Blog
Play With It – The 30 Minute AI Test (WT792)
I was showing a client what can be done with AI. I showed him how easy it is now, compared to 20 years ago when I first started my business helping business owners streamline their operations. Twenty years ago, it would take me 3-4 hours offsite to draft procedures for every hour I spent onsite. These days with the help of AI, I can get a draft procedure is less than 15 minutes. That saves me and the client. A few days later he came back to me and asked if “that thing” I showed him could analyse data. “Let’s find out.” We trialled a pdf which didn’t work so well. We trialled a single tab...
A Coffee Isn’t A Consulting Fee (WT791)
This week a past client messaged, “Got time to pick your brain over coffee?” I felt the familiar tug — I love helping. But I also know unpriced advice often lacks context, commitment, and outcomes. So I tried a new reply and offered for him to book in a professional consultation. I didn’t hear back. I love this quote, from an unknown source, “Boundaries aren’t walls; they’re doors with handles.” Pricing is a promise — when we value our expertise, we show up at our best and invite clients to do the same. Saying “yes” with structure is kinder than a vague “sure” that breeds frustration. A...
When You Expect To Be Perfect (WT790)
This week’s thought is for all the learners who think they have to be perfect when they’re learning something for the first time. Hand on heart, I know this personality well. Years ago, I was learning how to set up a studio with greenscreens and lights for our online TV show. The trainer was in the USA so we were waking up around 3:00am for a 4:00am class. It was winter. We were in the garage and it was cold and uncomfortable. “The lights aren’t right Ross”, I bellowed. “You can see the edge of the greenscreen. It needs to be moved.” On and on I went, getting more and more frustrated...
Stay In Your Lane (WT789)
The past few weeks I’ve been working onsite with a client on a major project. Parking is tricky, so Ross has been driving me to and from the premises. Sitting in the passenger seat, I found myself clinging to the seat. “God! Look out! They’re coming over.” “I know!” replied Ross. This didn’t happen on just one occasion. It seems to be a daily occurrence. What happened to people’s ability to drive and stay in their lanes? Are they on the phone? Are they reading a text message? Hopefully, they’re not trying to watch a youtube training, like the guy in Melbourne this week who got fined for...
4D’s to Exceptional Customer Care (WT788)
About twelve years ago I created a model to help a property management company better understand and look after their customers. Their property managers were struggling with the different demands and expectations of their customers, in relation to how much involvement they wanted in the process and how much communication they wanted. They also struggled to understand their customers’ preferred methods of communication. Taking inspiration from Stephen Covey’s Time Management Matrix, I created The Customer Communication MatrixTM. Over the years I’ve found the model applies to most...
Yes You Did (WT787)
This week I was reconciling the bank statement and I noticed that the direct debit for Ross’ gym membership had more than doubled. For the past few years, the fees were paid fortnightly. I showed Ross and he didn’t know anything about the increase. Armed with the printout of the gym expenses, Ross asked the lady on the reception about the increase. “Oh that”, she said. “We’ve changed to monthly now instead of fortnightly debits.” A little passive aggressive, Ross replied, “Well it would have been nice to have been told.” “We sent you an email in June”, she replied. “I didn’t get an email”,...
Why Can’t I …? (WT786)
Today’s thought might be a bit confronting as we ask and answer what I think is a deep question. This week I had scheduled to run 3 x 2 hour presentations, “How to Succeed as a Solopreneur”. On Sunday afternoon I lost it. I’d spent practically all weekend preparing and practising. In tears, I cried to Ross, “How come I can’t be like everybody else?” “Why can’t I be happy to just work for someone and have weekends and evenings off, like other normal people? How come I always seem to be working on the weekend? Why do I put so much pressure on myself?” Of course Ross knew too well to even...
You Put Too Much Water In (WT785)
This week wasn’t one of my best weeks. Feeling a slight twinge in my back last Thursday night, by Friday morning I could barely move. My remedy is to strap a hot water bottle to my back, do lots of tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique), be grateful for everything and go into my mental healing lab and heal myself. It took a few days and today I am 80% there. Now the reason for the context is actually to remind us all to use our communication skills in order to enjoy harmonious relationships. Ross was filling my water bottle for me and instead of using an “I Message” to assertively and kindly...
Those Who Show Up … (WT784)
This week I put my hand up to get some feedback on one of my roleplay calls from my mentor – in front of the group. To say I was nervous was an understatement. I had recently resat the training after I had submitted the recording, so I was able to give myself a huge amount of feedback on what I had missed. At the end of the mentoring session, one of the group members reached out to me privately on What’s App and gave me her feedback. She said “You are fearless”. I was sharing this story with another colleague and confessed, that’s not how I would describe myself. In fact, in lots of ways, I...
Keep Practising and Improving (WT783)
I don’t know about you, but this week I’ve been resitting a training course I attended about 12 months ago and it’s like I never attended. As we went through the exercises, I kept thinking, “I don’t remember this. I can’t recall doing that before.” I’m guessing this has happened to you. How come? Because this week I presented the final session for a 6 month internal customised training program for a client and as we revised what we had learned over the period, it was clear that some of the participants, like me with my course, hadn’t fully taken in the information when first presented. As I...