Blog
Put The Lemon Butter On The Jatz (WT650)
Last week I mentioned that I would share a funny little story about our assessment for the final session of our 9 week online masterclass series – The Loyal Lieutenant. The final assessment was a practical session where participants had to write a procedure during the class and submit the procedure so Ross could test the procedure. Participants didn’t know what the procedure was until they arrived on zoom. “The procedure you have to write is ‘How to Spread Lemon Butter on Jatz Biscuits’ for Ross’ morning tea.” “What? That’s it?” asked one of the engineering students. “How to put lemon butter...
You Gotta Make Notes (WT649)
It’s so interesting to me that themes seem to appear over a number of weeks. It’s like the Universe gives us a nudge and says “Pay Attention”. A couple of weeks ago I was interviewing team members and reviewing systems and processes for a client. A couple of the team members mentioned the importance of taking notes when being trained and when training people. I agree and I also know that organisations have options for documenting procedures so employees can continue to refer to them. By documenting, I mean recording the information in a format that suits the business, the workers and the...
That Will Never Happen Again (WT648)
Yesterday I was coaching with one of my legendary clients and we were discussing how the brain works; how habitual it is. Have you ever moved house and gone out and driven home only to find yourself parked outside the old house? I did this a few weeks ago. Our brains create super highways in the neural networks so it doesn’t have to think. The neurons bounce along the highway time after time. This is why it can appear like it is hard to change a habit. I want to dispel that belief. Late last week Ross and I left early to run the Leading Yourself and Leading Others Experience. We got a...
Just Pick A Date (WT647)
I love it when I teach participants in the Leading Yourself and Leading Others experience how to Actively Listen and they practise with me. It’s so great for me to be on the receiving end and this week that’s exactly what happened. As much as I confess I am not a guru, nor perfect, there seems to be this expectation that Shirley has it all together. It’s really interesting for me when participants see for themselves that I too, have my own spaghetti and that I get triggered too. I had a real life example we could use. I have people wanting to enrol in the next Loyal Lieutenant Masterclass...
So You Want A Pay Rise (WT646)
When I was working for the franchise company I received many requests from employees for a pay rise. Many of these requests came from the younger team members who were in their early 20’s. They hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary to deserve a pay rise. In fact, quite the opposite. They barely met their key performance indicators (KPI’s). I was challenged. I didn’t know how to respond, that is, until I read a book by Clement Stone, I think it was “Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude”. Anyhoo, the message I remember is this, “You get a pay rise as a reward for more work not for the...
Focus On The Big Rocks (WT645)
As we head towards the end of the year, most of us choose one path or the other: Start to wind down and reduce our focus on tasks, orLook towards next year and start planning for the year ahead. This week I’ve been involved in planning for the year ahead with one of my clients. We’ve been following a methodology which I thought I’d share with you. You’ve most likely heard of Steven Covey’s “big rocks” analogy where he takes a container and fills it with small rocks and sand and then hasn’t got enough room for the big rocks vs filling the container with big rocks and filling up the gaps with...
You Can’t Supervise What You Don’t See (WT644)
Many years ago, when I was working with Kip McGrath and new to management, I proudly announced that I was going to engage a cleaner. Kip thought that was a great decision. What he didn’t think was so great, was my expectation that I was going to be able to supervise the cleaner to do things the way I wanted them done. “Shirley, you can’t supervise what you don’t see”, he said. “What do you mean?” I asked. “If you’re going to supervise someone, you have to be able to see what they’re doing. You have to be able to monitor their work.” It was many years later before I fully understood this. It...
I Like The Way You Think (WT643)
Finally, after months of renovating, it was moving day. I’m always a little anxious when it comes to moving. In the past, and we’ve had many moves, we were often still packing as the removalists arrived. This time wasn’t any different. Scrambling to get office stuff put into boxes so the removalists could take the filing cabinets and credenza, we eventually got there and they were able to complete packing the truck. Always an avid observer of people, I was impressed with how the head guy operated. Upon arrival he did a walk through with Ross to assess the job. What was going? Where were the...
When You Have The Right Tools (WT642)
This week’s thought might seem a little simple and mundane and yet there is a deeper message here. We engaged a repair man to fix the windows in our new house. With some brute force from Ross to get them open and a large screwdriver or pole to hold them open, I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed to clean, what I estimate was 40 years of gunk and grime. Yuk. Double yuk. I didn’t want the repairer to spread all that debris over the floor. It took me weeks to systematically get them all cleaned and it was only last weekend that I figured out a better method for cleaning them. Now you might ask,...
Some Will. Some Won’t. Next. (WT641)
“Some will. Some won’t. Next” was a saying I learnt from Bob Johnston, international sales trainer. Bob’s intention was to help salespeople to not take it personally when potential customers said “No”. When you think about it, it’s actually quite logical. Some will want your service or product and some people won’t want it. Some won’t want it now and some won’t want it ever. For those who don’t want it ever, move on to the Next potential customer. This affirmation not only helps with mindset, it also helps with productivity because the salesperson doesn’t waste time or energy following up...