Blog
Stop Looking For The Wrong Evidence (WT532)
You know that your brain is a goal achieving machine. Right! It’s going to go and find you the answers to the questions you give it. It’s also going to go and find you the evidence for whatever it is you are focusing on. Stop looking for the wrong evidence. Here’s what I mean: Say you decide that your work colleague or your partner or your friend or a relative doesn’t like you anymore. You decide that they are upset with you for something that you did or didn’t do. They haven’t said anything to you. (Of course they wouldn’t, nobody likes confrontation.) Your brain starts looking for evidence...
Hi Ho It’s Off to Work We Go (WT531)
It’s been miserable in Tasmania the past few days. The weather has been wild. Lots of wind and rain and snow in the mountain areas. “So what?” you might think. Well it doesn’t stop the penguins, plovers or pademelons from their daily routine. I’ve been so impressed watching the wildlife as we travel around. It doesn’t matter what the weather conditions are, they’re out fishing and foraging for food. They don’t complain. They don’t wake up and moan, “Oh, I don’t feel like it today. I think I’ll have a doona day. I think I’ll stay in bed. I’ll ring in sick.” Nope! That doesn’t happen. Hi Ho...
I’m Fine (WT530)
I was talking with a colleague this week and as we often do, we got into a deep and meaningful conversation about leadership. We discussed the saying, “If you don’t want the answer, don’t ask the question” and the ramifications of not asking, or worse, asking and then accepting the answer, even if you don’t believe the answer. As an example, (we’ll call him Ted), explained how his kids will sense that his energy is off or his demeanour is rather gruff and they’ll ask him, “Are you angry daddy?”. His response is usually “No, I’m not angry”, hoping they will leave it at that. Of course, kids...
It’s the Same Old Same Old (WT529)
Have you ever found yourself saying, “it’s the same old, same old”? According to Dictionary.Cambridge.org, it’s a phrase that’s “used to say that a situation or someone's behaviour remains the same, especially when it is boring or annoying: Most people just keep on doing the same old same old every day.” Doing the same old same old behaviour concerns me when we apply it to work that we don’t want to be doing and in some cases, work that we “shouldn’t” be doing. Another of my favourite phrases that is relevant to our discussion this week can be abbreviated to...
I’m Leaving (WT528)
When you’ve got good people, the last thing you want to hear is “I’m leaving”. Talking with one of my rockstars this week, we discussed the importance of knowing your people so you don’t get blindsided when they give their notice. “The more I know about the people I lead, the easier it is for me”, she said. Knowing your people is the second milestone on our Blueprint for Business Freedom. When you know your people, you know what motivates them. You know what they want and don’t want. You understand what’s going on for them out of work. You know what’s important to them. Think about your...
The Power of Intention (WT527)
Over the past few weeks I’ve been playing The Cashflow Game online, from Rich Dad Poor Dad author, Robert Kiyosaki, with a couple of my colleagues. I’ve really enjoyed playing and have learned so much. I’ve learned lots of lessons about dealing with financial crises, like when you land on the divorce card and lose all your money or you find yourself redundant or the value of your shares gets halved and let’s not even mention the cost of having children when you land on that one. There are plenty of positive scenarios as well, like when your shares double or you get to sell a condo or house...
Please Respect Our Staff (WT526)
In these unique circumstances, I’m sure you would have seen signs in shops reminding us to be respectful to the staff. I totally agree with this and wouldn’t stop there. I think we should be respectful to everyone, including customers. Before I share this little story, I want to put my hand up and say the situation is my fault. I created it and I take responsibility for that. What I don’t take responsibility for is the disrespectful manner in which I was treated by an Australia Post worker. Many months ago, I purchased a book to support my friend who had written it, published it...
Now That’s a Given (WT525)
This week, we were on the road again in Tasmania. It’s chilly and many attractions are closed for the winter; still there are lots of opportunities to observe business. Today I want to share one of my observations with you. Driving through a little village, I noticed a sign on the chemist’s building, it read: “Caring Staff …”. I shook my head as I thought to myself, “Yes, of course. Isn’t that a given?” That’s like an accountant advertising, “We’re good with numbers”, well I should think so. Advertising and marketing is about helping your potential customers to understand what is unique...
Don’t Give Up Give Over (WT524)
Twenty plus years ago, when Ross and I were in America for a training course, we went to a special spiritual type of shop where I purchased a tiny set of Indian American Oracle cards. The cards have beautiful artwork of American animals and their Indian totems. One of the cards that often seems to show up for me is a picture of a graceful white swan swimming on calm waters. The words on the card read, “Don’t Give Up, Give Over”. I love this card because it reminds me to give up the fight; to let go of the stress; in other words to surrender, and the past few weeks that’s...
I’m Not Interested in Your Personal Life (WT523)
You’ve heard me mention the REACH profiling system a number of times. This week, I was privileged to see one of the profiles in action. I was talking with a new acquaintance who was explaining his philosophy on hiring and working with staff. “I can’t stand it,” he said. “I hired this person and every morning I had to waste an hour while we talked about her kids, the dogs, what she did on the weekend, etc. before she would start work.” I smiled to myself as I thought, “Wow! This is typical Driver behaviour”. “And if that wasn’t enough,” he continued, “I then had to thank her for everything...