Coach Colin and The Alternative Board

04/09/2026

Another bumper BNI meeting this morning, chuffed to have the extremely generous Lyn Hobson joining today and giving EVERYONE in the room a sample of her awesome organic firelighters.

03/09/2026

What if your problem employee isn’t actually the problem?

Imagine going to a doctor because your knee hurts.

The doctor takes one look at you and says:

“Right. Off you go to Surgery.”

No questions. A cursory examination. And an off-the-shelf diagnosis.

You’d probably find another doctor... Yet we often do exactly this with employees.

Someone is underperforming, so we jump straight to the treatment:

More training.

More supervision.

A performance discussion.

A warning.

Maybe even replacing them.

But have we actually diagnosed the problem? One of the tools we use in HI-MAP is PAVE: Passion, Aptitude, Vision and Empathy.

It forces us to look beyond “Is this person performing?” and ask better questions about the work we’ve given them.

✅ Are they doing work they have some passion and energy for?

✅ Does it play to their natural strengths and aptitude?

✅ Can they see why their work matters and where it is going?

✅ Does the work fit the way they naturally contribute to other people?

Sometimes you don’t have a bad employee. You have a perfectly capable person spending too much of their time doing the wrong work.

And no amount of coaching, motivation or performance management will completely fix a poor fit.

Before you treat the performance problem, diagnose the work.

The goal isn’t simply to have the right people on the bus. It’s to have the right people doing the right work.

OK, now audit yourself against PAVE...



If you want a team who works proactively, have coffee with me Colin Carmody.



I guide Overwhelmed and Frustrated Business Owners and their Management Team from Chaos to Clarity & Control using the Business Builders Blueprint™



Improve Your Business - Change Your Life.

02/09/2026

If you're importing goods, this must be on your radar.

Vessels calling at Durban Gateway Terminal (DGT) faced average anchorage times of 80 hours during July as congestion intensified at the Port of Dur…

02/09/2026

I've had the misfortune of seeing partnerships that fail.

In a business partnership there is a sure way to guarantee the failure of your business that transcends market influences:

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀;

1️⃣ They have no common Goals, so they pull in different directions

2️⃣ Their priorities are different, so focus flits from one shiny ineffective thing to the next.

3️⃣ Their values differ, becoming more apparent with every decision, and contempt builds.

4️⃣ There's no clear accountabilities, so resentment grows when things aren't done.

5️⃣ Verbal agreements get forgotten when the pressure is turned up.

6️⃣ When input and output is unequal, fairness becomes the burning question when the outcome is remuneration.

I've also seen partnerships flourish, and for the ones that do the answer seems obvious;

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲.

That’s why at The Alternative Board I use the Partnership Charter and the Business Builders Blueprint™ to clarify expectations between partners.

Have coffee with me Colin Carmody if you're in a Business Partnership.

I guide Overwhelmed and Frustrated Business Owners and their Management Team from Chaos to Clarity & Control using the Business Builders Blueprint™

Improve Your Business - Change Your Life.

26/08/2026

When you look at a rickety chair, there's a moment when your gut tells you - don't sit on it…. you've seen this YouTube video before.

A good chair has 4 legs and a backrest, that's 5 potential points of failure. So how do you know to TRUST it for sure?

Most of us would pick it up, give it a shake to listen for a loose screw, or perhaps lean on it with partial weight. I'd rattle it back and forth to test evenness.

Now I'm not advocating for you to pick up your employee and shake them (no matter how strong the temptation), but we must build a business that allows us to sleep at night, trusting that work will get done.

This is primarily a management system problem, not a trust problem.

Owners often say:

“𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺.”

But when I investigate, one of five things is usually missing:

Clarity → Capability → Capacity → Accountability → Consequence

𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄:

✅ 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆: What exactly am I responsible for? What does “done properly” look like? By when?

✅ 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Do I actually know how to do it? Have I been trained? Do I understand the standard?

✅ 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆: Do I have the time, tools, information and authority required?

✅ 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Will somebody notice whether I did it? Is there a measure, meeting, KPI, checklist or review?

✅ 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: What happens when I consistently deliver? And what happens when I consistently don't?

When those five things exist, you don't need to keep asking yourself, “Can I trust Sarah in accounts?”

You will have evidence.

Sarah either has a track record of delivering or she doesn't.

𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺. Without the system, you're bloopers reel waiting to happen on a rickety chair.

If you want a business that runs by itself, have coffee with me Colin Carmody.

I guide Overwhelmed and Frustrated Business Owners and their Management Team from Chaos to Clarity & Control using the Business Builders Blueprint™



Improve Your Business - Change Your Life.

11/08/2026

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀.

They struggle because nobody has agreed on how the decision will be made.

One person feels the leader must decide.

Another thinks the decision must be unanimous.

Someone else is just happy to go with the majority (as long as they don’t have to do any work).

The result is often a long meeting, unclear authority and frustration when the final decision does not match expectations. There is a danger here of Group Think and a risk of valid voices not being heard.

After I facilitated a recent team tough conversation about structuring a department, one of the take aways was:

“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮, 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩.”

The lesson here is, not every decision needs the same rule.

Some decisions need speed.

Some need input from all, but final decision rests with the accountable person.

Some need broad commitment.

Before discussing the options, agree on the decision rule.

That one step can save time, reduce conflict and make accountability much clearer.

If you want an Aligned Team that makes better decisions, let’s have coffee. That’s an easy decision - unless you want lots of options, then we’ll go to Seattle.

04/08/2026

“There’s no way I can delegate that!”
Why not? Does it defy the laws of physics?

𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝟭: 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝟮: 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.

This is where many managers become nervous.

“What if they get it wrong?”

Then you remain accountable. That is why delegation needs guardrails, agreed authority and review points.

You can make someone responsible for completing the task. You can also give them authority to make certain decisions.

But if your signature goes on the final result, accountability remains with you. That means you must review the work. It does not mean you should quietly correct everything yourself.

Give it back. Let them understand the mistake, correct it and learn from it.

To decide what can be delegated, make a list of everything that lands on your desk during a month. Then assess each task against three areas:

𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱: Could it affect trust, reputation or key relationships?
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆: What financial value, decision rights or system access are involved?
𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸: Are there legal, safety, security or compliance consequences?

The lower the risk, the easier the task is to delegate.
The higher the risk, the stronger the guardrails and check-ins need to be.

And when you hear yourself say, “I cannot delegate the whole task,” ask:

What part of it can I delegate?

They may not have full system access, but can they work under supervision? Can they complete everything up to the point where your authority is required?

Delegation does not always mean handing over the entire task.
Sometimes it starts with the smallest responsible piece.

20/07/2026

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 - 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲.

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲 - 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲



A recuring conversation that I have with overwhelmed Business Owners, Founders and CEO's is the sticky question of delegation. And actually it's an often misunderstood process.



𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲

It frees up your time. Really, what better reason do you want than that?

It allows you to focus on the things you 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴, and the activities that have the highest potential impact on the business.



Ok here's the other main reason - Delegation is the most effective tool we have to build capable teams. Not the easiest - that title belongs to classroom training (the fire and forget missile of workplace learning).



It seems so obvious, why don't we do more of it?



𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁

It's not easy. It is an emotional exercise - It conjures up fears, worries and judgment.

It also requires intentional and full engagement from us from the setup, to the engagement, to the final feedback. And that "takes time".



We have to let go of control - that's scary.

We worry that "it won't be perfect"

We justify to ourselves that delegation would create more work, delay, or confusion than completing the task yourself.



Some of these may well be justified. Until you break that thinking, you'll always be stuck in the problem loop of:



"I don't have time"

"There's no one strong enough to delegate to "

"I have to do everything"

"I don't have time"



So within the delegation process allow me to show you how we build in control measures to soften those concerns. I'll post more in the coming days.

If you want to have a competent team, have coffee with me Colin Carmody.

I guide Overwhelmed and Frustrated Business Owners and their Management Team from Chaos to Clarity & Control using the Business Builders Blueprint™

Improve Your Business - Change Your Life.

15/07/2026

You have a systems and process problem. And 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵.

Those two words get used interchangeably, but they're not the same thing.

Think about taking a flight to a Tropical Island ... (well why not?)

A 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 is everything that makes a safe flight possible. It includes the aircraft, the pilots, the ground crew, maintenance schedules, the flight plan etc.

A 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 is the step-by-step procedure the pilot follows before take-off. To assist the pilot there is a checklist that must be followed. One of many in the whole system.

The process is a cog in the machine.

Business works exactly the same way.

A system is the complete setup that helps your business produce a consistent result. It includes your people, technology, tools, policies and processes.

A process is simply the sequence of steps for completing one task.

If your team skips a step, you have a 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺.

If your team never had the right tools, training or accountability to follow the process in the first place, you have a 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺.

𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦.

They struggle because they're asking good people to work inside weak systems with no documented processes.

The visual below breaks down the key differences between systems and processes.

Have coffee with me Coach Colin and The Alternative Board We'll build the SOPs that help your business run while you sip 𝗠𝗮𝗶 𝗧𝗮𝗶'𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘂𝘀.

14/07/2026

There are really only four things every business must do well.

It surprises me how many business owners avoid the first two... and often neglect the last one.

𝟭. 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.

If people don't know you exist, they can't buy from you. Business doesn't fall from the sky on the wings of hope.

𝟮. 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹.

Conversations are great. Quotes are better. But a signed purchase order keeps the lights on.

𝟯. 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿.

Make the thing. Do the things. Solve customers problems - This is where most business owners are at their best and most comfortable.

𝟰. 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆.

Know your numbers. Manage your cash flow. Understand your margins. Keep your eyes on it or your eyes will be filled with tears (not the happy kind).

Each of these should be supported by a system.

A marketing system that consistently creates opportunities.

A sales system that converts opportunities into customers.

A delivery system that produces quality, every time and becomes scalable.

A financial system that gives you confidence in your decisions.

Once those foundations are in place, you can build the next layer of systems: People Management, Customer Management, and Leadership & Planning.

But it all starts with four fundamentals:

𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁. 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹. 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿. 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆.

I also have a system - 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲™ It's a practical framework that helps business owners build the systems that create consistency, reduce dependence on the owner, and make the business easier to lead.

If you'd like more control over how your business runs, let's have coffee.