Don’t Defeat Yourself (WT735)

Don’t Defeat Yourself (WT735)

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by Shirley Dalton | 26 Jul, 2024 | Blog, Mindset, Systems and Processes

WT 735 Don't defeat yourself

Last week I mentioned the 6 week Confidence on Camera challenge that I completed.

This week I was talking with a client and mentioned that I was about to put the learning into practice by creating a Facebook ad with a video to promote the next Loyal Lieutenant online training experience.

“Oh, that sounds exciting”, she said.

“Yes, and it’s as scary as hell”, I replied.

It’s so interesting how fear and excitement seem to sit on the opposite sides of the same coin.

This week I was also tapping along with The Tapping Solution app on my phone to release any blockages I might have to manifesting what I want.

One of the questions was “What holds you back from manifesting what you want?”

I was surprised at my answer. I thought I had worked on this for a while and yet here it was still rearing its ugly head – I was still saying “No” before the customer does.

It reminds us to not defeat ourselves before we even get started.

It would be so easy for me to put off making the video and creating the ad. And if I did, I would just be defeating myself. I would be ensuring that I didn’t stand a chance of achieving the outcome I desire.

How about you?

Do you defeat yourself?

Do you give in before you’ve even started?

If so, let’s remember Aristotle’s quote: “The thing we think we need to know how to do before doing, we learn by doing.”

In this instance, I can’t say I have learned, even though I have been exposed to the content, until such time as I begin implementing.

So let’s keep ourselves accountable.

What or where are you defeating yourself?

What action can you take towards what you want and who or what can help keep you accountable?

Let me know. I can’t be the only person on the planet who habitually defeats herself.

P.S. Go to the Contact page and message me if you’re interested to know more about The Loyal Lieutenant online training. You’ll learn how to streamline your operations which will improve consistency of your product or service, give you back more time in your day, week, month and year plus reduce all your stress. https://shirleydalton.com/contact-shirley/

P.P.S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thought delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/Weekly-Thoughts.

Are You A Maker Or A Manager? (WT733)

Are You A Maker Or A Manager? (WT733)

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by Shirley Dalton | 12 Jul, 2024 | Blog, Systems and Processes

WT 733 Are you a maker or a manager

I just love it when my clients share educational information with me, especially when I’m looking for inspiration for the Weekly Thought.

I awoke this morning to an SMS which read, “Morning Shirl, Just sharing this Alex Hormozi clip on a concept I thought you might like – a good one here about makers and managers.”

Thank you, Mark.

I listened to the podcast whilst at the gym this morning and it was all about how we invest our time.

According to Hormozi, (who also wrote “$100M Leads” and “$100M Offers”) there is a big difference between the work of a maker and the work of a manager and the relevant time periods required by each.

Hormozi claims this productivity system made him $100M.

To summarise, managers are productive when they are in meetings and makers are productive when they are working alone creating (making) something.

When managers ask, “Have you got a minute?”, it’s a big risk to the maker, especially if the maker is making something or is in maker’s time.

I related to his definition of maker time. When I am working on client systems, I need maker time. I need to lock myself away so I can think and develop systems. I also need this time when I am creating training courses for clients.

I also related to manager time, when we might be making calls or conducting client meetings or coaching or training.

How about you?

Are you a maker or a manager?

Here’s the rub, both types of work need to intercept at some point. Managers need to give the CEO an update and the CEO needs to communicate the vision, plan and resources required.

The balancing act is how to make these two different types of work co-exist harmoniously and productively.

Hormozi suggests a number of techniques, one of which is for the maker to schedule meetings to fill one of the maker’s entire time periods instead of adhoc meetings that can disrupt more than one assigned period.

Another is for managers to respect that when the maker is in maker time, they don’t interrupt.

Listening to the podcast, I also started thinking about the teachings from EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) who advocate meeting rhythms to ensure all relevant stakeholders are communicating and holding each other accountable for agreed outcomes and how this fits with what Hormozi is advocating.

Have a listen to the podcast and let me know what you think.

It certainly inspired me to be more protective and systematic with my biggest asset – my time.

What about you?

Here’s the link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4NzLKKEhH9T1QJ3RE6nC00?si=y5peokgRTPeZqIz-QaDHUw

P. S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thoughts delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/weekly-thoughts.

Separate The Decision From the Doing (WT731)

Separate The Decision From the Doing (WT731)

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by Shirley Dalton | 28 Jun, 2024 | Blog, Systems and Processes

WT 731 Separate the decision from the doing

This week’s thought comes from Cham Tang, Co-Founder of Authentic Education.

Cham is a marketing and productivity expert.

He was conducting a group coaching session when someone asked about organising their time.

Cham’s answer sparked something within me.

He said, “Separate the decision from the doing”.

At first, I didn’t understand it and neither did the questioner.

“Separate the decision from the doing.”

Lots of people waste time when they sit down to work because they spend time deciding what to work on.

Decide before you sit down to work, so that when you sit down to work, you can get stuck into the task.

I’d not heard this before and yet it made so much sense to me.

When I thought about the days when I’m my most productive, they are the days when I know exactly what I have to do at the time.

Since I learned this, I’ve been practising.

I write a list of what I need to do and then I schedule the work.

It has made an immense difference to me.

I no longer sit down, clean my desk, make a list and end up not having enough time to do the task.

Because I now know what I am meant to be working on, I can focus. I am no longer allowing myself to get distracted.

Your task this week, if you’re up for it, is to schedule half an hour to sit down and go through your tasks and work out when you will complete then.

Your second task is to sit down and complete them at the assigned time.

Let me know how you go.

“Separate the decision from the doing.”

P. S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thoughts delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/weekly-thoughts.

Keep Your Records Up-To-Date (WT721)

Keep Your Records Up-To-Date (WT721)

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by Shirley Dalton | 19 Apr, 2024 | Blog, Systems and Processes

WT 721 Keep your records up to date

If you’ve ever done any advertising on Facebook, you might have heard the term “look alike audience”.

A look alike audience is an audience that Facebook creates for you based on an audience you already have.

I’ve been learning how to do Facebook advertising. It sounds easy and I so appreciate the work Kellie Obrien used to do for me because I’ve found it challenging.

One of my biggest challenges though wasn’t writing the copy or selecting audience interests. My biggest challenge was my lack of organised record keeping.

For someone who is a systems consultant and trainer, it’s embarrassing to admit that.

The thing that held me up with Facebook was the fact that I couldn’t easily export a list from my database.

It took me a few days to get the information together, wasting valuable time and resources, not to mention time to advertise the upcoming online courses for Leadership Fundamentals and The Loyal Lieutenant.

It was a great wake-up call to get my own systems in order.

It’s a bit like the plumber with the leaky taps at home or the carpenter with a million repair jobs to fix around his house.

Putting systems in place is critical to save time.

There’s an acronym for the word SYSTEMS which I think sums it up:

Save

Your

Self

Time

Energy

Money and

Stress.

Don’t get caught out like I did with an out-of-date database.

Keep your records up-to-date.

Create and implement systems.

I can tell you from experience, it’s costly if you don’t.

P. S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thoughts delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/weekly-thoughts.

Do The Next Task (WT720)

Do The Next Task (WT720)

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by Shirley Dalton | 12 Apr, 2024 | Blog, Systems and Processes

WT 720 Do the next task

I just love working with my clients.

I learn so much.

This week I want to share something I learned from Bob.

Bob is a leader who loves to share his wisdom and experience with his team and luckily for us, with me too.

Many years ago, Bob trained for the ironman competitions. His mentor at the time told him that if he missed a training session not to worry about it.

“It’s counter productive to try and catch it up, so the best thing is to move on to the next days training and do that well”, he said.

Bob adapted his training to his work.

He mentors his team and reminds them, that if they get behind in their schedule for any reason, not to go back to the unfinished task with a negative or tired mindset, but to move to the next task with a fresh mindset and energy.

If there is time, you can go back and catch up the task or continue tomorrow.

Unexpected things always happen at work and at home so whilst it’s good to have structure and a plan for your day, if you find yourself off course, keep going.

Do the next task.

Get your mind and energy back on the job.

It’s the quickest way to work effectively and efficiently.

Thank you Bob.

P. S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thoughts delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/weekly-thoughts.

Let’s Talk About Systems (WT709)

Let’s Talk About Systems (WT709)

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by Shirley Dalton | 26 Jan, 2024 | Blog, Systems and Processes

WT 709 Let's talk about systems

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 sales team now find themselves having to complete the administrative tasks as well as focus on sales.

Client #2 – it’s the end of the school holidays and a long term employee wanted to take a week’s leave to enjoy with her children. The employee works in the finance team. Obviously not everyone in the team has the same permissions to access the company finances so the employee ended up logging in just about every day to complete some tasks.

These companies represent most of the companies I work with.

Most are small, family owned businesses, unlike the then NSW Department of Motor Transport, where I was employed as a 17 year old typist.

After a few years working in the one motor registry, I transferred to what was known as “Relief Staff”. This meant that I travelled around NSW, relieving workers who were on holiday or sick leave.

Every motor registry had the same systems and processes so I could turn up at any registry and do the work.

I was shocked when I left the government to work in small business.  “Where’s the relief staff?” I would ask. “What do you mean my work will be waiting for me when I get back?”

This never happened in the motor registry.  The relief staff did the work and for the most part, when we finished each day and balanced the cash register, we went home and forgot about work until it was time to do it all over again the next day.

This doesn’t happen in small business.

There isn’t the luxury of extra staff because there aren’t enough offices or roles to keep someone employed relieving for 11 months of the year.

So, talking systems, processes and procedures, the best ones are those that are documented in such a way that anyone could follow the procedure and get the desired outcome, even if they have never done it before. They might be slower at first, but at least they could finish the task.

What are your systems, processes and procedures like?

Are you using looms or other screen capture applications to show people what they need to do?

Are you using programs like otter.ai to transcribe an audio or video recording?

Are you using document management systems like TKO to keep all of your procedures in one place, that’s available 24×7?

Are you automating your processes or still wasting time doing things manually?

It’s time to talk systems and if you’re interested to follow the method I use when I consult with systems clients, you can purchase a copy of my book The Loyal Lieutenant: How The Second-In-
Command Brings The CEO’s Vision To Life by going to https://shirleydalton.com/books or you can search Amazon for an electronic copy.

It’s time to talk to systems.

Let 2024 be the year you get yourself, your team, your work and your business systemised, so you too can go on leave and fully rest and recharge without thinking about work.

P. S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thoughts delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/weekly-thoughts.

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