Chameleon Attuned To Your Business

10/06/2021

Jo Fairley Founder of Green & Black’s chocolate, while speaking at a conference two years ago, shared “Get a microscope to get things right, get a telescope to step back and look into the future!”

This sums up the topic of this month’s business web event for the privately-owned sector, that I will be hosting on 24th June: “Building a solid scoreboard in the game of business”.

No, this won’t be an event about financial reporting, rather we will discuss and review what are all those critical numbers one must have an absolute visibility of, from finance to marketing, to systems, to margins, to sales, to customers, to time and much more. Click the link below to know more or wish to participate.
https://fb.me/e/1f7IJ1iy6

21/05/2021

Most organizations understand Corporate Social Responsibility, but this has been replaced by words such as Social Value Plan and Carbon Offset Strategy Plan as we have moved into new realities, socially and environmentally.
Typically, small & medium size organizations want to make some sort of impact or contribution but they don’t know how. So I have written this short article to explain the “buy one give one” model and hope you will join me and over 3,000 other businesses to be a positive force for good.

Almost everyone has heard of the buy one give one model or encountered it in some capacity. From planting a tree for every sale you make to removing a pound of trash from the ocean for every invoice you issue.

17/05/2021

Most people know I love golf and so was particularly interested when Olympian champion Anna Hemmings shared yesterday, at the BizX Forum and Awards conference, the concept of "the 3 shots diary" and how that applies in business. After a game, top always write down their 3 best shots of the day, by the end of the week there are 21 best shots, by the end of the year 1,092 best shots! As a leader, what were your 3 best shots today? Or your 3 key achievements or actions? Or the 3 key learnings? Or maybe even the 3 things you progressed with today? Taking note and writing them down is more than acknowledging them, it impacts your confidence, productivity and motivation.

18/03/2021

I would say that pretty much everyone in business knows about setting goals and targets for the business. So why is it that I constantly meet Business Owners and Executives who struggle with that?
1) Some don’t have a written plan, it’s vague and it’s in their heads.
2) Many people’s target is only about revenue, they say “If we reach that X number this year, we are going to be ok”.
3) Others can’t see a vision or a destination for the business, the process can be daunting.
4) Those who have a plan, sometimes have a list of priorities and activities but the plan is not outcome-driven.

Whether your financial year starts in April or started in January if you don’t have a solid plan right now, you are putting your business and team at risk, even more so now when we prepare for the economic impact of the pandemic.

“Moving beyond SMART goals” is the topic we will discuss on Thursday 25th March at 14.00GMT/15.00CET at the next Inner Circle web event. This is not a planning session and is not about planning tools, it's more about the ability to see and create a vision for the business to which one is emotionally attached so that setting priorities and activities become easier.

Message me if this resonates with you and you want to participate, I will send you the link invite.

09/03/2021

“The team is down”, “The team is struggling with confidence” I was told over the past couple of weeks by several Directors. January is typically described as a gloomy month even in the best of times and this year it has been tougher than usual with the latest restrictions added to the lack of daylight and bad weather in most European countries.

It has been more or less a year since staff started to work from home and the prolonged lack of social contact face to face, despite the daily online interactions, is having an impact on staff’s productivity and morale.

As the Owner of the business or as a Manager, you want to help and support your team but what are you supposed to do? And what if you feel down yourself?

03/03/2021

What pig are you wrestling with this month? The pig represents the sticky situation we find ourselves wrestling with in our business, sometimes we need to stop struggling and take the time to clean out our thinking first, this will help us to reframe the situation.

I gave the book Pig Wrestling by Peter Lindsay and Dr Mark Bawden to one of my clients a couple of years ago, I often use this framework in my coaching sessions, he reminded me just a day or so ago how much he loves it and how apt it is right now while businesses are struggling in the current health, social and economic situation. What thinking do you need to "clean" right now?

13/01/2021

You own a business and you have successfully made it to 2021! Congratulations and my very best wishes.
You might have survived or you might have pivoted, or you might even have thrived. In one way or in another, last year you have had to think and work hard, with your team.
Hopefully, you have been enjoying a bit of a break over the festive season and some quality time with your family. Now, it all starts again in January. You might be motivated but how mentally strong do you feel? Is a positive mindset enough? How will you feel by 31st January?
I am running a group session exactly on this topic on Thursday 21st January, we will discuss and learn a number of practical tools and ideas to sharpen your mind emotionally and intellectually, so that you can stay on top of what you need to do, manage your team effectively and deliver customers' delight.
This event is conducted online and reserved for Directors and Executives of small/medium privately-owned companies. Message me to receive your invite, you are very welcome.

08/01/2021

"What's ill-defined, gets procrastinated" said one of my clients last week during the company's quarterly planning session with the Management Team. I am giving Mike Harrison the credit for the quote but please don't misunderstand me, there is no procrastination at HarrisonStevens, rather a clear direction from the leaders about the goals and priorities moving forward. As 2021 approaches, how many Directors are planning their next 12 months?

05/01/2021

During the past 6 to 8 months:
- In what way have you and/or your team been feeling powerless at times over the past few months?
- In what way have you/your employees communicated when feeling stressed, demotivated, isolated?
- In what way some team members have vented their frustrations because they were furloughed?
- In what way people have blamed the government for the restrictions?
- Why certain people seem to remain in denial and wait to get back to normal?
- How come that “mental health” has sometimes been used as an excuse for choosing to do or not to do certain things?
These are some of the questions we discussed yesterday at the monthly business web-event for executives of privately-owned companies, this time the topic was around management and team performance. Now, what would you do to help your team be powerful again?

09/10/2020

Today I share a huge congratulation to one of my clients, Dunedin IT for finishing their financial year on a high note! People might easily assume that companies in the IT sector have gained from the pandemic because of the increased demand for technology, and although this might have been the case at the beginning of lockdown, they had to work as hard as many others to transform themselves in this new world. So congratulations Jamie Clague, your co-directors and your teams for delivering high-value Information Technology as well as Knowledge Technology support to hundreds of businesses, which makes their lives "a little bit" easier (of course more than just a little).

02/10/2020

As a Manager and Leader, what interpersonal challenges do you face with your team after six months of working remotely? People still look for fulfillment in their work, they want to feel engaged and make a meaningful contribution but, for many, it has become very difficult to achieve that lately. I am hosting a short web event in a couple of weeks' time to share some ideas and solutions to help you support your team over the next few months. See the link below or message me.

https://bit.ly/3cRMzgP