Bloom Where You're Planted
There's a quiet heroism I've come to admire in the heart of our bustling cities. It's the single, determined flower pushing its way through a crack in the pavement. It's the riot of colourful blossoms on a tiny apartment balcony, a vibrant testament to someone’s care. It’s the meticulously tended community garden tucked away on a forgotten patch of land. These are pockets of defiant beauty amidst the concrete and the chaos.
For years, in the relentless pursuit of business growth, I would have rushed right past them without a second glance. My focus was always on the big picture: the next major milestone, the overarching strategy, the destination on the horizon. The small, intricate details of the journey often blurred into the background.
But my work as an Australian artist has taught me a new way of seeing. It has taught me the art of noticing. I’ve learned that the most powerful lessons in business and in life are rarely found in the grand, sweeping gestures. They are found in the quiet, intricate, and often overlooked details—the kind of details you can only see when you have the patience to look closely at a single, perfect bloom.
The Artist's Perspective: Capturing a Fleeting Beauty
I find an endless source of inspiration in painting flowers and gardens. From the rugged, sculptural beauty of a native Australian Banksia to the soft, layered delicacy of a garden rose, each one presents a unique and wonderful challenge. Creating Australian floral art or a piece of botanical painting is a practice in deep, unhurried observation.
Unlike a vast landscape, which commands your attention with its scale, a flower invites you in. It asks you to notice the subtle, almost imperceptible shift in colour on a single petal, the intricate architecture of its stamen, the way light filters through its translucent leaves. To paint a flower well is not just to capture its shape and colour, but to capture its essence—its fragility and its strength, its fleeting moment of perfect bloom.
This slow, deliberate process of noticing is a powerful antidote to the frantic pace of the entrepreneurial world. It’s a reminder that true excellence is not born from speed, but from care. The works of Naomi Simson, artist, that I am most proud of are the ones where I have taken the time to truly see and appreciate the profound beauty in the smallest of subjects.
The Lesson in the Details: The '1% Rule' of Customer Experience
This artistic practice of deep observation is a perfect metaphor for one of the most powerful concepts in business: the '1% Rule' of customer experience.
I've learned that an extraordinary customer experience is rarely the result of one single, revolutionary act. Instead, it is the sum of a hundred small, thoughtful, and often invisible details, all executed with care. It's the art of noticing the little things that make your customer feel seen, valued, and understood.
Think about it in your own business:
- It's the handwritten thank you note you include with an online order.
- It's remembering a long-term client’s name and asking about their family.
- It's the seamless, intuitive design of your website that makes a purchase effortless.
- It's the way your team member patiently answers a question for the tenth time that day with a genuine smile.
These are the intricate petals of your business. Each one, on its own, might seem small. But together, they create a beautiful, memorable, and loyalty-inspiring whole. This attention to detail is not about micromanagement; it is about cultivating a culture of deep care. It’s about empowering your team to notice the small moments of friction and turn them into moments of delight. Just as a gardener tends to each individual plant, a great leader tends to the small details that allow the entire customer experience to bloom.
The Lesson in Colour: Nature’s Ready-Made Palette of Emotion
The colours found in gardens and urban green spaces provide us with a rich and vibrant palette that speaks a universal language of emotion. As an artist, I use these colours to create a feeling. As a business leader, you can use them to build your brand and culture.
- Green – The Colour of Growth: Green is the dominant colour of life and nature. It represents balance, harmony, and growth. In a business context, it’s the colour of a sustainable strategy, a healthy team culture, and the consistent, steady growth of your enterprise. It’s a calming, reassuring colour that builds a sense of trust.
- Pink – The Colour of Nurturing: From soft pastels to vibrant magentas, pink is the colour of gratitude, appreciation, and care. It’s the colour of exceptional customer service, of a team that supports one another, of a brand that leads with empathy and kindness.
- Red – The Colour of Passion: Red is the bold, energetic colour of a rose in full bloom. It represents passion, energy, and action. For a founder, this is the colour of your core 'why'—the unwavering passion that fuels you. It’s the energy of a new product launch or a game-changing idea.
- Yellow – The Colour of Optimism: Think of the cheerful, sunny face of a sunflower or a field of bright yellow wattle. Yellow is the colour of optimism, joy, and creativity. It’s a powerful colour for fostering a positive outlook, encouraging innovation, and celebrating your team's successes.
The Wellbeing Connection: Cultivating Your Own Garden
In our screen-dominated lives, we are becoming increasingly disconnected from the natural world. Re-establishing that connection, even in a small way, is one of the most powerful things you can do for your mental and physical wellbeing.
You don’t need a sprawling backyard to feel the benefits. The act of cultivating your own 'garden', no matter how small, is a profound mindfulness practice.
- Tending to indoor plants on your desk forces you to take small breaks, to notice the subtle changes of new growth, and to engage in a simple, nurturing act.
- Having fresh flowers in your home or office is an intentional act of bringing beauty into your environment. The colours and scents can have a proven, positive impact on your mood and creativity.
- Joining a community garden is a wonderful way to connect with both nature and your neighbours, fostering a sense of belonging that is a powerful antidote to the loneliness of leadership.
This practice of care and attention trains your brain to be more observant and present in all areas of your life. It reminds you of the natural cycles of growth, dormancy, and renewal—a vital perspective for any entrepreneur navigating the inevitable ups and downs of the business journey.
An Invitation to Notice
The world is full of small wonders, hiding in plain sight. They are in the city park you walk through every day, the pot plant on your windowsill, the single flower in a vase on your kitchen table.
My journey as an Australian artist has taught me that the key to unlocking a richer, more creative, and more meaningful life is simply to slow down and pay attention. The biggest lessons are rarely shouted; they are whispered in the intricate details of the world around us.
My invitation to you is this: find a flower this week. Just one. Take sixty seconds to truly look at it. Notice its colours, its shape, its texture. And then ask yourself: what is one small, beautiful detail in my business or my life that I can pay more attention to today?
You may be surprised by the extraordinary things that begin to bloom.
Finding Big Lessons in the Smallest of Details
