and talented people. We are creative, resourceful, and resilient. We know how to make things happen. What we don't always consider are how we can ensure those things keep happening — consistently, sustainably.

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Wi, Mi - The Reintroduction.
Zara Bartels : What Is, Must Is. Zara Bartels : What Is, Must Is.

Wi, Mi - The Reintroduction.

The Trinidad Express published a feature on me recently, and it prompted a lot of messages — mostly from people who didn't know I'd come home, and a fair few who didn't know I'd stopped dancing, and others wanted to know more about what I do.

The article captures something I think is worth saying out loud: The skills that made me a good performer — discipline, communication, adaptability, the ability to read a room and hold a standard — are the same ones that make me a good consultant.

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