Planning is Essential (WT488)

Planning is Essential (WT488)

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by Shirley Dalton | 1 Nov, 2019 | Blog, Business

WT488 Plannning is Essential

Ever have one of those weeks or months when you keep hearing or seeing a message? 

I’ve had a few of them lately. 

The first message came from a member of our online membership program, he reminded us that Planning is Essential but Plans are Useless. 

The reminder was appropriate for the discussion we were having at the time and I left it at that. 

Fast forward a week or two and one of my mentors mentioned it in his weekly training, Planning is Essential but Plans are Useless. 

Three times lucky, this week I heard it again when we had to evacuate the park we were staying in to escape the north coast fires. 

“Ok, maybe I need to have a look at this,” I thought to myself. Let’s dig in. 

Here’s what it means to me. Let me know your thoughts and experiences. 

Without a plan, I have no idea where I am going. I have no focus, no direction and certainly no timeframe. I don’t know what action to take nor what to prioritise, or who to work with, so planning is essential. 

However, plans are useless because much of the time we find ourselves not sticking to a plan or changing a plan before we’ve achieved our outcomes. 

The curious thing about this is that the universe always has our back and at times when it seems like we aren’t getting what we want, the universe knows better and in the long run, it always turns out for the best. 

I remember years ago we went away for a weekend to develop our 5-year plan for our carpet cleaning business. We were really happy with where we wanted the business to go and were excited to implement the plan.

A few weeks later we met with some friends and were sharing our 5-year plan. They asked us a couple of key questions and by the end of the meeting we had decided to sell the business.

“Whoa! How did they happen?”

Turns out it was the exact right thing that needed to happen in order for us to move forward with some other goals we had. Planning is essential, plans are useless.

At the time I was upset and disappointed and I think I gave up on planning. Over the last few weeks I’ve been reminded of the importance of planning and getting into some sort of action, in order for the universe to work with us, to help us achieve our goals, even if they turn up in a different way to what we envisioned. 

How about you?  Do you have stories where this has happened for you?

Are you a planner or an avoider?

If you’ve been avoiding, perhaps this is the message you need to hear (read) to get you into action so the universe can work alongside you to give you what you want.

And for Ross and I, we’ve made a clear decision to find our piece of paradise on the Australian East Coast. I also have a vision for being a Lead Trainer in Australia for David Bayer’s coaching. It’s one of the most exciting transformational methodologies I’ve come across – ever. We’ve worked out a plan, and we’re working the plan. I can’t wait to see how the universe tips that upside down in order to deliver on our vision.

Time is Irrelevant (WT486)

Time is Irrelevant (WT486)

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by Shirley Dalton | 18 Oct, 2019 | Blog, Business

WT486 Time is Irrelevant

We hear people talk of time management and self management. 

There are any number of consultants and trainers that teach strategies for getting the most out of your day; remember we all have 86,400 seconds in a day and they can’t be banked. 

One of my mentors, David Bayer explains that, “Time is irrelevant but timing is everything”. 

What he means by this, is that there is no advantage in becoming overwhelmed with our To Do Lists. 

From a spiritual point of view, life corresponds with us. If there is something you earnestly desire and have a vision and belief that it will manifest, then all you need to do is to what you can do in a day, moving toward your vision and then surrender the rest. 

What you will mostly find is that many of the things you think you need to get done in a day, don’t have to get done, otherwise you would have done them. 

For the things that you didn’t get done, the universe will meet you half way and often help out with either new information that gives you an easier way to do it or you find it didn’t need to get done at all or someone shows up to help. 

As an example, I was freaking out about all the things on my To Do List and worrying about how and when I was going to get my accounts in order for the end of the quarter to be able to submit my BAS (an Australian requirement to submit tax collected on behalf of the government). 

Out of the blue my bookkeeper emailed me and asked how I was going with the accounts. Did I need any help?  Yes please.  She was able to get me an extension of time as well as help to complete a few of the tasks. 

Next time you’re freaking out and feeling overwhelmed, remember, simply get done what you can get done in the day and surrender the rest. Time is irrelevant but timing is everything.

You Need a Driver (WT481)

You Need a Driver (WT481)

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by Shirley Dalton | 13 Sep, 2019 | Blog, Business

WT481 You Need A Driver

I’ve mentioned a few times about the REACH profile. In the past few weeks, I’ve worked with a number of companies where the executive team have completed their profiles.

It has been really interesting to see the results.

In some companies, they have at least one of each profile (Counselor, Coach, Advisor and Driver), whilst others are missing a Driver. 

You need a Driver. A Driver is focussed on the “what”. They are results and outcome focussed and they will push us to get things done.

Without a Driver, we can tend to take it a bit easy and may not accomplish as much as we are capable of.

Ross is a Driver and I’ve noticed how he drives me.  On occasions when I want to wimp out and leave it for another day, he will push and let me know that I have to get my work done so he can do his. Uh! I don’t like it. However, I recognise the need for someone to do the pushing.

Here are the key words for the profiles and how they fit together.

Counselor – “who”. They focus on the people and are great at creating team and welcoming and inducting new team members. 

Coach – “why”. They’re great at inspiring and rallying others around a cause once they understand why the cause is important.

Advisor – “how”. They want to know the details and will push you to share how you plan on achieving your goals.  Interestingly, one of my clients recently demonstrated this perfectly in a management meeting when he pushed the Chair (a Counselor) for “How? How are we going to achieve this? What is your plan?”

Driver – “what”.  What are we looking to achieve? What is the outcome we want? What resources do we need?   

Ideally your management team should have at least one of each to ensure your company covers all important aspects as mentioned above.  At the very least, you need a Driver.

What Game Will You Play (WT477)

What Game Will You Play (WT477)

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by Shirley Dalton | 16 Aug, 2019 | Blog, Business

WT 477 What game will you play?

Have you ever thought about the type of player you are, when it comes to games?

It’s an interesting concept and something I encourage you to do because “How we do anything is how we do everything”.

In the last few weeks I dipped my toe into using social media to promote my next leadership experience and I found I had to challenge a few limiting beliefs.

One of those beliefs was that I had to get everything right in order to advertise.  If I was paying for ads, I wanted to make sure that I got a return on my investment.

I had to reframe my belief and expectation to that of conducting an experiment, after all business is mostly about tweaking things until we get it right, so why did I think I had to get the ads right before I could advertise.

As I was talking to a colleague about this, he pointed out that “I only like to play games I can win”.

I responded with an embarrassed giggle. It was true. I do only like to play games I can win.

How about you? Is this the way you play or are you like my colleague who plays until he wins?

It was his turn to laugh. He said, “I will play and I don’t mind if you win, but we’re not finishing until I win. If it means we come back tomorrow to finish, we will. No-one’s going home, until I’ve won.”

<name>, what an interesting concept. If you only like to play games that you know you can or will win, does that mean you won’t play if there’s a chance of you losing and if so, is that how you play life?

Are you missing out on opportunities because they are not guaranteed?

Hmm, it’s certainly worth looking at, don’t you think?

Your Manner Matters (WT476)

Your Manner Matters (WT476)

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by Shirley Dalton | 9 Aug, 2019 | Blog, Business

WT476 Your Manner Matters

Firstly, I want to say that I am not complaining and this isn’t a rant. Rather, the goal for the stories in this week’s thought is to remind us of the importance of our manner and the impact it can have – both positive and negative. 

Here we go:

As we’ve been travelling around Far North Queensland we’ve been staying in a mix of caravan parks, national parks and free campsites. We generally only plan our itinerary a few days in advance and mostly call a prospective caravan park a few hours before we intend to arrive.

We got caught out a few times, booking and paying in advance, only to arrive and find the park was awful, so we made a rule, policy or guideline, whatever you want to call it, that says “We can enquire on the way, but not book in and pay until we’ve seen the site”.

On a couple of occasions, we’ve made the decision not to even look at a park because of the manner of the receptionist.

Here’s an example of an enquiry:

“Hello, could you please tell me if you have any sites for a motorhome for tonight please?”

“How big is the motorhome?”

“About 25 feet.”

“Have you got slide outs?”

“No.”

“You’re sure you’ve got no slide outs?”

“Yes.”

“How many nights are you staying?”

“Just the one please?”

“You’re sure it’s just one night?”

And on the conversation went until an exasperated Ross ended the call.

Turning to me, he announced, “We won’t be staying there!”

His next phone call was completely different.

“Sure we’ve got sites. Just come around when you get into town and we’ll show you what we have.”

When we arrived, the lady was extremely hospitable and gracious. She walked us around the caravan park, pointing out the various sites and inviting us to choose the one that suited us.

When we were leaving, having extended our stay by a few days, she came out of the office and thanked us for staying with them and invited us to return.

Your manner makes all the difference.

It can win or lose you business and you may not even be aware of it.

Could you say you are confident that your team are winning you business?

Are You Burning Energy? (WT471)

Are You Burning Energy? (WT471)

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by Shirley Dalton | 5 Jul, 2019 | Blog, Business

WT 471 Are you burning energy?

I’m guessing you’re well aware of the word “procrastination” and what it means?

Today I’d like to look at it from another angle.

I was talking with a client this week who was totally distressed by what he perceived as his “lack of achievement” towards his goals. (I can totally relate to that!) 

It’s not that he is lazy.

It’s not that he won’t take action.

It’s not that he’s not motivated and it’s certainly not because he doesn’t know what he is talking about. 

Indeed, he is totally frustrated because he can’t decide; he can’t choose the first step to take.

As we talked, I encouraged him to “simply lean into it” and just do something.

We burn so much energy when we waste our time trying to come to a decision.

Many of us need to see the perfect outcome before we can take a step forward.

The irony is, that life is not like that. We make progress by taking one step at a time.

Like my client, I’ve been stuck myself with making a decision about how to niche down my own business and who to attract.

I admit, it’s difficult when you have so many choices. Again, like my client, when you can serve many people with different solutions and you enjoy them all, it’s a daunting task to say “No” to some.

When you think about the energy you’re wasting, it becomes critical to stop procrastinating.

Simply make a decision, choose an action and take one small step towards it.

If you find you don’t like the direction it’s going, simply make another decision.

The only way to overcome “paralysis by analysis” is to do something.

A mentor of mine once put it this way, “Just pick a horse and ride it”.

Your task this week is to do exactly that.

If you’ve found yourself paralysed and burning energy, simply choose one small action you can take and do that.

Go on. Do it now. You can always change it.

Stop burning energy.

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