Blog
Watch Out For The But (WT717)
“I don’t want to throw you under the bus but ….” What do you think when you hear that? For me, I think you know what you’re about to say won’t be well received, so you qualify it first. It’s like looking for approval for being the bearer of bad news or feedback. Here’s the thing about using the word “but”. When you join sentences with “but”, you negate the first sentence. “I really like your new hairstyle but I prefer you blonde.” “I think you did a good job but you missed this section of the garden.” If you want to join sentences, use the word “and”. “I really like your new hairstyle and I...
When You’re Short On Time (WT716)
I’m always looking to grow and develop and of course share what I learn with you. This week I learned two things which I think will benefit you. The first is a concept called “Power Pocket Rehearsals” by Lisa Pezik. Lisa attended “World’s Greatest Speaker” training with Brendan Burchard, Bo Eeson and Roger Love. She enrolled with all three for their coaching programs. Bo encouraged the group and asked, “What if you could achieve your 10 year goal in one year?” Lisa didn’t really think this was possible, however she did the work and created her own vision board, by sketching it and then set...
You Don’t Have To Point It Out (WT715)
This week I observed something that triggered me. I was watching a recording of a training video and I noticed that the presenter had spelled one of the words incorrectly on the flipchart. I couldn’t see the message that he received, however he stopped his presentation to address the person who had pointed out the spelling error. Whilst he said “thank you” for pointing it out, he also mentioned that he was dyslexic and didn’t learn to read until he was in his mid twenties. As a result, he spells differently to the rest of us. (A bit of humour.) This triggered me because I didn’t think it was...
That’s Not What I Value (WT714)
Have you ever been shopping and had your mind set on buying a particular thing and the sales assistant appeared to be doing everything they could to talk you out of it? It’s a curious thing. It comes down to what we value. For example, if you’re a salesperson and you want the cheapest price when you buy something, it’s highly likely that you will expect that your clients have the same value. Often they do not. Here’s an example from one of my colleagues. My colleague values his time and efficiency. He went to the hairdresser to get his haircut. The hairdresser thought that the longer she...
Time to F.O.C.U.S (WT713)
Do you struggle to focus at times? I do. I have a plan for the day and often it goes by the wayside. I intend for a task to take 30 minutes and hours later, I find I’m still doing the task. What does it mean to focus? According to Dictionary.com, the meaning of “focus” is “a central point, as of attraction, attention, or activity.” According to Cham Tang, co-founder of Authentic Education, F.O.C.U.S. means to “follow one course until successful”. I love this definition because we can use it to help ourselves defeat overwhelm and procrastination. When we have too many things to do and feel...
It’s Boring (WT712)
I was talking with a friend this week. She asked how I was going at the gym. “OK”, I said. “Only just OK?” she asked. “It’s boring”, I blurted out. “Boring?” “Yes, I do the same exercises every time and I find it boring. It’s the same with some yoga classes I’ve attended as well. The same thing week after week after week.” “Hmmm. Do you think that some people might like that? They might like the security of knowing what they will be doing each time and also improving as they practise and repeat?” she enquired. “I suppose so, but that’s not me. I need variety. In one way, that’s why I...
Strengths-Based Selection (WT711)
This week we’re back on the topic of recruitment. It seems that recruitment and retention is the biggest challenge for businesses at the moment so I thought I would share a couple of tips with you. REACH profiling Skills assessment I use the REACH profiling system because it is a comprehensive ecosystem. Not only does it provide a number of different reports such as Personal, Communication and Leadership, we can also generate an Interview Companion. The Interview Companion is gold. It is based on “strengths-based selection”. In other words, we want to hire people in roles that are suited to...
Should I Smile? (WT710)
You might think that’s a bit of a silly question. Should I smile? You might be thinking, “Yes, of course, you should smile”. And I agree. It’s nice when people smile at us first or return a smile. What do you do at the gym and other similar places where people are doing their own thing and sometimes your eyes happen to meet? Do you smile? I’m usually the first one to smile or wave. In fact, years ago, Ross and I were driving home one afternoon, and as we came around a corner, I waved at some of the neighbours on their veranda. “Do you know them?” he asked. “No.” “Then why are you waving?”...
Let’s Talk About Systems (WT709)
The past few Weekly Thoughts have focused on mindset and leadership. This week we need to talk about systems. I’ve been working with a couple of clients the past few weeks, helping with recruitment and creating new finance systems. It’s been a big reminder to me of the value of having systems and processes that others can follow when key people are absent. Let me give you some examples. Client #1 – a key support team member resigned after having worked with the company for 3 years. A team of sales professionals relied on the support and whilst they are actively recruiting for a replacement,...
The Trick Is Not To Resist (WT708)
OMG! I’m SUPER excited. I got up early this week to join a webinar training with David and Carol Bayer talking about Imagination, Visualisation and Actualisation (IVA). I want to share the most important point I took away from the training, “the trick is not to resist”. What this means, is that when we are imagining and visualising the things we want, in what David and Carol refer to as the 4th dimension, we often start comparing that to our current 3rd dimension reality of the 5-senses and therefore we start “resisting” what we want to manifest. Resistance can take the form of...