Blog
Stop Distracting Yourself (WT409)
Speaking with a colleague this week, I was impressed with her clarity about what she is going to focus on for the remainder of the year. “Two things, Shirley,” she said. “I’m focussing on just two things,” and then proceeded to outline what those two things are. In order to focus on the two things, she realised she needed to give up a number of other things that had been what she called “distractions”. Listening to her, I could totally relate to what she was saying. As I thought about what she shared, I thought about all the things that I had been doing lately that were not “moving the...
Give Up the Drama (WT408)
This week has been a doozy for interpersonal dramas; mine, my clients, my colleagues and friends and family. It’s fascinating to me, how we interpret what people say according to our values, beliefs and expectations or what’s going on in our head at any given time. My point this week is not to share gossip; quite the opposite. My point is that we get what we focus on, so let’s focus on what we want, rather than what we don’t want. Let’s say you have a disagreement with your co-worker. Most people’s tendency is to seek support with other co-workers to sure up their...
It’s Not About What You Look Like (WT407)
A few years ago I did some training on self-concept and self-esteem for one of my clients and their team. I started one of the sessions by showing them a mock up of me on the cover of a magazine (it was part of my vision board). “What’s wrong with this picture?” I asked. They all studied the picture intently and none came up with what I thought was wrong with the picture. It wasn’t the headline. It wasn’t the font. It wasn’t the colours. “Can’t you see?” I demanded. “Look at my teeth in the photo, they’re crooked.” “Look at the wrinkles around my eyes” and on I went about all...
If You Don’t Tell Them, They Won’t Know (WT406)
This week we’re not talking about giving feedback; we’re talking about marketing your services and letting people know the value you are providing. I was sitting at the traffic lights and in front of me was an SUV style of vehicle. Underneath the back window on the body panels I read “Sizes 10-26”, a phone number and address. I presumed it was for a clothing retailer. I also presumed it was for women and yet nowhere could I find the name of the shop or what the sizes were for. I was intrigued, so I found a way to pass the vehicle and to my amazement the sides of the vehicle...
Pass on the Positive (WT405)
One of the scores we use in the Integrity and Values profile measures Appreciation. This is the degree to which you can give both positive and negative feedback. The creator, Jennifer Elliott, says that if you can’t give negative feedback, you’ll also be unlikely to give positive feedback. This week I’ve noticed a theme around giving positive feedback and accepting it. What I’ve found is that often we do receive positive feedback but we don’t take it on board for a number of reasons: We don’t believe we deserve it We don’t believe the person saying it We dismiss it as soon...
Is Your Marketing Message Clear? (WT404)
I just finished presenting a masterclass – How to Generate More Leads with Video. One of the things I’ve found is that many entrepreneurs and small business owners have huge difficulty articulating what it is they do. I thought I’d share my formula with you for crafting a Marketing Message to attract your Ideal Client (IC). Firstly you need to identify your Ideal Client. Who is he or she? Think about your best clients that you work with now or have in the past. What are they like? What attributes do they have? Describe them. Give them a name. What are...
Stop Pushing Me (WT403)
When I started High School, it was “cool” for girls to shave their legs. It was a long time ago before waxing became the norm. I asked my mum if I could borrow her razor. “What do you want that for?” she asked. “To shave my legs of course”, expecting that she should have known that all the cool girls shave their legs. “No! You’re not shaving your legs,” she almost screamed at me. “Why not? Everybody else is,” I cried. “You’re not and that’s all there is to it,” and with that I was dismissed. Now being the strong willed, pig headed and rebellious character...
Every Team Needs a Leader (WT402)
One of the things I love about our leadership program is the way the participants really get to experience what it means to be part of a team and how much every team needs a leader. Each session the participants are assigned homework. If everyone completes every task, the participants receive a “Pass” overall. If just one task is missed, by just one participant, the entire “team” is awarded a “No Pass”. In all the time I have been running the programs, there has only been one group that passed one session of the homework. This might surprise you and like me you...
Go Ahead and Join (WT401)
This afternoon I am flying to Brisbane to speak at the launch of the audio edition of the book “Broken to Brilliant”. This is a big deal for me. I will be on stage with Karen Jacobsen, better known as The GPS Girl, Aussie Karen (who can be heard in over 400 million Garmin GPS devices as well as being the voice of Aussie Siri). The reason I get to speak is because I introduced Karen to Kate Smith, director of the charity Broken to Brilliant. Kate’s mission is to help survivors of domestic violence to rebuild their lives, hence Broken to Brilliant. I first heard about Kate...
It’s Not Until You Do It That You Learn How to Do It (WT400)
Each week there seems to be a theme that presents itself a number of times. I guess that’s the universe making sure I get it. This week, the theme was all about taking action and getting feedback in order to learn how to do it better. Working with a long term client, I flew to Canberra to provide some training for their managers and sales reps. Together we created the content for the program and delivered it as a pilot to ensure we had it right before rolling out across the company. Remembering last week’s thought – Plans are Useless but Planning is Essential – we had certainly...