It's Not Rocket Science! Five Questions Over Coffee

Who is Arba?

Arba Cooper is a distinguished marketeer with a longstanding expertise in technology, dating back to the 80s. Specializing as a digital marketing trainer, Arba dedicates her efforts toward solopreneurs, particularly baby boomers, who are facing challenges with technological advancements. Her passion is fueled by personal experience and a strong desire to help others navigate the complexities of digital marketing, particularly video marketing. Arba is celebrated for her patience and ability to distill complex technological concepts into approachable, relatable lessons.

Key Takeaways

In this episode of “Five Questions Over Coffee,” hosted by Stuart Webb, we dive into a lively and informative discussion with Arba Cooper, an expert in digital marketing and technology. Arbor shares her longstanding experience in technology, having witnessed its evolution since the 80s, and her passion for helping solopreneurs, particularly those within the baby boomer demographic, accustom themselves to the digital age. This episode unveils Arba’s insights on the potency of video as an essential marketing tool, especially in the age of AI.

Arba discusses her role in assisting solopreneurs who struggle with integrating new technologies into their business strategies. She describes how she supports clients by reducing their apprehension towards technology and introducing them to video marketing, a crucial aspect in today’s digital commerce landscape. With attention spans diminishing, she notes that video content can significantly elevate engagement and lead generation. This episode is packed with Arba’s personal anecdotes, expert advice, and effective methodologies in leveraging modern marketing tools.

Key Takeaways:

Solopreneurs, especially baby boomers, often face challenges with technology that Arba Cooper helps them overcome with patience and expertise.
In the realm of digital marketing, video content particularly holds increasing value in engaging audiences and generating leads.
Arbor emphasizes that effectively using AI tools can aid those uncomfortable with appearing on camera to still create compelling video content.
Arba’s commitment is deeply personal, rooted in her own experiences of entrepreneurial struggles when she faced marketing challenges without adequate guidance.
Engaging with a community of learners can enhance one’s skills in video marketing, benefiting from both novice insights and professional expertise.

Notable Quotes:

“The person I am exactly trying to talk to is the solopreneur who is struggling particularly with their marketing.”
“Attention span has become shorter... but you can use technology, what’s called faceless videos, or insert yourself in different parts of your video.”
“If a person’s afraid to be on camera, my job is not to make them comfortable, it’s to show them there are other ways.”
“We would miss out on a lot of the services and products of the solopreneurs.”
“If they have time, I’ll give my talent.”

Resources:

Five Questions Over Coffee - Free Stuff Vault: fivequestionsovercoffee.com/freestuff

Tune into this past episode to hear insightful discussions and practical advice on how

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast.

SPEAKERS

Arba Cooper, Stuart Webb

0:00:01 - (Stuart Webb): Fabulous. The countdown didn’t happen. I have no idea what’s going on today. It’s all going wrong here in the studio. It doesn’t happen. It doesn’t matter. Hi, I’m Stuart Webb and welcome back to Five Questions Over Coffee. I’m here today with the wonderful Arbor Cooper. Arbor is a well arbor. We’re going to introduce you in a moment. You are a marketeer, aren’t you? You are, you are. Now, we are just, we’re just talking about the fact that you are never going to be anybody other than Arma Cooper. So, Arbor, welcome to It’s Not Rockets.

0:00:29 - (Stuart Webb): That’s Five Questions over Coffee. I really appreciate you giving up a few minutes to be with us today. Thank you for being here. I look forward to the conversation.

0:00:39 - (Arbor Cooper): Thank you, Stuart. Thank you for having me.

0:00:42 - (Stuart Webb): Now, let’s start with the first question that I always, I always ask, who is the person that you’re trying to help? What is their problem? And please use this as a way to really sort of pinpoint exactly who it is you’re trying to talk to today.

0:01:03 - (Arbor Cooper): Yes, the person that I am exactly trying to talk to is the solopreneur who is struggling particularly with their marketing. And they need more, more guidance, more hand holding. And that’s what I do as a trainer. So you could be at any stage as a solopreneur and just getting started or maybe couple years into your business.

0:01:29 - (Stuart Webb): So, I mean, there are, there must be a lot of people out there that they’ve tried a lot of the traditional, I mean, how would you describe the problems they’ve had? What are the problems that they are that you’re trying to help them solve that they probably, they, they’ve seen podcasts, they’ve been to training courses, they probably read the book, they’ve probably written half the books. What is that? What is the specific problems you see with people like that that you, you help them to, to address?

0:01:58 - (Arbor Cooper): Well, Stuart, specifically narrowing down my niche even more is that I’ve been in technology all my life, ever since the 80s, 70s, so I’m not intimidated or overwhelmed with technology. But I’ve noticed that other baby boomers, so I’m giving a little hint as to my age. I don’t mind. My birthday, by the way, is tomorrow.

0:02:24 - (Stuart Webb): Anyway, happy birthday, Abba. Thank you for spending the eve of the birthday here.

0:02:29 - (Arbor Cooper): Yes. So particularly my niche is baby boomers and beyond who are very good in their jobs, you know, their nine to five jobs or their regular jobs, but they have either been misplaced or displaced from their jobs or have left their jobs to start their own business. And they’re behind in technology so they’re intimidated with it, they’re overwhelmed. And so yes, there’s a lot of videos you can watch, books you can read, all of that, but they really need someone like me who has the patience and will train them and bridge that gap for them with technology.

0:03:16 - (Stuart Webb): And we’ve already got, well, Perennial Life TV and we’ve also got, got another one of your friends here, Gladys, who is. Hi Gladys, we’re pleased to see you. So, so, so give us, give us a bit more of the sort of. They’re good at what they do. They’re the sort of people who are, who are, who are, who understand their market. What is it you’re actually focusing them to do?

0:03:45 - (Arbor Cooper): Well, there’s a lot of things I focus on when it comes to digital marketing, but particularly today’s talk, I’m focusing on videos and the fact that now with AI, there’s so much more you can do with videos and so much more than I can teach because it used to be that you would have to be degree, not so much degree trained in IT to be able to use the technology, but now with having someone like me who is patient and, and works with people and there’s a lot of low cost AI tools, then all you need to do is just have the time.

0:04:28 - (Arbor Cooper): And you know, I have free training classes that people can attend and then if they want a little more hand holding then they can come to book a private session with me.

0:04:40 - (Stuart Webb): So tell me, what are the impacts that you, you will. That a business owner will find by using video? Because video is, is, is becoming very important. It is highly ranked by Google. If you’ve got video on your website, it is something which is, I think, something that pretty much every business owner needs to understand. But what is the impact that you’ve seen in some of the clients you’ve helped?

0:05:01 - (Arbor Cooper): Well, what I’ve seen because I always, any, anything that I teach means that I’ve used it myself. So people’s attention span is, is becoming shorter and shorter and shorter.

0:05:15 - (Stuart Webb): I’m sorry, I’ve done what you said.

0:05:17 - (Arbor Cooper): What did you say exactly? That’s my point. So attention span has become shorter and not everybody is comfortable on camera. So you have the people that will say, you know, that you need to be on camera, people need to see you and so forth. But that’s not necessarily true because, because there are some products and services that you don’t need to see the actual person who’s providing it. You know, when you think about commercials that have been around for, for ages, you know, it’s the, the people that are doing the commercials are not necessarily the creator or the inventor of the product, but they’re helping to promote it.

0:05:59 - (Arbor Cooper): So what I have seen for myself is I’m not afraid to be on camera, but I show clients both ways, is that you can use technology, what’s called faceless videos, or you can just insert yourself in different parts of your video. So what I have seen is it has allowed me to reach other people, new clients, and get leads because they are engaged in my videos. And then even if they like it, this is something I teach in my social media training.

0:06:34 - (Arbor Cooper): If they like whatever I post, then I engage by asking. I reach out and say, what particularly did you like about that post, that video? Whatever. So that’s how I’ve seen it increase my leads and increase like the, the couple of people that are on the call today by me doing videos and posting. So.

0:06:59 - (Stuart Webb): And, and you’ve got Premier Life tv. Is. Am I saying that her name is Pam.

0:07:05 - (Arbor Cooper): Her.

0:07:06 - (Stuart Webb): Hi, Pam. What Pam says video imagery is an essential part of the messaging toolkit. Arbor does a great job of sharing these tools. So there’s a great endorsement for you there. And, and thank you, Pam, from. For saying.

0:07:18 - (Arbor Cooper): Yes, thank you.

0:07:19 - (Stuart Webb): So, so, so, so, so an essential part of the toolkit. Absolutely critical that somebody masters it. Let’s, let’s take an example of somebody who is shy to get on front of, in front of camera, which I clearly am, because you can just, you can tell what is it you’re going to do to help me overcome some of that initial fear of doing and seeing and hearing yourself, which is such actually frightening thing to do when you watch back after you’ve completed one of these things.

0:07:52 - (Arbor Cooper): Well, first of all, I don’t. My job is not to make people feel comfortable on camera because clearly one of the biggest fears of people, especially when they become an adult, is getting on camera. So as I said, it’s not necessarily that you. When, when I say video, that does not necessarily mean that you need to get on. Okay.

0:08:19 - (Stuart Webb): You can help create a video which you’re not even part of.

0:08:22 - (Arbor Cooper): Correct? Correct. And now with AI, you can, especially with women. When it comes to women. Now, I’m not one that does a lot of makeup and so forth, but you saw me playing with my hair earlier. But when it comes to women, you can get a good shot, a good day, a good hair day or whatever, and then Create an avatar now with AI of yourself. And then you can inject that into your videos if you so choose.

0:08:50 - (Arbor Cooper): But again, I’m not one that’s really pushing people to say you, you gotta get on camera because not everybody is gonna get in front of the camera or really should be in front of the camera. I know that that’s probably. There’s people that feel differently, but I’m just like, do video. That’s all I’m saying is that you need to learn how to create videos. Whether you’re in it or not is a, is a whole nother discussion.

0:09:22 - (Stuart Webb): So Arbor, we have got some, some, some landing page and things like that from into our vault. And you can go to our vault. It’s called free stuff. It’s absolutely free. You just go here. Do you just go to five questions over coffee.com forward/freestuff. You log on everything that our guests have ever given us this year. But tell us what you have put in here because it’s a great landing page and, and it’s, it’s a great offer. So tell us a little bit more about what you’ve done for, for our listeners and viewers today.

0:09:51 - (Arbor Cooper): Yes, what, what I have is actually the link to my website, which is so simple. Arbacooper.com and on there I list there’s a lot of different things that I offer. But since we’re talking about video training, then I have on there a link to join my video training. I do monthly. I have a community actually of other people who are either learning how to do videos, they’ve been doing videos. Some are professionals and help people to learn whatever stage you’re at with video.

0:10:31 - (Arbor Cooper): So what’s in there is a link to join my free monthly community and just learn more about videos.

0:10:39 - (Stuart Webb): And I’m going to make it dead easy. I’m now going to adjust what’s in our vote. If you go to five questions over coffee.com freestuff at the top under Arbor’s name, you will see that link directly. You won’t have to hunt for it on a website. It will take you straight to that free training. And thank you for that, Arbor, because I think that’s a really useful offer. But it brings me to how did you learn so much about video? How did you. You’re obviously, you like marketing, but how did you learn that video was such an important part? Was there a, a course you took, a, a book you read? Was it just a discovery that you came across that made you think, I’ve got to help people get this video thing nailed.

0:11:20 - (Arbor Cooper): Well, I mean, first of all, I’ve loved technology ever since middle school, and I’ve already confessed that was like in the 70s, 80s. So, so I, I’ve always kept my pulse on technology and I learned how to do videos, you know, like I said a couple of years ago, but as a. I started to become more prevalent and even the AI tools that I have used has become more advanced and more fun. So it’s been that I actually attend other gurus, you know, that teach video.

0:11:57 - (Arbor Cooper): And so I take what they teach and then I break it down and simplify it and teach it to the people that follow me or that come to my training. So it’s really been. I’m a lifelong learner and you have to be when you’re in technology. So it’s, it’s a combination and just trying it, I, I make the mistakes, you know, the way you can learn the best is from people that have made the mistakes and tell you what not to do, how not to eat up your AI credits.

0:12:29 - (Stuart Webb): What a great, what a great, what a great thing. Arba. As we’re coming towards the end of our time together, there must be. And I’ve just seen that Pam has let me know that obviously we haven’t got that link properly sorted out yet because we only discussed it just before we came on air. So I should be putting that link on as soon as I leave the studio. Just, just finally. Is there a question I haven’t asked you? Because we’ve talked about the wonders of video, but there must be a question. You’re thinking, well, he’s going to ask me that killer question which really nails the subject any moment now.

0:13:06 - (Stuart Webb): But I’m gonna have to be honest. I don’t know what that question is. So I’m gonna ask you to tell us what is the question I should ask you and then obviously you have to answer it for us.

0:13:13 - (Arbor Cooper): Okay. The question that I get all the time is why do I have such a passion and focus on solopreneurs that that’s not where the money is? That’s the question.

0:13:29 - (Stuart Webb): Now you want, why is it that you have such a passion for solopreneurs? Cause you’re right, they’re. They are largely very, very hard strapped for cash. And every penny counts.

0:13:41 - (Arbor Cooper): But if somebody doesn’t, then how will we get a lot of the. We would miss out on a lot of the services and products of the solopreneurs because. Just because someone might be a little cash strapped right now. Doesn’t mean that they’re not worthy of the support. Support. And personally, that’s my story, is that back in the 90s when I had a lot of money, I had a lot of money as an engineer, left my full time job, wanted to start my own business or did start my own business, but I did not understand marketing. And as you probably know, Stuart, marketing is a very predatory business and you can end up spending a lot of money turning your wheels, trying to figure out things.

0:14:33 - (Arbor Cooper): And that’s what happened to me. To the tune of house getting foreclosed, car repossessed and I lost my marriage. And so my passion is that if a entrepreneur solopreneur, if they have time, then I’ll give my talent and that’s my passion, is that just giving some of my time, some of my talent. And if they just give their time and they can do it theirself, teach a man how to fish instead of giving them a fish.

0:15:06 - (Stuart Webb): Oh, but what a wonderful message and what a wonderful way to finish. Listen, I think that’s wonderful. I think that’s truly fantastic. I’m so, I’m so grateful that you’ve spent a few minutes telling us that today. I would just like to say one thing as we come to an end and it almost, it almost goes without saying, you go find Arbor online, go and find her and, and, and take the advantage of listening to somebody who’s so passionate about this stuff.

0:15:35 - (Stuart Webb): But if you would like to talk to and, and and be available to, to come and speak to and ask questions, we have Pam today asking questions. If you go to 5questionsover Coffee.com you will find a link there to subscribe to this feed and you will find other great entrepreneurs who are coming up. I post out to people who are subscribing who’s coming up in the next in the next episode of this so that you will get a notification that tells you that somebody is coming onto the, onto the podcast and you can come and join like Pam today and ask questions. So Arpa, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us.

0:16:11 - (Stuart Webb): I really appreciate what you’ve come on and set and I do hope you continue to help as many of those entrepreneurs discover, because you’re right, video is so important in today’s marketing mix and it is badly done by most of us and you’re clearly somebody who knows how to write, how to make it happen. So thank you so much for coming on and telling us.

0:16:30 - (Arbor Cooper): Thank you, Stuart. And there was someone else too that was on today. I want to thank. It was Candace.

0:16:36 - (Stuart Webb): There was. There was. We had. We had. We had Pam and we had Gladys.

0:16:43 - (Arbor Cooper): Gladys, yes.

0:16:45 - (Stuart Webb): Yeah. You know, Gladys as well.

0:16:46 - (Arbor Cooper): Yes, yes. Yeah. That’s one thing. I knew there was two, so. Thank you.

0:16:50 - (Stuart Webb): Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Pam. Thank you, Gladys. Really appreciate you being here. And listen, Alba, Pam, Gladys, you know where Arbor is, but everybody else, go check out Arbor, get it. Get a link from the, from the vault, from the free stuff and. And have a look at some of Arbor’s great stuff. It’s really great. Thank you very much indeed.

0:17:15 - (Arbor Cooper): Thank you. All right. Bye.

0:17:18 - (Stuart Webb): Bye. Bye.

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Who is Gwen?

Gwen Acton, PhD, has built her career helping “rocket scientists”—the brilliant scientists, engineers, and technical experts behind today’s most innovative companies—become extraordinary leaders. With a background spanning everything from biology to technology, Gwen was inspired by the crucial roles these experts play in industries like biotech, aerospace, AI, big pharma, and government research labs. She saw that while technical leaders are essential for organizational success, many find themselves suddenly tasked with leading teams, often without the tools or training to do so. Gwen made it her mission to bridge this gap, coaching and advising growth-stage companies and R&D groups so their top technical minds can excel both as experts and as leaders.

Key Takeaways

Summary

Stuart Webb and Gwen Acton PhD discuss

Why technical expertise doesn’t equate to leadership proficiency
Common pitfalls technical leaders face (like micromanagement and letting go of control)
The mindset shift required to move from individual contributor to successful team leader
The most essential skills and behaviors for leadership in science and technology-driven organizations
Practical advice for influencing up, engaging teams, and leading transformation
Insights from Gwen’s career and highlights from her book, “Leadership for Scientists and Engineers”
Audience questions on changing leaders’ minds and the hallmarks of great leadership

Whether you’re a new leader, a technical expert on the rise, or simply curious about the bridge between science and leadership, this episode delivers actionable tips and inspirational stories.

Timestamps & Overview

00:00 - Tech glitches and introductions:Stuart Webb kicks off, introducing Gwen Acton PhD, her background, and the episode setup.
01:24 - Defining the technical leader’s challenge:Gwen explains who she helps and the need for leadership skills in technical organizations.
04:10 - Why technical backgrounds don’t prepare you for leadership:Gwen highlights the crucial differences between technical problem-solving and managing people, and why logic alone isn’t enough for people problems.
07:04 - The confusion and blind spots of technical leaders:Discussion about why what worked as a technical expert often fails in leadership, and the importance of learning new interpersonal skills.
09:16 - Letting go and the pains of delegation:Gwen addresses micromanagement, the struggle to trust others, and methods for successful delegation in high-precision environments.
11:29 - One piece of leadership advice:Why great leaders ask more (and better) questions instead of always trying to provide answers.
13:24 - Audience Q&A – Changing minds and influencing up:Gwen shares tips for helping leaders change direction, including the power of genuine questions and one-on-one influence.
17:05 - Gwen’s journey from scientist to leadership expert:Personal story about her path, why group dynamics and leadership in science are so important, and practical solutions for the technical world.
20:20 - About the book “Leadership for Scientists and Engineers”:What readers will find inside and why it’s designed as a practical guide for technical leaders.
21:34 - What makes a good leader or role model?:Key traits and behaviors ranging from strategic alignment to offering feedback and motivating teams.
26:48 - The killer question: What separates great leaders from those who plateau?:Gwen’s reflections on lifelong learning, intentional skill development, and the humility to accept feedback.
29:28 - Closing remarks and staying in touch:How to subscribe for future episodes, more about Gwen, and reaching out with questions.

Resources and Links

📘 Gwen’s Book: “Leadership for Scientists and Engineers”
🆓 Free Leadership Resources:www.systemise.me/free-stuff — Grab templates, guides, and more to boost your leadership journey.
💡 Stay Informed:To be first to know about upcoming guests (and ask your questions live!), visit www.systemise.me/subscribe.
🔗 Connect with Gwen Acton PhD:Find Gwen on LinkedIn and follow for more expert tips (see show notes for the link).

👍 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and leave your comments and questions below—for Gwen or for future guests!

And don’t forget: keep an eye out for next guest. To submit your own questions, subscribe to our newsletter and join the conversation!

P.S. Loved this episode? Hit reply and let us know what resonated most

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Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Do You Need a P.A.T.H. to Scale?

We help established business owners with small but growing teams:

go from feeling stuck, sceptical, and tired of wasting time and money on false promises,

to running a confident, purpose-driven business where their team delivers results, customers are happy, and they can finally enjoy more time with their family -

with a results-based refund guarantee: if you follow the process and it doesn’t work, we refund what you paid.

This is THE P.A.T.H. to scale your business.

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

technical leadership, rocket scientists, scientist to leader transition, leadership skills, delegation, micromanagement, influencing skills, team motivation, business leadership, technical expertise, problem solving, people management, organizational success, biotech leadership, tech company leadership, research labs, defense contractors, big pharma R&D, cross-functional teams, leadership blind spots, team ownership, decision making, senior leadership, growth stage companies, feedback in leadership, leadership mindset, communication skills, leadership for scientists, career development, leadership challenges, leadership book

SPEAKER

Gwen Acton, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:55]:

Hi, and welcome back to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. I’ve got my coffee mug in front of me. I hope Gwen, my guest today, has got her. I’m having a bit of a laugh because as, as soon as we tried to go live, there was a technical error. And the last thing I can remember saying as I was pushing this, which hopefully didn’t come through on the, on the live stream, was why do we work with technology? But here we are. Here we are, Gwen. Welcome to It’s Not Rocket Science.

Stuart Webb [00:01:24]:

Five questions over koio, I’m looking forward enormously to talking to you. Gwen is a really inspiring leader. She works with, well, she, she is a, she’s a former scientist. She’s got a, got a very impressive, very impressive PhD and she now works with leaders in scientific and organizations like that, helping them to take the knowledge that she’s got from transitioning from being a scientist to being a business leader and helping them do the same. So I’m really looking forward to the talk today, the discussion today. So Gwen, welcome to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:02:03]:

Thanks so much, Stuart. It’s great to be here today.

Stuart Webb [00:02:05]:

Look, I’ve just given you, I’ve just given you the build up, so perhaps you better clarify for us exactly who is the leader you’re trying to help. What is it that you bring to them and try and help them to understand that’s perhaps different to their other life when they’re trying to lead a business.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:02:25]:

Yeah. So my, I, I actually was really struck by the title of your podcast, which is it’s not rocket science because that I work with rocket scientists who have become or other brilliant scientists and engineers. Everything from PhD biologists to aerospace engineers, AI designers, you name it. Those, those folks who are highly trained as technical experts who then through no fault of their own end up as leaders either. They’re trying to accomplish things as leaders. They end up heading a group and those leaders lead to, you know, so my ideal client is our leaders or organizations that have these rocket scientists and those rocket scientists are key to the success of those organizations. So in practice, I work with growth stage biotechs and tech companies, government research labs, defense contractors, big pharma, R and D groups, any place where technical leaders are essential for success, any Place where you have these technical, these rocket scientists who are promoted into these leadership positions and need to now accomplish work through teams.

Stuart Webb [00:03:44]:

And what is it about being a scientist which somehow doesn’t quite prepare you? And I know the feeling myself as somebody that’s gone through this, it doesn’t quite prepare you for the business of leadership. What is it they’ve tried to do? What is the thing which they’ve been doing but somehow hasn’t worked for them before they seek some expertise in somebody like yourself.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:04:10]:

Yeah, I think the biggest, one of the biggest challenges when you are a technical expert is, is just not realizing how different leadership is. Right. So you. And that’s why I love the name of your podcast, it’s not Rocket Science. Both, you know, you often use that phrase not rocket science to mean it’s not difficult, which I think we would all agree. Leadership is hard because otherwise you wouldn’t have as many bad leaders out there as we have. Yeah, but the biggest. So that thing is, it’s not rocket science, it’s not technical.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:04:46]:

Right. Typically the technical experts are promoted into leadership positions based on that technical or subject matter expertise. But then all of a sudden suddenly you become, you know, the best scientists and engineers become responsible for motivating and aligning teams. So for example, a deadline is shortened and everyone in the group is complaining. Right. That’s not rocket science. But you need to be able to do that to accomplish rocket science. You need to navigate different conversations.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:05:20]:

For example, you have an underperformer. And again, it’s not rocket science, but you have to, you can’t have underperformers. If you’re going to make rockets or technology or science, you can’t have that. So how. That’s a different skill set influencing across the matrix. Right. Most scientists and engineers, you know, they’re not working on their own. They’re working across an organization, across cross functional teams and they need to get things done and not report to them.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:05:47]:

So that challenge is going from this technical expertise, which is very logical. All of a sudden, walking into a very different set of expectations and needs around leading a group, influencing, negotiating, etc. That are fundamentally different skills. And I think that is often what is overlooked is that just because you’re smart doesn’t mean, just as you’re smart at solving technical problems doesn’t mean that there aren’t things that need to be learned about leadership.

Stuart Webb [00:06:25]:

And sometimes that learning is, it is a blind spot, isn’t it? Because having spent a life being a technical expert and sometimes being lauded for that technical expertise. In fact, people looking up to you because of that technical expertise. You don’t understand why suddenly having to learn, influencing skills is such a, such a challenge. It becomes one of those, well, I just don’t understand why things are just not working the way they used to. So do you find that a lot of the time you’re dealing with people who are confused as to why what they did yesterday isn’t working for them today?

Gwen Acton PhD [00:07:04]:

Absolutely. It can be baffling. And one of the questions many technical experts have is why was that person promoted, not me? Right. Why, you know, why are these people not doing. I was just talking to a leader last week who’s like, you know, I don’t, I don’t understand why everyone in my group isn’t. Science isn’t the most important thing to them. It’s the most important thing to me. So I don’t understand why it’s not the most important thing to everybody else.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:07:33]:

I don’t understand why those investors don’t understand this data. It’s so clear, you know, why, why are they not investing, you know, giving us support for this when it’s so obvious what this data says so, or it’s, you know, why is the team not performing when, when you know, we, we need them to. So absolutely there can be this confusion and then one of the common mistakes is trying to apply those, the existing skill set for solving problems to these people problems. And so you want to come at it like, well I’ll just logically explain to my team why they need to do this and then it doesn’t work. And they’re like, but I just explained logically why we should do this and not realizing the complexity of leaders leadership, of all the non logical features that go into somebody’s decision and the dynamics of the team and how you need to be able to navigate that as well to be a successful leader.

Stuart Webb [00:08:40]:

Yeah, sure. And it’s something that I think it’s often not just the technical, it’s not just learning, relearning those sort of skills that haven’t been taught before, but it’s also having to understand that the technical skills now have to be passed to somebody else to do, doesn’t it? The letting go because you’re now into lead an organization. But you can no longer be that bottleneck. The one person understands all of the technology. That can often be another bottleneck that such leaders need to sort of understand how they, how they pass that knowledge down.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:09:16]:

Yeah. The biggest complaint I hear and I’ve surveyed Multiple thousands, many thousands of technical leaders about what they are frustrated with in their leaders. And the number one complaint is micromanagement.

Stuart Webb [00:09:32]:

Yeah.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:09:32]:

And micromanagement, I truly believe, comes with the absolute best of intentions. It’s a desire because science and technology require precision and, you know, you can’t fluff around or, you know, massage things. There’s. It has to be done correctly. And so when you were a leader, when you were an individual contributor, you would just make sure everything got done to your standards and you’d stay late if you needed to. You would just work until it got done to the quality you thought it should be. And then you become a leader. And all of a sudden if you make that decision to have everybody do it to the quality level you’re used to and just work late, you’re making decisions for a group of people, not just for yourself.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:10:21]:

And that can have implications. But secondly, I think it’s often not appreciated just how challenging delegation is when it is complex and when that quality precision needs to be maintained. So how are you supposed to find the time to train someone to do it? How do you know whether to trust them? So the good news is you can. There are specific skills, specific ways of doing this that technical leaders can learn that will make it much better for them and for their rewards to get work done and not have to do everything themselves. There’s a real tendency to just try and do it themselves because they want to make sure it gets done. Well.

Stuart Webb [00:11:07]:

I guess this leads me to my sort of, my next question really, Graham, which is if you have to give one piece of advice, one valuable piece of advice to a leader, can you, can you, can you do that in, in a, in a simple way? Are there things that you can recommend that they do in order to sort of start the journey to understand exactly how they do this?

Gwen Acton PhD [00:11:29]:

Yeah, one, one is a mindset if you’re a leader, which is to stop trying to be the smartest problem solver in every circumstance or every conversation and start asking better questions. And this is actually very relevant to delegation because you don’t necessarily need to tell them exactly how to do things if you have the right questions to ask them. You ask them questions like, for example, how are you planning to do this? And that sounds really obvious. But without explicitly suggesting this, most of us don’t do that. We just assume they either understand or they don’t. Instead of getting more information about how the person we’re delegating to plans to accomplish something, or just in general asking questions about what other People’s intent is, what are you trying to accomplish here? Asking the group, what are our assumptions? Even asking questions like what am I missing? To folks, asking questions is powerful. First of all, you learn more. You get better ideas and learn more.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:12:38]:

So that’s just, that’s just a basic. It also can really help leaders have to make a lot of decisions and it can really help with decision overload for leaders. It can help distribute some of those decisions. But it also has this wonderful and surprising effect of getting more engagement and building stronger team ownership. Your team wants to do a good job, wants to contribute. So when you ask those kind of questions, not only are you learning from them, but they are able to contribute in a way that they feel more, you know, they, they are more motivated and have more ownership on the project.

Stuart Webb [00:13:24]:

So we’ve had a question come in from one of the people that’s watching us at the moment. Gwen, I don’t know if you can read it there on the screen, but what John wants to know is, do you think it’s hard to get leaders to change their mind, to change direction once they’ve made up their minds?

Gwen Acton PhD [00:13:42]:

Yeah, that’s an amazing question. And I think that really depends on the leader. I certainly have met leaders who struggle with being willing to change their minds. I mean, I’ve seen leaders across the spectrum, some the best leaders, are willing to question their assumptions and revisit and look at things again. I’ve often found sometimes it’s the more senior leaders, especially in the small growth companies I’ve seen, that can sometimes get very stuck in thinking that they’re right despite the evidence. So one of a frequent topic people ask me is how do I influence leaders above me? If I don’t believe in their decision, how do I influence it? And I’m going to come back to that typical, you know, that suggestion I just made a minute ago about asking questions. One of the most powerful ways to change the opinion of somebody else is to ask them questions. And genuine questions, not challenging.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:14:45]:

Well, ask them why did they choose. Like if you think they should have chosen A and they chose B, you know, ask them why did you choose B? You know, really want to understand your reasons. And sometimes you can see they actually have some very good reasons. Sometimes you see that there’s a flaw in their thinking. And so you have the possibility of saying, well, actually, you know, the data doesn’t suggest that you’re relying on an old set of data or an old set of conclusions that we have moved on from. So, yes, and no. One of the hardest places for a leader to change their mind is in front of a group. So you’re much better off if you want to change a leader’s mind to have a one on one conversation, to go at it with respect and questions, assume they probably had a good reason for it, for good reasons, and try and get beneath what their reasons are so you can uncover whatever might be a disconnect with that.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:15:43]:

But yes, that can be a real challenge when you see a leader in a making a decision that you don’t agree with and they won’t change their mind. Sometimes they have information you don’t have. I remember there have been times in my career where a leader made a baffling decision and it was only later that I found out a senior to me that they had information, knew something that I didn’t and I failed to recognize. I was just, I was just missing some of the information.

Stuart Webb [00:16:13]:

And thank you for that question, John. You may be watching this on repeat, thinking, I would love to have asked Gwen a question when she was live. So if you do have that, please drop a question in the comments below. Gwen will be looking out for any comments and she will come back and she will answer them or if she doesn’t, I will, I will point them in the direction to make sure that Gwen does it. So if you haven’t had your question answered live, make sure you drop one in the comments below us and we will come back and answer those questions. Because when you’ve got somebody with the sort of expertise and skill set that Gwen’s got, take advantage of that when she’s giving up free time in order to answer these questions. So thank you for that question, John, really appreciate it. And do you, do you, do you want to give us a little bit.

Stuart Webb [00:17:05]:

Gwen, can you, how did you get from, from what you were doing as a, as a, as a biologist, I mean, give us a little bit of that. But how did you get from that to what you’re doing now?

Gwen Acton PhD [00:17:20]:

So yeah, so Stuart, I was, I was trained a PhD scientist at MIT, did bench work and at some point I realized the academic track was not my passion, it wasn’t how I wanted to pursue it. And it took me a while to realize that one of the ways I am still a scientist at heart and one of the things I became very aware of is that scientists, engineers, no one essentially these days does their work entirely on their own. We are all working in groups, right? We’re at the minimum, we’re sharing data, we’re sharing Information, we’re sharing equipment, we’re sharing resources, we’re sharing space, et cetera. As soon as you have a group performing a task or interacting interdependent with each other in any, in any way, you start to have leadership issues. And what I saw when I began was that, that scientists and engineers think differently in many ways than many other folks. They’re more logical, they’re more fact based. They want to know the reasons why. They want to have specific practical suggestions for how to accomplish them.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:18:37]:

And as a PhD scientist out of MIT and having had leadership experience, I realized this was a way that we could make a significant impact on science and improve the practice of science and technology. Because they’re very, very, I mean, they’re obviously different. There are many overlapping issues there that we could improve the practice of technology and science through better leadership practices that are targeted for what? For specifically for being working in a technical environment. So, for example, there are many common solutions like build trust. And I’m like, I, you know, you can’t, if you tell a scientist or engineer, build trust, it doesn’t, it doesn’t have meaning, right? It’s because none of us, first of all, it’s not a well defined term, secondly, that doesn’t involve specific suggestions. So I realized I had a unique perspective here of being a scientist and also being trained in leadership and being able to bring that message so that we could have better science and technology which will benefit us all. And I do believe it is having an impact in how we practice, how we practice science and technology for the better.

Stuart Webb [00:20:01]:

I know we’ve got a shot on screen of your, your book that you’ve, you’ve written and I know this is, and we will put a link to Gwen’s book. But Gwen, do you want to give us just a highlight of what you tried to capture in your book before we come to another question from John?

Gwen Acton PhD [00:20:20]:

Yeah, so the, the book is Leadership for Scientists and Engineers. It came out about last year and it is designed specifically. My goal here is that any scientist or leader through who, through no fault of their own ends up in a leadership position, that somebody hands them this book so that they understand what the expectations are. I’ve had, it’s got over 80 five star reviews on Amazon. It’s designed to be very readable. You can read, you can pick up any chapter. That’s how I like to take in information. There are many, many specific suggestions, many examples, many specific things to say and do in certain situations, but also perspective as to why certain things are Important when you are a leader that are different than being an individual contributor and why you have to think about it differently, why you have to learn new skills, what are some of the, you know, communication.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:21:23]:

It’s different when you’re a leader. People hear you differently than when we

Stuart Webb [00:21:27]:

will, we will make sure that the link to Gwen’s book is in the show notes for this show. But we’ve got another question from John with what kind of behavior do you think is the most important for a good leader or role model and not allow you to sort of spend the next two days answering that? Because I think that’s, I think that’s a really difficult thing to answer.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:21:53]:

Well, I think it’s partly dependent on the organization, what you’re trying to accomplish. So if you have, if, if so if you’re at the, if you’re at a senior level in an organization, if you’re at a CEO, you know, some of the things you need to model are making sure to motivate the employees, making sure everybody knows and aligns around what is important that organization. So that is incredibly important. When you’re at the senior level, it’s important to think strategically, not just, not just react, but to be proactive and think about where’s the organization going to be five or 10, you know, whatever amount of time I work with companies that are thinking very, very things change so much, they’re thinking about a year, two years. But you know, two years, five years, 10 years, whatever it might be. So that is, that is at the top of the organization. If you are a frontline manager, meaning you have individual contributors as your reports or your, as your team, then some of the behavior that’s really important is to make sure you support and you know, support their, their, their careers, make sure they understand what is going on, mentor them under, make sure they are supported in how they do their jobs. And you know, you use the term good leader, which I love and I actually one of the exercises we do in workshops, we have a leadership boot camp workshop and one of the things we do is we do a brainstorm is what is good versus bad leadership.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:23:31]:

And I actually have a list in the book about some of what folks, you know, some of the characteristics that they say and technical expertise is expected for a technical leader, but it is only a small fraction. I’m just trying to find the page here. Some good, effective, good leadership skills. It’s communicating well, offering useful feedback, conveying a compelling vision, motivating and inspiring. Those are just a few examples I’ve Again, pulled thousands of technical experts and they all agree on these are good leadership. So important for a good leader is to make sure, I mean, it’s complex like you said, talk for days and make sure they’re getting work done, but also doing it in a way like I’m a firm believer. We sometimes think that leadership either has to be like, I have to be firm and unpleasant or I have to be so nice but things don’t get done. And I’m like, no, I don’t.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:24:32]:

I think you can be both fair and firm, get things done, but also have teams and groups really excited about the work. Right. In fact, most people are motivated to do a good job. Like that is their biggest motivation. If you’re in a science or technical group, the folks in it, most of them are incredibly motivated by doing a good job. And the thing that’s demotivating is when you can’t do a good job. So one of the most important things a leader can do is make sure the team has the resources, the support, the information, the clarity, the feedback, etc. So that they can do a good job.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:25:14]:

And I think that is one of the aspects of good leadership. But again, I sort of wrote the whole book. I love the question is actually about good leadership because just because you’re promoted into a position doesn’t mean you’re a good leader. Right? Is right. Just because you’re the CEO, just because you’re the founder, just because you’re an entrepreneur doesn’t mean your director, vp, whatever you are, your title doesn’t mean you are good at what you do. And I think that’s important to remember. Right. It’s just, it’s not just your title, it’s what, how, how good are you actually at, at, at being a leader?

Stuart Webb [00:25:52]:

Brilliant. Gwen, I’ve got, I’ve got one question left. Really. And thank you once again, John from, from Holland for asking those questions and I really appreciate you putting them in the comments. As I say, if there are more comments, please drop them below. Gwen, Will, will get on to those and we’ll answer them in as soon as she. As soon as you can, but go. And I’ve got one, one final question to ask you.

Stuart Webb [00:26:16]:

You must be thinking at the moment, this has been an interesting discussion, but he hasn’t asked me that one killer question, which actually is sort of the real question that everybody should ask me. Somebody who understands how, how you make great leaders of scientists and, and, and, and, and people who have a background as being a great technical expert. So I’M gonna have to be honest. I don’t know the question. So therefore, I’m gonna have to ask you what is the question I should have asked you? And once you have told us what the question is, you better answer it for us as well.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:26:48]:

Sure. Excellent. And I love that question. And the question I was thinking about here was, what separates the. You know, what separates technical leaders who plateau or aren’t great leaders from those who become truly excellent transformational leaders? And I think there are two aspects of that. One is a willingness to learn, and. And the second piece is intentionally developing those leadership skills. People often mistakenly think I’m either born a leader or I’m not, but the evidence suggests completely otherwise.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:27:26]:

There are specific set of skills we can learn to become much better leaders. The best leaders I have ever known were willing to look at their blind spots. They were willing to be honest about what they created, could and couldn’t do, and their strengths and weaknesses, and then set about intentionally trying to improve what they could. And so I. The best leaders, honestly, I have seen. Take, take. You know, we’ll sit in. You know, sometimes I’m working with a group of leaders who have just transitioned, technical folks who have just transitioned to leadership.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:28:02]:

And I’ve often had CEOs in those rooms and just sitting there listening and trying to figure out do I have any gaps, you know, in. In my knowledge that I can fill in here. And some of the worst leaders I’ve seen, or the ones who plateau, should I say, are ones that I’m like, they’re above learning about leadership because they think. They. They. They think, well, I’m the vp, so I must be good, right? Because that’s what my title is, so I must have done things right. And all I can think of is, you know, as. As a scientist or an engineer or, you know, just as a.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:28:38]:

As a curious person. It’s like, can we do it better? Right? Do we want to be satisfied with what we have? Just because you’ve achieved what you have doesn’t mean you couldn’t do it better. And so constantly questioning what could be better. And part of that is being willing to listen to feedback.

Stuart Webb [00:28:59]:

Brilliant. Gwen, I’ve got to thank you very much for spending a few minutes with us and doing this. One quick thing from me, if you would like to. To hear about the sort of people that we get onto this show and. And come on and talk about these things. I mean, these people are giving up free time and giving you free advice and free. Frankly, who doesn’t want somebody to do that. So if you’d like to do that, just go to the link that’s on screen now.

Stuart Webb [00:29:28]:

Www.systemize.me. subscribe. There’s a simple form there, asks for two things. Your first name, your email address. That’s all it’ll do. And then once a week, you’ll get an email from me saying who’s coming up on this show so that you can do as John did during today, ask live questions of people like Gwen and get live answers to their questions. And who doesn’t want somebody helping you do that with your business problems? Gwen, I’ve got to thank you for being here today. Just doing what you have done, which is answering questions, telling us about this.

Stuart Webb [00:30:00]:

I really love some of the stuff you’ve done. And if, if, if we will be putting into the show notes, links to your book and things like that so people can get to know more about you. We’ll also put more about where you can find Gwen on LinkedIn. Follow her and you’ll get some really great advice coming, coming from Gwen. So thank you, Gwen, for coming on and spending a few minutes with us today.

Gwen Acton PhD [00:30:24]:

Thank you so much, Stuart. It’s been great being here and I loved, you know, just great questions. So thank you so much.

Stuart Webb [00:30:30]:

Thank you,

Gwen Acton PhD [00:30:44]:

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View Details

Who is Sharon?

Sharon Kennedy is a business leader and consultant who specializes in helping high-achieving leadership teams reach their goals. With a systemic approach, Sharon works with successful and ambitious individuals who find themselves at a crossroads—where progress seems more difficult than it should be despite their capability and intelligence. By focusing on aligning organizational goals with effective strategies, Sharon guides her clients to greater clarity and collective achievement, emphasizing business-level solutions over individual fixes. Her work is driven by a commitment to turning challenges into opportunities for alignment and business growth.

Key Takeaways

In this insightful episode, Sharon Kennedy shares her expertise on how leaders and businesses can gain better alignment in their work, especially when navigating complexity and uncertainty. She explains why many high-achieving individuals and leadership teams feel like something is “missing,” even when they’re doing so much right—and how stepping back, gaining clarity, and focusing on systemic coherence transforms both people and organizations.

Key topics include:

Identifying the Type of Client Helped: Sharon discusses the kinds of ambitious leaders and teams she works with, who often find their progress harder than it should be and benefit from a systemic, not just individual, approach.
What Clients Have Tried Before: Many have read books, taken courses, or followed common advice, but struggle to see the results because true change requires personal insight and a shift in perspective.
The Power of Lightbulb Moments: Sharon explains that breakthroughs aren’t about doing things “wrong,” but about discovering new ways of seeing challenges and embracing novel solutions.
Sharon’s Process at Engage and Prosper: From open, candid diagnostics to supporting genuine business-wide alignment, Sharon covers her approach to lasting organizational change.
Valuable Takeaways: The importance of identifying areas of repeated friction, why strategy often fails to translate into reality, and why real coherence beats great intentions every time.
Inspiration & Influence: Sharon shares her influences, including Rory Sutherland and Simon Sinek, and reflects on what human behavior teaches us about creativity, bravery, and leadership.
The Killer Question: How do you know when your organization lacks coherence—and what can you do about it?

Timestamps Overview

[00:00:31–00:01:15] Introduction of Sharon Kennedy and her background in talent and neuro-inclusion
[00:01:27–00:03:22] The characteristics of Sharon’s ideal clients and her focus on business systems, not just individuals
[00:03:23–00:05:07] What clients have tried previously and why change requires personal insight and self-determination
[00:07:10–00:09:18] Sharon’s process at Engage and Prosper: diagnostics, clarity benchmarking, and identifying points of friction in the business
[00:11:10–00:11:46] Why company values and real behaviors don’t always align—and what to do about it
[00:12:45–00:16:27] Sharon’s personal journey, influences, and what really prompted her approach to leadership coaching and coherence
[00:17:12–00:19:22] The “killer question”: Signs your organization or team lacks coherence, and what key indicators (like repeated unresolved issues) to look for

Don’t forget: If you want to connect, ask questions, or get notified about upcoming guests like Maria subscribe to the newsletter here. You only need your first name and email—easy as (coffee) pie!

And don’t forget: keep an eye out for next guest. To submit your own questions, subscribe to our newsletter and join the conversation!

P.S. Loved this episode? Hit reply and let us know what resonated most

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

neuroinclusion, talent development, innovation, education, high-growth sectors, leadership alignment, coaching, confidence building, skill development, business coherence, systemic approach, candidate-to-company pathway, fragmentation, fresh perspectives, clarity, diagnostic tools, Clarity benchmark, employee engagement, operational systems, team behavior, AI integration, onboarding challenges, early career hires, job fit, organizational congruence, company culture, values alignment, productivity, absenteeism, staff turnover, workplace coherence

SPEAKER

Sharon Kennedy, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:00]:

Don’t mess me about now. Now is not the time to mess me about. Hi and welcome back to It’s Not Rocket Science, 5 questions over coffee. I’m here with— this is my coffee, by the way. I’m here with, uh, Sharon, and she has got coffee as well in front of her. Sharon Kennedy is a, um, a coach, uh, helping to develop future talent. Uh, she’s, uh, works with people who are looking to develop high potential individuals in innovation, talent development, education. She’s helping people build skills, confidence, and insight necessary to move in the fast-moving, high-growth sectors, particularly interested in people with neuro-inclusion in their development.

Stuart Webb [00:01:16]:

So Sharon, welcome to It’s Not Rocket Science, 5 Questions Over Coffee, and thanks for being a guest.

Sharon Kennedy [00:01:21]:

Thanks for having me.

Stuart Webb [00:01:24]:

So tell me a little—

Sharon Kennedy [00:01:25]:

Perfect.

Stuart Webb [00:01:27]:

Let’s, let’s just explore a little bit. So if we’re looking at the sort of the, the person you’re trying to help, what is the, uh, what are the characteristics? What are the— what is it you, you are— you would say are the sort of, um, ideal client, ideal person you’re trying to help with this neuroinclusivity, building their confidence, uh, in this fast-paced environment of education and employment today?

Sharon Kennedy [00:01:50]:

Well, I suppose it’s— I suppose the first thing to say, and I understand why you’ve positioned it the way you have. But I— as much as I work on an individual level, I really come at it from a business level. That’s what we’re trying to achieve. And so, so the individual leader or individuals in this leadership team are, generally speaking, going to be quite successful and achieving lots of great things, lots of ambition, lots of intelligence, capability, and things like that. It’s more that they’re at a point where it seems harder than it should be. And they’re still pushing forward. And I think really, for me, what I try to do, and, and we as a business, is about helping them find alignment in what they’re trying to achieve and how they’re trying to achieve it. So it’s more of a systemic approach that we take to it.

Sharon Kennedy [00:02:38]:

So whilst all the things you described are exactly what we also do, you know, clarity, confidence, talent, uh, you know, development, and the sort of candidate-to-company pathway and making that the optimum that it can be. Ultimately, we’re about trying to make sure that we’re helping leaderships and companies be more coherent in their approach so that the consistency is there and the inner alignment is there as well. So if you ask me about the type of people, they’re going to be very intelligent, capable people, but they’re just kind of— they know something’s missing, but they can’t really work out what that is. Um, and so for us, it’s normally sort of fragmentation in their thinking, really, and trying to help them sort of stand back sometimes and then look at things with fresh eyes.

Stuart Webb [00:03:23]:

So, so that’s interesting. So, so tell me, um, what they’ve tried before. What is it they’ve been attempting to do before they come across somebody like you can help them with that alignment? Have they, have they done books, courses, all of the above?

Sharon Kennedy [00:03:36]:

All of that. I, I’ve— well, and just lived on the planet, you know, and, and gained experience and done lots of things brilliantly right. And done lots of other things that they, they don’t quite know why it’s not worked. And I think, I suppose it’s sometimes it’s like, you know, we grow up hearing the adages of, like, can’t see the wood for the trees, or, you know, you’re in the trenches rather than— and working in the business than on the business, all those great phrases. But I suppose actually sometimes it’s, it’s about helping people sometimes to think differently when they don’t know how to think differently. Because it, you know, they’ll— yeah, we’ve— again, I know I’m using the clichés, but the Definition of insanity: keep doing the same thing, expect a different result. And I suppose all these phrases and words don’t always mean very much until you actually get to the point of where the penny drops. Somebody says something in a certain way, or enough things happen, and you just kind of go, I, I get it now.

Sharon Kennedy [00:04:27]:

It— that now makes sense to me in my way. And the problem is we all think differently. None of us think the same. None of us have got the same life experiences or talents or skills. We’re all individual mashes of lots of, you know, life and experience and personality and DNA. And, you know, we’re just unique individuals. And so what might be the penny dropping for one person is, you know, is it happens in a different way for somebody else at a different time. So it really— I know that might sound a bit ambiguous, but I think it’s a bit like— that’s what I’ve learned through doing coaching a lot of the time, is the individual has to self-determine their own insight All anybody else ever does is facilitate that being able to happen.

Stuart Webb [00:05:09]:

It’s interesting. So, so it is— it, it— there’s a moment, there’s a, there’s a point at which something happens, whether that be a difficult situation or a sudden realization that, that you’ve been doing it wrong all this time, which produces that clarity of thought suddenly that I need help.

Sharon Kennedy [00:05:29]:

Yeah, I don’t even think wrong is not— and I’m not picking— you’re not being critical, but wrong isn’t the right word because I suppose it’s just we all— everything is isn’t it? All through our life we’re trying and we’re experimenting, we’re exploring, and we’re doing things differently. I think it’s just sometimes somebody can have those, you know, whether you call them like light bulb moments or insights, whatever, you know, fat bombs, whatever you want to call them. A number of things happen, you know, whether it’s a— you read a piece of content, you have a conversation with someone, you watch something. Sometimes it’s just enough things that happen relatively that, that your brain— I mean, our brains are amazing. I’ve done a lot of stuff around neuroscience, and, you know, when we always think we have those light bulb moments, those light bulb moments are not just suddenly epiphanies. They’re, they’re our subconscious kind of going, maybe got the answer here if you want to maybe sit down for a bit, do things a bit differently, and listen to me, actually. And that’s really what I help to sort of do as well, you know. That’s what coaching is, and that’s what sort of like systems designers and systems thinking and trying to get people to sort of sometimes stand back and, and just re-look at things with new perspectives, different perspectives, because it’s really hard to do that, you know, because we take comfort and confidence in familiarity and, and knowing what we’ve always done.

Sharon Kennedy [00:06:45]:

And it might have always worked before, but we’re in different times, and every so often you have to stand back and reappraise and reflect on what you have now, because it’s, it’s a new world all the time, regularly, you know. We’re in another industrial revolution or whatever you want to call it. So So I think it is just having the confidence and being brave enough, really, sometimes to kind of go, is there maybe a different way to look at this?

Stuart Webb [00:07:10]:

So tell me, we’ve reached the sort of, uh, my third question then, and it’s, it’s about the valuable, uh, advice that you’d give. So talk to me a little bit about two things, one of which is, so what do you do? How do you bring the outcome that those people are looking for? And secondly, is there a piece of valuable advice that you’d give to our, our listeners at the moment? And yeah, I’d welcome any comments from anybody either listening in the future in the recording or as we’re listening to us live now. If you’ve got questions, let Sharon know what those questions are so that we can, we can pose them to her. But Sharon, start with that first thing. What is it you would actually do within, within your business, Engage and Prosper, to help them overcome that challenge?

Sharon Kennedy [00:07:56]:

So I suppose the first thing we do is have a proper conversation, uh, and explore really what is happening in their business, what, what frictions and areas they’re finding either repeatedly failing or frustrating or just costly, or, you know, they’ll, they’ll know. Every business will have its own version of that, and it might be a number of them, it might just be one area. So we have really open, candid chats around— structural, structured chat, but it still is a chat, it is a conversation to understand and explore that. And it does require a bit of trust and openness and it’s obviously confidential. So that’s the first thing we would do. If the next step is the right next step, we would run a Clarity benchmark, which is a diagnostic tool we use, which we’ve created around understanding the whole element of clarity in systems, people, and behavior, because it is structural, as we say. But, but the, the sort of free advice, if you like, that I would say to anybody on that call or otherwise is to to start thinking about where you’re seeing repeated friction in the business, where things are— you’re having to revisit them on a regular basis because you thought you dealt with them at that meeting, but something isn’t— it’s just not changed, or it’s not landing, or it— people don’t really know what they should be doing about what’s been agreed, um, because that’s really, again, where the coherence is not really there. It’s not— it’s not landed, or it’s not clear, or it’s not being driven in a clear way.

Sharon Kennedy [00:09:19]:

Um, and again, it’s, it’s quite difficult to give examples because that might be very diff— different in every business, but it might be, you know, a high turnover of staff for a particular type of role or a particular type of hire. Um, so early years, early career hires are regularly quite hard at the moment to sort of, um, engage and onboard and successfully, you know. Some of that might be because it’s the wrong person and job fit. Some of it might be the job needs to evolve and move. Um, and I think you’ve gone now, so I feel a bit worried that you may have, um, just disappeared. And if this is still live— no, you’re there.

Stuart Webb [00:09:59]:

I was merely focusing on you, Sharon, as you were talking about such an intense subject. I wanted people to, to focus on you rather than seeing me making gudie.

Sharon Kennedy [00:10:08]:

Tell me you were going to do it anyway. So, so that, so that’s really— so it could be different stages of either people coming in, or it could be different systems that you’re using. And again, with AI, oh my goodness, you know, people are overwhelmed with it. I think they don’t quite know in some organizations and businesses how much they should be using, what they should be using it for, how they should be using it and integrating it. So there, there is— there are a whole, uh, plethora of areas and issues that could be the problem or the challenge for why the organization just isn’t achieving what it knows it could and should. Um, so I think that’s really the sort of free advice that I would suggest, really. Um, And it could be operational systems, team behavior, attitudes. I mean, you know, coming from an employee engagement, um, business and, you know, background, which I did for a long, long time, a lot of— a tiny example would be about, you know, having behaviors on the wall and these great values as a company culture and saying what it’s like to work for us and we’re brilliant and we’re this and we’re that and all the great honest sincere things, but not necessarily living by those values.

Sharon Kennedy [00:11:10]:

And it becomes a bit rhetoric rather than reality. So I think it— that’s just one example of what I’m trying to convey, is that great intent and a great strategy written down isn’t necessarily what the reality is or what the lived experience is. And, and I think ultimately that’s, that’s really what we’re trying to do— some, you know, audits, housekeeping, whatever you want to call it— and then really move forward with a really coherent plan and also that individual congruence. So that internal alignment between the— what you want to be as a leader and as a business owner, and also what you are actually then delivering as a, as a leadership team.

Stuart Webb [00:11:47]:

Brilliant. I will now come back into screen so that you can see me, but I wanted people to focus on you when you were talking about that because I think it’s important. Um, Sharon, thank you. And, and just to remind people, um, you’ll see at the bottom of the screen I’ve put where we put our guests’ contact details, their offers, uh, things like landing pages where you can go and get free things from them, uh, in systemize.me/free-stuff. And we’ll have links to Sharon’s website, Engage and Prosper. Yeah, got some downloads, got some downloads that we will be putting into our vault so that you can get hold of those and get— and hear some of the great wisdom that Sharon has on this. So, Sharon, that kind of, uh, you mentioned it once, and I presume, uh, it is from this background of, of, uh, of employing engagement, um, that you, you came to this realization. But it can’t just have been employee engagement.

Stuart Webb [00:12:45]:

There must have been a light bulb moment, a book, a course, a personal experience. What was it that sort of suddenly made you realize that some of this stuff is related to Well, uh, these, these moments that sort of, you know, you now can help to step in and, and to help people to understand better.

Sharon Kennedy [00:13:04]:

Yeah, I mean, I, I did do a research around this question of like, you know, should I come up with a really clever author and things like that?

Stuart Webb [00:13:13]:

Please don’t do clever, we don’t do clever.

Sharon Kennedy [00:13:16]:

Well, what I suppose I came down to really was the fact that, you know, I’m the, the right side of 50, if that’s the right phrase, but you know, I’m 52 now and I think, you know, I’ve had lots of chapters in my career, lots of working with lots of different, you know, great bosses, great leaders, um, and either, you know, been to events and been inspired to get inspired by people every day. And, um, I suppose what I’ve recognized through my own observations, pattern recognition, whatever you want to call it, is that when leaders are sort of inconsistent, um, and it’s hard to actually see consistency in someone if you’re not seeing enough communication, interacting enough, it takes a long time to layer knowledge and understand who somebody is or what business is and all those sort of things. So for me, it’s about when things are fragmented, you know, if leadership is fragmented, if how the business works is fragmented, how it communicates, how it does things. And it, you know, and some people might use the word chaos, and I don’t really mean chaos because I’m not suggesting any business is chaotic, but I do think we think often it’s more organized than it actually is because a lot of things are tacit knowledge, um, things just get done. We don’t always know who does what until person leaves that did it. Um, so it’s things like that really. It’s sometimes just having some order with some scope for creativity, innovation, all those sort of things. But for me, it’s not one person, it’s not one thing.

Sharon Kennedy [00:14:42]:

You know, there’s some brilliant names I could drop. I mean, Rory Sutherland, I think, is just fabulous. Whenever you— you know, the opposite of a great idea is another great idea. You know, I think that, like, you just go around an eternal loop on that phrase alone. You know, it just proves that there’s never one right or wrong way of doing anything. There’s many, many ways of doing it. Um, you know, Simon Sinek, you know, he had big influence on me many years ago. Um, Dan Pink, you know, um, I think— trying to think of one of the other big readers, and I can’t think of his name now, one of the authors on marketing.

Sharon Kennedy [00:15:11]:

Um, his name’s gone for me, but, um, it might come back in a minute. But loads of people have really inspired me with what they’ve known, what they’ve seen, what they’ve realized. And, and I think really what really inspires me is human behavior. So everybody inspires me because I get to see how they think, how they work, how they manage things, how they overcome things, and how they do things differently. Because it’s doing the different things that allow you then to do things differently, which I know might sound really obvious, but, you know, other people being brave enough to do things differently allows you to recognize that there isn’t a right or wrong. And so therefore, people can’t really judge you for your approach because it’s just how you think and what you’re prepared to try. Um, and sometimes happy accidents come out of that, and other times— I think Rory Southern gives an example of a, of a, of a about a bench, you know, that when people sadly pass and people put a memorial bench there. And I’m not going to do his talk justice, but I recommend everyone watches it.

Sharon Kennedy [00:16:05]:

And he talks about, you know, where you do need a bench, there’s never any— a bench, you know, nobody ever sat there for a bench to then be put there, you know, or, or things like that. But anyway, you know, I’m not— so I’m not doing him justice, but, you know, he does, uh, he thinks of some things in a very, um, creative way. And I think it’s that creativity that allows us to, to do things in a better way. Sometimes like brilliance, and sometimes it’s a learning that we grow from, like in an invention, you know.

Stuart Webb [00:16:34]:

That’s brilliant. Um, Sharon, I, I guess, I guess I’m left with only one question, uh, and it’s the question that, that, that I often, I often ask in this, which is what is the question that I should have asked that I haven’t yet, that, that sort of killer question that brings it all together, which gives us a neat way of sort of, you know, trying to encapsulate all this. And, and I can’t think of what that question is, so I guess I have to rely upon you to think about that question. So what’s that, what’s that killer question? What’s that question I should have asked you which I haven’t yet? Um, and obviously once you’ve asked, uh, once you’ve asked the question, you better answer it for us because I don’t know the answer.

Sharon Kennedy [00:17:12]:

Well, I think we’ve, we’ve covered a lot of it already, really, but I suppose the question was, was You know, how do you know when an organization lacks coherence? And I suppose as a, a leader or a manager in it yourself, it’s going to be when, you know, some of what I’ve said before, you know, when that issue just keeps coming back up, it’s still not resolved, or the accountability for making it resolved and solved, it just— it doesn’t, doesn’t land. That person doesn’t own it, or that team or department or whoever it is, supplier, whatever it might be, because obviously there’s multi-parts of a business running well and growing. Um, it just could be a repetitive issue that you think has got fixed and then it’s back again. Um, and, and if people are compensating, I think that’s the real deep pit, isn’t it? Some things actually work, but not through or without a lot of effort or a lot of being pulled out of shape and, and stress. Um, a burnout, you know, or— I mean, yeah, one of the big dashboard KPIs that most businesses always look at is absenteeism. You know, sickness, uh, you know, turnover. All those— the stats are always normal ones to look at. But I suppose really it’s about tenure and productivity for me, you know.

Sharon Kennedy [00:18:22]:

Are people staying because you’re a good employer and it’s all working relatively well, i.e., that it’s in congruence for them as an individual working for your business? And as a, as a company, are you in coherence with how you should be and could be operating?, so that those KPIs, you know, are actually in a good balance. It’s never going to be a perfect world, but, but if you keep having to revisit the same stuff, something’s not working. And I suppose it, you know, and I’m making that sound really simple because of course all those individuals are trying to resolve it, but there’s, there’s obviously got to be a different way to attack it because maybe like with a lot of business development, when a client comes to you and says, this is our problem, it’s normally something else that’s actually the problem, not what they think it is. And that’s because often they just don’t get the time or the luxury to be able to sit back and actually look at things with fresh perspectives and, and ask different questions.

Stuart Webb [00:19:22]:

Yeah, uh, Sharon, uh, yeah, great perspective. Uh, thank you so much for causing us to just stop for a moment and think about some of those things. And, uh, I encourage you, uh, listening, uh, listening to the recording, uh, drop into the comments below this your questions to Sharon. She will, she will be able to get back to you and answer them because I think that’s important that you get questions like this answered. Um, and for me, I just have one tiny little ask, and that is, um, if you’ve enjoyed this, even if you haven’t, um, excuse me, uh, please go to www.systemize.me.

Sharon Kennedy [00:20:04]:

That’s s-y-s-t-e-m-i-s-e.me/subscribe.

Stuart Webb [00:20:09]:

There’s a simple form there that just gives you, uh, asks you for your name, uh, your email address, and that means you can get onto the mailing list where I send out information about who’s coming up in this week’s podcast recording. And you can get it then, and, uh, you also get the copy of the recording when it comes out. So Sharon, excuse me again. Thank you so much. Thank you for just spending a few minutes with us. Now, uh, we’ve had— we would appear the people are now leaving the live, uh, live recording, so they have had their questions answered, which is important. Thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. I look forward to, uh, to, to seeing you answer those questions that come in on the chat below the, the podcast.

Stuart Webb [00:20:53]:

So thank you for spending some time with us.

Sharon Kennedy [00:20:55]:

Thanks for having me, Stuart. I really enjoyed it.

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View Details

Who is Maria?

Maria Dolores: A Life Guided by Seven Principles

Maria Dolores’s journey is deeply anchored in her belief in seven guiding principles. From an early age, she embraced the right to her body, her emotions, and her thoughts, cherishing both the freedom and the responsibility that come with caring for her physical and mental well-being. As she matured, Maria expanded her focus to the importance of personal power, communication, and the essence of life itself. She believes every person deserves the right to express themselves—whether through speech or creativity—while maintaining accountability for their actions and words.

Maria’s story is one of balancing self-awareness with compassion for others, always striving to act with dignity and listen with an open heart, embodying the fundamental human needs of both the individual and the collective.

Key Takeaways

Maria Dolores shares the Human Constitution—7 principles for rights and responsibilities—drawing from global values and encouraging maturity, dignity, and collaboration in every aspect of life and work.
Leaders, business owners, and individuals: caring for physical and mental health isn’t just personal, it’s foundational for thriving teams. Maria reminds us, maturity starts with self-awareness and responsibility.
Our experiences, from grief to joy, shape how we connect and broaden perspectives. Maria believes embracing discomfort and lessons is key to growing as individuals and humanity as a whole.
The Human Constitution isn’t top-down or political—it’s an invitation to reflect on our rights and responsibilities. Change begins within, and our ideas can change the world.
Dignity means wearing your crown and honoring others’ crowns, too. Maria’s life and work remind us: we all have birthrights, but true maturity comes when we care for ourselves and each other with integrity.

00:00 “Maria Dolores: Five Questions Chat”

04:18 Human Constitution: Rights and Responsibilities

09:28 “Striving for Human Maturity”

11:25 “Human Evolution and Technology’s Role”

15:07 Lessons in Discomfort and Growth

20:31 “Rights, Responsibilities, and Life’s Journey”

24:38 “Living and Serving with Dignity”

27:52 “Maria’s Insights & Subscription Info”

29:27 Grateful Acknowledgment

And don’t forget: keep an eye out for next guest. To submit your own questions, subscribe to our newsletter and join the conversation!

P.S. Loved this episode? Hit reply and let us know what resonated most

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Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Human Contract Foundation, Human Constitution, Universal Human Rights, birthrights, rights and responsibilities, dignity, maturity, global goals, civil courage, moral courage, collective rights, collective responsibilities, physical health, mental health, leadership, human resources, burnout, emotional health, personal power, communication, freedom of speech, freedom of creativity, empathy, self-worth, integrity, cultural diversity, global village, technology, collaboration, community change, slavery statistics

SPEAKER

Maria Dolores, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:33]:

Hi and welcome back to 5 Questions Over Coffee. I have in front of me my coffee mug. I know Maria, our guest today, has her coffee in front of her as well. So welcome to Maria Dolores. Maria is a global speaker, uh, she is a— the founder of the Human Contract Foundation, and we’re going to get into what the Human Contract Foundation is She’s the author of The Human Constitution, which I think is a really interesting and great document, and there will be links to that in the show notes so that you can access that and read it. And she was Ambassador for World Peace— that was, she was honored with that in 2023. And also only last year was given an honorary doctorate in humane letters, which I think is a brilliant achievement. So Maria, thank you for spending a few minutes with us and making some time in what I think must be a very, very busy life for you to come and spend a few minutes talking to us here at Five Questions Over Coffee.

Maria Dolores [00:01:33]:

Thank you, thank you, Stuart. I’m so happy to be here with you in the audience and to share about the Human Contract, the Human Constitution, and our rights and responsibilities. Thank you, thank you.

Stuart Webb [00:01:47]:

And we’re really looking forward to hearing it. So, so tell me a little bit about— and we’ll get into a little bit about the, the history behind it, but Who is it that you think— I mean, we’re all human beings, we all have rights, but who is it you’re trying to reach most at the moment with this contract, with the foundation that you’re working with?

Maria Dolores [00:02:08]:

Yeah, so I help leaders to remember people’s rights and responsibilities and to lessen hate, disrespect, and to increase Dignity and maturity. And I do this with the Human Constitution. The Human Constitution is 7 principles regarding our— to take a stand for our right, our birthrights, and that we all need to mature with these birthrights.

Stuart Webb [00:02:41]:

And, and tell us a little bit about those 7, if you like, to really get us into understanding how they fit.

Maria Dolores [00:02:48]:

Yes. Okay. So the 7 principles is based and derived from United Nations Declaration of the Universal Human Rights, but with rights, we should have responsibilities. Don’t you think, Stuart?

Stuart Webb [00:03:04]:

Yeah, absolutely.

Maria Dolores [00:03:06]:

So these 7 principles, the first 3 is personal: body, emotion, and thought, that you are born with a right to your body. You’re born with a right to the range of all your emotions and your thoughts. But we also have a responsibility to care for our body, our physical and mental health. So the first 3 principles is addressing our fundamental human needs as a, as a species and individually. And then the coming 3 is about power, communication, and life. That you have the right to your power, your personal power, and we also have a responsibility in how we act and interact with each other. And the fifth principle is about our communication, our freedom of speech and freedom of creativity, but also responsibility in what we say and what we create and to express and trying to express with dignity and trying to listen to each other. And so that’s the fifth principle.

Maria Dolores [00:04:18]:

And the sixth out of the seven is our life, that you have the right to your life and you have a responsibility to respect others’ way of life and other life forms, but never at the cost of any other. So, and I think we have a lot to do and a lot to mature here. Respecting— and so it also ties not only to United Nations Declaration of the Universal Human Rights, but it’s also the 17 Global Goals. And then the last principle, the, the 7th principle, is about our collective rights and responsibilities. In Swedish, we call this civil courage, which is moral courage, and to to increase civil participation and to increase how we need— and we, yeah, we really need to collaborate more as a species. So that’s the human constitution.

Stuart Webb [00:05:22]:

So can I just— I know the first 3, I can see how we get to sort of 6 and 7, how business owners, business leaders will see exactly they apply to their business. But the first 3, how do you help business owners, business leaders, people who are in charge of large organizations to understand the first 3? Because within a workspace, often we forget we have a responsibility. We forget ourselves. We work for a corporation. How do we manage that situation? How do you think we should?

Maria Dolores [00:05:59]:

Yeah. So Stuart, my, my background is with human resources and leadership. So I worked with 25 years and more with human resources and leadership. So I worked with everything from, you know, attracting strategies and recruiting and developing individual group organization and offboarding roles, offboarding groups and organization. And it’s really addressing our physical mental health. It’s when we get recruited and onboarded and to care for the individual and, and both the individual and the team and to develop our physical health understanding. So I was working in the Swedish steel industry and forest industry where we have people working in different schedules., you know, different times. I— for what, what do you call that? We call it shift.

Maria Dolores [00:07:01]:

They’re working.

Stuart Webb [00:07:02]:

Shift is a good— yeah.

Maria Dolores [00:07:06]:

Okay. So, and that’s also with the understanding of to have to really care about ourselves. And as leaders, you know, it’s really the fundamentals of how to have a well-functioning leadership, but also a good functioning team is to truly care about the physical mental health. Burnout is because we don’t acknowledge the early symptoms of burnout and not listen to ourselves. So it’s really, really fundamental. Both for the leader and for, for the co-worker. And we also— to have— now, the human constitution is not about— I’m not telling anyone anything. I’m just simply taking a stand for our rights and our responsibilities.

Maria Dolores [00:08:13]:

And this is not religious, it’s not party political, it’s not even an ideology, but simply to take a stand for our rights and responsibilities. How you want to do that is up to you. Some, like for instance, so some people are smoking, right? And we know that’s not really good for our health, but it’s to leave the choice for the individual and that we all have both rights and responsibility for ourselves. And one another. So it’s the choices that we make and to be more curious about our own emotions and our thoughts and to broaden perspectives and to be more curious and to mature with that.

Stuart Webb [00:09:08]:

And the maturity is such an important thing. And I know that we’ve just before we came on air, we discovered that today is your birthday. So very happy birthday, Maria, for, for today. Thank you. You talked a little bit about the fact that maturing is an important part of living.

Maria Dolores [00:09:28]:

Yeah, yeah. And you know, I’m sure you know also, Stewart, we have met the humans that are like 5 years old and who are very mature and very wise. And then we meet people who have lived most of their lives and who are very, you know, judgmental and, and locked in, in a narrow mindset and, yes, you know, immature, immature, really. So the human constitution is to encourage all humans, all 8 billion of us, to strive for maturity with more physical mental health, to lessen the drama, to increase and to broaden perspectives, to be more curious about ourselves and one another, and, and to mature in our relationships as well as we all need to mature as a species.

Stuart Webb [00:10:34]:

And that’s a really interesting point.

Maria Dolores [00:10:38]:

Because.

Stuart Webb [00:10:38]:

Um, we often, we often, we often almost, uh, I wouldn’t say throw away, but, but, but experience, uh, is not valued as much as it was, particularly in the Western world. Experience is often, uh, is often scorned in some respects, and yet it is an extremely valuable contribution. I mean, we, you, you look in the world of with nature. There are very few animals that keep grandparents around in order to help raise young people. Elephants is a great example, human beings and others. That’s because of the huge experience those, those elders have and can bring and contribute. And we often don’t see that as a, as a benefit.

Maria Dolores [00:11:25]:

Yeah. And what I also find, Stuart, is that we’re, we’re in a very privileged time in our human history right now. If we look back through our human history, the, the, um, here, there, the 300,000-year human history, and we have always had technology supporting and driving us to the next level and the next level. And, you know, 300,000 years ago, we lived in groups of 150 people, and then we grew in groups, became, becoming agricultural and having groups of 1,000, and then empires, and then various forms of democracies. And right now, we still have representation of people living, indigenous communities and nomads, in groups of 150. And we have small communities with agriculture living close to nature, various forms of empires, and various forms of democracies. So I think it’s really essential, and the change that we are in right now, obviously, like you, the audience, and you, Stuart, that we are scattered all across the planet and we have this beautiful technology supporting us and connecting us. So we’re standing very much in a nation-centric thinking and going to a global-local world.

Maria Dolores [00:13:14]:

And the shift going from this nation-centric thinking to the global-local world, and that shift is about embracing our history, embracing the potential of and the beauty of each cultural, the beauty of each region, the beauty of the Americanness, the beauty of the Britishness, the beauty of the Swedishness, and to embrace and to see that gemstone and that potential. For all of us to be proud, more proud and more mature of who we are, but also more curious about each other.

Stuart Webb [00:14:04]:

Yeah, I think that’s a beautiful thought, Maria, because when the internet was first dreamt up, the concept of a global village was very prominent in those first internet pioneers. And we have lost a lot of that thinking because Social media now tends to drive us into tribes, and you meet with only the people that you want to hear the same voices from. And hearing different voices from around the world and recognizing and understanding different voices, I think, is a key element of being a human being. And I would encourage any any teacher, any, uh, any parent to teach your children not to just, uh, follow the crowd, but to, to think about what they’re hearing and take from it the good and discard the bad. Because I think so often we fail to do that ourselves, don’t.

Maria Dolores [00:15:05]:

We?

Stuart Webb [00:15:07]:

Yeah.

Maria Dolores [00:15:07]:

And, and also with discarding the— discarding the what you say bad, for me, that’s also the lessons that we need to learn. Because usually whenever there is friction, whenever there is, you know, discomfort, there is also learning and a lesson in that. So the discomfort may be driven from an old belief, something we need to question. Or, you know, all the fear, anger, frustration, all the emotions that we carry, and more the dense emotion, there are lessons learned. And sometimes the lesson is to step away from, from a toxic situation, a toxic relationship, or a toxic workplace even, and, and to have and to increase our healthy boundaries, to have a healthy ego, to care for ourselves and our life in our relationships. So I see, I see this as very important lessons to learn.

Stuart Webb [00:16:28]:

I think that’s lovely, and I think it also reminds us of those later principles that we also have responsibilities for the planet, don’t we? We have responsibilities for those around us. It’s not just ourselves, but we have to look after, the people around us. Because otherwise, how can we continue to look after ourselves if the planet is— if we don’t look after the planet, if we don’t look around, look around our neighbors and look after them, we have no way of being able to actually ensure that we are looking after ourselves, do we?

Maria Dolores [00:16:57]:

Yeah, yeah. And that’s why I think the human constitution is, as you understand, it’s not anything like top-down. It’s not a decree. It’s not a policy. It’s simply an offering, and it’s to be curious about ourselves, who we are. What is my right and what is my responsibility? Yes. How can I mature in this situation? How can I care better for myself? How can I show better care in my relationships and in, in this preconditions that I have? And how can we better collaborate? You know, to, to bring up a, a heavy topic, um, we have 45 million slaves in the world today. 45 million slaves.

Maria Dolores [00:17:55]:

We have never had as many slaves in the world through our human history. Yet we have never had as few in percentage. So I think the change needs to be both from within and in the community, because if we have 45 million slaves, then we have about half a billion people working and trading around this. So the change needs to come from within and within the community and the pressure and the support from all of us saying, we’re not accepting this anymore. This is not okay. And that’s the 6th and the 7th principle reminding us about who we are and who we.

Stuart Webb [00:18:49]:

Can be. I was going to ask you as my 3rd question, I know we’ve been talking for a while over 1 or 2, but my 3rd question is, is there one, and I I would just at this point invite any of the people who are either watching or listening on the recording, if you have questions that you want to pose to Maria, we will have available show notes that will enable you to sort of follow and understand where Maria posts a lot of her talks and where she works. So please reach out, ask Maria questions. Is there one thing, one tip that you would like to sort of get? If somebody wants to remember nothing else from what you’ve said, what is the one thing you want want them to take.

Maria Dolores [00:19:34]:

Away today? I, I want to say that your ideas matter, and your ideas can change the world. Your change within can change the world. And to, to listen to what would be my rights here and what would be.

Stuart Webb [00:20:00]:

My responsibilities. Maria, my fourth question is around how you got to this place where you are at the moment. This is not something that you just sort of sit one evening and sort of realize that you need to document these 7 principles. This is the work of somebody who’s thought deeply and come to realize it. So how did you come to understand these 7 principles? What was the journey? And please don’t feel you need to go into every detail, but give us a flavor of exactly how you came.

Maria Dolores [00:20:31]:

To where you are today. Yeah, so, um, uh, it’s true, I have been working on this for decades. Um, 10 years ago I published my book, uh, State of Grace: Human Rights and Human Obligations. So that was when I first published and started to talk about our rights and responsibilities Obviously, you know, no thoughts come just out of nothing. Everything is building on everything, I would say. And so in conversations with my friends, but also being a woman born and raised in Sweden, studying psychology, my major in sociology, philosophy, working with human resources and leadership and to see the need and also the human history, which I described earlier, and to see the breaking point of where we are today and the potential of the beautiful technology we have, but also the lack of the fundamentals that could support humans and humanity forward, which is really the, the core of our rights and responsibilities. It’s about life here and now. And I, you know, personally experienced grief, and my mother died in 2015, experienced extreme fear, and my ex-husband was stalking me in, in our divorce, and but also the freedom and insights of life and how life is evolving, and to see other aspects of life.

Maria Dolores [00:22:31]:

And I’ve done over the years, I’ve done over 160 days of meditation. So it’s both reading and growing up in a society where we have had 200 years of peace, but also seeing myself and my own lessons and humanity as a whole and my love really for people. Seeing people and in all different situations.

Stuart Webb [00:23:15]:

Wow. Gosh, wow. That’s a, that’s a story, and I’m sure there’s another book in there as well somehow. Maria, I realize I’ve taken up a lot of your time. As I said, I welcome comments, questions from people watching and listening at the moment because I think you have a wealth of experience to offer to us. If you’ve got questions about, you know, how do you apply some of this in your business, if you’ve got questions about how you apply some of this in your own personal life, there are some resources that we’ll point you to. And Maria’s just an open person. I know that she will love to engage and talk with you.

Stuart Webb [00:23:57]:

But there must be one question at the moment, Maria, you’re thinking, he hasn’t asked me the one truly killer question, and he’s gonna do it any minute now. Well, I admit I never ever know what the killer question is, so therefore I ask you, what is the question that I should have asked you? And please, once you’ve explained the question, you need to answer it for us because you’re the expert. So what is that killer question, the final question that I really should have.

Maria Dolores [00:24:24]:

Asked and I haven’t yet? Thank you. My core value is dignity, and so the question would be, so what.

Stuart Webb [00:24:35]:

Is dignity? What a great question.

Maria Dolores [00:24:38]:

And dignity for me is when you have the crown on your head. You are the king, you are the queen in your life, and you have the crown on and you treat yourself with dignity and grace, but also to see others as their king and their queen in their life. And I, I worked with dignity in— while helping my friend in her funeral business and casketing 3,000 people, seeing all religions— Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, and secular sermons. So all the major religions. And also attending 1,500 funerals and with dignity to see and to acknowledge that we have both rights and responsibility for all our emotions and to be who we are in that moment in grief, but also the potential of broadening perspectives. For ourselves and one another.

Stuart Webb [00:25:58]:

So dignity. So how do you see, because I often spend a lot of my time thinking about people who have very little self-worth. They don’t have enough of an understanding of how they fit into the world. How do I describe this? Self-worth for me is being able to walk down the street and not necessarily feeling as though you own the street, because I don’t think that’s the right thing, but you don’t care who owns the street. You walk down the street not worrying about anything else around you. Do you see that as a form of dignity? Do you see dignity as related to.

Maria Dolores [00:26:36]:

That in some way? Yeah, and that’s for me dignity and integrity is like a brother and sister. But yeah, dignity, you know, if you feel like You own the street. You know, it’s— I think that’s a good way to express it. But you don’t own the street at the expense of others. No. It’s to hold that, to imagine like you’re in a protective bubble or, you know, an integrity bubble and with mutual respect. And you have steward, you have that crown on your head, and you are the pride, but not the oppression.

Stuart Webb [00:27:29]:

So if I can summarize it, you walk down the street, but you don’t care who owns the street. As far as you’re concerned, you have the right, you have the responsibility to act in a way which is with with compassion, but you walk down the street because that’s where you need to be, and you just know that’s where.

Maria Dolores [00:27:49]:

You need to be.

Stuart Webb [00:27:52]:

Yeah. And I think with that, Maria, I have to thank you for such a fascinating, uh, discussion. Um, uh, for those of you watching and listening, uh, Maria is a, is a, is a fantastic person to follow on LinkedIn and on her various social medias. There will be links to where you can find out more about Maria in show notes. And I would ask you at this stage, if you want to to be able to get a simple email from me, uh, which just allows you to know who’s going to come up on these, uh, and, and spend some time watching, listening, catching up with some of these brilliant interviews. And I love some of the people that come on this and talk to us about these fascinating subjects. If you go to www.systemize— that’s S-Y-S-T-E-M-I-S-E—.me/subscribe there’s a simple form. It asks for just two things: your first name, your email address.

Stuart Webb [00:28:45]:

That’s all it needs, and you will get an email from me which says who’s coming up on these podcasts, how you can get involved, how you can ask questions, or where you can get and speak to some of these fabulous, fabulous people that are on. Maria, thank you so much, uh, for, for coming on. I’d love it if, uh, if you— if you’re listening, uh, follow, follow this podcast, but follow Maria. She is fascinating and brilliant speaker with a wonderful idea. And you’ll get notes on where you can get the, uh, more information about what Maria says, does, in the show notes. Maria, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. We really do appreciate you spending a few minutes out of your, I know, very busy day.

Maria Dolores [00:29:27]:

Thank you. Thank you, Stuart. Thank you very much.

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View Details

Who is Ally?

Ally Machete has built her career working closely with a dynamic range of authors, but she has found her true passion in helping confident business owners become first-time authors. She specializes in guiding experienced entrepreneurs who know their industries inside out but feel unsure when it comes to writing a book. Understanding that her clients have no time, energy, or money to waste, Ally works deliberately and strategically to ensure their book aligns with their greater business goals. She is the expert these leaders turn to when the stakes are high, and there’s no room for mistakes—helping them transform their hard-won expertise into powerful, purposeful books.

Key Takeaways

Writing a book isn’t just for the famous—it’s a powerful tool to build credibility and open doors for any expert. As Ally Machete shares, the real impact comes from writing the right book, with the right strategy behind it.
Don’t write a book for “everyone.” As Ally Machete explains, clarity about your target audience and their needs makes your book not only marketable but transformative for your business or career.
A well-crafted book is more than “decoration for your Zoom background,” says Ally Machete. It’s a tool—something to leverage intentionally, not just a vanity project.
Not every business needs a book. Ally Machete recommends crafting your strategy first—sometimes timing or focus on other projects delivers more growth than rushing into publishing.
Feeling the “magic” of book writing doesn’t mean ditching strategy. Ally Machete urges authors: don’t just write what you want, write what solves a real need for your ideal reader. That’s how culture shifts—one book at a time.

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

writing a book, lead generation, business owners, book marketing, strategic writing, target audience, book publishing, book as a tool, writing process, marketable book, author credibility, authority, business growth, writing strategy, book promotion, niche audience, sales conversion, email list building, free resources, blog articles, podcast interviews, digital printing, ebooks, networking, credibility signal, partnership promotion, course creation, return on investment (ROI), book launch, marketing strategy

SPEAKER

Ally Machate, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:00]:

Live, please go live. Yeah. Hi, and welcome back to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. I am here today with Ali Machati, the writer’s ally. I’ve got those two right, haven’t I, Ali, Please tell me. Okay, thank you. So I was going to get something wrong.

Stuart Webb [00:00:47]:

I’ve managed to get through without actually making a huge mistake yet. So welcome, Ali. Thank you so much for making a few minutes today. Ali is, well, she’s somebody who helps people write books. So I can tell you somebody who has tried to do that and successfully succeeded, but by golly, it was hard. You need an ally in your corner. So I’m really pleased Ali has made some time today to come talk to us a little bit about this. You know, writing a book is probably the greatest lead generator you can do because it really sets you apart from the competition.

Stuart Webb [00:01:18]:

Ali is going to tell us all about that. So, Ali, thank you so much for being the writer’s ally. And welcome to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee.

Ally Machete [00:01:26]:

Thank you so much for having me, Stuart. I’m really excited to be here.

Stuart Webb [00:01:30]:

Well, I hope. I hope we’re going to have a really interesting conversation. So let’s start by talking a little bit about, well, the sort of people you try to help as the. As the writer’s ally.

Ally Machete [00:01:43]:

Yeah. So we work with lots of kinds of authors, but our real sweet spot, our ideal client, are generally business owners, people who have been in business for a little while and are really confident in their expertise. But now they’re thinking about writing a book and they’re not confident about that. You know, they don’t have time, money, energy to waste. All of that has to go very deliberately into their plans and their strategies in business. But they want to have that book. They know enough to know that there’s things they don’t know, and they know that they really need to get it right. That book has really important goals attached to it.

Ally Machete [00:02:24]:

It’s a tool that’s going to be really valuable to them and is a part of their growth strategy. And so they need it to be done at the highest level. And that’s where we come in.

Stuart Webb [00:02:33]:

That’s brilliant. So tell me. I mean, you’ve obviously, you’ve obviously helped a lot of people do this.

Ally Machete [00:02:38]:

What.

Stuart Webb [00:02:38]:

What are the sort of things they tried to do? I mean, you know, everybody has sat with that sort of completely blank piece of paper or blank screen or whatever nowadays and thought, where do I start? What are the things that you’ve seen them try which have failed to get them anywhere.

Ally Machete [00:02:54]:

Well, one of the things that I think a lot of people who are new to writing a book get stuck on is there’s this sort of kind of like romantic, kind of magical, I think thinking around what a, what a writing process looks like. You know, you’re going to get struck by the muse and you’re going to sit down and it’s all going to flow out of you in a number of hours and you’re going to end up with this masterpiece that, you know, just needs a spell check and then you’re done. Right. And they don’t understand how much harder it actually is. You know, even if you are fortunate enough to be able to create a rough draft very easily, and some people certainly can, some people do have that experience, but that is rarely the finished product. Right. There is so much that goes into crafting a book strategically. Not just writing a good book, but writing a marketable book.

Ally Machete [00:03:44]:

Writing a book that’s going to get you certain results in your business is a lot more than just writing something that’s, you know, basically well written and, or even interesting to read. So I think that’s, that’s the biggest piece where people tend to get tripped up is they think, well, I wrote it, it’s good, right. It’s objectively good. And they miss that strategic tie in piece and they end up with a book that on the surface is really nice and looks professional and is well done, but doesn’t move the dial in their business.

Stuart Webb [00:04:14]:

So we may be straying into the sort of the third question here, which is about what, what free advice, what valuable advice you can give, but sort of talk a little bit about that. Sort of, what do you mean by a marketable book? Sort of explain the whole, you know, what that does to a little bit about what that does to somebody’s business, somebody’s career, but also a little bit about what needs to go into a marketable book for it to be something that people actually want to pick up and look at.

Ally Machete [00:04:41]:

Yeah. So one element of that is when you write a book that is the wrong book. Right. So first let’s just assume you’ve written a book, it’s a good book, it’s objectively well written. Right. It’s been, you’ve put energy into it, you’ve made an effort, it looks nice, you paid for a nice cover, maybe even, and it all looks good. What might make that book not marketable are a few different things. First of all, if you were never clear on exactly who your Target audience for that book is a lot of people write a book thinking that anybody can benefit from this, this book will help everyone.

Ally Machete [00:05:15]:

And even though that may be true, you can never market to everyone. Right. Like, I like to say that if you’re trying to talk to everybody, then you’re going to be connecting with nobody. So this idea that it’s just, I’m putting this out there, it’s going to help all of these people without really getting clear about who exactly the book is for, that can make a book not marketable. If you don’t know who to put the book in front of to sell copies, it’s almost impossible to create a marketing strategy. Right. A lot of marketing strategy is about who are the right readers for this and how do we get in front of those people. So if your audience isn’t clear, if your promise isn’t clear, if it isn’t crystal clear why your target reader needs your book.

Ally Machete [00:05:56]:

Right. Again, a lot of people start a book from a kind of internal place. If they have something they want to say or they have something that they feel like they can share, that’s a value. But ultimately, people don’t buy books because you think they need the book. Right. They buy the book because there’s something they want or there’s something they’re looking for that they feel like your book is the answer to. So that comes back to your unique promise. If your promise isn’t crystal clear, it might be a good book, but it’s going to be very difficult to position and it’s going to be very difficult to have that conversion situation.

Ally Machete [00:06:28]:

Just like any other product or any other sale, when you’re just trying to sell books, there’s conversions. People will come and check it out. If there’s nothing there to actually hook them in and make them see, yeah, this is the book that’s going to solve my problem or teach me the thing I need to learn. They don’t convert.

Stuart Webb [00:06:43]:

Do you know, Ali, you make it sound as if you’re trying to sort of put together a marketing strategy for some sort of product, which you would hope a business owner has learned how to do. But anyway, let’s, let’s move on a little bit. Tell me a little bit more about the. The sort of effects that you think a book can have to somebody’s business, somebody’s career, if you like. I mean, we can all think of people like Tony Robbins who have written interesting books and then they end up on the world stage. I’m not necessarily suggesting that we’re all going to do that tomorrow?

Ally Machete [00:07:11]:

No. And you don’t have to. That’s the really beautiful thing about books. And especially these days. You know, not only do we have the Internet, which gives us tons of opportunities to directly connect with our target audience and to market a book with, you know, very little cost compared to, let’s say, print media, for example, but also we have digital and print tech, digital printing technology, and ebooks. So the very act of creating a book, making it available for sale, getting it out there, is also more accessible to people now than it pretty much ever has been in history, really. So those are all really wonderful things. But excuse me, when you put that book out there.

Ally Machete [00:07:52]:

So let’s say, for example, that somebody is writing a book to bring in more clients. That’s like a pretty classic example. They’re writing a book to bring in more clients if they write a memoir. And I’ve seen this a lot with coaches, in particular coaches and consultants, they think, well, people who want to work with me want to know more about me. So instead of writing a book that shows how they think about that particular problem, how they’ve worked with people in that particular niche, how their process or their way of, you know, approaching a situation is a good method or a different way of thinking about certain things, and instead they write a memoir, they write a book that’s just all about them and their life’s journey. Right? Sure, there will be a subset of people who are interested in that book, but most people don’t come to the book because they want to learn all about you. Again, people buy a book because what’s in it for me? Right? What are they going to get from it? So when you have a book that’s dialed in to the right people and is strategically aligned to achieve goals in your business, and it can accomplish large numbers of things. Everything from the very simple giving books away to build your mailing list.

Ally Machete [00:09:05]:

We’ve had clients too, in particular that were enormously successful simply finding partners who are willing to promote the free ebook to their lists because they thought that it was something of value. It’s a win, win situation, right? I want you to promote my book. You get to give something free to your audience. Everybody looks good. Now all of a sudden you have thousands of people opting in to join your list to get a copy of that free book. That’s a real basic, simple way of leveraging a book to grow your business. But also things like we’ve had clients tell us that sitting down in a meeting with people and Taking a few copies of the book out of their bag and handing it to the high level people that they’re meeting with changes the conversation instantly. Right.

Ally Machete [00:09:50]:

Giving a book to somebody or even just knowing that someone is the author of a book is an instant credibility signal. They don’t even have to read the book. The very fact that you’ve written one, again, assuming it’s the right one and it’s done well, you hand it to them, they look at it, they can see this person literally wrote the book on this subject. And there’s a psychological effect. Again, there’s a reason why the word author is the root word of authority. Right. And that’s how we think about people with books. So having that book can get you to open more doors, it can get you on more stages, it can get you more clients, it can get you higher level clients, it can help you to close deals.

Ally Machete [00:10:32]:

It shortens the like, no trust factor and gets those that cycle, that sales cycle to shorten and speed up. It can do a number of really important things for your business. And I agree, I think it is one of the most powerful lead generating tools even still.

Stuart Webb [00:10:47]:

Yeah. And amazingly, I learned a little bit about this. But the words sort of, you know, the best business card you will ever have are really applicable here, aren’t they? Because somebody who has a book, you don’t need to leave them a business card. You leave them the book, they’ll find you. Even if you’ve got very little else in that book in terms of contact details, they will find you because a book says something about you. Ali, I’m going to sort of pose the, you know, is there one piece of. And I think you’ve already given some advice, but I’m sure there are other things and I know we’ve got some things that we’re going to be sort of pointing people towards, which is in our vault, which is in www.systemize.me. free stuff.

Stuart Webb [00:11:32]:

Tell us a little bit about some of the free, valuable services you provide to people.

Ally Machete [00:11:38]:

Well, we have a blog, of course. We publish new articles every month. So our blog is available for free at our website. Atthewriters ally.com you can find our newly launched library. And in the library we have links to the blog with all of those articles. We have a playlist of podcasts that I’ve been on. I’ve been on more than 50 podcasts. And so they can listen to those recordings or watch those videos and download a number of free resources that we have available.

Ally Machete [00:12:08]:

Checklists, a few mini Guides. I have a ton of stuff available for people. I’ve been in this business more than 20 years and I’ve accumulated some stuff. So I’ve really put it all together. We just launched this website. I’m very excited about having this, you know, the ability to put all of this stuff in one place to give to people.

Stuart Webb [00:12:26]:

And, and I, and I’ve had a look at some of the checklists and I must admit I, I was, I was really, really impressed. So look, if you haven’t captured all of the, the details of that, we will have links to, well, where you can find all this stuff and more stuff from alysystemize me forward slash free hyphen stuff. Yeah.

Ally Machete [00:12:45]:

Before you jump to the last question, I just wanted to add one thing.

Stuart Webb [00:12:48]:

We’re not even close to that yet. Don’t get excited.

Ally Machete [00:12:52]:

I also have a free gift that I prepared especially for your audience. And they can.

Stuart Webb [00:12:56]:

Oh, thank you.

Ally Machete [00:12:57]:

Yes, they can get that. If you go to offers.the writers ally.com rocketscience it is an evergreen video of my webinar called Don’t Write the Wrong Book. And it is about just that. What does it mean to write the right book? How do you avoid writing the wrong book? And a simplified step process for thinking through your book idea. Whether you have one idea you’re trying to choose, or if you’ve already started writing and you want to temperature check what you’re working on, it’ll help make sure that everything is strategically aligned in the way that we’re talking about today.

Stuart Webb [00:13:27]:

I will make sure that link is in the, in the vault, our vault, which is another valuable resource. But I will make sure that’s pointing straight to you. We, we will, we will get that to people. We are not yet at the end though, Ali, because we have more to go. Awesome. What, what you’ve just said. You’ve been in this business for 20 years, so that’s, that’s a huge amount of experience. But let’s, let’s talk about how you got here.

Stuart Webb [00:13:52]:

What is it? Was it, was it a realization that you just had to write? Was it the realization you didn’t write very well? What was it that brought you to understanding how to give such valuable advice? Was it a book? Was it a program? Was it a life experience that brought you this level of understanding of how to write a book?

Ally Machete [00:14:11]:

Well, Stuart, I am a lifelong dedicated book nerd. Really. I’ve always loved books. I’ve always loved writing and reading. It’s family legend that I learned to read at the age of three because I was frustrated that my parents just wouldn’t sit and read to me all day long, you know, God, they had had to go to work and like do things. But I started reading very early and making books out of construction paper and crayons and I would give them to like my neighbors and my friends. And I would tell people I was, I was a book publisher. And even as early as first grade, you know, you get into school and everyone’s always asking, what do you want to be when you grow up? What do you want to be? And I would tell people I wanted to be a writer, a lawyer and an editor at Simon and Schuster.

Stuart Webb [00:14:56]:

Oh, wow.

Ally Machete [00:14:58]:

Yes. And you know, I have no idea where that came from. I’ll be totally honest, you know, like, why Simon and Schuster? Where did I pick that up? Goodness only knows. But it was something that I said and I stuck with it. I stuck with that love all the way through my academic career. I did, you know, yearbook and school paper and lit mag and all that kind of stuff. But was really in college where I started getting more serious about it. I started freelancing for pay as a writer as the Internet started becoming a thing and really opening up opportunities.

Ally Machete [00:15:26]:

And then of course, I did an internship at a small regional publisher while I was still in school in upstate New York. And after that, the big, big turning point was that I got that dream job and I got hired at Simon and Schuster.

Stuart Webb [00:15:39]:

Oh, wow. Wow, wow, wow. But the greater challenge was then to go on and do it and show other people how to do that.

Ally Machete [00:15:46]:

That’s absolutely true. Yeah. So I spent some time there. I learned a ton, as you can imagine. Big five publishing. You know, that’s, that’s the Olympics of publishing. Like you really learn everything at the highest level. And I was also fortunate to be in particular in a department that was very nurturing and very supportive of its young people.

Ally Machete [00:16:05]:

So I got to really learn. Hands on. I acquired my first book for the company before I had been there a year, which is pretty much unheard of. And so I was able to just dive in and learn a lot about how it all worked. And then, you know, fast forward a few years, dot com bust happened, 9, 11 happened. A lot of things were changing in New York. I decided to step away for a little while. I thought I would wrap up.

Ally Machete [00:16:29]:

I was doing a part time master’s degree that had taken me a few years. I was real close. I thought, you know what, I’ll knock it out. I’ll take a Year, I’ll go full time, I’ll finish all my classes, I’ll do some freelancing, I and I’ll come back and maybe, you know, the economy will have calmed down and the market, the job market will have opened up again. And I loved working directly with the authors and running my own business so much that I never looked back.

Stuart Webb [00:16:50]:

Yeah, well done. Well done. Look, Alec, I’m going to have to say you’ve been asking some and or answering some brilliant questions. But there must be one question that you cannot get away from thinking. When is he going to ask me that killer question, the really important one? Well, I don’t know what that question is, so I’m just gonna have to ask you what is the killer question that I should have asked you by now? And obviously, well, you have the question, so you might as well answer it as well.

Ally Machete [00:17:19]:

Well, I think the killer question is one that most people maybe don’t ask because they assume, which is, should everybody have a book?

Stuart Webb [00:17:26]:

You know the question.

Ally Machete [00:17:29]:

Yeah, and the answer might surprise you because there are a lot of people out there who suggest that if you have a business, if you are an expert, you have to have a book, it is just a must have. And I do not agree with that at all. I think there are situations in which a book may not be right for your business. It really depends on what your strategy is and where you’re trying to go. Because as we’ve been talking about, the real power in a book is as a tool to be leveraged, right? It’s not just decoration for your zoom background, it’s something you’re going to use in your business.

Stuart Webb [00:18:04]:

Business.

Ally Machete [00:18:05]:

Not every business benefits from a book and not every business benefits from a book at any time. So there’s also a timing issue involved writing a book. As you know, Stuart, you’ve been involved. It’s a huge commitment of time, energy and money. And anything that you are saying yes to means you’re also saying no to other things, right? So, you know, one of the biggest misconceptions I think people have is this idea that, well, if every business owner has to have a book, I’m new to business, I’m still growing my business. If I write this book, that will help me establish myself. But you have to have a business to grow before a book can help you grow a business, right? It’s not the thing that gives you a business, it’s the thing that helps you level up what you already have. So if you’re not already at least a little, well, established, it might be too early for a book to really give you the kind of benefits that it would if you waited a little bit longer or if you’re in a situation where you have a choice to do I launch a new course? Do I do this big marketing push? Do I change this part of my business, or do I write a book? You want to think strategically.

Ally Machete [00:19:09]:

What is the thing that’s going to give you the most ROI where you need it first? And a book is not always the answer.

Stuart Webb [00:19:17]:

Do you know, it’s almost as if you are trying to say to people, you have to have a strategy why you are writing a book, know who your audience is and write the book for that audience. And if you’re still in the process of working out who what your business is about and who your audience is, maybe a book is not going to help you achieve that goal.

Ally Machete [00:19:35]:

Exactly right. Exactly right.

Stuart Webb [00:19:38]:

Hey, I think that is a fantastic and truly brilliant way to wrap this up. Because if there’s one thing that I think you’ve proven to us, Ali, is that you are an ally. You are somebody who is trying to think of the best for the authority, trying to think of the best way of helping that author achieve their goals, rather than just trying to pitch everybody on doing the same thing just for the sake of it. That’s a truly allied way of thinking. So thank you so much for bringing that perspective. And if you don’t mind me just taking two minutes from me, if you, you get such value from some of these, from some of these interviews from brilliant people like Ali, who’s bringing this wealth of knowledge. I would like to be able to send you an email once a week just to say who’s coming up on the podcast. And the only way you can get that email is if you join the blog, the email list, and that is to go to www.systemize.me.

Stuart Webb [00:20:38]:

subscribe. That’s a simple form. It takes you to. It needs two things. Your first name, your email address. I don’t want anything else. I just want to be able to send you an email. I just want to be able to address you as you and, and tell you about the brilliant stuff that’s coming up.

Stuart Webb [00:20:50]:

Ali, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us and being so, so, so honest with your advice and so, so helping us to think through just how we need to use books to be so intentional. Thank you for that time.

Ally Machete [00:21:06]:

It’s my pleasure, really. Thank you for having me. And you know, I like to say I’m a reader too. I want there to be better books out there for me too, you know. So I really do care is it.

Stuart Webb [00:21:17]:

Is a heart led business for somebody who’s been doing that since three years old. I guess you do need another one of those books to just have a look at least. At least one more time, don’t you? Thank you so much Ali. I really appreciate it.

Ally Machete [00:21:32]:

Thanks again.

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View Details

Who is Julia?

Julia Felton is a business consultant who has built a reputation for identifying the real issues behind her clients’ challenges. While companies often approach her with concerns about team dysfunction, lack of trust, and poor collaboration, Julia quickly uncovers that these surface symptoms stem from deeper underlying causes. With her insightful approach, she helps organizations move beyond treating just the symptoms—enabling teams to break free from silos, improve communication, and achieve the results they desire. Julia’s clients rely on her expertise to foster genuine trust and collaboration within their teams.

Key Takeaways

Is your team chasing results but feeling disconnected? Julia Felton says it’s all about energy alignment, not just process. Slow down, reset, and watch collaboration grow.
Most trust issues in teams don’t come from lack of tools, but from not investing enough in relationships. Build social capital, even if it feels “frivolous”—it’s critical for flow.
True leadership isn’t about controlling everything. Julia Felton reminds us: empower your team, step back, and let the natural talents shine for real productivity.
Vision isn’t a one-time message. Keep communicating your purpose so everyone knows where you’re heading. As Julia Felton notes, clarity builds trust and connection.
Take inspiration from nature: humans, like herds, thrive when leadership is shared. Health, harmony, unity—let these guide your team to higher trust and adaptability.

Don’t forget: If you want to connect, ask questions, or get notified about upcoming guests like Julia, subscribe to the newsletter here. You only need your first name and email—easy as (coffee) pie!

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

trust issues, team building, rewilding leadership, misaligned energy, team dynamics, collaboration, silos in business, business productivity, meeting fatigue, leadership styles, performance paradox, shared leadership, empowerment, micromanagement, business culture, teamship, employee engagement, organizational trust, social capital, remote work challenges, communication in teams, business vision, talent management, role alignment, leveraging strengths, sustainable leadership, natural leadership, flow in teams, founder-led business, relationship building

SPEAKER

Julia Felton, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:01]:

Hopefully. Hi, and welcome back to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. I’m delighted. Today I’ve been joined by Julia Felton. Julia is an expert in, well, helping to fix trust issues within teams using rewilding leadership. She’s really going to help us to understand exactly how we can rebuild those trust issues which so often dog startups, even rapidly scaling a growing company. So, Julia, welcome to It’s Not Rocket Science.

Stuart Webb [00:01:01]:

Five questions over coffee. I hope you’ve got your coffee in front of you. I’ve actually got a fruit tea at the moment, but that’s because it’s after Christmas. I try to be careful with my body.

Julia Felton [00:01:12]:

Well, me too, Stuart. I’m, I’ve got ginger and lemon here.

Stuart Webb [00:01:15]:

So I’ve been off your only way to live. Let’s start by understanding, you know, the sort of person you’re trying to help. You obviously, you’re obviously trying to help somebody that’s got a problem. But how do, how would you recognize them? What would they, what would they be saying? What would they be doing in order to sort of, you know, for you to be able to say, well, that’s exactly the sort of person I’m trying to help.

Julia Felton [00:01:42]:

Yeah, that’s such a great question. Because I think what typically happens is what people come to me with and what actually the problem is, are very different. And I think often what we find in business, isn’t it, we, we, we, we of treating the symptom rather than the cause. So sort of people come to me and they go, oh, my team’s not functioning properly, Julia. You know, and people don’t trust each other. There’s a lot of bickering going on, we’re not getting the results we want. You know, there’s people are working in silos, nobody collaborates together. Those are the sorts of things that my clients are saying.

Julia Felton [00:02:19]:

And my clients range from, you know, smaller SMEs up to larger corporates, you know, and this, these kinds of problems exist throughout many types of organizations. So anywhere where you’ve got people involved, really. Because at the end of the day, trust drives everything in business. Right.

Stuart Webb [00:02:41]:

So what would some of those, I mean, you just talked about sort of smaller SMEs, large corporates. I mean, they’ve tried everything before, haven’t they? They’ve done the courses, they’ve sent people off on the training courses, they’ve, they’ve done that, they’ve done the online stuff, they’ve done everything they can and it’s still not fixing it. So what are the sort of things that they are trying that you break through and you find that even having done this stuff, they’ve still got these issues.

Julia Felton [00:03:08]:

Sure. So I think if we distill it back down and we go to, well, what’s really the cause of what’s going on in the business? Rather the biggest challenge, if I was to sum it up like that, is it’s, it’s not this lack of skill or ambition or desire, but it’s actually all to do with misaligned energy. So we’ve got brilliant purpose driven leaders out there. They built often fast growing businesses, but somewhere along the way this momentum turns into mayhem, right? And the team’s busy, but it’s not productive. People, you know, having loads and loads of meetings. We know this meeting fatigue, right? The progress stalls, everyone’s working harder, but people aren’t working collectively together, they’re not pulling in the same direction. So I call that the performance paradox. Because what we’re seeing is companies chasing these results so hard, but they’ve become really disconnected from the very people and the energy that creates them.

Julia Felton [00:04:08]:

So what happens is these businesses start running on logic and process rather when what we really need is this connection and trust and flow, Flow. And so I think what I really see leaders craving is a much more natural, sustainable way of leading where we get everyone pulling in the same direction and we stop forcing the results and we start getting the results flowing naturally because everyone’s working in their right energy. And as you know, Stuart, you know, I’m very passionate about nature. I reference everything back to the natural world. And, and you know, when we look at the natural world, the natural world understands the ebb and flow of energy and how it goes inside cycles. And that’s what we’re not really seeing in business right now is leaders really understanding that. And it’s interesting, we’re recording this right after Christmas, right, where people have actually had an opportunity to kind of rest and re reset themselves for this year. But we tend to wait till Christmas, right.

Julia Felton [00:05:10]:

And we take a week or two weeks off, try and rest and reset and then we don’t. Then we try and go for another whole year and, and that’s not feasible for people.

Stuart Webb [00:05:21]:

So what are some of the things that you then introduce into the business in order for them to, to understand that it’s that, you know, to develop that ebb and flow. What is it you do to help them essentially reset on a more regular basis?

Julia Felton [00:05:36]:

Yeah, well, obviously as we, as we just talked about there, you know, reset the rhythm and flow and recovery. So for me, that’s actually about leaders taking time out to rest and relax and, and it’s that psychology of slowing down to speed up that, you know, instinctively we know that, but everything’s saying to us, oh, you know, if I, if I take the afternoon off, I’m not going to get everything done. But I don’t know about you, Stuart, but I know when I step away from my desk, if I’m really struggling with something, all of a sudden when I’m away from, from my work and what I’m doing, I get all these insights. So it’s about understanding that in order to get into flow, we actually have to go through a period of resetting ourselves and resting and stepping away from the problem in order to get back. You know, it’s a good old adage, isn’t it? You know, we get our best ideas in the shower, wherever it is, out on walks and stuff like that. So I think it’s about really purposefully crafting time into our weekly schedules to do that. Because I think most people, they go into the office, you know, foot to the metal, go, go, go all day and we get to the end of the day and then they’re like, I’m not even sure what I’ve accomplished because we’ve just been being that busy fool that, you know, you and I know, I’ve talked about, you know, we’re spending all this time doing things, but we’re not doing the right things that we need to do.

Stuart Webb [00:07:05]:

Yeah.

Julia Felton [00:07:05]:

So, you know, if we look at some of the mistakes that people are making around, this is the first thing we often see companies doing, is we put all these tools right. We’ve got problems. Like you said, you know, teams are working in silos, there’s no collaboration. So we throw tools at the problem. You know, we maybe buy, you know, a collaboration platform like Trello or Asana or something like that to try and make everyone work more effectively together. And that rarely solves the problem. Right. Or we send people on team building away days or training courses, and all of these can have some marginal gain for the business, but they don’t really get to the shifting the underlying energy or trust dynamics that are actually blocking performance.

Julia Felton [00:07:52]:

And for me, the way that we change those trust dynamics is actually by really slowing down and investing time in building relationships. It’s this importance of social capital within business. Right. And sometimes it seems a bit frivolous. Right. You know, oh, we, we’re stopping and we’re talking to somebody in the corridor. But I don’t know about you, but you know, in the days when we were all in the office and I was in the corporate world, I got all my information from those informal chats. That’s where you knew what was going on.

Julia Felton [00:08:23]:

Of course the trouble that we’ve got right now is with so many people working remotely, all of that informal communication you might want to say isn’t getting shared and you don’t know what’s going on in another team, which you would have found out because you walk with somebody and you went and grabbed lunch with them when we used to go out to the sandwich bars for lunch or whatever or you were making your coffee. So I think there’s a big problem there that we’re not spending enough time investing in building that social capital.

Stuart Webb [00:08:54]:

Yeah.

Julia Felton [00:08:55]:

And go. I’m sorry.

Stuart Webb [00:08:57]:

No indeed. I’m just agreeing with you. Absolutely agreeing with you.

Julia Felton [00:09:00]:

Yeah. And I think one of the other mistakes I’m seeing companies make is that they, when things aren’t going well, there’s a tendency, particularly if it’s a smaller founder led business for the founders want to take everything back, to control everything. Right. You know, if I control everything, it’s going to work better, better. More meetings, more KPIs, more oversight. But actually all that’s doing is draining the founders energy. But more importantly it’s signaling to your team members that you don’t trust them. We’re not allowing them to get on.

Julia Felton [00:09:32]:

They don’t feel empowered because there’s so much micromanagement. And actually really what our team members are looking for is for us to trust them and to empower them to get the job done and then get out their way and leave them to do it. And when we’ve got that, then people will get on and do the job. And then the other lens that I often see going on here is when again when we’ve got problems we want to fix the people, we always think it’s a people problem. And rather than think about, well, what is the potential our team members have got to unlock, how can we leverage them more effectively in the business? What new responsibilities can we give them? What new opportunities can we give them to help them thrive? You know, can we redefine their roles to give them a role which is more naturally aligned to what they love to do? Because we all know we’ve got more energy for the things we love to do. Right. And so if your role, you’re spending 50% of your time doing things you don’t love to do, in it, you’re never going to be as productive as if you’ve got a role maybe where you’ve got 80 or 90% of things time doing the things you love. Now, the caveat I would just say against this is we’re all going to have to do things in our role that we don’t love.

Julia Felton [00:10:50]:

That’s just life. But, you know, we want to spend the vast proportion of our time and when we can start redefining roles so that people do that, it makes a massive difference to their performance, their, you know, their productivity and then ultimately the productivity of the business. So, you know, I reflect back often to my corporate role where I didn’t understand about energy and the best roles that people could go in. And I had this data manager, her name’s Jane. And every single appraisal I was like, jane, you need to get better at spreadsheets, you know, because, you know, you’re running the data center and that’s what you need to do. Failing to realize that her complete zone of genius and what she bought to my business was actually her ability to rally the troops around. She was a great collaborator, a great people person, and I didn’t leverage her skills effectively. So she wasn’t as happy as she could be and I wasn’t getting the best results out of her.

Stuart Webb [00:11:46]:

Yeah, I know. I remember very early on, in one of the first businesses that I, that I founded, somebody took me home on time. It was one of the non executives that sort of came in to help the business, said, are you asking the people that you’re working with anything about, you know, what they do when they go home? And I, I sort of looked at, I’ll be honest, I looked at him. What’s that got to do with this? As in somehow, you know, he was talking complete nonsense. He said, you’ll find those people go home and they run scout groups, they run, they run charity bazaars, they run charities and they run them brilliantly. All of those skills are open to you. If you only knew about them. And I looked at him and thought, that’s a huge insight that I’ve got to think about.

Stuart Webb [00:12:30]:

And it was back to what you were saying there. It’s about communication, isn’t it? I haven’t bothered to say to these people, what else are you up to? And, you know, they turn us, oh, I run a scout group. Are you good at admin? And that’s a really useful thing to know because oftentimes people come into work and they sort of drop all these skills over their shoulder at the front door and then walk in and sort of just come in and do their job, don’t they? Because they don’t think they have to bring any of those skills with them because I’m at work now. And then they go home, they pick up all those skills again and they take them home and they use them very, very effectively. So sometimes it does mean that we’ve just got to speak to each other, ask what’s going on and then go, wow, that’s a really useful skill that we could use and then learn to let them get on with it.

Julia Felton [00:13:17]:

Yeah. And then, and then they feel more empowered, they feel trusted, you know, they know that they’ve been heard and you know, it’s a win, win all round at the end of. But yet so important for us to, to really know our team members, like you say, what motivates them, what’s inspires them and what the skills are that they’ve got that they’re not bringing to the workplace that we could really leverage more effectively.

Stuart Webb [00:13:39]:

Yeah, brilliant. Julia, I’m sure that there’s a. And I’m. I know you’ve given us some very valuable information to stick into our vault, which is at www.systemize.me/free stuff. Gosh, there’s an awful lot of words in there. Immediately after the longish break, talk to us about what you’ve got available for people to be able to sort of advice, guidance that you could give people which they can tap into. And all of this will be available in the vault.

Julia Felton [00:14:14]:

Yeah, sure. So where I always suggest that people start is I’ve got a turbocharge your team quiz, which you can get at businesshorsepower.com forward/quiz. And it’s. What is it? It’s about 15 questions that just really helps you identify where your team’s energy is getting drained. And what I often talk about is something called Team Ship, which we’ll get onto in a minute when we talk about books and stuff. But Team Ship is about how do you. How do you run your business? Rather than leadership, it’s all about teamship, people getting together. And then when you take the quiz, you actually get a free copy of my ebook on how to create a business that runs on teamship and the three pillars that actually underpin that.

Julia Felton [00:15:01]:

And then anyone who’s taken the quiz is also welcome to join me for a Turbocharger quiz audit where I help you unpack the results of the quiz in more detail so that you can start to put together a kind of a short plan on how to how you want to change things in your business going forward.

Stuart Webb [00:15:18]:

And I can, I can assure you because I’ve been on, had a look, good look at that stuff. If you go to systemize me free stuff, you’ll see all of the details of that. And Julia is really good at this stuff. So you will be pleasantly surprised when you see the level of detail that this goes into. Julia, yes, you’re right. We’re about to get on to other things. What was it that brought you to your understanding? You talked about your corporate career, you’ve talked a little bit about your passion for nature. How did you get to now books, courses, programs that enabled you to understand that teamship was actually the thing which needed to drive your day to day existence in your life now.

Julia Felton [00:16:10]:

Yeah, such a great question because I think, you know, once I left the corporate world, you know, like so many of us do, you know, you see things in the rear view mirror, right, that you didn’t see when you were in it. And you know, I look back and I just got really frustrated with the way that we were running and leading businesses. And as everything I looked to nature and horses were a big part of my life. And what I looked to was the way that horses actually operate as a unity in unity, you know, that a team is a horse herd is always concerned with the health, harmony and unity of the herd, how to keep it all together. And they employ something called, I call shared leadership at the time. And shared leadership is this concept of as a leader you don’t need to know everything. And let’s face it, you know, in the good old days before Mr. Google, you know, and we were in the industrial era, it was probably true that the factory manager, they did know everything, right? But that doesn’t exist today.

Julia Felton [00:17:13]:

So I think for any leader today, they want to know that it’s okay to share the leadership with each other. And horse herds do this so well. And we see this in a lot of other dynamics of animals in nature, but they share the leadership. They realize that not one animal can keep the whole herd safe. So in the horse herd, they share the leadership between everybody. But there is a lead marine and a lead stallion within the herd that, you know, have pacific roles and then everyone else in the herd looks for the danger. And I was like, well that would be so much better if that was a model that happened in business where everybody in the organization is responsible for the health and safety of the organization. So even though you are, you know, on the production line or, you know, you’re in the admin team or whatever it might be, you still have a duty of care to ensure that the business is going to stay successful.

Julia Felton [00:18:08]:

So if you see a competitor doing something, you should be able to speak up and say, did anyone else notice that going on over there? That could be a threat for us, you know, so it’s all these eyes and ears looking out. So it was when I read Keith Freshley’s book, Never Lead Alone. He t. He introduces this concept of teamship, which is effectively shared leadership. And I was like, it gave me kind of a framework and some language to use. So I’ve now created my own framework. It’s called the unbridled Teamship roadmap, which helps leaders create this high level of trust, adaptability and shared energy within their teams that we see within, particularly within horse herds, for example. So Keith Farazi, I have to acknowledge him, he kind of gave me the language for this, but it was my life experience of partnering with the horses and seeing things in the natural world, particularly when I lived in Africa, that that kind of bought these two worlds together.

Julia Felton [00:19:03]:

And I was like, yeah, this is a new framework for how we need to lead in the 21st century that is just going to be much more compelling and engaging for people.

Stuart Webb [00:19:13]:

And I think you’re right. The, the, the, the, the days of the command and control have largely gone, haven’t they? Because there are so too many, too many moving parts, too quickly moving for you to be able to make, to be able to control everything. And so unless you’re prepared to allow the leadership to spread, it will be impossible.

Julia Felton [00:19:38]:

And you just become a bottleneck as well as the leader. If you try and keep it all together, right, because everything’s moving so fast, you’ve just not got the capacity to make that many decisions all day, every day. So we’ve got to share it out. Otherwise your business is likely to, to stumble and falter just because you’ve just not got the brain power to do it. All right? So, you know, you can actually end up being the biggest risk factor in your business if you don’t share the leadership.

Stuart Webb [00:20:06]:

Yeah, that’s the challenge. So, Julie, there must be one question that I haven’t yet asked you that you really want me to ask, which will sort of open up, open up the eyes of people who are currently thinking, this is kind of me, but I’m not sure what is the question that you think I should have asked. And, and as you obviously know the question, you probably also know the answer. So what would the answer to that question be?

Julia Felton [00:20:35]:

Well, I hope I know the answer. I think it. I think it’s this reframe about how do we reframe leadership? Because we’re still seeing leadership through this lens of performance and results. And I get that. We’ve got to get that. But actually, how can we reframe leadership to be the role of a leader is more about how do you direct and orchestrate the energy of the people around you? Because performance is the byproduct of where our energy goes. So if we’re really clear on where our energy goes, where our attention is going, then we can get better results. And we see this all the time, don’t we, where you get leaders that something happens and they go, you know, they go in.

Julia Felton [00:21:17]:

This is frenetic, scattered energy all over the place. And that ripples through the team. It causes confusion and nobody knows what they’re doing, and everyone starts running around like headless chickens. And we’ve seen this so often in businesses, you know, when this firefighting throws in, but actually it just causes disarray. And how would it be if the leader recognized in. Actually, in that moment is the moment that you need to become more grounded, more coherent and really pause to go back to the rest and set and pause and. And just be discerning about what’s going on? Is this something that I really need to get frantic about right now, or is this something that I can just slow down, pay attention to and realize there’s different ways I can approach it? And that kind of coherence is very, very contagious within the team, and it slows all the team down. And then we’ve got.

Julia Felton [00:22:14]:

We can be just a lot more discerning then about the decisions that we really need to take. So I think for from when we start looking at leadership, my question would be that you didn’t ask is, you know, what if leadership isn’t about performance anymore, it’s about how do we orchestrate the ebb and flow of the energy of the team so that everyone can work from their natural stance. And therefore we’re shifting from this control stance to getting connection. We’re moving from burnout to flow, and we’re moving into really true leadership that is sustainable for everybody.

Stuart Webb [00:22:50]:

And do you therefore think, and I’m sorry, that I’m going to ask you a question when you’ve just answered a question, do you think in order to sort of support that the leader has to have been able to transmit their vision for the business to everybody. So that when they get into that state of flow, they’re able to operate without constantly referring back and saying, why are we doing this again? I’ve forgotten.

Julia Felton [00:23:14]:

Yeah, absolutely. That’s 100% at the top of everything. If nobody knows where they’re going, nobody knows where we’re going to end up. You know, I often when my clients, you know, I say, well, you know, there’s so many different ways that we could maybe get to. I’m in the uk, so I could get to London at the end of. End of this call, right? But I got to know I’m going to London, otherwise the team will end up in Edinburgh or somebody will end up in Dublin or somebody will fly to New York. Right? And I think having that really clear purpose and vision absolutely underpins everything because it’s. That, for me, is the glue that pulls everyone in the right direction.

Julia Felton [00:23:48]:

And we need to remember that. We need to continually articulate that to come back to communication. It’s very easy for people to go, I’ve told everyone the vision and we expect people to remember it, right? But we have to be embedded into absolutely everything. Everything we do day in, day out needs to be aligned with the vision because people don’t remember, you know, and I know from, you know, having run workshops with clients, I. I remember I run the same workshop, I hosted the same venue, like, four, no, five or six times in a row, and my client attended as a guest each time because it was her venue and it was a particular workshop. Actually, I was running with the horses. And she said to me on the sixth workshop, she goes, that bit you said about xyz, that was a genius, Julia. And I was like, God, that has been in every single workshop.

Stuart Webb [00:24:36]:

It’s such cool content.

Julia Felton [00:24:38]:

And she hadn’t heard it. And of course, this is what we forget about communication. People only hear what they want to hear when they want to hear it. So we’ve got to keep repeating the vision where we want to go to the strategy. And sometimes I think as leaders, we. You can feel a bit like a broken record. We’re like, I’ve told everyone that. But people only hear it and get it when they want to hear it.

Julia Felton [00:25:00]:

Yes, absolutely. Underpins everything, Stuart. Yeah, And. And I think, you know, when we put that clear purpose, that really builds trust because people know, right? People have got that clarity about where we’re going. We know what the outcomes are, we know where we’re heading. So people have got trust that what’s going to happen. We. We’ve got a.

Julia Felton [00:25:18]:

We’ve got a vision, we’ve got a plan. And so that really helps.

Stuart Webb [00:25:20]:

Wonderful, wonderful. Julia, this has been really, really, really wonderful. It’s a really great way to sort of. For me to kick off what we do this year. Just one small thing from me, if you don’t mind.

Julia Felton [00:25:36]:

Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:25:37]:

I send out about one email a week on the weeks where we’re doing a podcast, and it just. It just tells you who’s coming up and why you need to get in front of the. And be live. We’ve had a number of people, tens of people watching this today. So they got that from, you know, they’ve sat at the desk. They hopefully some of them have gone away and thought, I’ve got some problems I need to resolve. So if you would like to be one of those people who gets the email that sort of says, somebody’s coming up, go to www.systemize. that’s S Y S T E M I S E.com forward slash, subscribe.

Stuart Webb [00:26:13]:

Simple form. It asks you for just your first name and an email address. I don’t want any more than that because I just want to send you an email which basically says it’s coming up, so please go do that. Julia, this has been really enlightening to start with. Wonderful reset of what we should be doing as leaders. Thinking about trying to sort of allow the energy and allow the natural talents to sort of dominate rather than somehow trying to force everybody down into a narrow path in order to sort of make things happen. So thank you so much for bringing that to us, and I really appreciate you spending some time with it. No problem at all.

Julia Felton [00:26:48]:

Thank you so much.

Stuart Webb [00:26:49]:

Thank you very much.

Julia Felton [00:26:50]:

Thank you so much indeed, Stuart. Really appreciate it. It’s been a pleasure.

Stuart Webb [00:27:19]:

So I can talk to you.

Get full access to The Leak at thecompleteapproach.substack.com/subscribe

View Details

Who is Patrick?

Patrick Van der Burght’s journey began over 25 years ago, when he first discovered the transformative power of understanding human behaviour and research. Awed by how empowering and effective these insights were—without the need to lie or cheat—he quickly became passionate about sharing them. Today, as a sought-after keynote speaker, Patrick relishes witnessing audiences experience their own “aha” moments, just as he did decades ago. His mission is to help others unlock their potential by waking up to the profound impact of his teaching, sparking realization, growth, and change wherever he speaks.

Key Takeaways

The Secret Science Behind Getting a YES—Without Being Manipulative

1/ Ever felt “icky” trying to get someone to say yes? Turns out, ethical persuasion isn’t about tricking—it’s about understanding human behavior. Patrick Van der Burght dropped some serious knowledge on this in his chat with Stuart Webb on “It’s Not Rocket Science.” 👀☕️

2/ Persuasion isn’t just for salespeople. It’s for anyone who wants their ideas accepted—bosses, parents, partners, even project managers. If you want to move people (literally and figuratively), these insights are gold.💡

3/ Fun fact: The World Economic Forum ranked leadership & social influence as TOP business skills for the next 5 years. And persuasion came in at #3 on hiring wishlists. Why? Because it’s POWERFUL.✨

4/ But here’s where most people mess up: They use random “strategies” or lengthy logical pitches, thinking more info = more yeses. Uh…no. Patrick Van der Burght: “You might accidentally talk people OUT of saying yes!” 😅

5/ Why? Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman says our brains make 90–95% of decisions FAST and unconsciously (System 1)—not by analyzing facts, but relying on shortcuts.Your audience has an attention span SHORTER THAN A GOLDFISH. They won’t analyze your 2-minute pitch! 🐠

6/ The trick? Use the 7 Universal Principles of Persuasion (from Dr. Cialdini):

Reciprocity: Give first—genuinely. Free PDF, no strings attached? Magic.
Liking: Compliment, connect, be authentic.
Unity: Create community bonds—“we’re in this together.”
Social Proof: Show reviews, testimonials (the detailed ones count!)
Authority: Let OTHERS introduce your expertise. It’s more credible.
Consistency: Get small commitments first. People stick to what they start.
Scarcity: Highlight what they’ll LOSE by not acting. We value what’s rare.

7/ Pro tip: Five-star reviews everywhere can actually REDUCE credibility. Aim for an average of 4.2–4.7. Realness wins trust! ⭐️

8/ If you’re endlessly pumping time & money in, hoping for incremental “yes” rates, STOP! Persuasion science can 10X your results—without hurting your integrity or reputation.

9/ Want to dive deeper into ethical persuasion and grab some of Patrick Van der Burght’s free stuff? Visit EthicalPersuasion.com or check out his podcast, “Ethical Persuasion Unlocked.”

10/ Last word from Patrick Van der Burght: “If you want those yeses that were always yours to have, learn the science.”

Ready to persuade with integrity?👇#EthicalPersuasion #SalesTips #Leadership #DrCialdini #BehavioralScience #Marketing #SmallBusiness

—Drop a comment: Which principle are you going to test out first?

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

ethical persuasion, persuasion techniques, sales strategies, Cialdini principles, reciprocity, social proof, authority, scarcity, consistency, liking principle, unity principle, behavioral science, Daniel Kahneman, decision making, system one thinking, system two thinking, attention span, sales psychology, B2B persuasion, ethical sales, lead generation, business coaching, influence tactics, customer testimonials, compliance, negotiation skills, persuasive communication, loss aversion, marketing psychology, consumer behavior

SPEAKER

Patrick Van Der Burght, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:32]:

Hi there, and welcome back to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. I have in front of me my coffee. This is, this is going to keep me going as I’m chatting today to Patrick Vanderburg. Patrick is. Well, Patrick’s an expert in how you get to go, to get somebody to say yes ethically. Now, if you’ve ever been in sales, if you’ve ever been trying to help anybody understand the need to say yes, and you only feel dirty and somehow manipulative when you try and do it, this is getting somebody to do that by ethically helping them to understand how they are going to be benefited from, from your product, your service, from working with you. So, Patrick, I’m really delighted to welcome you here to talk about the.

Stuart Webb [00:01:20]:

This Cini method. And I’m doing delighted you managed to make a few minutes available to us in order to talk to us. So welcome to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:01:32]:

Thank you for inviting me, Stuart. I’m excited to be here. And I remember quite clearly when I first was introduced to this and I was learning the insights and human behavior, the research, how amazing that was and how empowering that was. And I couldn’t believe how, you know, how potent, how powerful it is, and you didn’t have to lie or cheat to make it to work either. And I love seeing that in, you know, when I do a keynote and, you know, people are starting to wake up to the fact of what I’m actually teaching them, you see, the eyes go bigger and I know they’re having that same realization that I had, goodness, 25, 26 years ago. So while we can’t see our audience, of course I’m hoping those eyes are getting a little bigger in the, in the time that we’ve got together.

Stuart Webb [00:02:24]:

I absolutely agree with you, Patrick. And, and people, if you’re watching at the moment, look, please, if you have questions whilst we’re talking, or indeed after we finish, if you come to the recording of this and you’re interested in getting some more information and you wanted to understand, we’ll talk about how you can get some free stuff from PA Patrick. But also if you want to drop questions or comments into the chat below, we will answer them for you. So you get sort of free consultancy immediately from an expert like Patrick. So, but Patrick, let’s start by trying to sort of set the scene. Let’s understand what we’re talking about. You have been working in this field for a while, so what is it? Who is it you’re trying to reach. I, I mentioned salespeople, but it’s not just sales, is it? It could be anybody trying to sort of help understand a person problem and help sort of work with somebody who needs to better understand what they’re trying to do themselves.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:03:19]:

Yeah, ethical persuasion really is a soft skill that we all need. And as a matter of fact, the World Economic Forum did a study that they published last January looking at thousands of companies in terms of what businesses need moving forward in the next five years. And leadership and social influence was just another word of it. For, for ethical persuasion had been increased in priority from position number four, which was in the previous report, to position number three. And also another study done by CashNet, which was published by Forbes that looked at 17 million job listings in terms of what businesses are asking for in their new employees. And persuasion was also ranked there, number three. And it is a skill that helps us professionally, but also privately and simply put, whenever we’re trying to get an idea accepted or get somebody to buy into what we’re suggesting or asking for, and that can be sale, it doesn’t have to be whenever we’re trying to make that request and there’s someone in the middle that needs to agree with that. And you’re relying on your ability to be persuasive in terms of how quickly you will move to your goals or move to your boss’s goals.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:04:40]:

But that also applies privately. If you try to get your kids to clean up their room, you’ll need to be persuasive. And if you want your partner to really go to that holiday destination in the coming summer, then you’re going to have to be persuasive. So this comes back everywhere. And that’s the beauty of it. You can use it in both in business and privately and ethically without having to, you know, bend or tarnish your integrity.

Stuart Webb [00:05:09]:

So we’re talking about a way to help you get your message across to somebody to sell somebody on your idea. So you might be a project manager trying to persuade a customer or a team member in order to sort of meet your timeline. You might be a salesperson trying to sell your product. You could be the CEO attempting to persuade an entire company that the strategy you’ve got is worth coming. This is applicable to everybody. And I think it’s important to recognize, as you just said, that you don’t just use these skills at work, you use these skills when you get home from, get home from work. And you might find yourself in the situation where your partner is trying to Persuade you to eat that salad rather than the steak you want. So, you know, they are probably going to be wanting to try and sell you on something that you recognize probably is good for you, but you don’t want to go there.

Stuart Webb [00:06:00]:

So these are really important skills. So what is it you find that people have done? I mean, what are the, one of the routes people have tried? I mean, I’ve known that I’ve tried sort of, you know, processes. I’ve tried buying into people sort of, you know, this 16 step method to get somebody to say yes. And we’ve all tried these things. What is it they’ve tried to do before they come across something like you and the method that you’re, you’re now you’re no teaching.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:06:28]:

Well, I suppose we should recognize that of course, everybody tries lots and lots of different things to see what works. Right. And so in different industries we’ve bumped into particular things that we somehow were figured out that worked, strategies that worked. And we don’t really understand why they worked, they just do. And actually that’s exactly what Dr. Robert Cialdini, my partner, how he started with all this. He became a university professor in the late 70s and he was fascinated with the request process. What makes an individual say yes to another person’s request? And how can it be that I can make a request one way and get a small amount of yeses and I can ask basically the same request but in a different way and I get a lot more yeses.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:07:25]:

He was fascinated by that. And he realized at the time that there was, back then in the late 70s, there was already nearly 50 years worth of scientific research on persuasion. But it was all laboratory stuff, laboratory experiments and put somebody in a controlled environment and then sort of experiment on them. And so he realized that, you know, if he really wanted to know how, how this worked, he would have to go into the real world where the battles of persuasion and influence are fought every single day. And so he did something that was unheard of for a scientist at that time. He took three years off and he, he, with disguised identity and disguised intent, he enrolled in as many new employee training courses could possibly get access to. Because he, you know, like I mentioned, in every industry we figure out a lot of trial and error. We figure out some things that work for us.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:08:30]:

And so he collected all these strategies from all these different industries. And all these industries all, all told how different they were. Right? And the departments would tell them how different they were. As in the people in sales would say, oh, what we do in advertising is so, or what we do in sales so different than what they do in advertising. And the people in advertising would say, oh, what we do is so different than what happens in marketing. And marketing would do the same with hr. So they were all trying to convey how different they were, but Dr. Cialdini actually looked for what was it that was similar in those strategies.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:09:09]:

What is it that makes it work? So, you know, when you say, you know, what do people often try? I think we, we try a lot, a lot, a lot of different things and we waste a lot of time and resources and we sometimes bump into something that we, that we learn works and then we tend to go with that. The problem is that sometimes we also land on strategies that are not exactly ethical and then we’re risking our brand and our reputation, which nowadays can be very quickly destroyed. And what can also happen is that when we don’t know the science, that sometimes accidentally. And this happens so much more often than you’d realize, sometimes people use an argument and they’re actually very effectively working against what they’re trying to achieve. And so that happens all the time as well.

Stuart Webb [00:10:03]:

Yeah. So this is where we get to what I hope is going to be the valuable piece of advice that you’re going to live with. Leave with us Patrick. And, and for those people who are gonna, there’s, there’s some free stuff that we’re gonna put from Patrick in our vault. So if you go to systemize me forward slash free hyphen stuff, you’ll find some offers for, from Patrick where he’s gonna, he’s gonna be able to walk you through some of this stuff. But I’m gonna ask you. So, Patrick, what can you tell us about the ethical persuasion that Dr. Cialdini has? I’m not gonna say it’s discovered.

Stuart Webb [00:10:37]:

I mean, he’s, he’s, he’s using human psychology and he’s understanding human psychology. So he’s discovered how people react to this stuff and how you can use these persuasive methods. So would you mind just sort of giving that valuable sort of high level. How do you, how do you do this sort of thing so that people get interested? And then hopefully, as I say, we’ll, we’ll be, we’ll be grabbing hold of some of your free stuff. So just walk us through an example, if you like, of how do you get somebody to say yes ethically?

Patrick Van der Burght [00:11:08]:

Okay. So it all depends on the situation. So it’s hard to say, oh, this is one way how you do that. But I think.

Stuart Webb [00:11:14]:

Exactly.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:11:16]:

Or your audience would. Would gain a lot from if we first discussed how human beings actually make decisions. And then from there, it then starts making sense, why these principles are so powerful and we can do a quick run.

Stuart Webb [00:11:29]:

Great way of doing it. Great way of doing it. Great way of doing it. Yeah, absolutely. Okay, great.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:11:35]:

So when it comes to decision making, I’m going to lean on the work of a professor. Daniel Kahneman was a professor in psychology and a behavioral scientist, and he won.

Stuart Webb [00:11:45]:

A Nobel Prize, if I remember rightly.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:11:48]:

Absolutely. He won a Nobel Prize in 2002 in economics, which is a little unexpected. Right. Behavioral scientist wins Nobel Prize in Economics. I mean, what can you come up with in behavioral science that has such an impact on economics that you win a Nobel Prize for it? Well, a lot of his research was about decision making, and decisions shape economics. So that’s where the link is. So Daniel Kahneman explains, when it comes to decision making, your brain, your audience’s brain has two parts, System one and system two. System one is fast.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:12:28]:

It’s an unconscious brain. It operates outside of conscious control, and we use it for everyday decisions. It’s automatic, and it largely works on shortcuts, rules of thumb. So, for example, you’re shopping for something that you have no idea about how it works or what makes it a good product or not. And so you could delay your decision and you could go hit the books in the library, and for months on end, you could read books about that particular topic, then come back to the store and then make an educated decision. But chances are you haven’t got the time for that. So perhaps a shortcut pops up in the back of your head and a shortcut says expensive equals good.

Stuart Webb [00:13:14]:

Yes.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:13:15]:

Right. We’ve learned from experience. Often if we spend a bit more money, then chances are we’ll get something that’s better, lasts longer, better suited to purpose. And so in that moment, you might say, you know what? I’m just going to spend a little bit more money. And then I’ll probably have done the right thing. And you know what? That’s exactly what will happen. You will probably have done the right thing. Because these shortcuts, they stick with us because they work most of the time, but inevitably, they don’t work all the time.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:13:49]:

Sometimes expensive things are still rubbish, right? But it is very attractive to follow these shortcuts. The rule expensive equals good allows us a path to a quicker decision. Right? And so there’s other shortcuts like that. And intuitively, we know these as well. One for Example is if a lot of other people are doing it, then it must be the right thing to do. Right? And so that’s how system one works. Let’s move to system two for a moment. So system two, on the other hand, is a slow brain.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:14:28]:

Takes slow, you know, takes time to process. It costs a lot of energy, costs a lot of effort. And system two is conscious thinking. And because it takes a lot of effort, Daniel Kahneman actually referred to it as the lazy controller. It doesn’t actually want to engage. It’s quite happy to take the decisions of system one unless there’s, you know, alarm bells going off. So system two is our logical brain, right? It can look at all the information in the situation and then we can come up with the most rational decision based on that. So let’s say if we’re comparing two washing machines, or we need to make a decision, or somebody comes at us with a logical proposal for us to dissect that, we need system two.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:15:16]:

Great. Now there’s a caveat with system two. System two depends on our attention.

Stuart Webb [00:15:26]:

And.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:15:26]:

We have a limited budget of attention every single day. And so to give you an example, parking a car in a tight parking spot, that requires system two. You can imagine if you’re not paying attention, if you don’t have attention, you’re not going to do a great job parking a car in a tight spot. So Daniel Kahneman demonstrates back in 2002 that 90%, that’s 90. 90% of our decisions are made by System 1 automatically and outside our conscious control. And now it said that that’s more like 95%, possibly even higher. And so here a couple of problems bubble up. First of all, you might ask, why is this percentage increasing? Well, that has to do with our attention span.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:16:18]:

As I said, System two is reliant on attention. Our attention span was 20 minutes in the 80s. Do you know what the attention span of the famous goldfish is, Stuart?

Stuart Webb [00:16:30]:

Yeah, it’s a lot less than 20 minutes. And it’s very close to my attention span, which is about 22 seconds, 9.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:16:38]:

Seconds, supposedly for the goldfish. Our attention span is now 7 seconds. Yeah, we’ve been beaten by the goldfish. Right. And so system two relies on our attention. And so this, this brings us to the big problem that we have in business and privately as well. But let’s concentrate on business. When you’re sitting there and you’re thinking, okay, how am I going to convince this, let’s say in lead generation that doesn’t know me yet, how am I going to convince them to start communicating with me through, let’s say social media, post or flyer, you send out, that sort of stuff.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:17:21]:

Or maybe you’re thinking how when I’m actually doing a sales presentation to a person, group of people, how am I going to convince them that our product is right for them and, and you know, their trust is not misplaced in us. Right. And that they, they, they can avail themselves of, of our services or our product, be loyal to us. When we are con, when we are thinking about how we’re going to convince other people. You’re thinking that’s conscious thought. And so at that moment you’re using system two, your logical, rational part of the brain. And the problem is that that part of the brain tends to come up with the arguments, the rationale, why you should listen to me, why you should accept what I’m proposing to you. And that type of information would need system two in the other person to take care of it or to analyze it and to process it.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:18:22]:

And our audience doesn’t have the time for it anymore.

Stuart Webb [00:18:26]:

Our audience is using system one and they have seven seconds to grasp your message. And you’ve got a message which is two minutes long, haven’t you?

Patrick Van der Burght [00:18:35]:

Yeah. But also you raise information that just does not qualify as information System one can use as in a shortcut type of information.

Stuart Webb [00:18:48]:

Yeah.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:18:49]:

And so what happens is that we actually cause more uncertainty in our audience and they push back from you, from you and your wonderful genuinely good for them value proposal and they decide not to decide. And so I would argue that if you, I know, let’s say you make a thousand proposals, right. You get a certain amount of yeses out of those. And the other people didn’t go along with your proposal, your request. Right. So some people might have just straight out told you, no, it’s not for me. Other people might have told you other things. Oh, it’s too expensive, got to talk to my partner, come back next week.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:19:34]:

You know, all these sorts of things. I would argue that out of all the no’s you got, there is a much larger percentage than you can imagine that weren’t actually nos, they were indecision. And they could have been yes, had you provided the right types of information. And this is where the transition to the principles of persuasion come in. Is that the principles of persuasion the Dr. Cialdini identified or qualify as system one information. Does that make sense so far?

Stuart Webb [00:20:09]:

It certainly does. It certainly does. And you can see it, as you’ve said, in, in every situation where people are in this situation, they have thought and they start providing lots of information. You can almost watch business people, people who are buying services start to glaze over as they have to think, oh, I’m going to have to engage my brain, I don’t have time for this now. I would prefer not to have to all this information. So would you mind just going away please because I just don’t want to have to deal with this. Thank you very much. And that’s the end of the conversation, isn’t it?

Patrick Van der Burght [00:20:44]:

Yeah. And maybe, maybe in, I mean of course, to some extent we are of course successful, right? If we’ve been in business for a long period of time, of course we’re making money, we’re making profit, we’re making payroll, otherwise we wouldn’t been there anymore. So to some extent we’re successful because we figured out a couple of little strategies that have worked for us. But now imagine that your one little strategy is, or two strategies you might have uncovered is, is one out of a dozen that are one principles of persuasion. And there’s seven of those. There’s so many more strategies that would make it easier for people to make a yes decision. And so without it, you’re, you’re losing so much time, resources, competitive advantage, not knowing the science. It’s a, it’s a little bit like an architect trying to build a skyscraper without knowing the science.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:21:40]:

Right. The results are not going to be so great. But yeah, the problem is with a lot of, or with everybody that doesn’t know the science, they don’t actually know, they’re in agony. They have no idea that, you know, and they, you know, they might do lead generating efforts and just pour more money in it to create the same small results, just more of them just because they invested more in it. But if you actually use the science, your success rate would be where it really should have been all that time. And so by learning some science we can actually get the yeses that were always ours to have.

Stuart Webb [00:22:17]:

Do you know, I’m very aware of the fact that too many times people are not necessarily. And it comes back to a background that I’ve got in science as well. People don’t test their ideas, they just, they just look at it and go, well, that worked, we’ll do more of the same. And sometimes doing more of the same is crazy because you will get the same results, only bigger. And, and if the results you have got is only a tiny, tiny increase in your percentage profit and you pour more money at a strategy and you get a Tiny. Another small increase, then that’s not really tested to sort of find the best way, is it? That’s just sort of, okay, I’ve done one thing, I’m going to try and get the same result, but. But I’m doing it the same way. You can’t get a different result by just carrying on doing the same thing.

Stuart Webb [00:23:04]:

I’m very. But I’m really bought into the idea that you’ve sort of given us here, which is about scientific testing, about, you know, using these methods to actually trial these things to make it work for us.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:23:15]:

Yeah, and you hit an interesting point on the head there that, you know, sometimes we hear things and, you know, bless us for doing this interview and podcast. People might get some ideas from there, from here, and I hope they use it and hope they profit from it. But there’s a lot of subtle nuances that, you know, if you pick up a little bit of a clue from something, you might be doing something that works and it works a lot better than you used to do. And then you’re sort of, oh, great, now I’ve got it. But you don’t actually understand the subtle nuances that it would amplify the effects. So you’re still missing out. So you might be thinking, oh, yeah, oh, yeah, reciprocity, we got to give people stuff, right? Most people have figured that out, but the amount of people that get that wrong is enormous and easy. Example, there’s lots of businesses that have a, you know, a free ebook on their website, right? Oh, we have a wonderful ebook for you.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:24:13]:

Just put your name in and your email address. We’ll send you the download link. Our gift to you. Nice try, but that’s not going to activate reciprocity, because reciprocity, a gift that’s given a gift, is something that comes without a requirement that needs to be met.

Stuart Webb [00:24:33]:

Yes. Right.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:24:34]:

And so name and email address first, then we’ll send you the download link. That was a reward. Right. And so people feel like they’re paid for that ebook with their email address, which you’re likely going to put on your newsletter. Right. So, and I’m not saying that, you know, a free downloadable ebook is not a good lead generator. I’m just saying if you think that’s going to activate the power of reciprocity, then you’re making a big mistake. What instead, or maybe complementary to that approach would work.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:25:05]:

Well, to activate reciprocity is to have a simple PDF with, I don’t know, let’s say you’re in finance or let’s say retirements or something, right? You might make a checklist that says, listen, if you’re looking to retire in the next 10 years, these are the 15 things that you should not fail to get lined up now so that you, you know, you’ve got your eggs lined up as you move into the future for a good retirement sort of a thing. And then put that on your website and just tell people, just right click and download, no email required now. It’s a gift, right now. It builds that reciprocity and that feeling that, you know, that was really nice. That was, that was a, you know, that was interesting and valuable information. And so next time when you come with another request, I know which might be, hey, we’ve got a big webinar on, come join us.

Stuart Webb [00:25:55]:

Now.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:25:56]:

You’re going to be empowered by that principle of reciprocity.

Stuart Webb [00:26:00]:

Brilliant, Patrick. And you’ve just given us a few examples. I need to remind people, if they want to get more of this stuff, go to Systemize me Free stuff. You’ll see some stuff that Patrick’s got which we’re putting in there, which you will really love. Patrick, what is it? I mean, this was, this has been a big part of your life for 25 years. But, but this isn’t something that you sort of just discovered out of accent. How did you come to sort of understand what Dr. Cialdini is doing and, and, and really start your journey in understanding the ethics and ethical way of persuading people to that.

Stuart Webb [00:26:41]:

Yes.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:26:44]:

I found my way to it when I was a sales rep quite a while ago. I was selling scuba diving equipment wholesale to retailers and I was based in Melbourne in Australia. And so I was looking after Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, which is a decent clump of land. And I was putting in a lot of effort. I loved what I was doing. I was a dive instructor myself and so I was sort of doing what I loved. I was every day I was talking to people who had the same passion as me. So it was a great job to be in, but I sort of felt that for the amount of time I was investing in it, I wasn’t seeing the growth in my territory that I thought I should have seen.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:27:24]:

And sometimes I saw my retailers falling victim to dodgy promises and stuff from other sales reps and I didn’t want to do that sort of stuff either. So I wanted to be better at my work, but I didn’t want to lie or cheat either. And yeah, timing, I suppose, was perfect. My boss, the wholesaler, he got the services of A business coach, which is of course good. And he got some strategies and insights on how to grow his business. And part of that was that, well, back then at least, scuba diving retailers are lovely people and they love, they have a passion for what they do, but they’re not necessarily great business people. So the idea was to train us sales reps into sort of a low level business coach where we can do exercises and goal setting and strategies and that sort of stuff with our retailers, help them grow or double their business. And then by definition we would double our business with them, probably more because of course, reciprocity.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:28:29]:

Right. They’d feel indebted to us and probably stock more of our stuff. And so anyway, business coach was based in, in Melbourne. And he said, John McDonald’s gentleman’s names, name was. And he said, listen, Patrick, with all these strategies that we’re explaining, if you ever have any questions, we’re just here in Vermont, just come by the office and we can have a cup of tea and discuss it. And Stuart, I, I don’t know if you’ve ever met a Dutch person on holiday and then by mistake you say, listen, if you’re ever in our neck of the woods, right, you need a place to stay, come on over, you can stay with us. Don’t do that with Dutch people. They turn up and so did I.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:29:13]:

So I was visiting John and so I was, you know, I was asking question he liked because often people, you know, they might implement a strategy and it doesn’t work straight away and then dismiss it straight away, right, Instead of saying, hey, what am I not doing, right? Why I’m not getting the results that we should be getting. And he really liked that because I would come back and ask these questions and he started lending me educational series on cassette tapes, you know, things that used to cost twelve hundred dollars or twelve hundred pounds, expensive stuff. And so I was borrowing this stuff and anyway, there was a series called Mind Capture of an event that happened in Los Angeles and Dr. Cialdini was on there with two cassette tapes and it blew me away. I just love the science behind it. Human behaviors, interesting, funny, hilarious, sometimes absolutely terrifying, but always fascinating. And then I was, I had a challenge at work and I used that with a particular brand that had a bit of, a bit of difficulty. And basically within 12 months we were market leader with that brand.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:30:18]:

And so, yeah, I was converted for life.

Stuart Webb [00:30:21]:

As I say, brilliant, Patrick, that’s this great story, but I have the impression, and maybe this is just me that you currently are thinking he’s still not asked me that killer key question that he should have asked me by now. Well, I don’t know what that killer key question is, so I’m going to ask you to tell me. Well, what’s the killer key question I should have asked you by now? And obviously, once you’ve asked the question, you need to answer it for us.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:30:50]:

Well, I think you failed to ask me. Or I was. I said I was going to run down it, but we didn’t get to it. Let’s do a rundown of the seven principles, what they mean in some quick.

Stuart Webb [00:31:00]:

Please do, please do.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:31:04]:

All right, so there’s seven universal principles of persuasion. Why do we call them universal? Because they work in all. All cultures, all languages, and all countries. That is in itself amazing and very powerful because our cultures are intermixed and it’s much easier to do business with people in other countries. So this is a skill that works everywhere and with everyone. All right, so there’s seven of those principles in no particular order. Let’s start with reciprocity, because we mentioned it already. So reciprocity works on the rule, the shortcut that people tend to want to give back the same type of behavior that was first given to them.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:31:50]:

Right. If I invite you to my birthday party, well, then really you ought to invite me to your birthday party. Right. If I remember your birthday with a card or a gift, well, then you should remember mine. And so in the context of compliance, we are more likely to say yes to people that we owe. Okay, so that’s great. And as I mentioned, a lot of people in business think they know it, but don’t actually know it. And so they dive into that not actually doing it.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:32:20]:

Right. So a good thing to help you is to ask yourself, how can I help this person genuinely? Not as a mechanism to produce reciprocity, to just be helpful, to be valuable and look after that person. Person. And often just being a interested and caring person is already a great step towards being persuasive. So that’s reciprocity. Let’s say. I already gave you an example of how we could use that. So let’s move on.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:32:51]:

Liking is another principle. We like people that are like us, who like us and who like us and say so.

Stuart Webb [00:33:03]:

Yeah, Right.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:33:04]:

So to unpack that a little bit, we like people that are like us means we like people that are similar to us.

Stuart Webb [00:33:13]:

Yep. Yep.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:33:14]:

Then we like people that like us, which is the opposite of what sales typically teaches you. Sales teaches you if you want people to buy from you, then you should do what you can so that people like you. You got to be likable, and that’s not wrong. But if I get the feeling that you really like me, even if I don’t, not quite sure about you, if I get the feeling that you genuinely like me, well, then I’m safe with you, aren’t I? Because people that like you look after you, right? And then like you and say so that is compliments, right? So. And actually, on my podcast, we just released an episode about liking. And so, you know, one of the messages in there was pay someone a compliment. Try it. First person you see today, look for anything, anything’s game, what they wear, tie, nails, earrings, hair, shoes, whatever, just whatever you genuinely like.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:34:15]:

Pay them a compliment, watch what happens. It could be your kids, could be your wife when you come home, Pay them a compliment, watch what happens. All right, so it’s liking unity. Unity is often confused with liking. And unity is also the last principle that Dr. Cialdini added. Unity is about a feeling of being part of the same community. If we feel that we’re, let’s say, from the same town, or this, sometimes we’re from the same country, if we’re in another country or if we co create, if we make things together, we feel we have a bond between us and that inspires favoritism.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:34:56]:

And the favoritism can make you hear. Yes, a lot more often. Very powerful principle.

Stuart Webb [00:35:02]:

Yeah.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:35:03]:

All right, then we have social proof. Most people know the term social proof. The reason you know it is because Dr. Cialdini came up with it. Used to be consensus before that, but it was a little bit unclear. So he came up with the term social proof. Social proof means that we follow the actions of others, especially when they are numerous, when the others are similar to us, and when we are uncertain, that basically means we follow the crowd. Brain research actually shows that for a lot of people, the pain centers in the brain light up when we are out of step with what other people are doing.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:35:43]:

It’s painful for some people to not follow the crowd, but it also makes sense, right? If a lot of people are doing something, if a lot of people run away, it’s probably not a good idea.

Stuart Webb [00:35:52]:

You should run away.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:35:53]:

Yeah, exactly. So in business, we’ve caught on the fact of testimonials, right? As in most people are now collecting testimonials. That’s great. And if you think that that’s valuable for your business, well, then you’re correct. And that falls under ethical persuasion, provided they’re genuine. But in terms of social proof. You’re only using one little strategy out of probably more than a dozen different approaches when it comes to social proof. So there’s a lot more like that where that came from.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:36:24]:

Maybe a little insight in terms of testimonials. 98% of online shoppers say that detailed online reviews are an important factor on when deciding what and where to buy. The key to remember there is detailed, right? So if you ask somebody to leave you a review, I think it’s perfectly ethical to ask them to leave a bit of a detailed review. We imagine a restaurant and they go, yeah, food was great. That doesn’t feel so genuine. Right. But when we have more details, oh, the pumpkin was just cooked to perfection and the servers were so nice. And Sally the waitress, he was so funny.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:37:08]:

Right. More detail now we believe it more. What’s more.

Stuart Webb [00:37:16]:

One of the fact, one of the, one of the things you find in the, in the, in the reviews where people have bought them in for one, for want of a better word, is there’s that lack of detail which makes you feel as though they’re not genuine. And you immediately look and go, they’re probably all fake, aren’t they? Because there’s just no detail there which makes you feel as though that person actually was in that situation.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:37:37]:

Yeah. And did you, Stuart? We all want our customers to be completely happy and over the moon with the products and services we’ve provided. Right. And so we all want them to leave a five star review, you know, in relation to what they’ve experienced with us. But this, all these reviews are going to be boiled down to an average number, right? As in this business has an average score rating of so much. What would we want that average score rating to ideally be? What do you think?

Stuart Webb [00:38:12]:

We all want it to be a 5, don’t we?

Patrick Van der Burght [00:38:15]:

I want it to be a 5. But is a 5 average review score most realistic, As in the most persuasive range for an average score is 4.2 to 4.7, 4.8, 4.9 and 5 are seen as too good a deal. Right? Nobody is this good. You got all your friends to leave five star reviews. You deleted the bad ones. Even if that’s not possible, people don’t know, right? So it lacks credibility where 4.2 to 4.7 has credibility and it’s still for most people high enough to want to deal with that company under 4.2 has credibility. But this is getting too low for people to want to deal with. So yeah, next time you get a two or Three star review, right? Don’t take it so bad.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:39:16]:

If your average score is Moving towards that 4.7, you’re in the perfect place.

Stuart Webb [00:39:21]:

Place.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:39:22]:

All right, so social proof. Moving on then. We have authority as number five. Authority is that we follow the act, so we follow the advice of people that know genuinely more about a particular topic than we do. As in, we follow experts. That’s why it helps to bring in expert opinions that support your proposal. But you, you yourself, you are also an expert in your own field. And so you also need to have a way to convey that to other people.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:39:56]:

And the truth is that once you’re face to face with people, you have lost the opportunity to talk about your credentials. And people try, you see it all the time, right? Oh, I’ve got a master’s degree in this and I’ve done that and I’ve done this, right. And while we do that because we want our audience to, to respect what we’re saying, to process our words with the gravity that they deserve, but the subconscious of our audience goes, you are full of yourself. We lose on authority and we lose on liking. It’s lose, lose. So we have to arrange for those credentials to be conveyed before we meet someone. Which is exactly the reason why, you know, when you step on the stage as a speaker, there’s normally a master of ceremonies, an emcee that introduces who you are. So authority is raised and people process the words you say with the gravity they deserve from the beginning.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:40:59]:

If you fail to do that properly, then you might be talking to somebody for an hour and you may establish over time that you do have that authority. But that means that they didn’t process your words as well, the beginning. So you’ve lost that. All right, so that’s authority. Authority is also about believability. Then we have principle of consistency that is powered by the fact that we feel an internal pressure to want to stay true to past actions and statements that we’ve made. You know, sometimes, you know, online, when you’re filling in an online form, it questions, right? Let’s say there’s 10 questions to fill in. If you list all those questions in one row and then the submit button, a lot less people will fill out that form.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:41:47]:

They’ll just navigate away where if you break that form up in say three, four pages and you give people two, three things to fill out and then click next, it is much harder to now stop because they’re already done some right. So you’re using that consistency principle to get your form filled out. Which is again, just another behavior. So consistency, very, very powerful principle. And then last one is scarcity. So scarcity tells us that we value things more when they are less available. We all have that fear of loss within us. And if I can give a, let’s say a power tip to your listeners, and this would probably be it, have a look at your own communication, listen to your salespeople, what are they saying? Read your own brochures, read the index page of your own website.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:42:45]:

And when it comes to you expressing what your product or service is going to do for the other person, the other party, are you describing it in terms of what they stand to gain from having your product or service? As in, you’re going to save money, you’re going to get there faster, it’s good for the environment, it’s good for your children, right? These are all gains. Gaining language. While psychology teaches us that people are easily twice more motivated by the potential of losing something than gaining that exact same thing. So instead of using gain language, we should start to use the avoidance of loss. What don’t they get if they don’t get your product or service? Right? Without this, you’re going to lose more money, you’re going to take longer to get there, you’re going to lose competitive advantage. Right now we’re talking about what we tend to lose. And you’ll find that people will be, you know, far more take that message to heart. So that’s a bit of a quick rundown of the seven principles.

Stuart Webb [00:44:03]:

Patrick, you’ve been so generous with that and I can think of, well, if people haven’t already started rewriting their website, they should do. Patrick, thank you so much for being so generous with that. I really appreciate everything you’ve just said. I had not come across that last principle and many of the others I had heard, but the last one I really thought suddenly, hey, that is a real power tip. So I’m really grateful. If nobody takes anything else away from here, the fact that we should be talking about loss, I mean, it is often something that I do talk to people about, which is in your proposals. Say, what is the risk of not going with this proposal by just say, for instance, making no decision. But making no decision means you are losing time or you are losing the potential to actually make a difference.

Stuart Webb [00:44:52]:

So that is a huge new one that I’m going to be building into my own, my own persuasiveness now. Thank you so much for being so generous and for spending this much time with us. Look, I’m just going to say once again, go, go and find, go and find the, the vault. There’s some great stuff in there from, from Patrick that systemizes. That’s S y s T M I S E me free hyphen stuff. And if you don’t mind, I send out an email once a week with, with brilliant guests like Patrick who are coming onto the show so that you can dial into the absolutely brilliant training. This is, this is, this is real business training you’re getting. So go to Systemize me, subscribe, fill out that form you, you will get for that one gift to me of an email address, an invite to come and spend time with people like Patrick and knowledge of this sort of thing that Patrick giving away and trying to help you do things.

Stuart Webb [00:45:51]:

Patrick, thank you so much for being with us today and spending so long explaining that I cannot thank you enough for giving us so much of your time. And I really want to say you have persuaded me to go and do something today and give back more than I’m giving at the moment. So thank you for that. Wonderful.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:46:09]:

That’s great. It was great to be here. And yeah, if people want to know more, they can of course Visit my website, ethicalpersuasion.com and I’ve also started my own podcast channel, Ethical Persuasion Unlocked. And so if you want more of what you’ve heard today, then it’s also a great place to start. But please remember that to develop application skills and confidence, you are going to have to do and your team some formal training. You’re not going to get that from just watching videos and listening to podcasts.

Stuart Webb [00:46:39]:

Both of those resources are in the vault. So please, if you didn’t get those things, go to the vault. You’ll find them there. Patrick, thank you so much for being here. Really appreciate it and I look forward to going and practicing more of this stuff myself.

Patrick Van der Burght [00:46:53]:

Wonderful.

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View Details

Who is Anna?

Anna is a psychologist who specializes in helping individuals and organizations navigate the often invisible, yet crucial, “unwritten rules” of work. Anna works particularly with neurodivergent individuals and has a deep background in exploring class culture clashes within the workplace—especially the challenges faced when employees transition from blue-collar roles into corporate environments. Her upcoming book tackles these unwritten rules head-on, offering practical advice for leaders, staff, and HR professionals on how to recognise and address the subtle dynamics that impact team engagement, employee retention, and overall organisational success. Get ready for a conversation packed with actionable insights and straight-talking advice from someone who’s dedicated her career to demystifying what really makes teams tick behind the scenes

Key Takeaways

If your best performers hit a wall after their promotion, look out for unwritten rules holding them back. Culture clashes are real, and naming them is the first step to fixing your team.
Every workplace has unwritten rules—norms no one talks about that trip up even the best people. When these rules go unspoken, they can kill engagement and stall change.
Do you ever promote a top worker, only to see them struggle? The issue might not be skill, but hidden cultural expectations. It’s time to get clear on what success really looks like.
What does your “ideal employee” look like in your mind? Dig deep—sometimes our assumptions create noise, not results. Get intentional about measuring what actually matters.
Before jumping into AI or new strategies, solve the unseen people problems first. Automation just speeds up whatever’s broken—fix your foundation before you build.

Don’t forget: If you want to connect, ask questions, or get notified about upcoming guests like Anna, subscribe to the Systemise.Me newsletter here. You only need your first name and email—easy as (coffee) pie!

Thanks for sharing a cup with us this week. Here’s to strong coffee, smart hiring, and believing in the dreams you’re just starting to imagine.

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P.S. Loved this episode? Hit reply and let us know what resonated most

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

unwritten rules of work, employee engagement, employee retention, promotion pipeline issues, blue collar workers, white collar workers, management training, cultural norms, organizational culture, class culture clash, communication skills, indirect communication, assertiveness, workplace professionalism, neurodivergence, unconscious bias, productivity issues, team performance, leadership recommendations, HR practices, workplace audits, work miscommunication, onboarding, context performance, task performance, workplace diversity, automation, AI in the workplace, organizational change, workplace compliance

SPEAKER

Anna Kallschmidt, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:31]:

Hi and welcome back to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee I have with me. Well, it’s not coffee actually at the moment, this is a tea. But I’m here with Dr. Anna Kauchmid. Hello Anna. Hope you’re got a coffee or something with you to refresh you during this brilliant stuff. Anna is a psychologist.

Stuart Webb [00:00:52]:

She works particularly with people who know neurodivergent, etc, talking about the unwritten rules of work. And I know you’ve got a book coming out soon, Anna, which I hope we can get into. So welcome to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. And I hope that you are going to be able to tell us about the very unwritten rules there are around work.

Stuart Webb [00:01:14]:

Thank you. Thank you for having me. And I love the title of the podcast because I do think that internally a lot, this isn’t rocket science. We don’t need to, we don’t need to make it more complicated than it is.

Stuart Webb [00:01:25]:

No, we don’t. No we don’t. And there is, there is too much already of people trying to make things sound complicated. And I do say often, you know, if, if it’s too, if it’s too complicated for me to understand, it’s already got too complicated and you don’t have to get too complicated for me to lose it. So let’s talk about you and your work. Let’s talk about the sort of the people that you’re trying to help. What’s the, what how would you characterize and what, what, how do they, what is it that they notice about themselves? Or are they business owners that need the help for their employees?

Stuart Webb [00:02:00]:

Yeah. So since I look at the unwritten rules of work, which are the cultural norms that are so ingrained in your organization that people don’t think they need to be transparent about what they are. So it’s really about. There’s a cultural problem which impacts so many things. So I’m going to tell you the signs that my clients notice when they come to me, but at the core of them is being not in denial. That’s my ideal client, someone who’s not in denial. Someone who’s recognized that there’s an issue and wants to move forward.

Stuart Webb [00:02:32]:

And for those of us who aren’t yet even aware of the problem, what’s the problem? What are the things they’re noticing so that, so maybe there are people out there that haven’t even yet got to.

Stuart Webb [00:02:40]:

That stage so it can be low. Employee engagement is always one very poor retention. You’re having Problems promoting have. You have like great employees. This is a big one. I see you have great employees from like entry level to like almost middle management. But once they get into like the higher corporate levels, it’s like they fall apart or they just don’t get it. So I see this a lot specifically in industries that have like a blue collar, white collar, two different subsets, so like retail or anything in manufacturing etc.

Stuart Webb [00:03:17]:

Of where you have like these excellent blue collar workers. You promote them up to the corporate side and they’re like, what is going on? Because he introduced me as neurodivergent, which is true, but originally my work is about class and there’s a class culture clash there. And so it’s when you have a really good performer who as they get higher they run into more problems. And when you see this, so you have promotion pipeline issues, you have retention issues, you might have productivity issues and you might have complaints about your management at the management level after you’ve promoted them. And you’re not sure why because they were always great performers and you know, they work really hard.

Stuart Webb [00:03:54]:

So tell me, you know the people that you’re talking about there, the managers, the business owners, the founders of those companies, what are the things they’ve done? They, presumably they’ve gone through the sort of, they’ve gone through the usual training, they’ve tried to sort of train their managers in better communication, all that sort of thing. What do they normally find that, that they haven’t done, that they haven’t understood what their problem is.

Stuart Webb [00:04:16]:

A lot of us, and this is normal human nature, a lot of us have a hard time conceptualizing that our normal isn’t. Everyone’s normal. And it’s one of those. That sounds simple, that’s not rocket science, but that’s so deeply ingrained that a lot of companies spend a lot of money trying to add more things to solve the problem, have this training, have that speaker come in, etc. But they don’t look at what the core issues are. And it’s just assumed that it’s very, it’s just professionalism. And that people get bristled when you say that because like, well, that’s just being respectful. That’s not all the professionalism is.

Stuart Webb [00:04:59]:

Right, it’s very easy to dismiss and be like, this is just how things are done. This is just white collar work, this is just professionalism. But it’s things like indirect communication. It’s things like they don’t know how to schmooze enough, they’re rubbing People wrong, they seem rough around the edges or that they either don’t know how to be assertive enough or they come across as aggressive. And it’s those little nuances that are more common in blue collar and pink collar work of being more direct in your communication, of talking more about task and less about interpersonal skills. And then it changes when it gets to the corporate level. And so bringing in somebody to talk about unconscious bias can be great for other reasons, but it’s not going to solve those culture clashes.

Stuart Webb [00:05:47]:

Okay. Okay. So you must have some great advice that you can give to people to take them into that first step. And I know we’re going to get into some of the stuff that you offer us in terms of sort of. If you go to the vault that we have here, which is the systemized me free stuff vault, we’ve got got stuff from, from Anna which you can sort of grab but talk us through sort of. What is the advice that you give to companies when they first come to you? The sort of thing that you’re telling them they need to start this process before they get an expert like you involved.

Stuart Webb [00:06:20]:

So I do it on. I will do an unwritten rules audit for where I look at water. I have eight groups of unwritten rules and I can survey that and tell you which ones you’re struggling with. But I have a very quick free version on my website drkaulschmidt.com quiz and it’s about four questions. Once you tell me if you’re looking for yourself, your organization, and that’ll let me know which one you’re struggling with the most. Are you struggling with people? Don’t tell you about problems until it’s too late. Are you struggling with people? There’s a lot of miscommunications and it’s delaying productivity. Are you struggling with.

Stuart Webb [00:06:54]:

You have a team of really top performers, but they do not know how to work together. And that helps me narrow down which culture clash might be an issue. And then I can make recommendations for your organization so that that is the quickest free option. But I do have, like I said, a book coming out in the next couple of weeks and that has every chapter covers an unwritten rule and at the end of every chapter I give recommendations for leaders, staff and hr. And those are very practical, hands on. I don’t do the vague advice thing, if you haven’t noticed. I’m like. The first thing I said was like, well, you have to not be in denial.

Stuart Webb [00:07:34]:

Right. So it’s a very, it’s A very. I’ve been told I’m not a B12 shot speaker. I’m not going to make you feel great and then walk away and you’re like, what are we doing? So it’s very. The book is over 300 pages for a reason. It’s very tangible, hands on.

Stuart Webb [00:07:51]:

And that’s a really good recommendation for anybody who’s here at the moment for actual practical advice. And that’s the stuff we love to give on this podcast. Because I don’t know about you and comment in the below. If you’re beginning to see things in what you’re being told now, are you seeing things in your work, where you’re going, I think I’ve got one of these. And I know Anna or myself will come back to you and sort of direct you in the right direction to start getting that help. Because we all need to start being direct with people. We need to start getting that sort of action that Anna’s talking about now. We need to, to be able to move things forward.

Stuart Webb [00:08:28]:

So, yeah, do comment below on things that you might have seen in your workplace and let us know whether or not this is resonating. Anna, you were saying you were direct. How did you come to be this expert in these unwritten rules, the things that we don’t see? How did you manage to sort of find them? And how did you find them, work them out?

Stuart Webb [00:08:51]:

Well, I like to do well. The short answer is I screwed up enough that I had to figure it out. You know, I pissed off people. Okay, yeah, I can see that deep dive on this. But I would say, I’d say the moment that it started coming together for me was in my first week of my PhD program. We have this class, Introduction to Industrial Psychology, where we’re going over. I’m the type of psychologist, nobody knows who we are, so we’re going over like, you know, job performance, how to design metrics, how to design jobs, how to do a job analysis, all of those tangible things. And we learned first week there are two types of job performance.

Stuart Webb [00:09:25]:

Does that sound right to you, that there are two types? No, that’s not so it fascinated me as well. And so the first type is task performance, which is what is in your job description. And the other kind is contextual performance. And it was all of those other things that help organizations, but that aren’t written down. And I was like, so what are all those other things? And the room just went silent and everybody was like, well, you know, I was like, no, no, I wouldn’t have.

Stuart Webb [00:09:57]:

Asked the question if I knew and.

Stuart Webb [00:09:59]:

I was coming in. I didn’t go straight from undergrad to grad. I worked since high school and I worked in between grad. So I had work experience. And I was like, what is this? And I was already doing a research my master’s thesis was on. Is a low income background stigmatized at work even after you’ve experienced social class mobility and even for white men in America? And so I was already in that vein of looking at class. And so when nobody could tell me what all those other things were. And IO psychology is so big on measurement.

Stuart Webb [00:10:32]:

Like, we’re so big on what gets measured, you know, matters and drives performance. So it was just weird to me that there was this whole second piece of performance that we weren’t being really clear about. And so that’s what I ended up doing my dissertation on was what are the unwritten rules of work for people who move up from a low income background to middle class or higher through employment? And So I interviewed 64 people and noticed themes and what they were saying. I talked to black and white women and men in the United States. And then over time, my next study, I made a scale and I administered it to all races and genders in the US And I looked at statistically significant differences. And so it’s just kind of evolved from that moment of being like, what’s all that other stuff?

Stuart Webb [00:11:22]:

And so is that effectively the book? Is that what you’ve now put into the book so that you can really, well, at this stage categorize what those unreal written rules are so that now there is an answer to the question, what are the unwritten rul rules?

Stuart Webb [00:11:40]:

Yeah, that’s the book. So I did the dissertation and I didn’t plan on becoming like the unwritten rules coach, but I. I have largely been outside of academia. Like I’ve done, you know, I’ve kept a research hold and I sometimes teach, but largely I’ve worked for the federal government or private consulting firms and worked in organizations. And everywhere I worked, the unwritten rules were a problem. Like, no matter what, if you go in and you’re trying to implement a change and nobody knows what you’re talking about when they don’t know how to talk to each other, it’s not going to work. And so it just kept on becoming this pattern of noticing that it’s like putting a band aid on a broken bone, right? We’re not addressing the broken bone. And so, yeah, I just kept researching it.

Stuart Webb [00:12:25]:

And then in the book I talk about I spent a chapter on the research on each of them. I spinach. I talk about my personal experiences with organizations, and I also talk about case studies of where we can see these rules play out in other organizations as well.

Stuart Webb [00:12:41]:

That’s fascinating. And, you know, I mean, that, that strikes me that it’s not just small business owners who are currently struggling with their teams, which are perhaps not quite as functioning as the way you. They would like them to be, who are listening to this and thinking, that might be me. But it’s those organizations that are trying to undergo big change. And I’ve been involved with. And you are absolutely right that when you try and make a change, even if it is for the better, nobody wants to adopt that change. And it’s largely down to a bunch of things that you cannot tangibly put your finger on and go, we need to address this. And it’s those unwritten rules which actually prevent and cause those transformations to often go very badly wrong, become very expensive, and be very expensive to fix.

Stuart Webb [00:13:29]:

So this doesn’t change a large number of people. Yeah, that’s exactly right. AI is actually making problem almost worse.

Stuart Webb [00:13:36]:

Yeah. Because it’s ample. AI amplifies and automates the good and the bad. And then I’m sure you’ve heard of the MIT study that came out a few months ago that was like 95% of AI actually isn’t increasing profits at all. Did you see that?

Stuart Webb [00:13:49]:

I did.

Stuart Webb [00:13:50]:

Okay, so what I found interesting. So one of my unwritten rules is the unwritten rule of compliance, which is that people might ask you for your opinion, but they’re not really asking for your opinion. Right. You’re supposed to just agree. And one of the examples that the MIT report gave was that there was this huge flop. And of course, they don’t name the organization. That one person, one leader made this global rollout, just him and AI, no feedback. Nobody else looked at it.

Stuart Webb [00:14:22]:

And guess what? It didn’t go well. Isn’t that shocking? And that to me, that’s an example of you automated. The unwritten rule of compliance.

Stuart Webb [00:14:32]:

Yeah, yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:14:32]:

Because AI is only going to disagree with you if you tell it to. Otherwise it’s like, yeah, you go, girl. You are so smart. Like, hello. Right. And you have to tell it. Don’t hallucinate. What are the holes here? And even then, you still have to think for yourself.

Stuart Webb [00:14:50]:

So to me, that was an example of. I wasn’t even looking for it. I was just reading the report. I found it interesting because I’m not anti AI. I’m just anti being stupid with AI. And I saw that example and I was like, well, there you go. There’s an unwritten rule on automation.

Stuart Webb [00:15:06]:

I must admit that that’s one I shall now start to quote more often. I do often get involved in companies that are trying to improve productivity with AI. And the one thing that I often say about automation, and I did automation for a number of years, I built a couple of companies around automation. And the one thing that I was always taught and always said to customers as they started their automation product, please let’s start by sor out the problems because otherwise your automation will just make your bad stuff flow faster and you cannot then control it. If your bad process is now fast, you don’t even understand where the bad stuff’s coming from because it would come at you so quickly. Too many companies I don’t believe are looking at these sort of unwritten rules, looking at the underlying problems first, resolving those. So they’ve got a foundation for growth and a foundation for building those, those, those, those glorious temples of, of sc. And I’m not going to try and keep you here all afternoon.

Stuart Webb [00:16:06]:

I’m sure we could have a very, very long conversation and it would be great fun. But people want to get, want to get to the nub of things. And one of those things that I think is really important is there must be a question at the moment that you’re thinking he hasn’t asked me the killer question, the one question that will really break this topic open. So I’m going to ask you to tell me what that question is because I obviously don’t know it and I haven’t asked it. But then you’re obviously going to have to answer it for me because that is the key to getting this topic embedded in everybody’s workplace.

Stuart Webb [00:16:42]:

You know, I have not the only question you sent me that I could not answer. But I what it reminded me of is that something, an exercise that I do with some of my clients is I’ll ask them to picture their ideal employee and I’ll ask them what are they doing?

Stuart Webb [00:17:01]:

Good question for them.

Stuart Webb [00:17:03]:

And I’ll ask them what are they doing? Okay, what does this look like? And it’s a helpful because you know, you should already be doing this because why are you measuring job performance if you can’t tell me this? Right? So we’re having this conversation. It’ll be like this person is a great communicator. This person is a great team player. This person, you know, tries to solve problems first and then they Come to me Da da da da. And then at the end I asked them, and what background did you assign that person? Because inherently, what race did you assign that person? What gender did you assign that person? How old were they? There’s all these things that we don’t realize. Color, who we foresee. And it’s both important to know who your ideal employee is so that you can make sure you’re measuring job performance. That is needed.

Stuart Webb [00:17:48]:

And it’s important to also recognize the noise because too often, and we all do this, we all, like, I think white women with a Southern American accent sound brilliant, right? But that’s because they sound like me, you know, and so, like, we all do that. And so it’s important to recognize that we all have noise. And, and that is a really critical takeaway in my book is one of the main recommendations is we all need to have frame of reference training. And that’s going to be the next rollout. In my workshops that I do in my online school community is focusing on how do we narrow down the noise because it may make us feel good short term, but then we run into all those problems that we talked about in the beginning of the. Why are the people I’m promoting not meeting expectations? Why do we have low engagement? Why am I spending so much in turnover? What’s going on? Why is my AI not working? Right? All of these things.

Stuart Webb [00:18:55]:

Yeah. Yeah, Brilliant. Anna, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. You know, what you say is so critical to people who are trying to grow their businesses, who are trying to sort of get work done more profitably, get it done productively. They’re ignoring, they’re often ignoring, you know, they’ve got the task, they’re ignoring the other stuff. And that’s the thing that often slows you down. So I think you’re, you. You’ve got a, you’ve got a great way of putting it.

Stuart Webb [00:19:25]:

I love the way you’re putting it. I really hope that if anybody here is, is thinking, I, I know that’s me. Please drop comments down in the chat below. We will get back to you. We will point you in the right direction because I think this is a great way of doing it. The other thing I’m going to ask you all to do now is this link, which is www.systemize.me forward/subscribe. That’s systemize.me forward/subscribe. It’s a simple form.

Stuart Webb [00:19:53]:

It just asks you for your name and an email address. You will then get onto the website, the mailing lists, apologies, the mailing list for this, for the show. You’ll get an email once a week from me telling you who’s coming up. And you can come and look on LinkedIn and join the join the call so that you can get your questions answered. But in the meantime, Dr. Anna Carlschmidt, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Really appreciate you coming and explaining some of those unwritten rules. I’m now going to have an unwritten rule, which is I need to have a drink immediately after this.

Stuart Webb [00:20:23]:

So thank you very much for your time. And I look forward to seeing, seeing more of what you are producing as you do the second version of all of this.

Stuart Webb [00:20:31]:

All right. Thank you so much. Have a good one.

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View Details

Who is Royce?

Royce Blake is a seasoned professional in the radio industry, known for his deep expertise in audience engagement. Drawing on years of experience, Royce specializes in helping podcast hosts and guests connect meaningfully with listeners. Through his insights and practical advice, he teaches how to make each guest feel valued and every audience member feel special. On this appearance on “It’s Not Rocket Science: Five Questions Over Coffee,” he shares his proven strategies for keeping listeners captivated, making him a trusted figure for anyone looking to elevate their podcasting game.

Key Takeaways

Ever felt awkward hearing your own recorded voice? Royce Blake explains: it’s normal! The key is getting comfortable with your true sound—crucial for building real connection, whether you’re on air or in the boardroom.
Struggling to keep your audience engaged? Royce Blake says: Be natural. Ditch the “radio voice” and just be yourself. Recording and reviewing yourself honestly will transform your confidence and presence.
Silence feels uncomfortable, but pausing can be powerful. Let moments land. Pauses give your audience space to process and make your next words even stronger, says Royce Blake.
Great podcasts start with research. Asking guests questions they’ve never heard lets them shine and keeps things authentic. Dig deep—don’t settle for surface-level!
Facing trolls? Royce Blake shares: No one more successful than you will ever put you down. Focus on being your authentic self and let the hate go. Keep showing up, every day.

Don’t forget: If you want to connect, ask questions, or get notified about upcoming guests like Royce, subscribe to the Systemise.Me newsletter here. You only need your first name and email—easy as (coffee) pie!

Thanks for sharing a cup with us this week. Here’s to strong coffee, smart hiring, and believing in the dreams you’re just starting to imagine.

And don’t forget: keep an eye out for next guest. To submit your own questions, subscribe to our newsletter and join the conversation!

P.S. Loved this episode? Hit reply and let us know what resonated most

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Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

podcasting, podcast hosts, podcast guests, audience engagement, radio industry, public speaking, event hosts, speaker training, business leaders, microphone confidence, voice recording, self-assessment, filler words, affectation, natural speaking, pause technique, research, interview preparation, guest questions, press junket, celebrity interviews, social profiles, hobby discussion, body language, hand gestures, listener retention, overcoming nerves, handling trolls, negative comments, authentic communication, podcast improvement

SPEAKER

Royce Blake, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:00]:

Hi, and welcome back to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. I’m really pleased that I’m here today with Royce Blake. Now, Royce has got a huge amount of experience in the radio industry, and I think he’s going to really help us to understand, as podcast host, potential podcast guests, exactly how you can engage your audience, make sure that you keep hold of them, and do the intelligent thing of making them feel like the special person on your show. So I’m hoping that Royce can do that for me. Royce, welcome to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. I know we’re gonna have a great time, and I really appreciate you spending a few minutes with us, making time in your busy day.

Royce Blake [00:01:13]:

It’s my pleasure. Stuart. Got my coffee. I’m ready to go. So let’s do this.

Stuart Webb [00:01:19]:

Terrific. Okay, let’s start with. I mean, you’ve got an absolutely enormous amount of history. Who is your ideal audience at the moment? Who are you trying to help understand how to better engage their audience and keep them held?

Royce Blake [00:01:35]:

Right now, it’s mainly podcasters, but I also help event hosts, speakers, even business leaders that do a lot of speaking before even their employees. Anybody that needs to keep an audience, that’s who I help.

Stuart Webb [00:01:53]:

And tell me, Royce, I mean, you’re obviously doing this from a radio perspective, but it’s not just radio, is it? You. You. You help people who understand how to appear in front of an audience and. And in. And interact in that way.

Royce Blake [00:02:04]:

I like to call it mike shy to camera confident, because that’s. That’s what it is, really, because we’re all. It’s. It’s normal. Do you remember the first time you heard your. Your voice recorded?

Stuart Webb [00:02:22]:

Never heard it. Royce, don’t. Never, never, never. It’s never been possible.

Royce Blake [00:02:26]:

It’s human. We all. We all go through the same thing because we hear our voice through bone, and people and microphones are hearing our voice through air, and that’s the big difference. That’s why it sounds weird.

Stuart Webb [00:02:44]:

Yes, yes. And unfortunately, that weird makes us all very nervous. Makes us feel somehow as though things are wrong. And that is the. The root of all the problems you get, isn’t it?

Royce Blake [00:02:58]:

Oh, absolutely. And, you know, even, like when I was first on the air, on the radio, you know, you put headphones on, right? And so you’re hearing your voice as it appears to other people live in your ears. And that usually causes, in radio, what we call affectation, because you put those headphones on and you say, hey, there, and all of A sudden it sounds weird, right? It sounds. And you say, hey there. And wow, that sounds even better, you know, so pretty soon you’re talking like this, and eventually affectation leads to what we call in the radio world, puking. Because you get down to there, how are you? And it sounds like you’re really trying to vomit. So we try to avoid that. And luckily these days, especially in the podcast world, people.

Royce Blake [00:03:52]:

People are kind of swinging back to real, so they appreciate people that are just real. You don’t have to have a radio voice. It’s be natural. And that’s what I help people do.

Stuart Webb [00:04:06]:

So tell me, Royce, what people, what have people tried to do before they reach out to an expert such as yourself? You know, we’ve all recorded ourselves. We’ve all tried to avoid listening to it. Again, what are the things they’ve done and how have they made that affectation worse?

Royce Blake [00:04:25]:

Well, see, this is the biggest challenge for me because asking someone to admit they need help when it comes to talking is a big mountain to climb, ego wise, right? So you’re like, oh, man, I think I talk good. And, you know, you can get so much better. And if you like, I can jump right into one of the techniques that anybody can do at home.

Stuart Webb [00:04:50]:

Okay, yeah, why don’t we look into that? Because this is. This is the valuable free advice that you are. That you’re going to offer us, isn’t it?

Royce Blake [00:04:58]:

Absolutely. All you need is one of these. Use your cell phone, right, and record yourself a lot, and it’s going to be very uncomfortable at first. It doesn’t matter what you’re recording, but you need to record for five whole minutes, because we can all start off, you know, reiterating our elevator pitch or your sales presentation or whatever. And that goes great for a couple of minutes, but after that, you’re starting to stress out on what to say, and that’s when the magic happens. The real you starts coming out, and that’s what we’re looking for. So five minutes. It can be about your grocery list.

Royce Blake [00:05:45]:

One of my favorite topics to help people is talk about a hobby you love and why you got into it and why it’s so awesome, or why someone is your best friend, whatever it is. Talk for five minutes. And remember, you can always delete this stuff, right? You don’t have to keep it. No one else has to see it. But the key is how you watch it when you record yourself. First time you watch it, I want you to do it with the phone facing down. Don’t watch it. Just Listen to it, crank up the volume, and just listen to yourself.

Royce Blake [00:06:24]:

That’s when you’ll start to discover little things. In radio, we call them crutches. Things you say that you’re not even realizing. Realizing that you’re saying the ums, the likes, you know what I mean? Those are all filler words or phrases, and that’s when they start to stick out. Secondly, watch it back again, but this time with the sound off. So you’re just watching yourself. Do you sway all the time? Are you playing a statue? Do you never move? You know, things like that that you had no idea you were doing? Do you use too many hand gestures? Are you flailing all over the place? That’s going to start submitting in your subconscious mind exactly what you’re doing, and then watch it entirely. Watch it full screen and rinse and repeat.

Royce Blake [00:07:22]:

You keep doing that, after five times, you’ll be at least 50% better. Maybe. I’ve seen some people go 90% better because they had no idea what they were doing. And once again, it’s a crutch. It’s one of those things that personally we’re not aware of. But that’s what the audience is seeing, and that’s the way you get used to you. That’s the bottom line right there, is getting used to yourself. And nothing helps more than watching.

Royce Blake [00:07:56]:

And, you know, it can. It can go away. No one else has to see it, but you’re going to start seeing things a lot differently.

Stuart Webb [00:08:07]:

So, Royce, this is. This is really interesting stuff. Tell me, when you. I mean, you obviously help people a lot with this sort of thing. You help them with those filler words. And I know how embarrassing it was. For the first time, somebody. Somebody did that with me, and I found it intensely embarrassing.

Stuart Webb [00:08:26]:

How do you get people to understand that? That’s just what natural is?

Royce Blake [00:08:31]:

Because humans. It’s a great question, Stuart. Humans abhors silence.

Stuart Webb [00:08:38]:

Yes, we think.

Royce Blake [00:08:40]:

We think that if there’s silence, oh, man, people are freaking out. Let me tell you something. First of all, an overall view of audiences. People are so afraid of what people are thinking, and that’s the real fear. We’re not really worried about our voice or even what we’re saying. We’re worried about being judged. And that’s part of. That’s part of human nature.

Royce Blake [00:09:04]:

And so when you abhor a vacuum, right? Silence, you try to fill it with, no matter what. You know what I mean? Do you get that? You guys understand where I’m coming from, Things that mean nothing. One of the Big secrets that most great speakers use is something I did right there, and that is the pause. When you take a pause even for three seconds, it doesn’t even have. You don’t have to count to three seconds, but if you can just pause and say the letters and A, B, C in your head, that’s a perfect pause. And see, I threw in another one right there. Did that feel weird to you?

Stuart Webb [00:09:53]:

Yeah. The thing is, Royce, it kind of you, you feel, you feel as though you should be saying something, and yet sometimes the audience needs that pause to process what you’ve just said. And you’re being kind to them by actually pausing long enough for them to have that revelation or whatever it is you’re trying to give them.

Royce Blake [00:10:12]:

Right. It lets them ponder it, especially if it’s an important point. The other awesome thing about pauses is it makes what you say next much more powerful.

Stuart Webb [00:10:25]:

Love that.

Royce Blake [00:10:26]:

So once again, the pause, it’s hard to do in your brain. It sounds totally natural to any, any audience, really.

Stuart Webb [00:10:38]:

Let me just put a link on the bottom because we have got some fabulous stuff that Royce is going to make available to the listeners and to the audience here. If you go to www.systemize.me, free hyphen stuff, Royce, I’ve already got some of this stuff. The five day course, things like that, where you are going to be taking people from a world, from amateur to professional.

Royce Blake [00:11:06]:

Right, right. And in, in the course brilliance.

Stuart Webb [00:11:12]:

Just, just, I just. Thank you so much for making some of that stuff available.

Royce Blake [00:11:17]:

Absolutely. In the course, I go into all these.

Stuart Webb [00:11:20]:

Hide that again for a second so that people can focus on what you’re saying.

Royce Blake [00:11:26]:

There you go. Well, in the course, I also go over all this in much more depth. And each, each day it’s just a five day email course. Each email also has a video included. So you can see me explaining this more. Are you still there, Stuart? I’ll just keep talking. I used to get a. I used to get a lot of money on that for that.

Royce Blake [00:11:59]:

You know, the other awesome thing that I really want to help podcasters with is research. And if anybody asked me what’s the secret to a great podcast or a great radio show? It’s research. Figure out something you want to get to, a question a guest has never been asked. And that’s the secret. And when you get to research, I’m not talking about like on the radio, for instance, especially when we had a celebrities. The reason that celebrities even appear on, on radio stations or TV stations is they usually have a book to promote. Right. Or, you know, a movie, a brand new movie coming out.

Royce Blake [00:12:49]:

Well, they’re on a press junket. And a press junket is where they sit in one studio and then they do a TV hit in Cincinnati and then a radio show in Cleveland and then off to another radio show in Dallas. And so when you’re doing these things, you have no idea. If you’re a radio host and you’re about to interview a celebrity guest, you don’t have any idea what number you are. You could be station number nine for all. For all. All things considered. So, and odds are, whoever it is, they’ve been asked the same types or sometimes the same exact question nine times in a row.

Royce Blake [00:13:33]:

And so you don’t want to be that host, whether it’s on a podcast, an event, or, you know, on radio or tv, you want to be someone that asked them a question they’ve never heard before. I. I always recall one with boxer Mike Tyson, who was awesome. Obviously, this was at really the height of his popularity. And for those of you that remember the ear biting incident, well, I’m sure he’d been asked that a thousand times at that point. Instead, I had done deep research, and once again, yes, you can look at their social profiles. You can, you know, check into any, any, anything they posted and see where they’re coming from. Check their hobbies and all that stuff, but go much, much deeper.

Royce Blake [00:14:26]:

Anything you can find, even if it’s a business owner you’re talking to, go back and look at their ads, See what kind of ads they had running. If they had a weird ad or maybe a weird job. Before they, you know, got into the car business, they used to, you know, build porcelain dolls or something, something weird like that. For me and Mike Tyson, it was pigeon racing. Now, I have no idea how you race pigeons, but I knew that Mike Tyson was into pigeon racing. And so what did I do? While everybody else was asking him about the ear biting incident, I asked him about pigeon racing. Hey, champ, how’s the pigeon racing environment this year? Everything. You got a shot, and he lit up like a Christmas tree.

Royce Blake [00:15:20]:

It was amazing. So that’s the type of research I’m talking about. Go deep. If I didn’t. If I finished an interview and I didn’t have at least two pages of questions I didn’t get to, then I hadn’t done my job. So once again, it’s all about research.

Stuart Webb [00:15:42]:

Brilliant, brilliant stuff, Royce. Thank you so much for that. Royce. There must be one question that you’re currently thinking that I haven’t in the process of this interview or discussion, asked you what is the question that you think I should have asked? And obviously now you know what that question is, you need to answer it for us as well.

Royce Blake [00:16:07]:

Well, you know, once again, I, I think, by the way, just talking about. Here’s. Here’s one for you. We were talking about. I know we’re having tech problems here, Stuart, but, you know, if I had a, you know, a question for you to give you an idea of what kind of research, and it doesn’t take long, this took me probably.

Stuart Webb [00:16:27]:

Oh, no.

Royce Blake [00:16:29]:

I would say, hey, Stuart, I know that. Well, how did you go from like, killing viruses to helping businesses scale? You know, you were in the, in the bio.

Stuart Webb [00:16:46]:

Do you know the reason. The reason that I did that, Royce, Tell me the reason. The reason I did that, Royce, was because I wasn’t very. I. I was. I was actually not a very good practical scientist. I was a very good thinker. A lot of people kept telling me I had brilliant thoughts, but I was very poor at putting them down into an experiment.

Stuart Webb [00:17:12]:

And so I had to find something where I was able to use my brain to solve big problems, but not necessarily always. Always sort of make those experiments very successful. So it’s about finding that thing which you are passionate about, but at the same time, you can actually turn into something people will pay you to do.

Royce Blake [00:17:35]:

Absolutely. Have you been asked that before?

Stuart Webb [00:17:42]:

That is not what I have been asked. And I’m going to remember how good you are at turning the. The. The question and answer into a discussion, because you find that way. And that’s how you make an engaging podcast guest or host out of people, isn’t it? By getting to open up and explore things with an intelligent research question.

Royce Blake [00:18:08]:

And listen and listen intently. Don’t worry about getting to question seven when your guest has just spun gold on your podcast. You know, let them expand, let them go with the flow there. You know, as. As far as questions that, that you didn’t ask me, I get this from a lot of podcasters. Well, a lot of people in general is. How do you handle trolls? How do you handle negative comments? Right. People, you know, all this.

Royce Blake [00:18:38]:

I was lucky, I guess, because I was trained. I. You’re. You’re old enough to remember. I’m not sure if they have this on the BBC or any of the, you know, any other. But the request line, this radio station request line where you can call in and request a song, right?

Stuart Webb [00:18:57]:

Yes.

Royce Blake [00:18:58]:

Well, this is. You got to think about it. This is the only time for free you can reach another human being and say anything you want, because 95 weren’t there to request a song. A lot were there to give their opinion. And. And, you know, a lot of times it always amazed me, someone would sit on the request line on hold for a half an hour just to tell me, hey, you suck. So, you know, after you get that a few thousand times, you start. You start losing the nerve that, you know, so.

Royce Blake [00:19:34]:

But I want people to remember, no one more successful than you will ever put you down. They don’t have the time. They don’t have the inclination.

Stuart Webb [00:19:45]:

Brilliant.

Royce Blake [00:19:45]:

So ignore them. I know it’s easy to say and hard to do, but trust me, something’s wrong with them, not you, so just let it go.

Stuart Webb [00:19:56]:

Brilliant, Royce. I love that. And I want to end it there, because I think that is the best advice that you can give anybody. I mean, if I want to take away two things, and I know there have been a couple of technical difficulties, but there are two things I want to take away, one. One of which is, you know, you have just got to get used to the fact that you need to sound natural and need to get over yourself and start behaving like you are just a normal human being. And we all have that problem. And. And the haters.

Stuart Webb [00:20:26]:

Well, the haters are going to hate, and you just got to let them do it and get away from them and move forward being your positive self.

Royce Blake [00:20:33]:

I’ve got a great phrase. You can. You can write down everybody. And it’s something I learned from an old radio pro. He said, royce, I don’t care if they hate me as long as they hate me every day.

Stuart Webb [00:20:49]:

I love that one. I love it. Listen, people, I’m gonna. I’m just gonna thank Royce for spending a few minutes with us. If you would like to get an email from me where you can actually just find out who is going to be on the show and listen to the brilliant advice like people like Royce Lake bring to us. Go to Systemize Me, subscribe. That’s systemized me. Forward slash, subscribe.

Stuart Webb [00:21:20]:

Just go there. Simple form, name, email address. We don’t ask you for any more than that. Once a week, you get an email from me saying who’s coming up? And you really should listen to some of the people that are coming up on this show. Royce, I want to thank you so much for being here and telling us a little bit about this, and I appreciate you keeping going when I know there have been a one or two technical difficulties, but I just think what you’ve told us is absolute gold about how to engage people and keep them engaged, and I just love it. And thank you so much for spending a few minutes.

Royce Blake [00:21:47]:

It’s been a pleasure, Stuart. Thank you so much. And, you know, once again, this has been awesome.

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View Details

Who is Donna?

Donna Amos has been working with a law firm since 2010, helping them share their expertise with the world. When she first started, the firm had three attorneys and two financial planners specializing in elder care. Donna encouraged the team to create weekly videos answering frequently asked questions, making their knowledge accessible on every platform. However, when the first video shoot arrived, nerves got the better of the group—they greeted Donna with a case of beer, hoping to calm their anxiety about being on camera. Thanks to Donna’s encouragement, they pushed through their fears and successfully filmed their first video, marking the beginning of a new chapter in the firm’s outreach efforts.

Key Takeaways

Action is what drives change, especially for solo and micro business owners. Donna Amos reminds us: just take that first step, even if it’s scary. Progress starts before confidence kicks in!
We often get stuck in our own heads, telling ourselves we’re not good enough. Donna’s advice: seek out someone who believes in you, encourages you, and helps you move forward. Sometimes that’s all we need.
Staying “busy” isn’t the same as making progress. Donna explored how focus and vision make the real difference—not just for ourselves, but for those we work with and serve.
Writing a book can be daunting, but Donna recommends starting with simple research and writing a little each day. In 3 months, you could have your biggest calling card and a new way to share your expertise.
The first challenge is finishing what you start. Donna shares: Only 3% of people finish their manuscript. Create discipline by writing 500 words a day—small steps lead to big results in your personal story.

Don’t forget: If you want to connect, ask questions, or get notified about upcoming guests like Donna, subscribe to the Systemise.Me newsletter here. You only need your first name and email—easy as (coffee) pie!

Thanks for sharing a cup with us this week. Here’s to strong coffee, smart hiring, and believing in the dreams you’re just starting to imagine.

And don’t forget: keep an eye out for next guest. To submit your own questions, subscribe to our newsletter and join the conversation!

P.S. Loved this episode? Hit reply and let us know what resonated most

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at www.systemise.me/subscribe

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Do You Need a P.A.T.H. to Scale?

We help established business owners with small but growing teams:

go from feeling stuck, sceptical, and tired of wasting time and money on false promises,

to running a confident, purpose-driven business where their team delivers results, customers are happy, and they can finally enjoy more time with their family -

with a results-based refund guarantee: if you follow the process and it doesn’t work, we refund what you paid.

This is THE P.A.T.H. to scale your business.

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

solo business owners, micro business owners, solopreneurs, marketing agency, self-publishing, book publishing, business inspiration, taking action, self-talk, productivity, time management, strategic vision, encouragement, coaching, marketing strategies, authority building, marketing tools, business growth, client engagement, discipline, writing a book, business storytelling, video marketing, social media promotion, networking, expert positioning, lead generation, case studies, business challenges, research techniques, Amazon research

SPEAKER

Donna Amos, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:00]:

Hi there and welcome back to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. My mug is in hand. Still got coffee in it, which is just as well. And I’m delighted to be welcoming Donna Amos to the podcast today. Donna is a marketer, she’s a publisher, but mostly she is someone who aims to try and inspire others to take action. I’m really excited to that we’re going to be having a discussion about how Donna is going to inspire us to be taking action today. So welcome to the podcast, Donna.

Donna Amos [00:01:05]:

Thanks, Stuart. I appreciate it.

Stuart Webb [00:01:09]:

Thank you. So let’s start by trying to understand those people who you are trying to inspire to take action. Who is it that you’re trying to help with that particular problem that I know we all have.

Donna Amos [00:01:24]:

So I focus on solo and micro business owners. So those are the people that I want to inspire to take action, to realize that whatever it is they want, if they just take the first step, they’ll see that it’s not impossible to make it happen.

Stuart Webb [00:01:49]:

Difficult sometimes to do when you’re a solopreneur or a small business owner buried under paperwork and mountains of things to do, isn’t it?

Donna Amos [00:01:58]:

Yes, it is. And our, our talk between our two ears, our self talk actually gets in our way a lot.

Stuart Webb [00:02:08]:

It does, it does. So let’s, let’s explore some of those sort of problems, some of those people. And I guess there’ll be people listening to this right at the moment there is. If you want to drop a question into the chat to get Donna to answer it or if you need to drop a question into the chat later, please do. Donna or I will pick up and answer those questions for you. But so what are the sort of problems that they might recognize? What are the, what are the things they might have tried to do to get themselves out of these situations, these that you can help them with?

Donna Amos [00:02:42]:

I think the. So for years, the biggest challenge that I see is that they spend time being busy because it makes them feel like they’re, you know, they’re accomplishing something, but they’re really just being busy and they’re not really focused on the end goal and, and taking the right actions towards that. And again, it’s because we get in our own heads and yes, tell ourselves that we shouldn’t be doing that we’re not good enough.

Stuart Webb [00:03:22]:

And that’s not good for self talk. But it’s also not good for businesses that have small numbers of employees, is it? People want to see that you have a vision that, you know, where you’re going.

Donna Amos [00:03:33]:

Absolutely. But for solo business owners, they also have to think about they may not have employees. Many of them will have subcontractors, though, that support them in what they’re doing. And their customers will also see if they have that vision or not. And that can either attract people to them or push people away.

Stuart Webb [00:04:07]:

And how, how do you help them? What is it you try to do to get them out of that situation?

Donna Amos [00:04:15]:

I think probably the most important thing is to encourage them that when people are encouraged by others, when they’re told that they really do have what it takes and that they. They deserve to. To accomplish whatever it is they’re looking for, then it helps them to again take that first step. So, encouragement.

Stuart Webb [00:04:44]:

Is this the sort of thing you spend your time doing at solopreneurs Solutions? Solopreneur Solutions.

Donna Amos [00:04:50]:

It is. So, you know, we’re a marketing agency, but. And we’re also a publisher, but oftentimes our clients just need somebody in their corner. Yeah, it’s telling them, yes, you can do that. We’re happy to help. We’ll hold your hand so that they will take action on the things they want to.

Stuart Webb [00:05:13]:

Yeah, yeah. And that’s a, that’s often the most valuable thing a marketing agents can do, isn’t it? It is, it is. Helped bring that clarity and it’s helped move those people forward. That one step.

Donna Amos [00:05:25]:

Exactly. Yep.

Stuart Webb [00:05:28]:

And so, Donna, have you got a valuable piece of advice or anything that you wish to sort of leave with people so that they can, they can understand how you could help them?

Donna Amos [00:05:42]:

I’ll share a quick story if that’s okay.

Stuart Webb [00:05:45]:

Please do.

Donna Amos [00:05:46]:

So I work with a law firm that has been with me since 2010. And they have. They had a staff of five attorneys. Well, staff of three attorneys and two financial planners that focus on elder care. So when we first started working together, I was encouraging them to do weekly videos, just quick, frequently asked questions that they were answering that we could then push out there to every platform. And the first day when I got there with my camera and ready to go, they had a case of beer sitting there because every one of them was scared to death to get in front of the video. They just, you know, they just didn’t think they could do it. So they got through that first video shoot.

Donna Amos [00:06:47]:

We did probably 15 videos that one shoot they made it through. They, when we left, they went to the bar to watch basketball because it was during Marsh Madness. But now we’re what, 15 years down the road and every week we still publish a video for them. And they get business from it constantly.

Stuart Webb [00:07:15]:

Brilliant.

Donna Amos [00:07:17]:

Yeah. So it was just encouraging them and telling them they could do it. And, you know, and that’s what I believe. So if you’re not, if you don’t think you can do something, find somebody that will wrap their arms around you and say, yes, you can. And I’m right here to help.

Stuart Webb [00:07:35]:

We’re going to drop some links to where you can find out more about Donna and the way she’s talking about this sort of thing and helping people in our vault. And if you want to get access to the vault, just go to www.systemizer sy s t e m I s e.me forward/free hyphen stuff that. Systemize me forward slash free hyphen stuff. You can see where Donna is posting and more about Donna in the, in the vault. And she, I’m absolutely convinced she will be more than happy to pick on any information and, and help you in the same way. Donna, you’ve talked a little bit about what you do as a, as a, as a marketer and somebody who publishes or helps people to publish books. How did you, how did you learn those skills? What, what, how did a marketer start with, become a book publisher?

Donna Amos [00:08:30]:

Well, interesting story. Again, I had a client that we were, we were actually doing their social media and they had a website that was about helping children overcome their fears. Her daughter, who was about 13 at the time, 13 or 14, her, she, her mom came to me and said, natalie’s written a book. We want to get it published, but we don’t know how to go about it. Can you help? And I said, absolutely. So I went looking for, you know, what I needed to do to publish a book, all the steps. And we did that. So her, Natalie and her friend.

Donna Amos [00:09:17]:

Her friend did the imagery for the book. We published the book. They, we promoted it, all of that good stuff. But when Natalie went away to, when she was going to go to college, she was interviewing with colleges and she took that book with her to show them that she knew how to start and finish a project. And yes, most of them were impressed. And I said to myself, duh, you need to help your other clients do this because it is a way to show authority and to share what you have. So it’s in my mind it became a large business card for them to use for marketing themselves. So it wasn’t about the publishing piece.

Donna Amos [00:10:09]:

They’re not going to make a lot of money selling books. That’s not what we do. But it’s about having that marketing tool that you can then use to get speaking gigs and on podcast and to develop your social, your Social Security, to develop your social media from. All of those things can be taken from one book.

Stuart Webb [00:10:31]:

Yes. And it’s, and you’re right, it is a, it’s an incredibly good way of demonstrating your, your, your, your expertise to demonstrate your knowledge, isn’t it? Because writing the book is, is half the story. But getting it published because it’s, it’s got the, it’s been edited and it’s, and it’s in a readable format is, is not a simple task and it does require you to actually know what you’re talking about. And that is a great demonstration to any of your potential clients that you have got the knowledge and skills that you need to be able to engage with their situation and help them.

Donna Amos [00:11:06]:

Absolutely. And you know when, so when I, I’ve written to myself and I use those as calling cards, I send them to people that, you know, that I might meet on LinkedIn, I will carry it with me. And when I have a face to face, I make certain that I give them one of my books because it, I don’t have to say then that I know what I’m talking about, that I have the expertise in a marketing sense. The book tells, tells the story for me.

Stuart Webb [00:11:44]:

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. And I know from experience that writing a book is only half the job. It is, it is a, it is a heartbreaking thing to send it to somebody to edit and they take very large chunks of it away that you spent very many hours writing and then realize that it didn’t actually aid anything to help anybody to understand what you were talking about. And the red pen that comes back is quite disheartening, but it’s such a valuable exercise. It’s true, isn’t it, that a book, sometimes less is more?

Donna Amos [00:12:16]:

Absolutely. It is. In any kind of writing, it is pulling all those words out that don’t need to be there can be huge in clarifying the message that you’re trying to get across. But the first challenge is actually finishing your manuscript.

Stuart Webb [00:12:36]:

Yeah.

Donna Amos [00:12:37]:

Only about 3% of the people do that.

Stuart Webb [00:12:41]:

Have you got any tips for people to say, how do you go about having the discipline to finish a book in that way?

Donna Amos [00:12:53]:

Yeah, so it takes discipline, but if you focus on writing 500 words a day, five days a week, you’ll be finished in about 90 to 120 days. And so if you just focus, okay, in three months I can be done. That is. Yeah, that’s huge.

Stuart Webb [00:13:21]:

Once again, if you have questions about how you can focus and structure your day to produce a marketing. This is a great marketing marketing piece. It is the biggest and best calling card you’ll ever get. If you want to drop comments down below and get Donna to give you a few tips on how you can get your book out there, it is a great way of doing it. It is really fabulous. Please drop them in the comments. I’d be more than happy Donna will pick up those comments as well. I’m sure she’ll be happy to provide you with, with, with any advice.

Stuart Webb [00:13:59]:

Donna, I’m kind of very aware I’ve been standing here asking you questions for the last sort of 15, 20 minutes. And you must be wondering when I’m going to get to the really key question, which is the killer question, which will actually sort of, you know, really open up the discussion. So I’m at a loss to be able to answer exactly what that question is. So I’m going to leave it to you to, to ask what that question is. And of course, once you’ve asked what the killer question is, you’ll have to answer it for us as well.

Donna Amos [00:14:26]:

Well, Stuart, tell me the killer question.

Stuart Webb [00:14:31]:

What is it? I haven’t asked you, Donna, that you’d like me to ask. Oh.

Donna Amos [00:14:40]:

Great question. I don’t know that you haven’t asked me anything.

Stuart Webb [00:14:48]:

Oh, that’s just not. I can’t believe that. Okay, I will ask you that, that question then. Donna, what it. You’re, you’re, you want to inspire somebody to take that first step? How do you. What is the best way for somebody who’s sitting there at the moment overwhelmed with marketing things to do, overwhelmed with thinking I should get on with a book, but I don’t know how to start. How do they go about making that first step?

Donna Amos [00:15:14]:

Start doing the research because that will help to inspire you to keep moving forward. So by that I mean there are. People have different ways of learning. So one author might be the kind that does all the studying and then shares what they’ve learned with others in their book. Another might be that they take everything they’re all their experiences and they tell them the story and how they can overcome the challenges that they have overcome. Or it might be that you use case studies to discuss what you have learned or what you want to share with others. The bottom line is do your research. Go look at.

Donna Amos [00:16:10]:

One of the best places to research books is Amazon. Go pull up the genre that you want to be an expert in. And every book has a look inside.

Stuart Webb [00:16:28]:

Yes.

Donna Amos [00:16:28]:

That you can click on and you can see the chapters that they wrote about. And that can help you identify gaps that you might be able to explore in your book. Do things like go to answer the Public, which is like a search engine, except it delivers to you the questions that people ask Google, and then you can take those questions and use that to help inspire you as to how you move forward. So just go, start doing some research and you’ll feel that tug at your heart to get it going.

Stuart Webb [00:17:11]:

What a great idea, Donna. I think that’s a really brilliant thing to leave the audience wanting to start and take that action, as I said. Look, go to the comments, post, post a question or a comment on the, on the, on the episode, and Donna or I will get back to you and answer those questions and give you the help that you’re looking for. And in the meantime, whilst you’re doing that, go to this link which is systemized SYS T E M I S I E me. Subscribe. If you get onto that and just put in your name, it doesn’t ask for anything more than your email address. And just put in your email address and each week you’ll get an email from me telling you who’s coming onto the podcast and how you get it. And follow these great people who are speaking, you know, and helping, trying to drive things forward to inspire you to take action, like Donna.

Stuart Webb [00:18:05]:

Please do that. And you’ll see next week who we’ve got coming on. Donna, I want to thank you very much for spending a few minutes with us. Thank you for trying to inspire us. I hope people have taken that inspiration and are even now thinking about going to Amazon or looking for a book that they ought to write because they know something that people need to hear about.

Donna Amos [00:18:24]:

Absolutely. Thanks, Stuart. It’s been a pleasure.

Stuart Webb [00:18:27]:

No problem. And thank you, Donna.

Get full access to The Leak at thecompleteapproach.substack.com/subscribe

View Details

Who is Mitchell?

Mitchell Levy is a passionate advocate for purpose-driven business relationships. Through his work, Mitchell observed a common frustration among professionals on platforms like LinkedIn: many reach out without a clear purpose or differentiation, often leading with sales pitches rather than genuine value. Recognizing this disconnect, he champions the power of having a “North Star”—a clear vision and understanding of the problem you solve and the unique value you bring. Mitchell encourages business owners, regardless of their size, to approach networking with intention and a customer-centric mindset. His insights help professionals articulate their purpose and foster meaningful, effective connections in the digital age.

Key Takeaways

Mitchell Levy reveals the power of clarity: leaders and business owners need a simple North Star—a CPOP—in under 10 words. When you know where you’re headed, decisions get easier and credibility follows.
Tired of random LinkedIn messages? Mitchell shares why real connection starts when you understand who you truly serve and their real pain or joy. Purposeful outreach beats cookie-cutter pitches every time.
Small business? Big CEO? Mitchell’s “executive abundance” works for all. Growth happens when you get clear on your purpose, your people, and the possibilities you can create. Alignment is everything.
Elevator pitches are overrated. What matters is knowing, in a few words, who you’re helping and why. That’s your true vibration—one you won’t need to memorize, just live.
Want credibility? Keep learning, stay coachable, and be willing to reset your focus. Mitchell’s path: clarity, purpose, connection. Change your story, and your impact grows—no matter your size.

Don’t forget: If you want to connect, ask questions, or get notified about upcoming guests like Mitchell, subscribe to the Systemise.Me newsletter here. You only need your first name and email—easy as (coffee) pie!

Thanks for sharing a cup with us this week. Here’s to strong coffee, smart hiring, and believing in the dreams you’re just starting to imagine.

And don’t forget: keep an eye out for next guest. To submit your own questions, subscribe to our newsletter and join the conversation!

P.S. Loved this episode? Hit reply and let us know what resonated most

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at www.systemise.me/subscribe

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Do You Need a P.A.T.H. to Scale?

We help established business owners with small but growing teams:

go from feeling stuck, sceptical, and tired of wasting time and money on false promises,

to running a confident, purpose-driven business where their team delivers results, customers are happy, and they can finally enjoy more time with their family -

with a results-based refund guarantee: if you follow the process and it doesn’t work, we refund what you paid.

This is THE P.A.T.H. to scale your business.

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

executive coaching, credibility, LinkedIn sales tactics, business owners, CEOs, executive abundance, fast-growing companies, Inc 5000, Marshall Goldsmith 100 coaches, clarity, North Star, customer point of possibilities, CPOP, marketing cookie cutter, business scaling, founders, path to scale, leadership, business strategy, elevator pitch, business clarity, operating system of credibility, business growth, credibility expert, solopreneurs, company purpose, personal compass, decision-making, business differentiation, referral partners, customer focus

SPEAKER

Mitchell Levy, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:31]:

Hi and welcome back to five Questions over Coffee. Here is my coffee. Now be careful spill that, it’s quite full at the moment. Mitchell. Yeah, well done. It’s a Guinness, so well done. Mitchell Levy here is a leading executive coach, a global credibility expert and I’m looking forward to him walking through his process today talking to us a little bit about how he helps get leaders real credibility. So Mitchell, thank you for making a few minutes available to come and speak to us here on It’s Not Rocket Science.

Stuart Webb [00:01:06]:

Five Questions over Coffee.

Mitchell Levy [00:01:08]:

My pleasure. Thanks for having me Stuart. Really nice to, really nice to engage with you.

Stuart Webb [00:01:14]:

Well that’s terrific. So let’s start by trying to understand the sort of person you’re reaching out to with helping them with their credibility.

Mitchell Levy [00:01:25]:

You know it’s interesting, I, I have two distinct audiences. So as an executive coach, so I’m part of The Marshall Goldsmith 100 coaches, some of the top executive coaches on the planet. And for that audience it is fast growing CEOs leading the future with executive abundance. Now in if you were in the U.S. i say Inc 5000, which basically is the, the top five, 5,000 fastest growing companies in the U.S. but yeah, since this is Australian, I’ll just say fast growing company. So that is one group of one audience. And, and executive abundance is a new framework I’m introducing into the marketplace.

Mitchell Levy [00:02:12]:

It’s been my executive coaching for years. But one of the things you, you asked me in the green room, how you doing? Last week I advanced to candidacy on my PhD program and so I am actually doing a dissertation and then we’ll, we’ll write a book, do coursework and chatbots on executive abundance.

Stuart Webb [00:02:33]:

On your Congratulations. Thank you doctor. Not a, not a, not an easy thing to do as I recall. So tell me a little more about sort of the people that you’re helping that you’ve just sort of described. Give us an example of sort of things that they might have tried before and the ways in which you help them.

Mitchell Levy [00:02:54]:

Well so by the way, let me do the second audience and then you could tell me which one you want me to.

Stuart Webb [00:02:59]:

Oh, no problem.

Mitchell Levy [00:03:00]:

So the second audience is business owners escaping slimy LinkedIn sales tactics. Perfect. Perfect. That’s exactly what I want to get right. It’s, I’ve been on LinkedIn since before they were making money. Now a couple hundred thousand people could say that, but there’s one thing I could say that nobody else in the planet can say and that is I was in the room with two, with two of the five founders And I was commissioned to have written and published the first book on LinkedIn. I’ve looked at a couple hundred thousand LinkedIn profiles and I have a system and approach that helps people drive one to one business relationships with people on LinkedIn. And I can do it at scale.

Mitchell Levy [00:03:43]:

And so it’s the 5% on LinkedIn functionality that brings 80% of value. So that sort of answers that question for the business owner side. On the executive coaching side, the question is what sort of things, what have they tried before? You know, I think I’m going to generically say something and then you could, you could drill me in if we need to. Life is, and business is really, really simple.

Stuart Webb [00:04:14]:

It’s not easy, right?

Mitchell Levy [00:04:17]:

And what’s not easy about it is the fact that even if you know the answer in your heart, in your head, in your body, you know exactly what to do. There’s chaos out there and there’s these experts who have what I call marketing cookie cutter approaches. And so in, in your vernacular, there’s a wicked problem they have and they’re trying to solve it. They’re going to go out and talk to a ton of people and they get such a diverse range of answers and then they hit one they like, but they don’t hold on to it. And so for those that I work with on executive coaching, the first thing we need to do is establish the clarity, establish the playground they play and establish what I call their cpop, their customer point of possibilities. And that is in less than 10 words, where they’re executing on their purpose. That’s for the company or for the individual. And once you have that, then you can deploy an operating system of credibility.

Mitchell Levy [00:05:23]:

But until you have that, it’s really hard to make decisions because you need a compass, you need a personal compassion that you can actually live by. You need your own North Star. And, and so that’s, in terms of business, we need a North Star and that’s, that’s where we start. And after that, when I hang out with somebody who’s doing executive coaching, I’m just, I’m just helping them understand how they’re making decisions in their North Star, how they propagate it throughout the organization. It’s, it’s always fun to see and everyone’s different. Some are really fast, some take a little bit more time, some need to fall down a couple of times so they can get up. But generally speaking, what I do is extremely simple, but apparently it’s not so easy.

Mitchell Levy [00:06:18]:

Let me just try and link those two customer types together. In some way, I think something like LinkedIn requires somebody to have what you’ve just described in terms of the Northstar, what they’re doing and be very clear about what their problem solution is. I see an awful lot of people on LinkedIn just sort of, you know, reaching out quite randomly to people, sending the immediate, why don’t we just. Why don’t we just cut to the chase? Buy my. Buy my stuff, buy my thing. And I find myself very frustrated by the fact they don’t actually have, as you’ve just described it, a real purpose, a real point of differentiation, a real customer focus behind that message, because they’re not able to actually articulate what it is they’re actually going to do. So there’s a great deal of sort of overlap between those two things that you’ve described, because business owners, even if they’re small, need to have that North Star about what it is they’re reaching out to do with LinkedIn and why they need to do it. Am I wrong?

Mitchell Levy [00:07:24]:

No, no, no. It’s, it’s a great observation. Thank you for seeing it. It shows a little bit about who you are. It turns out that if I’m working with a CEO with a couple hundred, couple thousand, tens of thousands employees, there’s a lot more what to say, politics and vested interest and vested groups in place. When I’m working with a CEO who’s a solopreneur, where they’ve got five or 10 people in their organization, it’s a whole lot easier to make change. And so it’s a different price point, a lot less expensive for the LinkedIn work. And it turns out that the lessons I learned in both places apply to each other.

Mitchell Levy [00:08:14]:

I call the LinkedIn guys mini executive abundance, even though I don’t necessarily call it to them. In my mind, I, I’m deploying executive abundance at the individual level as well, which is a great way to. So it’s, it’s technically the same thing, but most of the time I don’t, I don’t say it that way.

Stuart Webb [00:08:33]:

Yeah. And thank you for. Thank you for sort of endorsing the fact that I had misunderstood it, because I do think that this idea of executive abundance applies to some smaller businesses. They just don’t know it applies. They just don’t recognize it in themselves. And I think a lot of business owners probably don’t grow because they don’t know how to do that. They don’t know how to start to let themselves have that abundance. So talk to me a bit, a little bit Mitchell about.

Mitchell Levy [00:09:01]:

Well, I know you’ve got a valuable offer that you’re going to put. And we’ve got this, we’re going to have this in our vault, which I’m going to show now on screen, which is a www.systemize sys t e m I s e me free stuff. So you’ll be able to get hold of some of the stuff that Mitchell is going to talk about there. So Mitchell, talk to me a little bit about the process that you go through. So if people were thinking I need to get and understand this guy a bit more, talk about the process. Talk about how you help them with this abundance as you’re talking about.

Mitchell Levy [00:09:38]:

So we’ll practice on you. Stuart, you’ve demonstrated that I should do that. What, what I ended up doing. And I’ll share. This is actually what I do second, but I’m, I’m sharing on screen. Oh, not working at the moment. Looks like I, looks like I have a small problem with my, my screen sharing. So I will not do that.

Mitchell Levy [00:10:00]:

I ended up interviewing 500 thought leaders on, on credibility. And with those 500, I was able to articulate the definition of credibility, which turns out to be a good operating system. We live by credibility is the quality which we TR light. And it turned out that I unlocked a superpower. My superpower is deploying the framework of clarity. So I sit with any company, any human, help them articulate in less than 10 words where they’re executing on their purpose. Now, I call that a C pop. Your customer point of possibilities, that’s, that’s that north star.

Mitchell Levy [00:10:36]:

That’s the compass we’re talking about. And Stuart, let’s create that view. I looked at your LinkedIn, looked at your website. There’s nothing wrong with it. There’s nothing wrong. What I will promise you is that after you hear your C pop, you’re going to go, oh, I have to make changes because it’s just going to help focus you right. Now let me say something and I’m going to guess right away. I’m going to guess that you’re in a 10%.

Mitchell Levy [00:11:03]:

And I’ll tell you what I mean by that. When I share a C pop with somebody, I’m they. We as humans, we vibrate out of frequency. And so what happens is the, the C pop represents in words, the frequency you vibrate at. It’s who you are. It’s, it makes you feel aligned with who you are. I’ve done this over 1200 times and in 1200 cases, the person’s Feeling aligned. Now here’s the scary part.

Mitchell Levy [00:11:37]:

In 90% of the cases, they will get unaligned between two hours and two weeks because of the chaos and noise out there. I’m going to assume that you’re going to be in the 10%. So we’ll see next time we talk.

Stuart Webb [00:11:49]:

Right.

Mitchell Levy [00:11:52]:

Now, I also will tell you something else. I will give you the formula. It’s a secret formula. And I will gift that to you and we’ll go through the exercise together. When I was doing the interviews, I created a video and I would share the formula and say, listen, what I found so far. I created the video somewhere around interview 50. And what I said, what I found so far is even when somebody had the formula, only 2% would actually articulate their C pop. Because even with the formula, it’s hard because we get stuck on this marketing cookie cutter stuff.

Mitchell Levy [00:12:30]:

And even after they got the video, they. There was still only 2% of people could walk in. So I’m gonna give you. I’m gonna give you in the audience the formula and we’ll walk through it together. The C pop is less than 10 words, and it’s really two components. The first is the who. And I’m gonna go in and ask you the questions. Who do you serve? If we’re credible, we’re servant leaders.

Mitchell Levy [00:12:55]:

So who do you serve? And the second piece is from their perspective. What is their pain point? Or what is their pleasure point?

Stuart Webb [00:13:04]:

Right.

Mitchell Levy [00:13:05]:

So let me ask you these questions. So who is it that you serve?

Stuart Webb [00:13:10]:

So I serve a business leader who has a really bright idea but doesn’t know how to get that and make it into a positive business reality.

Mitchell Levy [00:13:20]:

Now, it’s funny because you’re LinkedIn says founders.

Stuart Webb [00:13:26]:

That’s true. It is true.

Mitchell Levy [00:13:28]:

So when you think about where 80% of your revenue comes from, is it from corporate businesses and business leaders, or is it from founders? Or who. Who is it?

Stuart Webb [00:13:38]:

It’s 80% comes from founders.

Mitchell Levy [00:13:41]:

Okay, so good thing I looked at your LinkedIn. All right, so from the. I think you said it, but I’m going to ask you both pain and pleasure, what’s their primary pain point?

Stuart Webb [00:13:58]:

They have no ability or starting point to make that business strategy or business idea an actual reality in the marketplace. They are unable to articulate, possibly even to themselves, where they start to go from. This would be brilliant to. It is there and it’s making me money.

Mitchell Levy [00:14:29]:

So you’re talking about really founders, pre revenue founders.

Stuart Webb [00:14:34]:

Now, a lot of the people that I deal with are. They’ve already Got a product, but they’ve got one product. They need two because they want to scale. And the problem they have is I’ve got a great idea for my second product, but the way I did it first, but now I’ve got a small team, it doesn’t work the second time.

Mitchell Levy [00:14:57]:

Interesting. Okay, so they, they have money because they’ve, they’ve been able to get something in the marketplace, but now they want to scale. Either scale what they’re doing or scale into another product.

Stuart Webb [00:15:14]:

Essentially, yes.

Mitchell Levy [00:15:16]:

Oh, oh, Tell me how to get it wrong. Tell me what you got.

Stuart Webb [00:15:20]:

No, no, no, you’re absolutely right by saying essentially, yes. The only other thing that I would add into that is there are. There are sometimes businesses who have managed to get that second product, but it’s now tanking because they have got all the wrong. They’re trying to do it the way they did it before, and therefore, you know, the, the mechanisms they’re using are wrong for where they are because they’re now a bigger company. You were talking about politics. They’re now sort of saying, it’s got to be done by other people, but it’s got to be done my way, in the way that I started this. And that just doesn’t work if they start instructing in that way. Whilst we’re doing this.

Mitchell Levy [00:15:55]:

While we’re doing this, Mitchell, I know you’re just doing a bit of typing, such like, I’d invite anybody. If anybody’s hearing this and thinking to themselves, I need to make comments or I need to actually sort of, you know, leap in. At this point, Mitchell and I will be monitoring the comments on LinkedIn after this. So if you’ve got questions or if you’re looking at this and thinking, I want somebody to talk to me about this, post your questions there. I can guarantee Mitchell will get onto that and we’ll answer your questions because he’s that sort of guy.

Mitchell Levy [00:16:22]:

Thank you, Will. Interesting. Okay, give me a pleasure point, not a pleasure point of working with you, but we’ll just fast forward to a period of time after they’ve had a chance to spend time with you. How are they feeling? What are they doing? What. What makes sense to them?

Mitchell Levy [00:16:41]:

Let me give you a very real example of that. Working with a company, the founders needed to start to scale something. We turned their service that was poorly defined couldn’t be delivered because they couldn’t really articulate it. It’s now much more of a sort of defined product idea, although it’s still a service, but it’s got a Logo. It’s got a description, it’s got a series of processes which their staff can operate, and they’re selling that multiple times per week. And it’s now. It’s now. Then they’re now proud of it.

Mitchell Levy [00:17:18]:

They’re now saying, I’ll use the name of it. They’re now saying, threat sure is a great product. It was a great idea, and now it’s something which is actually making us money. And customers love it.

Mitchell Levy [00:17:32]:

Cool. Nice. Okay, thank you. So yours is easy.

Mitchell Levy [00:17:42]:

I don’t want it to be easy, Mitchell.

Mitchell Levy [00:17:44]:

Let me rephrase that. Yours was really simple. And it was only after I started talking to you to see who I was seeing this morning that I. Because, remember, we talked in the green room. Should we do this live? And sometimes there’s a lot of marketing, cookie cutter stuff that gets in the way, but everything you said reinforced. Wait, let me count the words. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 words. Would you be happy if you could describe yourself?

Mitchell Levy [00:18:11]:

Wow. Okay, that is now. I will say now. This is where people. If you are watching this live and if you are going to go onto LinkedIn, you need six words. I have never been able to articulate this in six years. Six words. I can articulate it in two or three hours if you ask me to.

Mitchell Levy [00:18:26]:

But six words, that’s impressive.

Mitchell Levy [00:18:28]:

So let me. Let me say that. Or just say less than 10.

Stuart Webb [00:18:34]:

Right?

Mitchell Levy [00:18:34]:

Because if you. If you think about it, and, and this is. This is for people paying attention. When you asked me my two audiences, I gave you my seat, my two C pops. C POP stands for customer Pointed Possibilities. So my executive coaching is nine words. Inc. 5000 CEOs leading the future with executive abundance.

Mitchell Levy [00:18:55]:

The goal when you share your CPOP is that the referral partner or the prospect says, oh, tell me more, Mitchell, what’s this executive abundance thing?

Stuart Webb [00:19:02]:

Right? Or.

Mitchell Levy [00:19:04]:

Or the other one when I’m talking to a business owner. By the way, Stuart, you’re a business owner, right? So when I talk to your founders or business owners, When I talk to business owners, it’s business owners escaping slimy LinkedIn sales tactics. And I either get the laugh that you gave before or the visual reaction because you just remember being slimed recently.

Mitchell Levy [00:19:23]:

Yeah. Yeah.

Mitchell Levy [00:19:24]:

In either case, the goal when I share those words or is to paint a compass, to paint a. A playground that I plan. And then when I answer what comes next, I get more credibility because I’ve been so finite in terms of the playground. So in your particular case, your playground is six words. And I’m Putting it in chat, because I’m a visual person, so you could see it as well. But I’ll share it out loud. Founders needing a path to scale.

Mitchell Levy [00:20:01]:

Brilliant.

Stuart Webb [00:20:02]:

Right?

Mitchell Levy [00:20:03]:

And so, by the way, once again, anybody who is watching this, that is such a brilliant summary. I could not. I couldn’t have done. I couldn’t have done that without Mitchell’s help. But that is a fabulous summary.

Mitchell Levy [00:20:18]:

I’m going to say thank you. And it’s. By the way, it’s you. Because, by the way, although what happened, you’re marketing cookie cutter stuff, which I’m glad I looked at your LinkedIn. You said the word founders, and that seemed important to me, so I had to ask you, where does 80% of revenue come from? Yeah, right. And it’s. But other than that, everything you said reinforced. And you already have this on your LinkedIn.

Mitchell Levy [00:20:46]:

You have a couple other things which I might encourage you to remove. But everything you said reinforced. Having a path to scale. Even the pleasure point was talking about a path to scale.

Stuart Webb [00:20:59]:

Right.

Mitchell Levy [00:20:59]:

And so when you now have these six words, and by the way, what I was typing in on the back end is, I have a Mitchell Levy chatbot, and I said, if this is your C pop, what could the acronym path stand for? And I’m putting it in chat. We don’t have to talk about it, but this is just my gift for you. You know, path could stand for, you know, basically, purpose, action. Ooh, team, and. And. And harmony. Sorry, I. It didn’t cut.

Mitchell Levy [00:21:37]:

It didn’t cut and paste really well. And then it talks about what. That what stuff is. But. But I think. I think the way to think about it for you is, is when you share with somebody. Let me do your. Tell me more, if you don’t mind.

Stuart Webb [00:21:54]:

I’ll.

Mitchell Levy [00:21:54]:

I’ll do it. Because we’re recorded. Right, so. And now a superpower I have is the ability to do this. It’s a formula, and I’ve just done it over 1200 times, so it’s easy. I’m happy for people to grab it. It’s the who and the what. Who in the what comes before why.

Stuart Webb [00:22:12]:

Right.

Mitchell Levy [00:22:12]:

Just to be clear. Comes before Simon Sinexy. Who in the what comes first? It’s a C Pop. And a ancillary superpower is if I know somebody C Pop most of the time, I could do their tell me more better than them until they feel good about it. So let me tell you, Stuart, what I mean by this. When in the future, when you share your cpop now, if somebody says to you, hey, what’s your cpop? Now, maybe a couple hundred thousand people know this word, so most likely they’re gonna say, who are you?

Stuart Webb [00:22:45]:

Right?

Mitchell Levy [00:22:46]:

What do you do? Who are you? And in that particular case, you need to put a.

Stuart Webb [00:22:51]:

Mitchell Levy [00:22:51]:

A hook up front. The hook is, hey, there’s an audience I spend a lot of time with, or there’s an audience I do really well with, or my clients all get success in a certain area.

Stuart Webb [00:23:01]:

Right.

Mitchell Levy [00:23:02]:

Whatever the hook is. Then you do a pause, and then you say, founders needing a path to scale. Then you drop the mic, and then you may say something. Oh, let me tell you a little bit more. Listen, I work with a series of founders. A lot of times they’ve already put their first product out there. They’ve already been successful, and they need to scale. They need to get to the next level, and they get stuck.

Mitchell Levy [00:23:29]:

They either don’t know how to move forward or they’ve already moved forward, but they’ve deployed what worked in the first product to the second, and it doesn’t work. What I do is help them lay out the path that will allow them scale going forward.

Mitchell Levy [00:23:45]:

Mitchell, that is the best way I have ever heard somebody describe what is effectively an elevator pitch. You’d have heard elevator pitch. And they’re all. They’re all very difficult for people to do, and most of the time, they’re not very good. So I’m not going to say that, because there are a lot of people on here will be offended by that. But that.

Mitchell Levy [00:24:04]:

Oh, I’m gonna say it. I’m gonna say to you and everyone else, if you’ve memorized an elevator pitch, please forget it.

Mitchell Levy [00:24:13]:

Yes.

Stuart Webb [00:24:15]:

Right, stop.

Mitchell Levy [00:24:15]:

Now.

Mitchell Levy [00:24:16]:

It comes from here. Your elevator pitch comes from your head. And your goal when you talk to somebody is you want them to feel the energy inside. You want them to feel your heart. So memorize the six words or nine words or three. A couple people have three words, right? So memorize your C Pop. But you won’t have to memorize it. It’s your.

Mitchell Levy [00:24:38]:

It’s your vibrational energy. And then your.

Stuart Webb [00:24:40]:

Your.

Mitchell Levy [00:24:41]:

What would have been your elevated pitch is more the tell me more. Which you custom tailor to the person you’re talking to.

Stuart Webb [00:24:47]:

Yeah, absolutely. I love what you’re saying. Look, Mitchell, I could keep you here for another couple of hours, but I have a feeling you have important business to go and speak to other people who need this. Once again, I’m going to invite anybody listening live or in future, when you see this, drop comments into the comments Below, Mitchell, I know, will come back, give you some very, very good advice to try and get this sort of thing into your life, because we need more clarity. I am, as Mitchell has probably managed to sort of convince me. I spend a lot of my time with people who haven’t got the clarity they need. And it is always difficult to get that clarity because in their own head, they’re trying to rationalize, they’re trying to sort of apply a set of rules. You know, they’ve done all the courses, they’ve read all the books, they’ve.

Mitchell Levy [00:25:43]:

They’ve been out and seen all the YouTube videos, and somehow that’s actually created less clarity than if they just sat down and did a very simple exercise like Mitchell is doing here. So drop your questions, drop your comments. I know we can get some clarity back in the world. But Mitchell, how did you get to this? Where did you come from that this became your mission in life?

Mitchell Levy [00:26:07]:

It’s really interesting, I think, what happened because of time. I’ll try to do this super quick. My undergraduate was a Bachelor of Science in Stochastic and Deterministic Models of Operational Research. In essence, I was taught how to model. Well, as long as I could say the words and the syllables come out of my mouth, I’m still happy. And one day I won’t be able to do that anymore, right?

Mitchell Levy [00:26:34]:

So.

Mitchell Levy [00:26:36]:

But I was taught how to model people and systems and improve them. And what I learned then I got an MBA, and as I mentioned previously, I’m doing the PhD thing, right? So what. What I learned was, although I only speak English and it’s American English, and so it’s bad English, I don’t speak those multiple languages. I do speak multiple languages of functions, you know, so marketing. Funny. Marketing, talking to sales, talking to engineers. I mean, it’s just, whoever you are, I could speak your language because I’m feeling the energy of what does it mean to be who you are? And then it was in 2019 that I went on a Napoleon Hill journey And I interviewed 500 thought leaders on credibility between 2019 and 2020. And so I.

Mitchell Levy [00:27:27]:

It turns out I asked everyone five questions. And the first question that just sort of magically appeared to me is, what’s your C Pop? That’s the first thing I wanted to. I wanted to learn from people. And. And it took me a couple years, post the interviews, post the TED Talk, post the book that I wrote on it. By the way, I’ve written 65 books. My 66 is the most important. It’s the one I’m writing now called Executive Abundance.

Mitchell Levy [00:27:57]:

It took a number of years afterwards to really understand. As a matter of fact, what happened is I went to the Purpose Summit. Now, when you go to a summit called the Purpose Summit, you got a lot of people talking about purpose, bringing purpose into corporations, what people’s purpose are. And, you know, everyone had a different definition and it meant many different things to different people. And at some point in time, I thought the C pop had to do with purpose. But as it turns out, the C pop is where one is executing on their purpose today.

Stuart Webb [00:28:30]:

Yeah, brilliant, right?

Mitchell Levy [00:28:32]:

And I’m like, oh, my God. And then once that started happening, and then. I’ll give you one last. One last thing. It was about seven months ago, eight months ago. So, by the way, if you haven’t figured this out, being credible means you’re always learning, you’re always growing, you’re always coachable.

Stuart Webb [00:28:47]:

Right?

Mitchell Levy [00:28:49]:

About seven, eight months ago, I realized something, and this put everything into perspective. I’ve known this my entire life. I’ve been in Silicon Valley, started 20 companies, and sat on the board of a public firm.

Mitchell Levy [00:29:01]:

And.

Mitchell Levy [00:29:01]:

And I’ve known this my whole entire life, but have not ever executed on it until about seven or eight months ago. Sell them what they want, deliver what they need.

Stuart Webb [00:29:13]:

Yeah, brilliant.

Mitchell Levy [00:29:14]:

So let me. I’ll just finish that. So what’s interesting is I ended up spending five and a half years of my life focused on what people need. Clarity and credibility are what people need. It’s not what they want. So you sell them something else, but behind the scenes. So I’ll make a. I’ll make an offer for you.

Mitchell Levy [00:29:31]:

And listen, there are many people who actually sell clarity, and they could still use the CPOP and what they work. So I do, once a month, I do a clarity session. Have your clients come with your client to one of my clarity sessions. Have them get their CPOP and then do your thing and do your magic, right? And. And it’s. It’s the. It’s the partnership thing that we’ve been taught not to spend time on and not to focus on. But, you know, if you can bring your client to get a C pop.

Mitchell Levy [00:30:03]:

And. And then all of a sudden, everything you do from then out in is so much easier. You know, just an offer, if that’s interesting here.

Mitchell Levy [00:30:12]:

Brilliant. Mitchell, I am very aware that there must be a question that you are waiting for that you are begging me to ask, but I haven’t yet asked, and I am obviously unable to articulate that question because I don’t know what it is. So what’s the question you think I should have by now asked? And then clearly you’re gonna have to answer it because I haven’t yet thought about.

Mitchell Levy [00:30:35]:

You know, that’s always my favorite. That’s my favorite question.

Mitchell Levy [00:30:39]:

It’s the one. It’s one I like best because I don’t have to do any work for that one.

Mitchell Levy [00:30:43]:

Yeah, you know, I didn’t really, given I’m looking at the time, I didn’t really have anything. I guess the. Probably the biggest question is it’s along the lines of, Mitchell, what you did with Stuart was so simple and so straightforward and so quick. Why is it that Stuart didn’t already know that? Or why? Why? If you say you’ve done this 1200 times and every time they’ve had the same reaction with Stuart, how come you’re not known universally around the world? That would probably be the answer.

Mitchell Levy [00:31:30]:

And the answer.

Mitchell Levy [00:31:32]:

I’m still, I’m still grokking. I’m still trying to grok all that.

Stuart Webb [00:31:35]:

Right.

Mitchell Levy [00:31:35]:

Still trying to figure that out. The, the. A lot of the answers. There are many people who, who focus on clarity and focus on credibility and, and I think ultimately it’s the best way I could think about it now. It really is what people need, but not exactly what they want. What I found is that 90% of. Of. Of people, or let’s even go down to the C pop level, 98 of people don’t know their C pop.

Mitchell Levy [00:32:14]:

And if you ask them if they have clarity, they’re either going to say yes or they’re going to say, I don’t care, I don’t need it. But 98% of people, 98% of the audience has figured out that. That understanding where they’re executing their purpose in less than 10 words is not important to them yet. And so it’s hard to imagine that you could sit with somebody and they could look at you and they could. They could actually present a summarized version of how you’re showing up in the world so quickly. And, you know, there are people who watch us who would think it’s staged, that we did it ahead of time.

Stuart Webb [00:33:00]:

Right.

Mitchell Levy [00:33:01]:

And it’s not. So. But the answer, I don’t. I don’t know exactly. I just know that when I talk to somebody, whether it’s a CEO of a large company, if, if you’re my client, I’m going to stick with you and you’re going to play in your playground.

Stuart Webb [00:33:15]:

Right.

Mitchell Levy [00:33:16]:

But if you’re somebody who I’m just Sort of giving a gift to or you’re. You’ve paid me to be in my clarity session. The it, it’s so easy to get off track. It’s so easy to get out of alignment that people often do. And they go, yeah, it was good talking to Mitchell for a period of time, but I didn’t do anything with it. Right when and, and what I’ll say to you is last week was also, it was a great gift. It’s when I advanced a candidacy for the PhD. I also had a woman join me and apparently I had talked to her three years, three years earlier.

Mitchell Levy [00:33:56]:

And the first words out of my mouth, out of her mouth was, Mitchell, I’ve been thinking about you for the last three years. Which is one of those things that are really, you know, you know, how do I interpret that? And she goes, I was about ready to enter an extremely difficult chapter of my life. And what you gave me, that C pop was the best gift I’ve ever received in my life because it allowed me to actually pull myself out of that chapter to focus on my business. And I’ve served 259 clients over a five year period. Most of those came after year two because that’s when you and I spoke. And I am just so honored to have spent time with you. That’s an example of somebody who heard it, understood it and used it. And I did.

Mitchell Levy [00:34:54]:

I challenge anyone. If you get your C pop and I’m someone who supports you or where you could take the formula in the 2% and you can make it work for you, I’m going to encourage you to live it and see what happens. I guarantee that your life will be different.

Stuart Webb [00:35:10]:

Mitchell, that is a brilliant story to end on. I’ve got nothing very much else to say. I’m going to ask people if they would just go to this link www.systemize.me subscribe. You need to go to that link because that link is a link to a form which will allow me to send you an email and you will then get an email once a week when we have brilliant guests like Mitchell on. And you can just sit and learn from people like Mitchell because they are worth listening to. Mitchell, you have been an inspiration. I have got some words to add to my LinkedIn profile, but better than that, I’ve got some living to do now because I have now got a challenge from you to live up to something that you have set down as a standard for me. I cannot believe what you do and you should be world famous and I’m going to try and make it so.

Stuart Webb [00:36:05]:

Mitchell, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. I really appreciate it.

Mitchell Levy [00:36:09]:

Oh, Stuart, my. My pleasure. I. I look forward to whatever our next conversation and seeing who you are the next time I have a conversation with you.

Stuart Webb [00:36:19]:

Terrific. Thank you. Mitchell. Mitchell, that.

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View Details

Who is Joe?

Joe Abreu is the creator of the Profit Optimization Program, designed specifically for small to medium-sized business owners striving to bridge the gap between hard work and real profit. After years of working closely with business owners who frequently asked him how to translate increased revenue into greater profits, Joe began collecting and analyzing their recurring challenges. Drawing on these insights, he developed a results-driven program to help entrepreneurs break free from the cycle of endless work and unlock their businesses’ true financial potential. Through his work, Joe has empowered countless business owners to move beyond just doing more and instead focus on building businesses that reach their full profitability.

Key Takeaways

Many business owners work harder, but profits still lag behind. Joe Abreu reminds us: true success comes from understanding your numbers, not just chasing more sales. Clarity leads to freedom.
Are you slashing expenses without strategy? Joe says test each change. Don’t cut blindly—learn what truly moves the needle for your business growth.
Delegation scares a lot of owners—what will I do once I delegate? According to Joe, it’s your chance to step back, innovate, and focus on what really matters.
The 80/20 Principle changed Joe’s business life: focus on the 20% of tasks that create 80% of results. Systemize, delegate, and start freeing up your time for what counts.
Your business shouldn’t be golden shackles. Profit optimization is about designing your business to give you freedom and the life you dreamed of when you started.

Don’t forget: If you want to connect, ask questions, or get notified about upcoming guests like Joe, subscribe to the Systemise.Me newsletter here. You only need your first name and email—easy as (coffee) pie!

Thanks for sharing a cup with us this week. Here’s to strong coffee, smart hiring, and believing in the dreams you’re just starting to imagine.

And don’t forget: keep an eye out for next guest. To submit your own questions, subscribe to our newsletter and join the conversation!

P.S. Loved this episode? Hit reply and let us know what resonated most

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Do You Need a P.A.T.H. to Scale?

We help established business owners with small but growing teams:

go from feeling stuck, sceptical, and tired of wasting time and money on false promises,

to running a confident, purpose-driven business where their team delivers results, customers are happy, and they can finally enjoy more time with their family -

with a results-based refund guarantee: if you follow the process and it doesn’t work, we refund what you paid.

This is THE P.A.T.H. to scale your business.

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

profit optimization, small business owners, medium sized business, revenue, business profits, expense management, business growth, sales strategies, bookkeeping, financial literacy, accountant, business owner challenges, business expenses, business numbers, business coaching, process improvement, business systems, delegation, 80/20 principle, business mergers, business acquisitions, business sales, business optimization, podcast, business clarity, CRM, AI in business, business freedom, online course, certification course, workbook

SPEAKER

Joe Abreu, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:31]:

Hi and welcome back to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. I’m here with my guest today, Joe Abro. Joe is the author of the profit optimization program which I’m really excited to learn about. And Joe, I just want to thank you for taking a few minutes out of what I’m sure is a very busy day to spend a few minutes with us talking about this new program and the book you’ve written.

Stuart Webb [00:01:00]:

Oh, thank you for having me, Stuart. It is a pleasure to be here today.

Stuart Webb [00:01:04]:

Terrific. Now listen, let’s start why. So who is it that this book is written for? Who is it, if you like the person you’re trying to help by giving them access to the profit optimization program?

Stuart Webb [00:01:17]:

A great question. The profit optimization program was set up to service the small to medium sized business owners. That’s pretty much everyone everywhere who’s working exceptionally hard, trying to do their best that they can. But the revenue and the profits are just not connecting. We’re just doing more work, but we’re just not seeing the bottom line. We’re not really seeing what we could, how best we can be. And so what I’ve done is over the years I collected all the information from different business owners that asked me questions over and over. How do I get the revenue to actually create more profit? Because sometimes we put in more business, we create more business, but we never get to the very end.

Stuart Webb [00:02:06]:

Right. The profit doesn’t translate just the same way. And that’s where the profit optimization program was born, which is the collection of all these business owners. Over the years. In my experience as a business owner, I’ve had the opportunity to purchase businesses, to merge them. I have also to sell, so, you know, have sold them. So that’s given me a lot of experience to share.

Stuart Webb [00:02:28]:

And, and Joe, I mean you’ve obviously been through this, this program yourself, but what have you found when you’ve been talking to these people? What have they been trying to do to, to help themselves from, you know, the situation where the, the profits are somehow not quite adding up. What, what do you see as some of the common things they try to do, which, which are not, which are not effectively helping them?

Stuart Webb [00:02:49]:

Oh yes. So we see a few common things happen over and over. The first one I would say is in most business owners, what they do is when they look at their profit, it’s not matching the revenue or it’s not translating to the profits. They’ll just say, well, let’s go ahead and just do more sales, let’s just increase the revenue side. Right. That’s the most common thing. I mean, it makes sense. I mean, that’s exactly what we would all do as business owners.

Stuart Webb [00:03:14]:

So let’s just go ahead and put more deals through the pipeline and to see if that translates into profit. The second thing that we often see common mistakes or things that are slowing them down that probably they can improve would be looking at their expenses and not slashing them all at once. Because what happens is they start going through the whole business, all of their expense list, and what they’ll do is start slashing everything without testing one thing or another and then impacting the business. The third thing that they do very often is just hand over the books to an accountant or a bookkeeper and not really learning their own numbers. And I’m guilty of that. As a business owner, I just want to do the sales. I want to get out there, I want to get involved, I want to grow, and I don’t want to see the numbers all the time. But if we don’t learn our own numbers, how do we know how to impact? How do we improve them, how to slash some of the expenses? So we have to learn those numbers.

Stuart Webb [00:04:17]:

And, you know, lastly, what they do is they try to do all of these things at one time versus trying one step at a time to see what works and what doesn’t work.

Stuart Webb [00:04:29]:

Absolutely, absolutely. I’ve just put on the screen, you know, if anybody has questions or comments on what you’ve just said, I. I’d love to see them in the chat, because I know you and I will respond to that. And I’m sure there are people that have got questions about, you know, how do I best get these numbers and what do I understand by them? And I know exactly what you’re saying. Too many of us actually don’t want to have to look at numbers. We see that as a dull, boring, administrative job. But actually, it’s when you start to see those and you understand them that these optimizations become obvious, isn’t it? It’s the time when you suddenly recognize the, hey, if I actually sort of develop the area that, you know. And we often find that customers are the best sources of these things.

Stuart Webb [00:05:15]:

If I develop this, that would be a much more profitable area than just chasing the new customer and things like that. That’s the sort of insight you get by looking properly at what your numbers, what your CRM, things like that tell you.

Stuart Webb [00:05:27]:

Oh, absolutely. It’s the clarity to see where you are. That’s why I say often that at Globis are our company. What we do is we take a look at every step of the business and we break it apart in a very positive way. And we’re sort of the lens for the business. We close in or just maybe zoom out a little bit just to show them exactly what they have. Because most business owners, they have the right elements, they have the right tools. It’s just that they don’t really have the clarity to see which direction they should go where they should actually invest most of their time or money.

Stuart Webb [00:06:07]:

I love the advice. Joe. I know that you have got a very valuable free offer for us. I’m just going to point people in the direction. If you go to this link, this link is available now, which is if you go to www.systemize me/free hyphen stuff, you’ll see Joe has put a very valuable offer which I believe is at the download, seven quick wins, which I think is a really valuable piece of advice that you’re going to offer. Tell us about seven. Seven quick wins.

Stuart Webb [00:06:37]:

Yes, the seven quick wins transformation for a business in 30 days. It’s a workbook. It’s a small workbook that gets you started in the process. Going back to when I put together the profit optimization program. My idea was that if I can offer a business owner one aha moment, one of those moments where you’re like, wow, I didn’t, you know, I had heard that before or I can actually multiply my business or multiply my profit based on what I just learned. For me that was that that would be a win. So the seven wins is just the beginning. It’s, it’s very common things that you can do to start the process of identifying the things that could improve your profit in your business.

Stuart Webb [00:07:22]:

And if you see that you find one big aha and then you want to move forward, that’s what we move on to the course, the POP certification course that we have. And that’s pretty much so we have the book which is a self help and then we have the certification course which is an online version and that is more structured. But individuals started to let us know that they wanted a little bit more than just the book and they want a little bit more than just the course. So then we move down to doing some coaching and that’s what we do. A little bit more of the personalized version.

Stuart Webb [00:07:54]:

Brilliant. And even, even if you don’t get the personalized version, that seven quick wins could be the one thing that you need to get that one aha moment to move you forward. Joe, I’d just really love to understand at the moment. There’s a huge amount of experience you bring to this. You’ve bought businesses, you’ve merged, and you said you’ve sold businesses. Was there one course, an idea, something which sort of brought you to really understand how you could help people in the way that you’re helping them now?

Stuart Webb [00:08:26]:

Yes, I would say the 8020 principle. Oh, my Coke. And I, once I read that, I mean, it blew my mind, really, because I’m thinking, how is it that 20% of our actions actually brings 80% of our results? Then I’m thinking, why am I wasting my time with the other 80%? What am I doing?

Stuart Webb [00:08:51]:

Wonderful, wonderful.

Stuart Webb [00:08:53]:

So that really blew my mind. I started to think, okay, well, then in that case, I have to find a way to improve. How to divert or how to channel those 80% in another way.

Stuart Webb [00:09:05]:

Yes.

Stuart Webb [00:09:05]:

So I can go ahead and get the other 20% and then maybe I can take the other 80% of the time off and we can do that. That’s a lot of what we do with the optimization program. We’re identifying how we can improve processes, how can we systemize certain things, how can we delegate? Because that’s a huge thing for business owners. We fail to delegate. The 8020 principle really just highlights that. And then once I started to just infuse that into the business, I was, you know, I started to line up everything that I can just say, okay, that’s part of my 80%. Let’s find a way to delegate to someone else.

Stuart Webb [00:09:46]:

I. I don’t know if you have a comment on this, Joe, and once again, I’d welcome anybody currently listening to us or people who are listening later in the. In the podcast version of this. There is a sense in which. And I was talking to a business owner only this morning that was afraid of the idea of delegation, because as they said, what do I do when everybody else is doing my job? And my answer was, go and do another job, because there must be a ton that’s waiting for you, but you haven’t currently got time for it. You know, developing your staff, developing your team so that they are the most efficient, the most effective, and effectively allowing them to do your job, to free. Free you up, to do something else. That seems to be a burden, or at least it’s.

Stuart Webb [00:10:29]:

It’s a blocker for a lot of business owners who are basically saying, but if I let everybody do my job, then I’ve got nothing to do. And that’s actually just not true, is it?

Stuart Webb [00:10:39]:

Oh, no, it is not. Actually. If you find ways to delegate all of these tasks, they can be systemized or can be organized in a certain way to give you that freedom, then I think that’s when you can come back as a business owner and have that macro view where you can now start to innovate, where you could start to bring in other new processes that. That frees you up to do that. So a business owner’s job is never done because we’re always looking for the next thing. And now that AI is coming into the picture, we’re basically changing processes and systems almost on a monthly basis. Now. By the time that we’re done producing a system, we’re already thinking how we’re going to improve this, how we’re going to make this better.

Stuart Webb [00:11:24]:

Brilliant, Joe, you’ve been very eloquent. You’ve explained this brilliantly, and I have a funny feeling there is something in you at the moment that’s saying, he still hasn’t asked me that one real killer question. So I’m going to assume that I am too stupid to be able to work out what that killer question is and say, Joe, tell us, what is the killer question that I. That I really should have asked you? And. And when you’ve obviously made that question known, you’re gonna have to answer it, because I didn’t even think of the question. So what is that killer question that I have failed to ask?

Stuart Webb [00:11:56]:

Well, I don’t know, Stuart, I think you’re considered one of the smartest podcasters, so I don’t know. But I would say if there’s one question that, that often I think that most people should ask is, why now? Why do I have to do this now? Why should I do it now? And I think the number one thing is that we’re business owners who are working really hard at growing our business. But ultimately, we are humans and we have to be as successful. We have to meet our dreams. We have to reach that freedom as a business owner, because that’s exactly what when we open our business, when we started our business or merged into another business, we had the dream of becoming more successful. So why now? Now? Because we owe it to ourselves. We have to be the best that we can. Sometimes businesses are just golden shackles.

Stuart Webb [00:12:51]:

They’re fantastic because they’re providing us a. An income. And that’s why they’re the golden shackles, because they’re beautiful, because we’re getting that income. But that’s. So that’s good. But sometimes, as the saying goes, good is the enemy of great and brilliant. Sometimes we’re just missing that part to getting to great. And if we can sit down and really learn our numbers, figure out how can we get rid of these ghost expenses, how do we improve our bottom line? That equals freedom, freedom as a business owner.

Stuart Webb [00:13:23]:

And that’s really the, the ultimate sign of success that you can do what you want when you want.

Stuart Webb [00:13:33]:

Joe, I love the message. I think it’s absolutely brilliant. And I absolutely agree with you because I worked with a business who had to learn how to do a lot of what you’ve just said. The business owner was very reluctant to sort of go forward with some of these ideas, but they then had a family emergency. And if they had not learned how to delegate how, how to let go, they would not have had the time, the freedom to be able to deal with that family emergency. They would then never have been able to come back after that family emergency, after several months and still had a business that they could get involved in. And I absolutely agree. You trying to help people to understand that their job is about making their business an effective route to, to, to.

Stuart Webb [00:14:24]:

To their. To their ability to enjoy their life as opposed to being the shackles that keeps them involved in their business forever is a brilliant message. Thank you very much for sharing it with us this afternoon. I really appreciate it.

Stuart Webb [00:14:37]:

Absolutely. Thank you.

Stuart Webb [00:14:39]:

So listen, one quick plea for me. I’ve just put a link on screen. This is WWW Systemize. That’s sys T e M I S E. Please go to that link. Just put in your name, your email address. You will get one email from me a week giving you details of the brilliant guests that we have coming up on this podcast to allow you to come find out what the LinkedIn Live will be and to ask questions to get your questions answered about your business growth and the sort of things that people that brilliantly Joe has emphasized today. So just go to Systemize Me, subscribe, get onto the mailing list.

Stuart Webb [00:15:25]:

And I want to just finish by thanking Joe for taking time out of his. I can only imagine it is a very busy time with a book and a bunch of other things to do. Joe, thank you for coming on and spending a few minutes talking to us and I really appreciate some of the pearls of wisdom you’ve left us with.

Stuart Webb [00:15:40]:

Absolutely. Anytime. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

Stuart Webb [00:15:44]:

That’s no problem at all. Thank you.

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View Details

Who is Arup?

Arup Biswas is a dynamic entrepreneur at the forefront of AI-driven marketing solutions. Recognizing that true innovation lies in customer outcomes, Arup has dedicated his career to making powerful marketing accessible for all. He identified three key audiences—marketing agencies, recruitment firms, and SME owners—who often found traditional radio advertising out of reach due to high costs and lack of expertise. With a passion for breaking down barriers, Arup’s work centers on helping these businesses connect with audiences more effectively, using cutting-edge technology to solve longstanding challenges and drive real, measurable success.

Key Takeaways

Arup Biswas, founder of Klaxon AI, shared how AI can make radio and podcast advertising accessible, affordable, and targeted—even for small businesses. Breaking down barriers is reshaping who gets to be heard.
Removing technical barriers in media isn’t just about cost. Klaxon AI lets anyone create professional audio ads in minutes, not days, changing who gets to participate in the advertising landscape.
Culture shifts when technology puts power in new hands. DIY audio ads, as Arup describes, give small business owners a voice where only big brands used to play. That shapes narratives—and who gets to tell them.
Targeted messaging is more than a marketing tactic. Klaxon AI shows that when we speak directly to our audience, we foster deeper connections and more inclusive cultural conversations.
Audio advertising isn’t just for radio. Arup encourages using your audio ad everywhere—on your site, social, emails. Culture today is cross-media, and your voice can travel further than ever before.

Don’t forget: If you want to connect, ask questions, or get notified about upcoming guests like Arup, subscribe to the Systemise.Me newsletter here. You only need your first name and email—easy as (coffee) pie!

Thanks for sharing a cup with us this week. Here’s to strong coffee, smart hiring, and believing in the dreams you’re just starting to imagine.

And don’t forget: keep an eye out for next guest. To submit your own questions, subscribe to our newsletter and join the conversation!

P.S. Loved this episode? Hit reply and let us know what resonated most

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at www.systemise.me/subscribe

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Do You Need a P.A.T.H. to Scale?

We help established business owners with small but growing teams:

go from feeling stuck, sceptical, and tired of wasting time and money on false promises,

to running a confident, purpose-driven business where their team delivers results, customers are happy, and they can finally enjoy more time with their family -

with a results-based refund guarantee: if you follow the process and it doesn’t work, we refund what you paid.

This is THE P.A.T.H. to scale your business.

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

small business hiring, remote work, hybrid companies, digital marketing agencies, coaches and consultants, e-commerce businesses, hiring process, HR departments, bad hire costs, hiring mistakes, onboarding, job candidate selection, concierge hiring service, affordable recruiting, job post templates, freelancer pricing guides, virtual assistants, customer service hiring, company culture fit, soft skills, work from home, moms working remotely, freelancing, home-based businesses, job boards, local business networking, HireMyMom platform, Hire Thy Neighbor, faith-based business, church directory, entrepreneurial journey

SPEAKER

Arup Biswas, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:00]:

Hi there and welcome back to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. I have in front of me my coffee mug. I hope Arup has his drink with him, whether or not it’s coffee or something else. But I’d love to welcome Arup as well. Arup is the founder of something called Claxon AI which I’m hoping we will learn more about in the next 15, 20 minutes. But from initial introduction I’ll say that Klaxon AI is one of those game changing type AI systems that really should be shaking up the podcast advertising, media advertising landscape, enabling us all to produce those really game changing ads cheaper, faster and with more specificity.

Stuart Webb [00:01:14]:

So Arup, welcome to It’s Not Rocket Science five questions over coffee.

Arup Biswas [00:01:19]:

Thank you, Stuart. I’m delighted to be here.

Stuart Webb [00:01:22]:

Terrific. Well, you know, let’s start with who the who the who. The ideal audience for Klaxon AI is what’s the sort of characteristics that anybody who’s listening to us at the moment might be thinking? Well, I wonder if this is for me.

Arup Biswas [00:01:38]:

Yeah, well, there are three key audiences for what we do. And I should say that actually, yes, we are an AI business, of course, but actually it’s all about the outcome for the customer. And the outcome for the customer is reaching people effectively in a powerful way. So our core market is marketing agencies are already working with clients, but offering traditional marketing methods, recruitment agencies who may be looking to recruit volume numbers of staff and owners of SMEs. So those business owners who are struggling hard to, to make their business business a success. But I’ve always thought that radio advertising in particular has been out of their reach because of lack of knowledge or price cost. Those kind of traditional factors have always been the issue. So that’s our traditional market, that’s our marketplace that we focus on and our solution is all about helping them overcome those issues.

Arup Biswas [00:02:31]:

And we provided a, created a solution which we think does all that.

Stuart Webb [00:02:36]:

And let’s just sort of understand that. I mean you talked about the fact that it’s a solution. So what are the sort of problems that you noticed that you were trying to solve with this? Obviously cost is one, but there must a bunch of other things that you’re looking at this solution in AI that will actually help solve.

Arup Biswas [00:02:55]:

Absolutely. And the biggest, one of the biggest issues other than price, price is always an issue for small business owners is knowledge and technical expertise.

Stuart Webb [00:03:03]:

Yeah.

Arup Biswas [00:03:03]:

Particularly when it comes to broadcast advertising, whether it’s TV or radio, people think, and traditionally this has been the case. So this is completely justified why people think this way. You need to go to a recording studio, you need a sound engineer, you need a voiceover artist, you need to create a script. And traditionally the cost of creating an audio advert has been thousands and thousands of pounds. Typically a recording studio can be upwards of £300 an hour to just hire the recording studio. So the costs are really high. But also the technical expertise, you know, if you’re a business owner running whatever your business is, you know, how much do you actually know about creating a radio advert? You think you might have to outsource that, but it’s not typically something you think you can do yourself. So there were high barriers to entry to get into radio advertising and there traditionally always has been high barriers to entry.

Arup Biswas [00:03:56]:

So when we came up with the concept for doing this, and I should say myself and my co founder, we come from a media background, so we were very experienced in working with small business owners who were looking to promote their businesses in normal market ways, but struggled with things like broadcast advertising. So we came with it from a problem point of view of how do we make it easier for these business owners to get their message out via radio advertising and increasingly podcast advertising. So we know that we know the pain. We, you know, we see the pain every day. And historically the pain’s been there, been there. So what we’ve done is create a system which removes every, every barrier to entry. And I’ll, you know, we’ll talk a little bit more about what we offer, but essentially one of the services we offer is a self serve advert creation system where anybody can go in and create a professional audio advert with no technical expertise in less than five minutes. So that’s what we’ve tried to do, is remove barriers to entry.

Stuart Webb [00:04:55]:

So let’s, let’s just deal into that and I guess we’re going to get into some of the sort of the offerings and services that you’ve got. And I hope that there’s going to be a valuable offer, a piece of advice that you’d like to give to the audience. But let me just explore for a moment. I mean, how does this system work? What does the business owner do to, to solve the problem they’ve got? Having sort of looked at the cost of this and thought this is going to be too expensive for me to be able to sort of put a radio advert, a podcast advert, TV advert, whatever, out this might be a solution to it. What’s the steps that they take? What are the different services you Offer.

Arup Biswas [00:05:33]:

Yeah, well, the first thing to say is when we talk to business owners is to forget everything they know about creating radio adverts. Because most of us, or most people come to this thinking expensive techniques, technically complex, all those kind of things. As I said, we’ve created a system that removes all that. So we’ve got two services. One is a self serve system I mentioned where anybody can go in, they can just write a few words of text. We use AI to create a script for the, for the company owner or the marketing executive. So you just need to put in a few words about your business. You know, for example, you know, ABC is a marketing company that works in Chester.

Arup Biswas [00:06:11]:

Our AI will automatically create a 30 second advert script using that text, or you can put in the exact text that you want to be read out. What happens is our system automatically creates the script, automatically adds an AI voice, and these are high quality AI voices. We use the best AI voices in the industry. You would never know it’s an AI voice. And we add background music to it as well and we patch it up as a, as a 30 second advert. Now that process is super quick. Anybody can go into the site now, they could do it now and they’ll see that they’ll have an advert there to listen to literally within less than a minute, you know, no more than five minutes if they want to translate it, because we offer a translation facility as well. So that’s fine, they could do that, then they could download the advert, do whatever they want with it.

Arup Biswas [00:06:56]:

But what we also know is quite often somebody will produce something like an audio file and they won’t know what to do with it. It’s great having an advert on your desktop or what the hell do you do with it. So what we do is we don’t see ourselves so much as a tech company, we see ourselves as a full service tech and advertising agency. So we offer what we call a fully managed service where we’ll create the advert for the client for the same cost. It’s the same low cost. So we’ll create the advert for the client and then we work with our media partners. So we have media partnerships with the largest radio station owners in the UK and the world’s largest podcast advertising network. And, and these are companies that own every commercial radio station you’ve heard of, the big ones, you know, Heart Great Sits Radio, lbc, Capital Jazz fm, Classic fm, all the ones you, you’ve heard of, which get millions and millions of listeners every week.

Arup Biswas [00:07:49]:

And we partner with those guys to actually broadcast the advert for the client. So we offer a full one stop shop solution where the client can just say to us, yes, create the advert for us and we want it broadcast in Chester in, in September for two weeks. And we want to target a particular demographic now because more and more people are listening to radio adverts, not on traditional radios but on what you call connected devices, smart speakers, phones, game stations, Alexas, all those kind of things that gives you a lot of data about who’s listening. And because the media owners have that data, we could target really effectively. So nowadays if a business owner says to us, oh my target audience is Eastbourne for example, but I only want to target 45 year old business owners in Eastbourne, within a 10 mile radius of Eastbourne and they have to be female business owners, we can do that. We could target exactly that audience through our media partners and deliver the advert exactly to that audience. So nobody else other than those target audience people will hear the advert which makes the advertising spend really effective of course. So what we do for the client is we create the advert, we manage the broadcast for them, we get it broadcast and we send them analytics at the end of it.

Arup Biswas [00:09:02]:

So, and obviously they can hear the advert when it’s live on air. So we offer a full service solution.

Stuart Webb [00:09:09]:

And I think it’s really important to, to, to, to, to sort of emphasize in this, if it’s not become very obvious, that makes this really very, very cost effective, doesn’t it? Because you’re not paying for the normally 95% of people who don’t want, you’re targeting the very specific people that you know that you have a solution to their problem and therefore that advert becomes extremely relevant and very much more targeted.

Arup Biswas [00:09:35]:

That’s right. And actually some of the campaigns we’ve already run for clients, they’ve been very targeted campaigns. So we’ve got one coming up actually in the next couple of weeks which is targeting business owners in Birmingham and it’s just targeting Birmingham city centre. So like a mile, a couple of mile radius of Birmingham city centre. It’s only targeting business owners because that’s who the business the advertiser wants to target. We can even set the age range. If they only want to target business owners over 25, for example, we could do that. So yeah, it makes it very effective and it means you’re not, you’re not wasting your ad spend on people hearing your advert who aren’t in your target audience.

Arup Biswas [00:10:13]:

So why why waste money doing that?

Stuart Webb [00:10:15]:

Terrific. So that brings me on to the sort of third question. Is there a piece of advice, an offer, something that you can give, give to the audience listening at the moment, the people watching us on YouTube, LinkedIn who might say, well, this sounds like it’s interesting. So how do I get some advice from this guy and understand whether or not this is for me?

Arup Biswas [00:10:34]:

Yeah, well, the first thing I would do is I’d say look at one of the challenges is people often think that radio listenership in particular is declining. They know podcast listenership is increasing because podcasts are booming massively around the world, but they think radio listenership generally is declining. And that’s not the case at all. Radio listenership is really, really strong in the and around the world. So in terms of free advice, free resources, I would tell people to go to a couple of the industry websites. These are completely in industry official websites. One is called radiocentre.org which is kind of the voice of the radio industry in the uk. The second one is a site called Rajar R a j a r.co.uk which is run by the BBC and the Radio center which gives the stats on how many people listen to different radio stations.

Arup Biswas [00:11:24]:

So if you go there and even if you look for your local radio station, so you might want to know how many people listen to heart radio in your part of the world, you can go there and you can see the actual stats of how many people are listening to heart radio in your area. So you’ll know how big the audience is. The second bit of advice I’d give, and this may sound a bit self serving, is just go onto our website, go into register for our free advertising service. There’s no cost to create the advert. The only, the only cost is if you want to download the advert at the end of the process. But you don’t have to do that if you just want to go in, have a look, see how it works, actually create an advert yourself, see how it sounds, do that, go in there, have a play with it, see how easy it is to create a professional audio advert and that you’ll, that will make you very familiar and comfortable with knowing it’s really easy. Now you don’t need the traditional ways of creating adverts now. What we’ve done is created a disruptive way to create an professional audio ad cheaply and quickly.

Stuart Webb [00:12:21]:

So anybody who’s just tried to sort of write down all of that information, I can promise you, and I’ve put it on screen. Now, if you go to our vault, which is systemize S Y S T E M I s e.me forward/free hyphen stuff that’s systemized me free hyphen stuff, all of those links that ARIP has just, just mentioned will be there. You don’t have to try and write them down. Just remember, systemize me free hyphen stuff, dead easy. Go on that, pick up all of that links, pick all of the information that we’ve got and we’ll be able to direct you to all of that stuff that ARUP has just mentioned. And that will save you having to try and remember a lot of information which is actually going to help you to understand exactly how you can create these adverts. Low cost, highly targeted, very relevant to the person, has a problem that you can solve for them. And if that doesn’t bring in leads, then nothing else will.

Stuart Webb [00:13:17]:

Arab, you’ve mentioned a little bit about how you sort of began your journey towards this. You were, you were obviously in the media world yourself. Was there a, was there a moment, a book, a course and in a meeting, something which sort of struck you as, okay, I’ve got a solution to a problem. I need to, I need to start telling the world about this. What brought you to who you are at the moment, as it were?

Arup Biswas [00:13:38]:

Yeah, well, as I said, myself, my co founder, Monok, we come from the media sector and actually we both started off as traditional newspaper journalists back in the day when, you know, newspaper readership was huge. So we started in the media sector. We moved into different areas of media operations in terms of managing news websites and operations, those kind of things. But we worked quite closely with advertising teams in our media companies. So we were working with colleagues who were working with local businesses who were looking to promote themselves via. In those days it was all newspaper advertising. You’ll remember, Stuart, back in the day, all the job listings weren’t on. Indeed they were in your local paper.

Stuart Webb [00:14:16]:

And all the properties, I don’t remember those times.

Arup Biswas [00:14:18]:

I’m only 21, I’m obviously older than you.

Stuart Webb [00:14:24]:

21 in a few months. I just haven’t counted the number of months recently.

Arup Biswas [00:14:29]:

But trust me, in, in, I’m going to say in the old days, job listings, property listings, they’re all in your local paper. That’s where you would go, you know, Thursday used to be job paper day. You know, you’d get a paper on a Thursday and that’s where your jobs were. Wednesday was for property. Now all that has moved online. But working with commercial teams in media organizations. Like I said, we understood how SME owners, business owners were evolving, what they wanted to do. They were Google AdWords was a new thing at the time.

Arup Biswas [00:14:55]:

You know, the, the power of advertising online became a new thing and more and more were shifting away from traditional print advertising into online advertising. But there was a growing band who wanted to go further and want to do things like radio advertising. But there just wasn’t the capability to do it. A low cost, easy to, easy to use and understand way and it hasn’t been for years. You know, we set up to solve that problem, to fix that problem. We, we knew AI could solve that problem and we built our own system to enable us to do it. So we have our own proprietary system that uses AI. Now if you’re into AI, yeah, it’s fine, it’s exciting.

Arup Biswas [00:15:31]:

But if you just focus on the outcome of I want to reach potential large audiences in a really effective and powerful way. Radio advertising, podcast advertising is number one. And actually it’s not me saying that numerous bodies, including the Guardian newspaper and Tapestry research, they did some analysis a few years ago about the effectiveness of podcast advertising, for example, and what they found, what they found was podcast advertising is more, it’s the most effective form of advertising around, much more effective than online advertising, a lot more effective than TV advertising. And actually what they found in their in depth analysis and research was 52% of of podcast listeners who heard an advert in a podcast wanted to buy something from the brand. 38% of people who heard an advert on radio wanted to buy something from the brand. And there’s a whole stack of literature about the science of audio and the fact it goes in your ear and it sticks in your brain and it, and you digest it and you, and it works its way into your brain in a different way to things you see visually, for example. So there’s a lot of science about how audio is the most effective method of getting a message in, in your brain and also the most effective message method of advertising and getting the customers to recall your brand, recall your message and go onto your website and make a purchase.

Stuart Webb [00:16:55]:

Terrific. I’m very aware of the fact that you’ve given a huge amount of very detailed answers to questions that I’ve given you, but probably I’ve not yet asked you the one question that I should have asked and that’s probably my fault for having not realized. There’s an important question here, but there must be one important question that you keep thinking. When’s he going to ask this really, really important question. So I’m going to ask you now to tell me what that question was. And obviously, as you know what the question is, you’re also going to have to answer it for me because I can’t answer that question.

Arup Biswas [00:17:25]:

That’s fine. Well, I guess a really obvious question is what do I do with an advert? And I know it sounds really obvious because we’ve been talking about advertising on radio, we’ve been talking about advertising podcasts and Absolutely, you know, create the advert. That’s where it’ll go. That’s where you’re going to get your biggest audience when it’s broadcast on radio or broadcast in podcast. However, an audio advert doesn’t have to be just used in that way. There’s lots of other things you can do with an audio advert. You can stick it on your website, you can stick it in your newsletters, you can stick it on your email, you can use on social media. So if you never want it to be on radio or you don’t think you can afford the cost of it, going out on radio or podcast doesn’t mean that an audio advert won’t be effective.

Arup Biswas [00:18:06]:

It will be effective and there’s lots of ways you can use it. So, you know, if you don’t want it on Heart FM or Greatest Radio or in the podcast or whatever, fine. Use it on your website, Use it on your, in your blog section if you’ve got one. Use it in your emails. User on social media, people still digest it in the same way. It’s still going through people’s ears. They’re still hearing the message. It’s just a different medium that’s going out.

Arup Biswas [00:18:29]:

So that’s the one thing I think people should get, should really understand that using our system or using any system to create an advert doesn’t necessarily mean you have to broadcast it on radio. An audio file, an audio advert can be used in lots of different ways and it’s a powerful mechanism whichever way they use.

Stuart Webb [00:18:48]:

And now it’s as cost effective as you described, Eric. There’s no reason not to do five, six, seven of them and use them in different ways, different channels where, you know, there’ll be different audiences. I’m always very keen on talking to business owners who are sort of unsure about whether or not they should target and get very much more niche in there trying to solve particular problems. And I keep saying to them the niche person is the one that actually it’s where the money is really made. So actually creating a very niche advert might sound like a really crazy idea, but actually it’s the one which is probably going to be the most effective in bringing the person that has a problem that you solve to get to know who you are and start to know and trust you. And it’s a much more effective way of doing it by something as simple as creating an audio advert like you’re describing than it is by blasting a message to the entire world and hoping, which is just a very ineffective strategy.

Arup Biswas [00:19:41]:

Yeah. And, you know, with our services, there’s two ways to, to look at that. One is, as I said, with the radio advertising, it can be really targeted at who you want to reach and the demographics. But podcast advertising is a really interesting space. I mean, everyone know how big podcasts are getting? You know, they’re huge globally in the UK and globally. But with podcasts, obviously there, it’s a bit like websites. There’s podcasts for everything and podcasts for very niche subjects. So if you want a podcast just on marketing, you’ll come to your podcast Stuart.

Arup Biswas [00:20:11]:

But if you want a podcast on business growth that you, you know, sorry, your business growth podcast will come to you. If you want one on marketing, if you want one on cars, whatever, there’ll be a podcast about it. I mean, if you. Everybody knows about the Peter Crouch podcast, you know, and he’s got some really successful podcasts out there now, music podcasts that appeal to people, they’re funny, that the comedy podcast, but the podcast for everything. And whatever sector you’re working in, there will be a podcast that relates to that sector. So that means you can have an advert in that particular podcast, which means only people that be hearing it are people that you want to target, people who are, who are looking for those services or looking for knowledge and experience. So you can be really, really highly targeted. Which is why some podcast advertising can be a bit more expensive because it’s so targeted.

Arup Biswas [00:21:04]:

But going back to your point, it’s exactly that point, you’re not wasting a single penny on people that aren’t in your target audience.

Stuart Webb [00:21:11]:

Brilliant. Brilliant. Arab. I think you’ve really, really hit the nail on the head with that. And I’m just going to, once again, if you, if I would encourage you, go to Systemize me free hyphen stuff, go and find out Those email, those URLs, those websites that are mentioned, they will be in the vault. You can go there, you can pick up those, those valuable links and find out just how quickly and easily you can create an advert like Arup has just described to you. I’m going to back up what he’s saying. I’ve been doing some sort of helping people launch their own podcast just recently.

Stuart Webb [00:21:47]:

When you look at the number of blogs there are in the world and yet there are so few podcasts and blogs are something that I know every web expert tells me, you must have a blog, you must have a blog. If you’ve got a blog but you haven’t got a podcast, you’ve missed out on a huge section of potential audience I happen to have to attend. Not because I, because I was doing something else there, but I was attending an event recently in the middle of Derby which was around the train industry and there were no less than 12 YouTube and podcast people there, all creating podcasts about the trains that they were seeing. So there are some really huge audiences for these people. If they hadn’t expected there to be a huge audience for their stuff, they wouldn’t have been there. So go think about it. Go have a look at what you can do with podcasts, look at what you can do with an advert to promote your stuff on a podcast and get out there and do it. Arup, I’ve got to thank you for, for what you’ve just said.

Stuart Webb [00:22:46]:

I think it’s brilliant stuff and really, really appreciate you coming on and spending a few minutes with us.

Arup Biswas [00:22:50]:

Thank you, sir, I really enjoyed it. Thank you for the opportunity.

Stuart Webb [00:22:53]:

No problem. If you’ll excuse me, I’m just going to now encourage people to subscribe to this podcast and website. Go to once again, Systemize Me subscribe you just, it’s a simple format, asks you for what two things, your first name and your email address. And every week you’ll get an email with me from me telling you who’s coming up on this so that you can join live on LinkedIn or YouTube and actually get the sort of valuable free advice from experts such as Eric. We don’t have people on here who have got something really valuable to say. So if you want to listen to more people like Arup who’ve got really valuable free advice for you and really will help get your business motoring, come and subscribe at Systemize Me Forward slash subscribe. Arup, thank you very much. Thank you for indulging me for a few minutes in making my own little self promotion there.

Stuart Webb [00:23:42]:

It’s not an advert. Maybe I need to start thinking about one of those as well, but thank you very much for being here.

Arup Biswas [00:23:47]:

Thank you, Stuart..

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View Details

Who is Lesley?

Lesley Pyle is the founder of HireMyMom, a company dedicated to helping small business owners—especially those running hybrid or remote teams—grow and succeed. After seeing countless business owners struggle to find skilled, trustworthy candidates and juggle the demands of recruiting, Lesley made it her mission to simplify hiring. Through HireMyMom, she connects digital marketing agencies, coaches, consultants, and e-commerce businesses with talented remote professionals, eliminating the hassle of massive job boards. Lesley also offers a unique concierge service, allowing an experienced HR professional to handle the entire hiring process, so business owners can focus on what they do best—growing their businesses.

Key Takeaways

Here’s what’s brewing in this episode:

🎯 Hiring Help for Small Businesses Lesley breaks down the biggest hiring challenges for small and micro-business owners. If you’ve ever rushed a hire just to fill a gap, you’ll relate! She reveals how a bad hire can impact team morale, productivity, and even customer satisfaction. But don’t worry—Lesley also shares how her platforms connect entrepreneurs to the right remote candidates (and even offer a concierge hiring service to take the pressure off).

🙅‍♀️ Common Mistakes and Smart Fixes From skipping steps to hiring out of desperation, Lesley outlines what NOT to do—and how a step-by-step system can save time, money, and headaches. She highlights the importance of hiring for culture and soft skills, not just resumes!

📚 Free Resource: Smart Hiring Guide Don’t miss Lesley’s offer: a free Smart Hiring Guide packed with checklists, job post templates, freelancer pricing guides, and a comparison of platforms. Grab yours at www.systemise.me/free-stuff

🌟 An Entrepreneurial Origin Story Lesley opens up about her unexpected path from PR professional to entrepreneurial trailblazer, inspired by her own struggle to balance motherhood and career. Her journey from a single-parent household to earning a master’s degree in Scotland and founding two impactful businesses is both relatable and uplifting.

💡 What’s New: Hire Thy Neighbor Get an exclusive peek at her latest venture, helping people connect with local service providers—and even search by faith connection or church affiliation. (It’s in early launch—look for updates soon!)

✨ Most Inspiring Takeaway Finally, Lesley leaves us with a reminder: no matter your background or obstacles, with determination, faith, and resilience, you can reach dreams you never imagined.

Don’t forget: If you want to connect, ask questions, or get notified about upcoming guests like Lesley, subscribe to the Systemise.Me newsletter here. You only need your first name and email—easy as (coffee) pie!

Thanks for sharing a cup with us this week. Here’s to strong coffee, smart hiring, and believing in the dreams you’re just starting to imagine.

And don’t forget: keep an eye out for next guest. To submit your own questions, subscribe to our newsletter and join the conversation!

P.S. Loved this episode? Hit reply and let us know what resonated most

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Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Do You Need a P.A.T.H. to Scale?

We help established business owners with small but growing teams:

go from feeling stuck, sceptical, and tired of wasting time and money on false promises,

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with a results-based refund guarantee: if you follow the process and it doesn’t work, we refund what you paid.

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

SPEAKER

Lesley Pyle, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:00]:

SA hi, and welcome back to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. I have my cup of a mug of coffee with me here, and I’m here with Leslie Pyle. Leslie is the founder of Hire My mom and Hire Thy Neighbor. So we’re gonna have some interesting, exciting discussions, I think, about how she is helping business owners to, as I say, move from the path of least assistance to something better where they can actually free up their time for more strategic decisions. So, Lesley, welcome to It’s Not Rocket Science. Thanks very much for being here.

Lesley Pyle [00:01:05]:

Yeah, thank you, Stuart. It’s my pleasure and my honor to be with you.

Stuart Webb [00:01:09]:

Terrific. So let’s start with the who is the business owner, the business person or person you’re trying to serve? What is, what are the sort of characteristics of that person?

Lesley Pyle [00:01:19]:

Yeah. So our ideal client is a small business owner, typically running a hybrid or remote company. Anything from digital marketing agencies to coaches, consultants, and e commerce businesses. The biggest challenge they face is finding and hiring the right candidates to help their business grow and thrive. Many times these business owners try to quickly hire to alleviate the growth pains or issues their businesses are facing. They either don’t have the skills to hire well or they don’t have the time. So at HireMyMom, we solve that problem by connecting them with skilled, talented, remote talent without the headaches and stress of the mega job boards. In addition, we offer a concierge service where our HR professional can take the burden off the business owner and perform the entire hiring process for them.

Lesley Pyle [00:02:09]:

And at the end of the project, we present them with the top two or three candidates for the business owner to then review hire their top choice. And we do this at an affordable price, unlike many of the traditional recruiters.

Stuart Webb [00:02:22]:

So.

Lesley Pyle [00:02:22]:

So it makes it very attractive for the small and micro business owner.

Stuart Webb [00:02:26]:

Terrific. I mean, you’ve just described an ideal situation there, but what have you come across as sort of routes and things that some of the business owners you’ve worked with have tried to do to alleviate these problems? Because as you say, getting the right person in the right job to really help your business grow can be a really critical thing. And as you said, a lot of people don’t really understand the steps, don’t understand how to best choose, and often make mistakes.

Lesley Pyle [00:02:52]:

That’s right. And most small businesses, they don’t have HR departments, so they are typically the hiring manager. So the most common mistake we see is hiring too quickly, not taking the time. So hiring the wrong person, it doesn’t just waste money, but it can disrupt Your entire business. On average, people don’t realize this, but on average, a bad hire cost up to 30% of what you’re paying that person. And in addition, there’s these four negative impacts. Number one, you lose time training someone who doesn’t work out. Number two, your productivity is lost as you have to restart the entire process.

Lesley Pyle [00:03:31]:

Number three, your team morale and your personal morale is shot. Your customer experience is probably affected. And then number four, your burnout because you’re having to juggle your job and theirs for that time. So most small businesses spend 45 hours trying to hire onboard train a new member, and 82% of them report negative impacts from hiring the wrong person. So that’s really where we try to come in and help. And if someone doesn’t want to use us as a concierge service, they can do the hiring themselves, obviously, with our platform, but we just try to educate them as best we can on the proper steps, you know, writing a good job post, what types of interview questions, and all of those things to really help them be successful.

Stuart Webb [00:04:20]:

Yeah, you’re right. I’ve often seen it in businesses I’ve been working with where the wrong person coming in can do more harm than good. You know, they often leave not just cost and wasted productivity, but poor, poor attitude. With people dissatisfied that somebody else has been hired, that has left a bad taste. And that can be quite damaging for the, you know, the small business that’s got maybe a small team that’s just started to gel and the wrong person comes in can cause a lot of disruption, can’t it?

Lesley Pyle [00:04:51]:

Yes, it really can. So that’s why we tell people not to rush the process, to really take their time, make sure they’re hiring the right person, the right fit, who has the right skills and, you know, not. Skills aren’t always the number one thing to look for, because a lot of times those can be trained. No, but do they have the soft skills? Do they have the culture? Do they fit your culture, your values, your mission, and things like that? So there’s a lot more to kind of think through versus just how does the resume look?

Stuart Webb [00:05:21]:

Yeah, absolutely right. It, it is a. It is a case of hiring the behavior, not for the, for the skill. I often say to people when they’re hiring, and I don’t know if you find this yourself, you should not hire as if it’s 100 meters race, but higher as if it’s the high jump. You set a quality standard. You say, this is the bar, and if nobody clears it or you Just start the process again. You don’t just lower the bar and say, we’ll take whoever we can get.

Lesley Pyle [00:05:45]:

That’s right. You’re right.

Stuart Webb [00:05:47]:

So Leslie, I think you’ve got a great, valuable piece of advice that you can leave with the, with the, with the people that are listening to us at the moment.

Lesley Pyle [00:05:55]:

Yeah, we absolutely do. So because of all these things we’ve talked about, we have our free smart hiring guide and it’s available for free. So if you go to hiremymom.com podcast, you can get our free guide. And it comes with a step by step smart hiring checklist number one. It comes with common mistakes to avoid. It comes with a sample job post template so you know things to include and not include. It also comes with pricing guides so you know how much typically a freelancer or a contractor is desiring for various roles from social media, virtual assistant, customer service, and all the different roles. So we’ll give you an idea on the going rates and then we’ll also do a side by side comparison so you can see how hiring my mom compares with some of the other job sites.

Stuart Webb [00:06:46]:

And we’re going to have all of that in the vault that we give you access to, which is systemized me free stuff. So if you didn’t catch that link, it will all be in the show notes for us. So thank you for that. Leslie Lesley, what is it that got you to the stage where you’re now trying to sort of help other people understand the hiring process? What was the, is it a book, a course, a life experience that really sort of brought you to this place?

Lesley Pyle [00:07:15]:

Yeah, I would say it would definitely be a life experience because when I graduated with my master’s degree there in Scotland, I had no intentions of not pursuing my public relations and marketing career. However, I had a baby shortly after that and that baby pretty much changed my world. So I went from being certain that I wanted to be a full time corporate career woman to oh my goodness, what am I going to do? This is not suited to me anymore. But I want to work, but I also want to be a mom. And this was back in 1995, so 30 years ago. And I began soul searching and decided after, you know, talking to my husband and praying through it all that I would take the leap into freelancing. And freelancing back in 1995 was not a hot commodity. There weren’t many people doing it.

Lesley Pyle [00:08:07]:

It was tough. I had to try to learn so many things on my own. And that led me to start a website back in 1996 called Home Based Working Moms. And it was basically like an online chamber of commerce where moms either worked at home or wanted to work at home. And then fast forward 14 years, and I was noticing that the business culture was becoming more accepting towards working from home. I no longer had to hide the fact that I worked from home. I openly shared it. And people were so, like, envious.

Lesley Pyle [00:08:41]:

How can I do that? So the idea came to me as I had this great audience of moms. I did not have an audience of small businesses, but I thought it’d be wonderful if I could create a platform similar to match.com because it was popular back then and connect moms with legitimate jobs. So that’s when hiremymom.com was born, in 2007. So 18 years ago now.

Stuart Webb [00:09:06]:

Brilliant. And it’s grown ever since. Now you’re hiring, and now you’re into hiring Thy neighbor as well. So what’s the difference between. Between hi, my mom. And Hire Thy neighbor.

Lesley Pyle [00:09:17]:

Yeah. So Hire Thy Neighbor is brand new. It hasn’t officially launched. Although the website’s live, we’re still tinkering it and, and getting it up to speed before we start promoting it. But the premise behind Hire Thy Neighbor is to help small businesses connect to their local community. So when you need things for your. Your personal self, your. Your home, your children, such as doctors, plumbers, lawn care, you can go on to hire that neighbor and find people locally who provide those services.

Lesley Pyle [00:09:48]:

And you can read all about them in a Facebook profile type setup. But in addition to learning about them, it has a faith component, so you can learn about their faith, their testimony, and you can also use the church directory to find people who may go to your church.

Stuart Webb [00:10:05]:

So what’s the burning question you’ve got for me that you haven’t yet managed to get me to ask? Lesley, you must have one that you’re thinking the. He’s asked a lot of really interesting questions, but the one that he really isn’t getting to. And you’ve got that, I’m sure. So would you just tell us what is the question you want me to ask? And then obviously you need to answer it for us.

Lesley Pyle [00:10:27]:

Yeah, absolutely. So one question that I like to answer and have people ask because I think it’s inspiring, and that would be, how did someone who grew up with a struggling single mom without any family, having gone to college, find herself living out an entrepreneurial dream that she had no capacity to even dream as a young girl?

Stuart Webb [00:10:48]:

Well, that’s quite a long question. So I hope it’s a long answer.

Lesley Pyle [00:10:52]:

It won’t be super long. But, you know, growing up, we had no idea that college was an option for me and my two brothers. I’m the only one that ended up going to college, and someone just told me that I could. And that’s all it took for me to then take the steps and learn about grants and loans and work study and all of that. And because I was in charge of paying for all of that, you know, I worked really hard, graduated at the top of my class, and then it was time for me to graduate. I couldn’t get a job. So it was like obstacle number two. Number one, I never thought I could go to college.

Lesley Pyle [00:11:27]:

And then number two, I couldn’t get hired. I’m like, I had these interns, these great grades, but I cannot get hired. So I decided to look for scholarships to get my master’s degree. And that’s when I stumbled upon this full scholarship to study anywhere in the world from the Rotary foundation and ended up getting my master’s degree at the University of Sterling in Scotland and, and, you know, use that background in marketing and PR and able to launch my businesses. So I just say that as a way to inspire others that, you know, you may have these, these things that feel like they’re impossible for you, but I think with a lot of determination, a lot of prayer and a lot of fortitude, you can really reach your dreams that you didn’t even know to dream of.

Stuart Webb [00:12:12]:

Brilliant. I really find it inspiring you put that much work in and I think what you’ve built in Hire my mom is a brilliant platform. I look forward to seeing it grow now with the new concept that we’re bringing on, which is going to be even more interesting. And Leslie, I want to thank you very much for coming and spending a few minutes with us, telling us about it today. I one one thing from me, and this is the only plea you’ll get from me at this. If you would like to join and listen to people as interesting as Leslie and also ask questions if you want to. And you can easily post questions in the chat on LinkedIn. And Leslie, we can can easily get back to you and answer you.

Stuart Webb [00:12:53]:

But if you go to Systemize Me, that’s Systemize Me forward slash subscribe. That gets you onto newsletter. All I ask you to do is drop in your first name, just one name and an email address and then you’ll get an email from me once a day, once a week, coming up and saying who’s coming on this week just to give you notice of who’s coming up so that you can join and listen to people as inspiring, as interesting as Leslie. Leslie, thank you so much for spending some time with us. I really appreciate you spending a bit of time, and I know you’re very busy, and I know you know your children, right, might be a little bit older now, but they still take up time, don’t they?

Lesley Pyle [00:13:29]:

That’s right.

Stuart Webb [00:13:30]:

Okay. Thank you, Leslie.

Lesley Pyle [00:13:32]:

Thank you, Stuart.

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Who is RJ?

RJ Horner’s journey began from a place of deep frustration and anger—twelve years ago, he was unhappy with his life and felt nothing was going right. His anger affected every aspect of his world, pushing people away. Yet, amid this struggle, RJ discovered a turning point when he clung to one idea: there had to be a better way. With the support of those few who stayed by his side, especially insightful mentors, RJ started to see life differently. Their guidance reminded him of his capabilities, recognizing his education and potential even when he could not. Through this transformation, RJ found peace and purpose, building a fulfilling life grounded in resilience, learning, and the unwavering belief that things could get better.

Key Takeaways

We were thrilled to welcome RJ Horner, Life Empowerment Coach and founder of the Beacon of Life and Leadership, onto the show. RJ’s journey from frustration and feeling stuck to building a fulfilling life is both inspiring and practical—perfect fuel for your next growth spurt.

Here’s a taste of what we covered:

Recognizing When You’re Ready for Change RJ speaks directly to those of us who feel there must be more to life—but just aren’t sure where to start. Maybe you feel like you’re drifting, struggling at work, or just not finding the joy you know is possible. RJ’s story about shifting from anger and uncertainty to action is a reminder that no one is alone in feeling this way.

Small Steps, Big Shifts A mentor’s advice led RJ to John Maxwell’s “Make Today Count,” which started his transformation. He reminds us: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Taking action, even a small one, is how you steer the car in a new direction.

Tools and Support on the Journey RJ has launched the Beacon School of Leadership—a FREE community full of practical leadership and growth resources. He’s all about genuine service: “By giving value, you now get buy-in from people… They can trust you, because they know you’re in it for them.” Join the community for workshops, masterminds, and support from others walking the same path.

Books That Change Mindsets RJ recommends:

“Make Today Count” by John Maxwell
“How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie

Both shaped his attitude toward leadership, service, and personal happiness.

Where Do You Start? RJ introduces his 3S System for Success—State, Sightline, Strategy:

State: Where are you right now?
Sightline: Where do you want to go?
Strategy: What steps will take you there?

Key Takeaway:Don’t be afraid to take the first step—even if it feels like the wrong one. You can always adjust your path as you go. Every attempt, even a failure, is a lesson learned.

Ready to take your first step?👉 Join RJ’s Beacon School of Leadership community—free resources await.

And don’t forget: keep an eye out for next guest. To submit your own questions, subscribe to our newsletter and join the conversation!

P.S. Loved this episode? Hit reply and let us know what resonated most—or share how you’re taking your next step!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Do You Need a P.A.T.H. to Scale?

We help established business owners with small but growing teams:

go from feeling stuck, sceptical, and tired of wasting time and money on false promises,

to running a confident, purpose-driven business where their team delivers results, customers are happy, and they can finally enjoy more time with their family -

with a results-based refund guarantee: if you follow the process and it doesn’t work, we refund what you paid.

This is THE P.A.T.H. to scale your business.

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

life empowerment coach, Beacon of Life and Leadership, personal growth, self-improvement, career dissatisfaction, change mindset, leadership training, cognitive behavioral therapy, building better habits, finding purpose, contentment, overcoming anger, community support, self-discovery, personal legacy, leadership community, free leadership resources, self-awareness, serving others, mindset shift, taking the first step, overcoming fear, career transition, personal development books, John Maxwell, Make Today Count, Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People, achieving success, 3S system (state, sightline, strategy)

SPEAKER

RJ Horner, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:33]:

Hi, and welcome back to Five Questions Over Coffee. I have my coffee, which I very nearly spilled as I lift it up, so I better, I better not do any more of that. I’m delighted to be joined Today with by R.J. horner. R.J. is a, he’s a life empowerment coach. He’s going to talk to us about that. He’s running something called the Beacon of Life and Leadership.

Stuart Webb [00:00:55]:

I’m really interested in talking through what he’s doing with that and talking about the way in which he wants to talk about change, in the fact that if you want to change the way you see, you see the world, you have to change the way that you actually interact with it. So, rj, welcome to the podcast. Welcome to five Questions Over Coffee. Really looking forward to this conversation.

RJ Horner [00:01:16]:

Yeah, I like the, the concept you’ve got here. It’s just, you know, an informal chat with people. I’ve got my coffee. I’m all excited about where this conversation will go. And again, it’s all about helping to change people’s lives, helping people to put them on the path to betterment. So glad to have this conversation with you this morning.

Stuart Webb [00:01:35]:

That’s brilliant, rj. Look, let’s just start with that. You’re trying to help people to understand how they can change themselves, to see the world in a different way, the way they can better interact with the world. Talk to us a little bit about the sort of people who you’re working with helping at this time.

RJ Horner [00:01:53]:

Yeah, look, I believe we all have the opportunity for a better life. Some of us just don’t look for, for it. We don’t step into it. We struggle. We, you know, we, look, we have to pay the bills, so we have jobs. So, you know, and then some of us, many of us are living paycheck to paycheck. We’re unable to find that opportunity to just live life. And that’s where this all came from.

RJ Horner [00:02:17]:

See, 12 years ago, I was pissed off and angry at the world because I hated my life. And where I was at the time, nothing was going right. I was angry. And that anger came out in everything I did. And when I found my piece, it’s because I, I, I built it on one concept. There has to be a better way. And, you know, thankfully I had people in my life still, because I was chasing people away from me, right? And thankfully, I still had people in my life who were willing to help me, who were willing to help me see through, see things through. And see the of my mentors at the time said, look, he says, you’re one of the most educated people I know.

RJ Horner [00:03:03]:

You’ve always got your head in a book. If you’re looking for answers, why not turn to those books? And within a week, I found a book called Make Today Count from John Maxwell. And it really was about doing the little things to find the peace in your life. So that’s who I’m looking to serve. I’m looking to help those people who, you know, they. They know they’re meant for more. They know could live a better life. They just don’t know how.

RJ Horner [00:03:33]:

And that’s one of the things I used to tell my wife at the time. She said, why can’t you be any better? Why can’t you, you know, just be happier? I said, I don’t know how. Well, now I’m here to help people, show. Help, show people how to find that better life, how to find the peace and joy in their life.

Stuart Webb [00:03:49]:

Brilliant. Brilliant. Let’s. Let’s talk a little bit about the people that you’ve just sort of talked about. How might they recognize themselves? What. What are the things that they’re doing at the moment to try and find that. That path, that contentment, which perhaps, you know, that and they’re missing? You know, how would they recognize themselves in, you know, in actions that they’re taking at the moment?

RJ Horner [00:04:12]:

Yeah, look, you know, first of all, you’re questioning yourself, right? You know, you are meant for more. You know, there’s more you could be doing. You just don’t. Maybe don’t know what that is, don’t know where that joy and peace and happiness is. With me, at the time, it was. I was angry with the life I was living. I hated my job because I hated my life because there wasn’t enough money. So if you’re constantly angry and upset about these things, it means you’re looking for something else.

RJ Horner [00:04:43]:

And to find that thing, you have to find. At the time, I had to find joy in the work I was doing. So finding those little things, you know, and. And maybe that’s taking some time to go to the park, connect with nature, connect better with family and friends. Right. Take notice of the thoughts and the feelings that you’re having. That was the one thing that helped me change at the time was called cognitive behavioral therapy. I’m not sure if you’ve heard of it, cbt, but really it is about notice the thought or the action that you’re having right now, what is the action or the outcome of that action or thought, and then reframing it.

RJ Horner [00:05:28]:

Into what is a better way. I can think about that. So there’s a way that not only can you notice the thoughts and the attitudes that you’re having, but find a way to make them a little more suitable to your needs.

Stuart Webb [00:05:43]:

And rj, from what you’ve said, you’ve obviously got ways to help people which, which will really sort of start to resonate. I know that you’ve got some stuff that we’re going to put into our, our vault, which is at www.systemize.me. free hyphen stuff. Tell us about some of the, some of the valuable advice, some of the valuable offers that you’ve got there which will help people to, to recognize this and get through it.

RJ Horner [00:06:15]:

You know, that for me has been an evolution as far as what I can offer, because I’m all about serving people. Don’t get me wrong. Down the road, we do have some programs and things to sell people. Of course, I mean, otherwise you’re not doing this, you know, to be sustainable. But me, it’s all about service. So we have now created a free community for people, Beacon School of Leadership. And it is a school community where we, we’re offering free training on leadership and growth and then we’re offering masterminds and workshops through that community. So plenty of resources for people.

RJ Horner [00:06:53]:

And we’re serving those people who want to build a legacy, who want to go out there and serve others. People like me who have gone through the battle, they’ve, they’ve experience some things, they’ve learned some lessons, and now they want to share those lessons with, with other people. So we really want to get people into that community so we can start to serve them in a greater capacity.

Stuart Webb [00:07:18]:

And I know I’ve been on and I’ve, I’ve looked at what you’ve got going on there, and I really do think it’s a great community side. I really encourage people. Go to that, go to the link, pick up where you can go and find where RJ has started this community, where he’s building this, this great set of resources and get yourself plugged into that because I think it’s a great set of resources. Rj, you’ve kind of, you’ve kind of just sort of touched upon this a little bit, but there must be other books, other things, and you’ve given us a little bit of the history that, you know, you were, you were not making the most of your life. You were, you were not enjoying kind of what you were doing. And you talked about making today count. Is there another Book any other courses which actually sort of brought you through where you are, where you were to, to what you’re doing today with the Beacon Life and Leadership School.

RJ Horner [00:08:09]:

Of course, you know, this has been an evolution of 12 years for me. So I mean there have been so many resources, so many trainings, books, you know, one book leads into another. So the first book I have was John Maxwell’s Make Today Count in that he referenced how to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I do recommend that to anyone because it will te you how to drop the attitude or the predeterminations. Right. And learn about people. Learn how to think along their lines so that you’re able to understand them, empathize with them and gain their favor. Yes.

RJ Horner [00:08:54]:

In a way. So that you really, you get them to know you because they’ll be more interested in you because you’re so interested in them.

Stuart Webb [00:09:09]:

And what advice have you gathered from that? That actually you, you’ve, you’ve started passing on? I mean obviously it’s, it’s changed your attitude in serving. Are there other, are there other, are there quick lessons that you could give people again?

RJ Horner [00:09:25]:

You know, we are selfish human beings. As human beings, we are selfish. It’s all about what’s in it for me. Right. But I’ve learned through the years that, okay, it’s okay to be selfish. It’s okay to think about, number one, you’re not going to get anything if you don’t think about what you’re going to get from things or how you’re going to, you know, achieve your own success. But really I’ve learned that it’s about serving people, getting to know people, offering genuine concern, genuine interest. And then because you’re interested in serving them, you’re interested in offering value to them.

RJ Horner [00:10:05]:

By giving that value, you now get buy in from them on whatever it is you’re trying to achieve, whatever it is the outcome you want them to receive, you’ve got to buy it because they can trust you, because they know you’re in it for them.

Stuart Webb [00:10:19]:

Brilliant. Brilliant. And so you know that that applies to life, it applies to business, it applies, as you say, to leadership situations where you need to take people forward. So whether or not you’re a CEO of a big business, a large, a small business, even if you’re a, you’re a teacher in a classroom, you have to have that trust. You have to have the best interests of the people you’re serving at heart. Otherwise you can’t do your best for them. Absolutely brilliant. Look RJ There must be a simple question that I failed to ask at this stage, one that you’re thinking, I don’t understand why I’ve spent all this time talking to this guy and he still hasn’t actually asked me the real killer question.

Stuart Webb [00:11:07]:

So what is that killer question that I should have asked by now? And obviously, once you’ve told me what it is, you’ll have to answer it, because I don’t know it.

RJ Horner [00:11:14]:

You know, it’s. It’s. Where do I start, right? Because people are looking at their lives and going, I’m struggling. I don’t know why, I don’t know what to do. Where do I start? How do I. How do I. Again, I haven’t figured it out. I don’t know where to begin, Right? That was one of my biggest questions at the time.

RJ Horner [00:11:34]:

And it begins, look, boots out, right? The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Stuart Webb [00:11:41]:

Great.

RJ Horner [00:11:41]:

So we have to take that step. I remember my wife and I went on a trip, and we went on a trip out east. This was actually our first vacation together in, you know, 15 years. We hadn’t gone anywhere, we hadn’t tried to go anywhere. And my wife said to me, I’ve got these tickets to. To go out onto one of these cruises out in Belleville. Now we live in Ontario by Toronto. And she says, I have these tickets to go on this cruise out in Belleville.

RJ Horner [00:12:11]:

And that led to, well, Belleville’s five hours, four hours, five hours away. If we’re going to go out there to go on a cruise, we’ve always talked about going down east, right, to visit, you know, pei, Newfoundland, that sort of thing. And I said, well, if we’re going to go the five hours, why not go the next day to. To New Brunswick and then we can, you know, go to. And then we started the conversation, kept going, oh, we can go to P.E.I. and go visit Charlottetown like we always wanted to, and led into this whole plan of what we were going to do for a vacation, right? Start thinking about, what is that one thing I need to change? What is it I want to accomplish? Stephen Covey always says, begin with the end in mind, Right? What is the outcome you’re trying to achieve? I have been given a tool that I’d like to share with people. It’s the 3S system to achieve success. Okay? It’s state sightline strategy.

RJ Horner [00:13:09]:

So state, what is your current state? Where are you right now? Sightline. What is that end goal that you’re hoping to achieve? Right. Look, far down the line, you know, over everything that’s standing in your way and go, here’s what I want to achieve. Now put it in the middle. Go. Here’s what it’s going to take to achieve these things. And there’s that. That first step will come because all of these things that you could do.

RJ Horner [00:13:35]:

But if I did this one thing, I’d get to this thing, then I’d get to this thing so that eventually you can get to that sight line that you see.

Stuart Webb [00:13:43]:

Do you know, I sometimes think, rj, that people are afraid to take that first step because they’re saying, well, what if it’s the step in the wrong direction? But I have often said to people when they are stationary, you cannot change the direction of your car by sitting by the curbside and waiting for the right. You’ve got to start moving forward. You can change the direction of the wheels once you’re moving forward, but you will get nowhere if you just sit there and wait for the wheels to start returning you. You have to move, don’t you? And if you’ve moved in the wrong direction, well, so what? You know, you change direction. What does it matter? Yeah, but move, for goodness sake. Go in a direction and then assess if it’s the right direction. And no plan, no plan ever survived first contact with the energy. As I believe, enemy.

Stuart Webb [00:14:28]:

As. As one great general said, you have to assess and you have to just turn around and say, okay, we went in a slightly wrong direction, but we’ll get back on track.

RJ Horner [00:14:36]:

Yeah, I’m a professional driver. That’s what I’ve done for most of my career, and that’s the job I was dissatisfied with as a time. But as a driver, the one thing I’ve learned is we can always adjust our direction. I’m a driver for a transit agency, and that was one of the things that they empowered us with because you get stuck in traffic, road closures, you know, shut down your. Your path of travel. You can always readjust. You can pivot and take this highway, you can take this route. You know, you can backtrack and start again if you want to.

RJ Horner [00:15:12]:

Right. So every step you take is not necessary, even though it may be the wrong one, is not necessarily the wrong path. It’s just you’ve. Again, Thomas Edison, who, you know, failed 10,000 times according to everybody, but he said, no, I didn’t fail 10,000 times. I learned 10,000 ways in which it wouldn’t work.

Stuart Webb [00:15:32]:

Yeah, right. Yeah.

RJ Horner [00:15:33]:

So don’t be afraid to take that first step. It might Be the wrong one. In fact, most leaders learn from failure, right? Take that step, learn if it’s the right one, does it advance you towards that goal? You’re trying to get no, backtrack to replace that. You know, even in computers, right? Do we not do reboots so that if we have a hot failure over here, we reboot to our latest, you know, update so that we’re going back to a safe space and starting again from there? So that’s really what success, achievement is and learning from those failures so that you can move forward and keep moving forward.

Stuart Webb [00:16:12]:

Brilliant, rj, I’ve loved this conversation, absolutely loved it. And thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us, telling us about that. Listen, people, I, I just want to encourage you if you are, if you’re sitting there saying, well, I’d love to get in on these conversations a bit more and be able to ask questions of these people like rj, who come on and give this sort of stuff. Look, if you get onto the newspaper, the newsletter list, which is www.systemize.me, subscribe get it. It’s a simple format, only asks for your name and your email address. That’s all it is. You get an email from me which basically says who’s coming up on the podcast and what they’ve got to offer and you can join and look at what’s going to be coming on and ask questions and. And that’s it.

Stuart Webb [00:16:56]:

It’s as simple as that because we’ve got some great experts like RJ who have got some great things to tell us. Rj, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. I really appreciate you spending the time and I look forward to seeing more from the Beacon of Life and Leadership School and how it developed.

RJ Horner [00:17:13]:

Thank you. Thank you very much for having me on. It was a great opportunity. I enjoyed. Again, it’s all about empowering the people. I hope they take some value from today’s conversation.

Stuart Webb [00:17:22]:

Sure they will.

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Who is Brian?

Brian Parana is no stranger to the turning points that come in midlife. At 42, he’s the dedicated husband of his high school sweetheart and the proud father of four—juggling the joys and challenges that come with two high schoolers and two middle schoolers, ages 10 to 15. With 15 years as a self-employed professional and over 23 years in the health industry, Brian has seen firsthand what so many entrepreneurs, business owners, and leaders experience: the demands of life and responsibility often sneak up, and self-care takes a back seat. His journey reflects the universal realization that reaching 40, 45, or 50 doesn’t always look or feel as expected—prompting him to help others redefine what thriving in midlife can truly mean.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Avoiding Midlife Crisis: Enhance Life

05:05 Finding Balance Amid Life’s Chaos

08:04 “Rice 72: Three-Day Fat Loss”

11:50 “Developing Habits for Growth”

13:30 “1% Improvements for Massive Success”

17:32 “Health Choices Over Consequences”

20:40 Appreciative Farewell Message

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at www.systemise.me/subscribe

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Do You Need a P.A.T.H. to Scale?

We help established business owners with small but growing teams:

go from feeling stuck, sceptical, and tired of wasting time and money on false promises,

to running a confident, purpose-driven business where their team delivers results, customers are happy, and they can finally enjoy more time with their family -

with a results-based refund guarantee: if you follow the process and it doesn’t work, we refund what you paid.

This is THE P.A.T.H. to scale your business.

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

health and wellbeing, business leaders, productivity, midlife crisis, entrepreneurs, self-employed, diet industry, weight loss, lifestyle balance, flexibility, moderation, accountability, fat loss protocol, nutrition, mindset, radical accountability, busy professionals, sustainable habits, atomic habits, James Clear, Tony Robbins, personal development, business performance, routines, incremental change, ROI of health, confidence, energy levels, work-life balance, men’s health

SPEAKERS

Brian Parana, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:00]:

SA hi and welcome back to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. I have my coffee monkey here. My guest Brian, Coach Brian Piranha is here with me. He has his coffee with espresso, with.

Brian Parana [00:00:49]:

Some seltzer water and some oat milk.

Stuart Webb [00:00:52]:

Coach BRIAN that’s a brilliant, brilliant recipe. Thank you for that. So Brian is a, is a, is a health and well being expert, an athlete, now a coach who helps business leaders, people who are trying to run their businesses and forget that they need to remain healthy to run their business, do better with both. So Coach Ryan, welcome to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. Looking forward to this conversation and really looking forward to hearing how you can help us.

Brian Parana [00:01:27]:

I’m excited to be here. I’m looking forward to our five questions and the insights that I can bring, the value and some ideal takeaways for our guests that are listening in.

Stuart Webb [00:01:37]:

That’s what we want to hear. So let’s start with that first question. I like to always start with just give us a little bit of an oversight of the sort of person you’re trying to help. What are the problems that they have in their life that might help them identify that you’re currently talking to them, right.

Brian Parana [00:01:55]:

What happens when we reach our mid-40s? There’s that term of a midlife crisis, right. I’m 42, I’ve married my high school sweetheart, we’re 19 years in. We have four kids, two high schoolers, two middle schools, three boys and girls, 15 to 10. And I’ve been self employed for 15 years and been in the health industry for 23 or something. I’ve seen it time and again. Is that people, business owners, entrepreneurs, leaders, everyone ends up running into this at some point where the responsibilities of their life caught up to them. In a sense, they realize they’re not taking care of themselves and their body. And 40, 45, 50 isn’t what was expected when they got there, right.

Brian Parana [00:02:44]:

They’re on their way to retirement or they got money in the bank or the house or whatever this stuff, but when they see themselves in the mirror, they just their waistlines expanding. They don’t have the confidence in their, their workloads that they once had. There’s fatigue, the lack of productivity. They feel half a step behind or maybe in one or two instead. And that’s the type of person that I’m coming to the marketplace to meet is to get that priority. Let’s not have a midlife crisis where we potentially disrupt some things in life. Let’s actually Enhance what life has and be even more productive by taking care of yourself first to then have the energy, the resources, the capacity to keep pace with all the responsibilities that you are now in charge of.

Stuart Webb [00:03:35]:

So let’s talk a little bit about maybe there’s somebody out there at the moment thinking, hey, this guy, this guy’s talking to me. What do you think they’d be able to recognize in terms of the things they tried? You know, the health kicks that go on, the act, the diet, which constantly never seems to work. I mean, they may even be finding the soul at the moment, sitting there looking at yet another diet book or even some other ways of trying to enhance this. And I think what you’re trying to say is that’s not always all of the solution, is it?

Brian Parana [00:04:06]:

No, no, definitely not. Oftentimes we’ve been taught through marketing, through just literal time for, or the, the, the diet industry really started in the 1980s or so and 90s and, and continued on if you, I, I grew up in that and has infiltrated every single person that I am in association with and what I, who I’ve worked with for years, restriction. There’s these hard protocols that they have to follow. It often lines up with more of a leader type personality where they have to feel that the grind, the hustle. They have things that have to be hard. Those are, they have to cut out, restrict all that. And I’ve been in a five pound weight range for decades. Obviously it’s what I do by profession and I should look and be the part to lead those people.

Brian Parana [00:05:05]:

But with four kids, with self employment, with all these, these obstacles that just show up in everyday life, there is a way to find some balance. To have some ice cream after a kid’s soccer game or after a school event, or have a small sliver of cake at a birthday party because I mean, what weekend do people not have birthdays, especially if they have four kids or something, right? There’s just always those opportunities to potentially fall off track and then next, you know, we’ll start again on Monday. Well, Stuart, today’s Wednesday or Tuesday. It’s Tuesday that we’re recording this. There’s a lot of sloppiness that can, that can be created there and cause you to be setting yourself back a significant amount. We need to find a level of balance of, with some flexibility, some moderation in a way that creates a lifestyle that they can actually live. What we do in two weeks, we do in two months, we do in two years. And finding that balance is so important.

Brian Parana [00:06:04]:

And that that’s where I meet people every single day.

Stuart Webb [00:06:09]:

And I think you’ve got a very valid point then Brian, because you know, it’s if, if you are having to force yourself into something, if you’re telling yourself that you can only achieve this by constant denial, you can only do this by having to go to the gym when you don’t really feel, feel like it because you’ve got other concerns, you’ve got the family to worry about things like that. It becomes more and more difficult to actually stick with something like this, doesn’t it? I mean if the only time you ever get any pleasure is when you get that little bit of ice cream or that small amount of cake at a birthday party and suddenly you deny that, it just becomes impossible to stick to anything that you really, really want to do. You have to link it to something that’s more than that, right?

Brian Parana [00:06:50]:

It’s just same thing with business. If you have to grind to grow a business, it’s going to fail at some point because whether the motivation, the willpower, the lack of consistently putting out or say a high marketing budget, if you one, one or five months go by and you haven’t produced the outcomes to pay for that, now you’re in the red and things aren’t going well for the business because it’s at such a high demand of say accuracy or focus or the ROI needs to be right on point there.

Stuart Webb [00:07:26]:

So I’ve got a really. You’ve got a special offer that I think that the audience is going to be really interested in. This I will be putting into our vault. So if you go to www.systemize.me free stock you, you’ll get the details of exactly how Brian can help this coach. Brian, tell us how can you help us to get through some of these problems?

Brian Parana [00:07:52]:

Yeah, well say the free stuff thing, right? I have a.

Stuart Webb [00:07:56]:

That’s the one. Anything we valuable offers. Valuable free stuff. That’s what we want to give to people here. Pay it forward.

Brian Parana [00:08:04]:

We have a, a we’re in the, the mega information, right? Maybe I could coin that. The mega information Time of our lives, right? And with ChatGPT and all you can get a meal plan, you can get a workout, you can do all these things. And what I have, my free stuff would be what I call the rice 72. It’s just a three day fat loss protocol that has food, that has nutrition, that has some mindset things to help reset from the brain. Because it all starts here. And in that you get step by step specific things that we know and we’ve heard so much. But the point is it has to be done. So whether there’s email accountability, there’s actual text engagement with me as well.

Brian Parana [00:08:52]:

If you do get the free thing, the Rise 72, you’ll be able to have some level of accountability. And that’s what I want to bring into my world to. To others is create an experience, a transformative experience. Not just, hey, here’s the meal plan that you’re supposed to eat, but it’s got to be more because nobody I the one of two things. I’m busy. Every single person, I think has always said that. And they usually say it’s in all cats B, U S Y with multiple exclamation points after. That’s how they describe their life.

Brian Parana [00:09:27]:

And I get it. I’m busy too. But I still have found a way to prioritize my health.

Stuart Webb [00:09:32]:

Yeah.

Brian Parana [00:09:33]:

So let’s find a way to do that for you. The other thing is that they. So they’re. They’re busy and they always want to just jump in with. With both heels, in a sense. And we have to find those small little pivot points to again create that sustainability. And through talking with thousands of people over the last 20 years, so many conversations, we need to. To be able to do the things that we already know we need to do.

Brian Parana [00:10:09]:

And that’s a high level of radical accountability I want to bring to.

Stuart Webb [00:10:14]:

Yeah. And it’s about finding that way of, as you say, prioritizing using the. Using triggers. You know, one of the things I’ve often heard that.

Brian Parana [00:10:22]:

Yes.

Stuart Webb [00:10:23]:

One of the great ways of sort of building your. You’re building this sort of thing in as you’re talking about mindset is linking it to pleasure. You know, yes, you’re going to go for a, for a run, but you’re going to go for a run in the outside and listen to your favorite podcast or whatever it is, this podcast. So. And so you actually sort of. And you, you. You have to set yourself up with. The only time I listen to the podcast is when I’m going for the run or when I’m going for the walk.

Stuart Webb [00:10:49]:

And so that you get that sort of mindset shift. If it’s not something hard, it becomes a pleasure to do some of this stuff.

Brian Parana [00:10:55]:

Right, Exactly. And, and that’s a huge gap where people are. An example would be, say, the 75 hard. It’s a very strong reset accountability protocol where you have to work out twice a day, you got to drink a gallon of water, you have some you got to read a book. All these things are great. Let’s do 75 hard on your own terms. That makes it so that on day 76 or day 2000, you’re still doing the things. Yeah, it’s my job to help figure that out.

Stuart Webb [00:11:28]:

Brilliant. Love it. Brian, you’ve gone to the stage where you understand exactly how this works. Was there a book or a program or something that actually sort of allowed you to understand how to get that sort of mindset, that body work, everything sort of coming together, which is how you explain it to people.

Brian Parana [00:11:50]:

The book that comes off top of my head is there’s so many personal development things I’ve done. I actually went to Tony Robbins seminars, I was a fire walker, I did it twice. And so many other different certifications and all that. I guess when it all comes said and done, we, we’ve heard it again a million times. Is that the, the James Clears is a really easy that everyone we know atomic habits. How do we build habits 1% better at a time? We take these small incremental, consistent steps to get us and we consistently keep doing that. And, and the other thing is to understand the analogy that is used in there as well. An ice cube melting at 22 degrees, it’s not going to melt.

Brian Parana [00:12:36]:

At 23, it’s not going to melt. At 29, it’s not melting. At 32, it might start to melt. At 33, it’s melting, it will take a while. At 40, it’s melted. It’s definitely on its way. And today in Miami in July, it’s done melted. You know, the moment it touched the ground, even maybe on the way down to the ground, it’s already evaporated because it’s so hot.

Brian Parana [00:13:00]:

And in the beginning of these changes, even just in business, we can tie it back to business since that’s who’s listening. In the beginning of the business, it was so small and incremental and you didn’t see those, those 1 degree changes over time. But then you built that momentum and all of a sudden you have a business with employees and it’s successful and all of a sudden you’re wow, I don’t have time for myself. But that 1% better is going to be the key thing to build consistency into your life.

Stuart Webb [00:13:30]:

I’m a, I’m a great fan of somebody you may or may not have heard of a guy called David Brailsbridge who was the coach of the Great Britain cycling team. And he was a very great fan of sort of 1% improvements and he was looking at 1% improvement, improvements all the time, which took the British cycling team to the top of the world. And the reason that he did it was because he was looking at tiny, tiny changes every single time they raced, to the extent that he started sending the team out to meetings with their own pillow so that they got a slightly better night’s sleep the night before they raced. It really does take tiny, tiny changes to produce a massive result, doesn’t it? But it has to be consistent. It has to be continuous. You can’t just do it once and then hope it’s all gone back to it. You know, it’s gonna be easy from that. You make that tiny change, but you have to continue to make that change.

Stuart Webb [00:14:22]:

You need the accountability to do it.

Brian Parana [00:14:24]:

Yeah. KPIs for ROIs, right? In the business world, we have those and these SOPs to get to the ROIs that we want to go, but it has to be done every day. Yeah. Same thing in our body. We need to. These are basic. We need to move so much. We need to drink our water, get enough sleep.

Brian Parana [00:14:46]:

We need to eat healthy food. Those are basic tenets of taking care of yourself and living in a healthy body that’s energetic and you feel confident in and you fit in your clothes in. But we let distraction take us away.

Stuart Webb [00:15:01]:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Brian, there must be one question that you’re left at the moment thinking he’s still hanging on to the really critical one, that one question that we need to sort of get to get to, and I should ask it, but I obviously don’t know what it is. So what is the question that you would have liked me to have asked by now, which I obviously haven’t. And then obviously, as you know the answer, you better answer it for us, otherwise it’ll never get answered.

Brian Parana [00:15:27]:

I thought long and hard on this. And what is the true ROI of taking care of yourself and your health?

Stuart Webb [00:15:34]:

Oh, that is a good question. I like that.

Brian Parana [00:15:37]:

Huh? I thought about it a little bit. Make sure it was juicy. What is it? People at first just think, oh, I’m at a healthy body weight, or I can. I don’t fall asleep in the middle of the day anymore. Or I can be productive at work, or I can go one meeting to the next to the next, or when I come home, I can engage with my family and children. Those are all really important things. But we. One thing is.

Brian Parana [00:16:03]:

Is say the confidence that you have, if you aren’t in a healthy body, then you don’t necessarily have the confidence that you think that you’re portraying when you go into a meeting, right. Even this is a good old Tony Robbins example. But I’m standing here, but I can take a big deep breath in and, and I can get up here. All of a sudden I’m, I’m just 1% taller in a sense, but I am. It’s been multiplied. It’s 10x in my energy flow, my breath. I can get oxygen in my lungs and I can start to think clearly. And people notice that and they see it, they can feel that confidence and that energy coming from.

Brian Parana [00:16:48]:

And, and you don’t know that you’re walking around like this all day. You might feel the same, but it’s, there’s a difference. So what does that mean? That means that we can, if the true ROI of a healthy body is better connection with those around in your, your, your family circle, your social circles, how you show up at work and lead. We want that lead. What type of ability are you to be able to produce deals and make things happen in your career? These are all big, big ROIs that can happen. And you don’t. The, the thing that you don’t see. And I love sharing this with my four kids, especially my oldest right now, because he’s teenage for sure, at 15, almost 16.

Brian Parana [00:17:32]:

But you choose your actions, but you don’t choose your consequences. Therefore, if you’re not taking care of your health in the 40s, you might have a heart attack by your 50. Hey, I’m so glad that you’re retiring as a millionaire or whatever, but you’re going to spend all of it on health care and assisted living and having someone wipe your butt because, because you have a disease, right? We have, everyone has lots of problems until they have a significant health problem, then we only have one problem. And everything else fades quickly because you have diabetes, you’ve had a heart attack, there’s a stroke, there’s cancer, there’s all these, these things that are trying to kill us. And health is the most easy, say, almost free thing to do outside of your time. That you can get a huge ROI for now, but also into the future.

Stuart Webb [00:18:24]:

That’s absolutely brilliant. And if nobody, if nobody takes anything away from this, they should take away the fact that doing something for their future is actually looking after their kids, their grandkids, their great grandkids. You know, you need to be around for those. I’m going to go back. You need to come on to systemize me free. Go find out about what Brian has been talking about, talking to us about today and make sure that you understand exactly how somebody like Brian can really help you to focus, to make sure that you are available to the future. And I’m going to put in my own little request to you, please. I send out an email just, just once a week with who’s coming up on the podcast and you can come on and watch the live stream, ask questions.

Stuart Webb [00:19:15]:

If you want to please come onto the newsletter list. You go to Systemize Me subscribe and that gets you onto the newsletter list and you’ll get an email just enabling you to listen to such brilliant advice from people like Coach Brian. Brian, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Really appreciate you taking the time and if I take anything else away from this, I’m going to go and find a way now of going back out for Cycle Ride, which is something I haven’t done for a while and that will help me to sort of just live a little bit longer. Yep.

Brian Parana [00:19:49]:

So, you know, wrapping it up, I have the, the free thing that I’ll be given with Stewart is the right 72. It’s a three day fat loss protocol. Men and women can do it. And then what the call to rise is is it’s a hundred day fat loss transformational experience that really focuses on weekly challenges, quarterly assessment. There are small cohorts of. This is more of a men’s focus group called the Brotherhood where we have a small knit group of people, men that are like minded, that want to thrive in their health too along with all these other areas in their life. And, and it’s, it’s again getting out of just information but actual doing the things because you’re in a. It’s a catalyst for transformation and that’s what the call to rise is.

Brian Parana [00:20:34]:

So answer your call to rise to better health and a better quality of life.

Stuart Webb [00:20:40]:

Right. I love it. Thank you so much and I really appreciate you spending a bit of time for us. Go get that stuff. Thank you. Bye bye.

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View Details

Who is Kyle?

Kyle Beltle is a sought-after advisor for professional coaches and consultants whose businesses are flourishing in the high six figures. Having worked extensively with clients eager to reclaim their time, Kyle specializes in navigating the twin challenges his clients so often face: “tax FOMO” (the fear of missing out on tax deductions) and analysis paralysis. He knows all too well how the constant swirl of social media tips and advice from well-meaning friends can leave entrepreneurs unsure of where to start and anxious they might be missing out. Through patient guidance and hands-on support—including welcoming endless client questions at kickoff meetings—Kyle helps business owners cut through the noise, find clarity, and confidently optimize their financial strategies.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Coaching Clients’ Tax Woes Solved

04:39 Experience Over Price

09:06 Focusing Intentionally in Business

12:55 Maximize 401(k) with Profit Sharing

15:58 “Subscribe for Podcast Updates”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at www.systemise.me/subscribe

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

tax strategy, tax planning, proactive CPA, tax deductions, analysis paralysis, tax FOMO, professional coaches, consultants, high six figure business, time management, business finances, business owner, real estate investment, rental property, multi state tax return, online tax software, premium guidance, tax mistakes, tax savings, 401k, retirement planning, profit sharing, S corp, employee benefits, pension contributions, business tax, cash flow management, VAT bill, financial planning, tax professional, small business tax

SPEAKER

Kyle Beltle, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:03]:

Okay, we’ve gone live without the stream coming in, which is really interesting. So welcome to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. I’m here with Kyle Bentley Beltly. Sorry, I’m gonna, I’m gonna get that wrong. Kyle. Apologies. Kyle Beltley.

Stuart Webb [00:00:22]:

Kyle is the owner of ProActive CPA. Kyle is going to talk to us about some really interesting things about how we manage our finances, manage tax, etc. Carl, welcome to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. I hope you’ve got your coffee in front of you today.

Kyle Beltle [00:00:38]:

Ready to go.

Stuart Webb [00:00:39]:

Terrific mug, terrific mug. Let’s, let’s talk briefly about how you’re, who is, who is the person you’re trying to help? What’s the problem they’ve got? So that we can sort of, as we were listening to you describe this, we begin to get a sense of is this me that Kyle is talking about?

Kyle Beltle [00:01:00]:

Sure, sure. So my clients are professional coaches and consultants running businesses that are generating high six figures of sales and they’re people who are looking to buy back their time. I would say that the primary issue that people come to me with and I help them solve, it’s kind of a twofold. It’s first off, it’s what I like to call tax fomo, fear of missing out, and it’s analysis paralysis. So with the tax fomo, we are inundated with social media posts on tax tips, our neighbors giving us tax tips, our crazy uncle at the family dinner is giving us. And there’s this fear that I’m missing out on these deductions that everybody else knows about. But where do I even, where do I even get started? You know, this, this analysis paralysis. And a great example of this is I just started working with a client there and as we were getting ready for our kickoff meeting, he said, I hope you don’t mind, I just jotted down a few thoughts.

Kyle Beltle [00:02:10]:

Well, so Stewart, this guy had composed this entire Google Doc of just all the things that he’d been coming across. And you know, does this apply to me? Where do I start? And so what I do with my clients is distill all that into a crystal clear tax strategy plan for them where they know, a, this applies to me, B, this is how to take advantage of it, and C, here’s the savings I’m going to get from it.

Stuart Webb [00:02:38]:

So let’s just, let’s try and explore a little bit then on what are the things. I mean, that guy obviously had ideas about what he wanted to do, the problems that he knew had. He Tried anything. What were the things he tried to do to overcome this problem before turning to Kyle and say, carl, can you help me?

Kyle Beltle [00:02:57]:

So fortunately he hadn’t tried anything and sadly that’s not always the case. I had a client, I’ll call Ian, who just started working with me the beginning of this year and he had heard, real estate’s a great investment. I’m going to get into real estate. And he ended up purchasing a rental house that was out of state. So now he’s preparing a multi state return and he has to set up a rental property. He was using an over the counter online tax product there. And you know the saying, garbage in, garbage out. Well, the data that he was putting into the software was not correct.

Kyle Beltle [00:03:47]:

He ended up missing out on a lot of deductions around that rental property. And so when we first started working together this year, I went back, took a look under the hood of the return last year and was able to help him get that rental property set up properly. And the savings, the actual tax savings that he experienced as a result of that were twice what I was charging him there. And so, you know, I have a colleague, Rajo Jose, who likes to say premium guidance cost a lot less than premium mistakes. And so certainly don’t, don’t try to DIY things when you’re working with a complex tax situation.

Stuart Webb [00:04:39]:

I’m going to have to agree with you, Carla. I know one of the early lessons I was taught when I was a very young business owner was people forget the price long after they’ve forgotten the lack of quality, so long after they’ve remembered the lack of quality. So you know, the, the problem that we all try and think of is this may or may not take me a lot of time, but you’re not dealing with, you’re not dealing with something which, which is, you know, so much time based, are you? Although they are paying for your time, they’re paying for the years of experience which you bought into the, you’ve used as your education and your experience in order to come back and go, this is how much it’s valid, the value is to you. This is not about me taking 15 minutes over this. This is 15 years of my life that’s taught me how to do this for you.

Kyle Beltle [00:05:25]:

100%. 100%. And that’s not even mentioning the time that they would need to take away from their core business.

Stuart Webb [00:05:33]:

Absolutely.

Kyle Beltle [00:05:34]:

To try to learn this or to even, even to execute it.

Stuart Webb [00:05:38]:

Absolutely. So I think, Carl, you’ve been very kind to the audience. You have Got a giveaway. And this will be something which is in the vault that we have, which is the systemized me free stuff. So describe what this is, a PDF, I think, which is going to be a great asset to a lot of people. Tell us what’s in this PDF and how it benefit them.

Kyle Beltle [00:06:04]:

So, as I said at the top, one of the issues that so many of my prospects and so many of my clients come to me with is just saying, where do I even begin? So I put together a handout here of my six favorite tax strategies that most people can take advantage of. And so I would download that there and take it with you next time you’re meeting with your tax professional to see which one of these can we put into play to maximize my savings.

Stuart Webb [00:06:34]:

And I would, I’d hate to, to prejudice this, but if somebody comes along and finds they’re only using five of the six, they may need to have a word with you anyway.

Kyle Beltle [00:06:43]:

Yes, absolutely, absolutely.

Stuart Webb [00:06:46]:

Okay, terrific. That’s a brilliant. And I, I’ll just repeat, if you go to systemize me free hyphen stuff, you will find that immediately. You can go and download that now and go get that from, from that vault and, and you will be able to get hold of Kyle’s top six strategies. Have a feeling he may have more than six in his bank. But that’s, that’s the top.

Kyle Beltle [00:07:09]:

There may be a bonus. There may be a bonus one.

Stuart Webb [00:07:12]:

I love it. I love it. I love it. Kyle, tell us a little bit. You know, how did you become the, the expert that you are on tax? This doesn’t happen overnight. It certainly doesn’t happen unless you, you set out intentionally to understand these things.

Kyle Beltle [00:07:28]:

Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:07:28]:

Is there a book, a course or something like that that took you to this, this place? That’s.

Kyle Beltle [00:07:34]:

That is a great question, Stuart. And I love when you ask your guests this because you’re always, always finding great books, great programs through this, and I’ve read a lot of books over the years and just trying to think distill it down to one. Ah, it’s really tough. But if I had to choose, I would say that the most impactful program in my life has been Earl Nightingale’s the Strangest Secret. Are you familiar with it by any chance?

Stuart Webb [00:08:05]:

It’s not one I know. It’s not one I know.

Kyle Beltle [00:08:08]:

So I encourage everyone out there, go look it up on YouTube. The strangest secret. It’s originally, I believe it was a radio broadcast that Earl gave. It’s only about 30 minutes. It’s very concise. Very to the point. And spoiler alert. The strangest secret is that we become what we think about most of the time.

Kyle Beltle [00:08:34]:

Oh, and, you know, certainly that is by, you know, no means new to any of your listeners, I’m sure. But for me, I came across this early in my career. It was one of the first times I was really ever exposed to the power of being intentional with your thoughts and setting goals there. And so even to this day, I still find it as a great reset any. Anytime I’m stuck to listen to Earl Nightingale’s the Strangest Secret.

Stuart Webb [00:09:06]:

That is a great, great tip, Carl. I thank you for that one because you’re absolutely right. Too often we are, we’re not intentional with our businesses, are we? We are distracted. I often see business owners, and I deal with business owners most of my day, and I find myself saying, well, why are you doing it that way? And the answer is sometimes it’s sort of like, well, I just can’t stop thinking about this. And unfortunately you go, well, you’re missing out on a bunch of other things which actually you should be focused on and this should not be even in your thing. So you, you tend to end up doing it because you’ve just got locked in a cycle of focus that is the wrong one. And to switch the focus to what you should be focused on is much more important.

Kyle Beltle [00:09:53]:

Yeah. If you’re just reacting to the latest email, the latest text message that comes across your inbox there. Yeah, you’re absolutely right. You’re going to get stuck in a cycle that is not productive and not product. You know, really building up your business to the best that it can be.

Stuart Webb [00:10:12]:

And this is where you have to start thinking a little bit about, like the, the future of your business by focus on those tax strategies which actually enable you to free up the cash, free up the investment that you might need in order to move the business forward.

Kyle Beltle [00:10:26]:

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. May feel like you’re taking some time, some invaluable time out of your schedule to invest one, two, maybe even three hours to sit down with your tax pro and really map out the upcoming year, what you can take advantage of, what you can’t. But the clarity that I have seen that give to my clients is worth its weight in gold and more than comes back to them in time savings.

Stuart Webb [00:10:57]:

Yeah, I’m gonna, I’ll tell a small story here. It’s one that’s rather specific to the. But I came across a business just recently. The business had hit a real problem. They had a real cash flow problem. And I sort of said, what’s the real reason for the cash flow problem? Wasn’t very obvious from the discussion. They went, we forgot a VAT bill, value added tax bill. We forgot this tax bill was coming in.

Stuart Webb [00:11:20]:

We completely missed swiped our cash flow. We’re now in deep trouble because we had no idea that it was coming in. And I looked at them and I basically said these bills are paid once every quarter. It’s like Christmas. It’s going to be on the same day, same time every year. What happened? We didn’t have a plan. A one or two hour meeting with an attacked professional to just work out where that was would have solved a whole heap of problems for that business.

Kyle Beltle [00:11:52]:

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely not. Not to mention just the fact that they could have set up a very simple system to, to remind them about that or to automate it there.

Stuart Webb [00:12:04]:

Yeah, absolutely brilliant, Kyle, I guess we’re getting towards the end of this and I’m going to let you go so you can get back to helping other tax professional people get their taxes in order. Professionals get their taxes in order. Carl, there must be a question that you’re thinking, well, he still hasn’t asked me the real killer one and obviously I might, I might think of it and probably I’m not going to because I’m a person of very little brain. So what’s the one question that I should by now have asked you? And as you know what that question is, you better answer it for us as well.

Kyle Beltle [00:12:38]:

Yeah, absolutely. Well, one of the questions that I was waiting for was what is one tax strategy in particular that could be a quick win for someone today?

Stuart Webb [00:12:50]:

I am so glad I didn’t ask that question because that is such a good question.

Kyle Beltle [00:12:55]:

And I got to tell you, Stuart, I’ll preface this, I know this, this answer, it’s not exciting, it’s not revolutionary here, but it is, it truly is powerful. And that is for the listeners here in the US to max out your 401k retirement plan there. Now most people, Stewart, very familiar with having some money taken out of their, their paychecks there to put in the 401k and that’s great and that everyone should be doing that. However, I’m always surprised that more business owners don’t know about the profit sharing options that most for 1k plans have. And the reason that the profit sharing is so powerful, Stuart, is that it is money that the business elects to put into their employees 401k plans. And it’s powerful because if the owner owns a company that’s taxed as an S corp here in the US that owner will be on payroll and they’ll be able to put additional money into their personal 401 while the business gets a tax deduction for it. It’s also a great way for employers to reward their employees by giving them a little bit of a bonus that they don’t have to pay payroll taxes on. The employees don’t have to pay income taxes on there.

Kyle Beltle [00:14:26]:

So using the profit sharing component of your 401k to really max it out is a very powerful tax strategy that a lot of businesses will will be able to implement this year and get a quick win.

Stuart Webb [00:14:40]:

Carl, it will not surprise you to learn that is not a strategy that is just related to the US that is also many other countries. Optimizing and maximizing the amount of money you put into a pension is often the best way of saving tax for the business, but also, as you just said, allowing the employee, even if the employee is the chief executive, to get ready for a time when they need to step away from the business anyway and have still got the money coming in that they should have.

Kyle Beltle [00:15:11]:

Yeah, absolutely, Stuart. You know, as I said, it’s not a particularly exciting strategy, but it’s, it’s been my experience as a professional that oftentimes it’s the simple disciplines.

Stuart Webb [00:15:23]:

Yeah.

Kyle Beltle [00:15:23]:

Simple steps that we repeat day after day within our businesses that in the long run provide the biggest wins for us.

Stuart Webb [00:15:32]:

Kyle, that is a great message to end on because I think it is a universal truth. Business is actually really simple. If you boil it down, it’s about making a customer and keeping that customer happy. And hey, what could you do better than doing that with your employees by giving them tax breaks and money for when they retire as well. Absolutely brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Kyle, thank you so much for spending a few minutes.

Kyle Beltle [00:15:56]:

Thank you, Stuart. It’s been a blast.

Stuart Webb [00:15:58]:

I’m. I’m just gonna, I’m just gonna encourage people. If you’re listening to this, if you’re watching this, if you, if you’re seeing us live, if you’re seeing this in the recording or listening to this in the recording, just please subscribe to the. To the main with the Systemize me forward/subscribe systemize.me forward slash subscribe. You will get an email once a week which will intel tell you who’s coming up on the podcast so that you can join live. Ask questions if you want, get on there. If you’ve got boring, know, really burning questions, that’s the time to sort of ask it to experts such as Kyle who’s been with us today talking about his stuff. And please go to Systemize me free hyphen stuff to get Kyle’s really valuable six plus special special offer.

Stuart Webb [00:16:39]:

Download as soon as you can. Kyle. Kyle Beltley. I hope I’ve got it right. At long last.

Kyle Beltle [00:16:45]:

Yes.

Stuart Webb [00:16:45]:

Thank you for being with us.

Kyle Beltle [00:16:47]:

Thank you for having us.

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View Details

Who is Andrea?

Andrea Stenberg is a social media whiz who really knows her stuff when it comes to video marketing. She loves helping business owners figure out how to use video to get noticed online and turn viewers into customers. Andrea’s all about sharing simple, practical tips that actually work, no jargon or tech headaches. As a guest on “It’s Not Rocket Science: Five Questions Over Coffee,” Andrea brings her friendly vibe and tons of helpful advice for anyone looking to grow their business with video.

Key Takeaways

00:00 “Aligning Video with Brand Strategy”

04:45 Building Trust Through Videos

07:39 Authentic Video Marketing with AI

11:25 Authentic Video Outperforms Polished Content

17:21 “Start Marketing with Video”

21:23 Instagram & LinkedIn Content Strategies

22:29 Challenges of Creating Short Videos

25:53 Improving Videos Through Feedback

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at www.systemise.me/subscribe

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

video marketing, social media video, lead generation, customer conversions, coaches, course creators, healers, expertise marketing, personal branding, seat of your pants marketing, marketing strategy, brand consistency, going viral, target audience, client journey, personalized videos, AI in video, video editing tools, video content repurposing, audience trust, showing up on camera, authentic video, video length, LinkedIn Live, Instagram Reels, closed captions, video accessibility, video engagement, video production quality, content funnel, repurposing content

SPEAKERS

Andrea Stenberg, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:00]:

Hi, and welcome back to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. The important thing here is the coffee. And I want to really welcome Andrea, Andrea Stenberg, who’s going to talk to us about the importance of doing a video in your social media and helping us to increase our lead generation and help us to increase our customer conversions by using effective video in, in lead generation. So, Andrea, welcome to It’s Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. And I hope you’re ready to give us some pearls of wisdom.

Andrea Stenberg [00:01:08]:

Oh, thank you, Stuart. Thanks for having me.

Stuart Webb [00:01:11]:

So let’s start by trying to understand exactly who, who, who the who, who the people are that you help with understanding how to use video better. And how do you, how, how you understand what their needs are?

Stuart Webb [00:01:25]:

Well, I, I work with coaches, course creators, healers, anyone who’s selling sort of what’s up here, their expertise and their knowledge. And they’re usually people who are really good at what they do and they’re really passionate about helping people. In fact, they’re almost more passionate about helping people than they are about growing their business. But they’re also serious about growing their business. And one of the things that that happens is, you know, they’ve learned along the way that video is becoming really important and they understand that video is important. So they’ve started using video, but they don’t really know what they’re doing. So what happens is like, so they’ve got over here, their website, their social media, their emails, all their marketing is kind of professional and branded. And then they put their video and it’s over here and it almost looks like they’re not even coming from the same business because they’ve just kind of added it on.

Stuart Webb [00:02:22]:

And they’re doing what I call seat of your pants marketing, where they’re just, when they, you know, on the rare occasions they have a few spare minutes, they do a video because, and they model it on somebody else’s. But they don’t really figure, haven’t really figured out where it fits in their marketing and really is, I want your marketing and your video to like work together seamlessly like this so that they all support each other, they all work together, they all look like they’re from the same business and they’re all sharing a similar message. And so that’s, you know, that’s, that’s who I work with. And that’s my, my end goal for everybody is to have their video and their, the rest of their marketing all working seamlessly together.

Stuart Webb [00:03:05]:

You’ve kind of already Excuse me, you’ve already sort of answered the second part of my question which is, you know, we, you’re right, we’re all, we’re all very aware of the fact that video is really important in, in marketing nowadays because it starts to help to sort of demonstrate who you are as a person. And you know, we have to remember at the end of the day even big businesses buy people. So, so what is it you’ve seen people do that perhaps doesn’t quite gel? You’ve sort of talked about the website not looking the same as the video or the video somehow not looking as if it’s coming from. What are some of those things that people have done that you’ve sort of spotted potential problems for them?

Stuart Webb [00:03:42]:

Well, I mean some of the problems is like, so everybody gets focused on the idea of going viral and I want to go viral and get discovered. And yes, part of video is getting discovered. But for most coaches, course creators, consultants, healers, going viral is actually not good for your business. For example, I had a video that went viral like it didn’t get millions of people but it was like easily 10 times my normal viewership of videos. And the interesting thing was the vast majority of this new audience were 18 to 24 year old boys. And they’re not my target audience, they’re not going to be a customer of mine. Like I don’t know why they liked this video but you know, like it was not really of any business value to me that these 18 year old boys were liking this video. So, so going viral, like yes, it’s nice to be discovered but it’s if you’re being discovered by the wrong people, that doesn’t help you.

Stuart Webb [00:04:45]:

The other thing about that is when people come into your world like they don’t just hear of you today and become a customer today. I mean sometimes that happens but usually there’s a process and there’s a journey where people have to get to know like and trust you and, and that’s where video becomes really powerful because not just from being discovered, but as people are getting closer and closer to making that decision, to becoming your client, you can build that trust. You can let them see that you have some expertise. They can, you can get them to experience what it might be like to work with you in a completely non threatening way. So if you’re posting a video on LinkedIn or YouTube, somebody doesn’t even have to give you their email address to watch your video. So it’s a very low risk on their part to get a taste of what it’s like to work with you. And then, of course, you know, once people get closer to becoming a client. For example, one of my favorite strategies is you can do personalized videos that you create one video for one person and you can say, hey, Stuart, I really enjoyed talking with you.

Stuart Webb [00:05:52]:

I just wanted to remind you about A, B and C and send a video to them and that, you know, really creates that. Wow, that’s. This person really heard me. This person is really interested in me. And look, they sent me a video just for me. So there’s lots of different places where you can use video, not just at the top of the funnel of just getting discovered by new people. And I think that’s. That’s the biggest change that people can make is start incorporating it into all the stages of your marketing, not just at the beginning.

Stuart Webb [00:06:27]:

I think that’s a very, very, very, very interesting way of doing things because I’ve. I’ve seen and done similar things where. And that personalization, even if that video that you create for that one person is, you know, it’s just their name and everything else is exactly the same to something you sent to somebody else, they feel it’s theirs, don’t they? Because you can’t create a video easily without putting some effort in and making it very personal to them. We ought to just sort of COVID off the AI thing because is that something that you think AI generated videos are helping or hindering in these respects?

Stuart Webb [00:07:08]:

Well, I mean, for people who I work with. So, like, for example, if you’re a coach or a healer, like, say you’re a healer and you’re going to help me make my child healthier or do better at school or whatever that you do. I need to trust you a lot, Especially if it’s about my child. Like, if it’s about me, I might be willing to take some risk. But if it’s my child, I want to trust you a lot. And having an AI video like that doesn’t build any connection to me. Whereas. But AI is useful.

Stuart Webb [00:07:39]:

But I really think if you’re an expert and you’re sharing your expertise and you work closely with your clients and they need to trust you, I think there’s real power in getting your face on camera, getting your voice, letting people hear your enthusiasm, your passion for your industry, and getting a taste of what it’s like to work with you. So having an AI avatar do the talking for you, I think is not going to help you grow your business. That being said, there are lots of ways you can Use AI as part of your video marketing. For example, I have a video editing tool that I use that creates a transcript so that instead of editing video, you actually edit the transcript. And when you delete a sentence in the transcript, it deletes it from the video. That’s AI but it’s like, it’s still me, I’m just editing what I said. Or the same AI, you can go in and say, put in a 15 minute video and say, pull out five 30 second clips that I can share on social media. It’s still my words.

Stuart Webb [00:08:46]:

It’s just doing it for me. So it’s kind of like having an assistant rather than, than, you know, AI creating everything. So I, I am very, very passionate about the idea of people showing up on camera, showing their faces. And you know, I, I sometimes get pushback from people saying they don’t want to. And it’s like, you know what? I, I don’t like being on camera either. I’m, you know, I’m pushing 60, I’m not as thin. I have, you know, gray hair and wrinkles like everybody else. But you know what, my ideal clients don’t care about that.

Stuart Webb [00:09:17]:

What they care about is how I can help them. And that’s the same with anybody watching this. Your ideal clients ultimately don’t really care that much about what you look like. It’s like, how can you help them and do they trust you enough that you can actually do the things you say and video is really the thing that’s going to help you?

Stuart Webb [00:09:33]:

I think you’ve got a valid point actually, Andrew. And you know, to an extent, I can remember talking to one consultant who actually said, at long last, I’ve got the gray hairs. Because now it looks like I’ve got the experience to help you rather than just having the experience to help you. So sometimes those gray hairs and wrinkles are really helpful and useful. Andrea, let’s, let’s move on to your, the way that you can help people. You’ve given us an offer that we’ve put into our vault at Systemize Me Free Stuff. What, what’s the offer that you’ve got available for people if they go there and they, they read about this?

Stuart Webb [00:10:09]:

Well, the number one question I get from people is, okay, I get video is important, but what do I say? And it goes back to what, you know, what I said earlier about having that, that kind of funnel is you want to have videos for each stage. And so I have, I have a free guide that’s called this seven Essential Videos for Explosive Growth. And it is, it’s seven videos that are for different stages of a client, of the client journey. And if you follow that, you will create seven videos that speak to people in different stages of that journey. And then, you know, if you do one video a week, that’s two months worth of videos you’ve created following this guide.

Stuart Webb [00:10:53]:

One video a week is so easy to do as well, isn’t it? Let’s face it, I mean I’ve, I’ve had a, I’ve had a look myself and they are not, these are not, these are not very difficult videos to create, are they? You’re not, you’re not telling people they need to book a studio or go and spend time learning how to be a professional presenter. This is how normal people, I’d like to consider myself normal. Normal people can just do these things in a very simple way just to get themselves started, even if they don’t, even if they don’t have all of the necessary professional equipment.

Stuart Webb [00:11:25]:

Well, and what’s really interesting is there’s actually lots of data now that shows that if your video is too polished and too well edited and too slick looking, they actually perform worse than somebody taking their cell phone and holding it up and, and talking and walking and it’s jiggly and it’s not perfect. And I think the reason is we’re all used to, you know, commercials. As soon as a commercial comes up on television, what do you do? You get up and you go get a snack or you go and, and go use the, the, the facilities or you do any commercial. So when you’re on, on social media, if you see something that feels like a commercial, your blinders go up and you go, no, I’m not going to listen to that. But if you get on camera and it’s not perfect and you make a mistake or you stumble over a word, people go, this is a real person.

Stuart Webb [00:12:20]:

Do you know we’ve had a comment in from Derek. Derek’s another video person I know, and he said, he’s just said AI videos are great and can be personalized. What love said. But it’s still easy to insert. Some of you, it’s the dynamic captions that annoy the heck out of me. And I think Derek’s got a point there. You’re talking about the fact that we need to be us on those videos, don’t you? You’re saying that having the jiggliness sometimes just shows that you’re a human being and you’re still relatable. And that’s the really key thing to making your video hit home with people.

Stuart Webb [00:12:53]:

And I’ve even seen, like, you know, Tony Robbins was doing video back when we were still using VHS to watch video. And I’ve seen him now online doing videos where he’s clearly holding the cell phone and speaking to the cell phone. So even, you know, somebody who has been doing video for decades is recognizing that sometimes this off the cuff, just speaking to your audience, speaking from your heart, sharing a message resonates better than a really polished professional done in a studio. And all the flashy bells and whistles, sometimes those, those convert better.

Stuart Webb [00:13:30]:

So, Andrea, tell us how you, how you got to who you are. Was there a book or a course or something which sort of, which you used as a way to sort of help you to understand how video marketing was going to help your business grow?

Stuart Webb [00:13:45]:

Well, it’s kind of. I felt really long and hard about this question because there’s lots of things that got me to where I am and when I started learning video, because as a marketing professional, I knew my. I had to learn it for me so that I could help my clients figure it out. And there, there wasn’t a lot available, but I came across, I think it was about 20, 20, 19. Somebody had an ad online for a course and it was going to be like, learn how to do video. And I was like, oh, yay, I’m going to get support, I’m going to get coaching, I’m going to get accountability. And I swear, I think my credit card was smoking. I pulled it out of my wal about to pay for this course.

Stuart Webb [00:14:27]:

And then imagine my crushing defeat when I opened up the course and the course was a PDF with 30 topics to do. When I went live every day for 30 days and the hashtag to you to post with my videos, I was like, this wasn’t what I was looking for. But I went live every day for 30 days, including one day I was at my sister visiting my sisters. And the only place in the house that was quiet enough was. Was the bathroom. And I sounded like I was at the bottom of the toilet because it was all echoey. It was terrible. And so at the end of that, I thought, well, okay, if I can do that.

Stuart Webb [00:15:05]:

Okay, so I’m not scared of being on video because, like, that was bad. And I did it. I didn’t die of embarrassment. Nobody threw virtual tomatoes at me. Like, it was fine. But I still didn’t have a strategy. So I had to spend. I spent the next year being very UN Canadian.

Stuart Webb [00:15:22]:

I started like If I saw people doing interesting things with video, I would like message them. Can we get on zoom? Can we get on the phone? I’d like to pick your brain and what you’re doing. And I just like, sort of, I just spent time talking to people and looking at people and just trial and error and learning from people because there wasn’t really good guidance back then for how to use video as marketing. And so it kind of. But then the other thing, other side about it is video marketing. While it. It is different, it’s actually still the same principles as offline marketing. And, you know, a lot of times I have older entrepreneurs come to me and say, well, I don’t know if I can do video because I’m not a digital native.

Stuart Webb [00:16:05]:

I didn’t grow up with this stuff. And I was just, you know, what? If you have the knowledge and the skills to talk to people and talk to customers and. And find out what their pain points are and talk to them about how you can help them, all you have to do is learn which buttons to push on video, because it’s the same skill set because you’re still talking to human beings. And that’s. That’s really the most important part.

Stuart Webb [00:16:31]:

Yeah, absolutely, Andrea. That there’s a. There’s a sense in which I’m sure that you’ve sort of got a question at the moment which you’re wondering why I haven’t asked yet. And I’m sure that that question is the one that you sort of really will help us to sort of to nail what the next step is or something. So I don’t have that question because I’ve got to admit, I haven’t thought that deeply about it. But you have got a question that you think I should ask. So what’s the question that I should have asked you by now? And therefore, once you’ve asked it, you can have to answer it for us.

Stuart Webb [00:17:05]:

Well, earlier when I said you want to take your. Your marketing and your videos and make them work together, like, you know, a handshake. It’s like, well, how do you do that when you’re busy and, you know, busy entrepreneurship?

Stuart Webb [00:17:19]:

I like the question very much.

Stuart Webb [00:17:21]:

And so my answer is what I like, you know, people to do is turn their marketing on its head and start with video. So if you start with one video that has your message, has your voice, has your face, you start with the video and then repurpose that video. So you take your video and then you’re repurposing it into a bunch of other Content. And you can do it quickly, you can do it easily, AI can help you, but it still sounds like you because you started with your words, your ideas, your voice. So, for example, you take a transcript of your video that you created and turn it into an email or a blog post, or do some LinkedIn posts based on content that you’ve created. And, and that does a number of things. I mean, first of all, it saves you time because you’re starting with your words and then you’re just recreating it. The second thing is one of the fundamental marketing principles is people need to hear the same message over and over again.

Stuart Webb [00:18:27]:

That’s why, like, if you’re watching commercial television, the advertisers don’t make a commercial play at once and they never play it again. They play it over and over until we’re sick of it because it takes that long for us to remember it. So if you take a video and then maybe you do an email or a blog post, then you do a LinkedIn post and maybe a LinkedIn carousel post, that’s all on the same messaging. People start recognize it, remembering it. And sometimes they may even think, oh, I’ve heard that before. That Stuart must be really smart because I’ve heard that before, even though they heard it from you. So it’s the repetition and the different formats that help. So that’s, that’s for me, is if you start with the video and then build from there, but using, you know, the same basic messaging, you can speed up your marketing.

Stuart Webb [00:19:15]:

You can make your, make it easier for you and more effective.

Stuart Webb [00:19:21]:

Brilliant. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I love it. Andrea. I mean, you’ve left us with what can only be described as the action for the rest of the day. We. Which is to do that, start with video and take that first step and go, go live.

Stuart Webb [00:19:37]:

I mean, you’re right. It didn’t kill you to go live 30 times in 30 days. Nobody is yet violently objected to me going live on video. Although personally I have. But that’s another story. Andrea, thank you so much for encouraging us to sort of go and do these things and really make it happen. I think it’s brilliant that you’re pushing this message. I wish more people were taking it on board.

Stuart Webb [00:20:00]:

And I’m just going to ask people if they would value, like Derek was earlier, being alive and listening to us live, talking. If you can go to www.systemize.me, subscribe, that takes you to a simple form which allows you to actually just ask for my email once a week where I Send you who’s coming up so that you can do like Derek, join and listen to the comments that are being made. We’ve got, we’ve got other people here talking as well and I’m just going to share these you Andrea, so that you can answer them. Derek, what is the sweet spot regarding video length?

Stuart Webb [00:20:38]:

That is a fabulous question. It’s one of my most common questions and my answer is a terrible answer. And it’s terrible because the answer truly is. It depends and it depends on a number of things. One, it depends on what your audience is expecting and what they’re used to. Two, it depends on your skill as a presenter. You know, if you’re really skilled and engaging and interesting and speak and sound bites, you can go longer. The other thing, the third thing it depends on is the actual content of the video because you need to give be long enough to give all the information that you promised at the beginning, but not so long that people are dropping off.

Stuart Webb [00:21:23]:

For example, I know I, I have two clients, one who is doing massively good reach with seven second Instagram reels. People are commenting, people are DMing her. They’re, you know, you know, they’re not just top of the funnel. These are people reaching out and taking the next step from 7 second reels. And then I also know somebody who does. This is also an Instagram example, but hour long live videos on Instagram five days a week and has hundreds of people showing up live, have people commenting, people are staying all the way through and engaging. So I know it’s a terrible answer but it really is true. But if you’re just starting out and you know, for example, If Derek’s on LinkedIn, if you’re doing a LinkedIn Live, often 10 to 15 minutes is a good place to start because there’s that, you know, that quota that’s been attributed to Mark Twain and a few other people is I apologize, my letter is so long I didn’t have time to make it shorter.

Stuart Webb [00:22:29]:

So making a really short video that has a complete message and is really succinct is actually challenging. Where it’s talking for 10 to 15 minutes, you know, if you have an intro that’s one to two minutes, you maybe you have three talking points and you have an example or a story for each one of those, that’s probably two to three minutes each. And then you have your, your closing statement which is probably at least a minute. There you go. You’re already over 10 minutes. So, so that’s a good place to start. And then you can sort of adjust up or down as you figure out what your audience expects from you and wants from you, and also what you’re. Your skill as a presenter and how much work you want to put into making them shorter or making them longer.

Stuart Webb [00:23:14]:

Love it. We’ve got one question from Nicholas. Closed captions are on nearly every video now. They’re always wrong somewhere. Do you have a comment on that, Andrea? As closed captions, I’ve always thought the closed captions were useful because, you know, we do have people who don’t necessarily understand all of our accents. We do have people who are not able to hear everything we’re saying. Sometimes they’re in a busy office and they’ve got to have the sound off. There are a whole range of reasons why closed captions might be useful.

Stuart Webb [00:23:40]:

Are you a fan?

Stuart Webb [00:23:42]:

Yeah, absolutely. I actually have a client who is hearing impaired, so even when we’re in person, she’s got an app that will do closed captioning. So, yes, I think it’s important for all sorts of reasons. There’s also lots of data that show a lot of people watch videos with the sound off. So if you want to engage your audience having captions and really it’s. The problem with closed captions is most of them are done with AI and the AI is mostly trained with American accents. So if you don’t have an American accent, that’s problematic. I speak quickly, and some.

Stuart Webb [00:24:21]:

Some of the AI has trouble with the way I speak. And then if you have, you know, particular terminology for your industry, they may not understand them. Now, depending on what you’re like in a live stream, if there’s closed captionings, there’s not really anything you can do while you’re live. If you’re editing videos, people, you know, it just depends how much of a perfectionist you are, whether you go in and edit the closed captioning that the AI created or whether you just go, you know what? This is close enough. I’ll just. I’ve got more important things to do in my business and. But closed captioning has gotten better. A year ago, I just about always edited, even on Instagram, the AI closed captioning because they were so wrong.

Stuart Webb [00:25:09]:

Now a lot of times I’ll just leave them because they’re close enough and they may get better as time goes on.

Stuart Webb [00:25:19]:

Andrea, thank you for answering those questions. I really appreciate you spending a bit of time doing that. I think that’s great advice there. So just to repeat, go to Systemize me Free stuff. Pick up Andrea’s excellent course on how to get your seven messages across and go to the Systemize me. Subscribe and be like Nicholas and Derek. Get your questions answered live by real experts like Andrea, rather than having experts like me tell you something wrong. So Andrea, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us.

Stuart Webb [00:25:53]:

I really appreciate what you’ve been able to do teach us today and I look forward to getting my videos better because of the advice you’ve given.

Stuart Webb [00:26:01]:

Thanks for having me, Stuart, that.

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View Details

Who is Katie?

Katie Hahn is no stranger to the entrepreneurial hustle. Early in her journey, Katie was the one burning the midnight oil—she was everywhere, trying every strategy in the book. From updating her CRM to jumping onto the latest social media trend, Katie left no stone unturned. But beneath the surface, she was pulled in countless directions, chasing quick fixes and scrambling for solutions to meet her coaching clients’ needs. Over time, Katie realized that true success came not from the frantic chase, but from focus and clarity. Now, she empowers other women to step off the hamster wheel and build purposeful, sustainable businesses.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Brilliant Women Lacking Growth Systems

05:19 Lack of Business System Integration

08:00 Empowering Women Coaches' Growth

12:44 Sales as Helping, Not Forcing

15:39 Guidance and Accountability in Business

17:01 Weekly Advice

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

If you are a business owner currently turning over £/$10K - £/$50K per month and want to grow to £/$100K - £/$500k per month download check out https://systemise.me

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way.

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

women coaches, coaching business, business systems, overwhelm, time freedom, financial freedom, CLIMB Framework, scalability, sales checklist, business growth, online business, client onboarding, lead generation, business processes, virtual assistants, high ticket sales, business optimization, chaos to stability, female entrepreneurs, productivity, systemization, strategy call, Facebook group, sales strategies, business model, business mentoring, accountability, client experience, business automation, business support

SPEAKERS

Katie Hahn, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:00]:

hi and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. I'm here with Katie Hahn. Katie is the founder of the Climb Framework. The Climb Framework, and I'm sure we're going to get into this is a way that helps particularly women coaches, consultants get out of the overwhelm of a non systemized business and helps them too elevate themselves to growth by using a framework which introduces systems processes to help their business grow. So, Katie, thank you very much for spending a few minutes with us. I'm really looking forward to this conversation. And welcome to It's Not Rocket Science.

Stuart Webb [00:01:11]:

Five questions over coffee. Thank you.

Katie Hahn [00:01:14]:

I'm very excited to be here.

Stuart Webb [00:01:16]:

Thank you, Kate. So, Katie, let's start by trying to understand those people that I just sort of talked about, those people that you're trying to help. What, what are, who are these people? What's the business they've got? What's the problem that they really find themselves in?

Katie Hahn [00:01:32]:

I'll give you an example. And we've seen a lot of these people and this men and women, but I just specialize in women. But we see those people who hustle, you know, the ones who are working all hours, they're doing everything, you know, they're really putting this stuff in place. They're saying, oh, I got a new CRM, I'm on social media, I'm doing these things. But really when you talk to them and you dig down, they're all over the place. They're, they're after every shiny object. They are really just trying to solve that problem that they have today. And it may be trying to find people to, you know, for their coaching clients.

Katie Hahn [00:02:09]:

And so they're like, okay, what am I going to do today I'm going to go after this and tomorrow it's like, oh, I need a CRM. Now I have this. Well, now I have a client, what do I do next? And it's just constant chaos. And really what they face is this their bit. They don't have a business, they have chaos. And really what that means is they don't have a system to support their businesses. And what I found coming from the traditional business setting, brick and mortar professional services, is when you set up a business, you generally set up with very specific systems in place. However, in this new world of having everything online, you know, anybody can get started with anything.

Katie Hahn [00:02:53]:

And these women that I work with are brilliant, absolutely brilliant and passionate. Problem comes in is they got the hustle, but they don't have the know how that gives Them those systems in place to actually predictably grow and, and feel that they're meeting what they want to do, which is generally, you know, support the people they want to and whatever that coaching is, or in their business aspect, but also provide themselves that time and financial freedom that they got into this for. You know, most of them are moms and had a life crisis of change because now I can go back to work, I'm going to do my thing I love. And now with that, they got hustle, but they don't have time or financial freedom at all.

Stuart Webb [00:03:38]:

Yeah, I know the sort of thing you're talking about. This is the sort of person that goes from feast to famine. Suddenly they've got too much work, they've got no time to deliver properly. And then the next week they're looking around going, what, where's the next meal check coming from? I have no idea where everything is. And, and it's that need to have that continuous flow of leads that, that conversion of the, of the lead to the customer in order to sort of just give them the space and the time to actually develop a real business, isn't it? Yeah.

Katie Hahn [00:04:08]:

And they, they make these, you know, rash decisions because they need something today to solve a problem and they don't have the systems in place that's going to help them long term.

Stuart Webb [00:04:20]:

So let's, let's talk a little bit and sort of, you know, if there's somebody out there sort of immediately saying, hey, this might be me, and they might recognize themselves, but give us some specifics about the sort of things that they found themselves doing. You know, you come across somebody and you go, you know, I know what you're trying to do. These are the sort of people that have tried all sorts of things. Give us an example of the sort of things they've tried before. They seek advice on how to put the sort of systems you're talking in about Katie.

Katie Hahn [00:04:47]:

So it's really how they. Women generally, it's a feeling. They are just sick of the feeling of being out of control. When they were a mom or in the traditional business setting, their life was pretty easy. And now they're starting to feel chaotic and they're feeling overwhelmed. And what they start doing is the shiny object. You know, they may be on Instagram and they see, you know, some somebody puts out there. You're gonna get a million, you know, views if you do this.

Katie Hahn [00:05:19]:

And so they start going down rabbit holes. But it's really never a system in place that's going to get them to the Actual end goal. And so, you know, they're not figuring out that everything in a business has a relationship to each other. You know, so they may go down, oh, I got a CRM. But they don't use it, which means they don't now have the data, the information, the cohesion that's going to take the processes from sales to onboarding to client experience, to have those, you know, clients that are really going to be the evangelist for them. And because of the experience wasn't there. And it means that they are acting in a way where everything in their business is a bottleneck because it relies on that. There's no growth strategy because they've put everything on themselves and not using the right system so that they can say, okay, I need to work on my business, not in my business.

Katie Hahn [00:06:19]:

And then they can start delegating, bringing on a va. Because ultimately, what you typically see are they'll bring people on, they'll bring salespeople. Vas problem is everything goes through them and it ends. I work with tons of them like that.

Stuart Webb [00:06:33]:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've all seen those poor people that turn around. You know, I've got 15 people working for me, and absolutely none of them make a decision. And the question you always ask is, have you ever asked them to make a decision without talking to you first? And they look at you as if to say, why would we do that? That would be a very silly thing to do. So we know what you're talking about, Katie. I know you've got some really valuable, free. And I'm going to just point people now towards our. Our vault.

Stuart Webb [00:06:59]:

Katie has given me three brilliant, brilliant pieces of valuable content that I think you're going to just describe it to us, Katie, because, I mean, I'm going to really encourage people. There are some really, really interesting pieces of really valuable advice that you've got that you've given to us to give away this evening.

Katie Hahn [00:07:20]:

So the first one is my coaches weekly sales checklist. It just starts small. You got to start somewhere and realizing that at the front end, you need to have some processes in place and a checklist. So that one's an easy read. It gives you some activities to do, how to start implementing one thing at a time into your business and have a repeatable process every week just for sales, just small things. But I couldn't stop there because I know we'll have lots of problems. And I don't want to make this sound like these people are horrible or they're doing things wrong. They just don't have the right support and I feel like I don't.

Katie Hahn [00:08:00]:

I'm not doing them justice if I can't help provide more and the guidance they need to get to the next steps. So what I did was I just created a Facebook group and it's called High Ticket Women Coaches and it's all about sales and systems for scalable growth. I'm going to be dropping lots of nuggets of information in there, going live, talking about actual tangible pieces that they can implement in their business to get there. And the last thing is I don't normally do this, but I want to make sure that what people and women are doing is impactful and they're really going to have some strategies that they feel apply to them because everybody feels like they're in a different spot. My business is different. But really there's three stages and these three stages are chaos, stabilization and optimization. And what I want to do is help them identify where they are and provide real strategies on a strategy call to get out of where they are so they can get to that growth. So I, I got a busy summer, but I am willing to give 10 people a free strategy call and really start working with them on.

Katie Hahn [00:09:09]:

Here's what the steps you need to take to get to where you want to go.

Stuart Webb [00:09:13]:

So if you go to www.systemize.me forward/free hyphen stuff, you can see there those three links. There's the link to book a strategy call. That's quite a long link, so I'm not even going to try and read it out. You can go to free hyphen stuff and you will get immediate access to that strategy call link. You will get the Facebook group where Katie, I, I really, I really wouldn't mind dropping in on that myself. I'm the wrong, on the wrong. I've got the wrong hair lengths and things like that. But so there's some really great stuff that you're going to put in there as well as exercise.

Stuart Webb [00:09:54]:

Go to www.systemize.me. free hyphen stuff. Grab those free things from Casey because they are hugely valuable. Casey, I just wanted to understand a little bit more about it. You obviously have got this system. You've worked out the climb system and the climb is a great system system. What, what was it was a book, a life event. What, what helped you to form the climb system and get it really focused in the way that you've got it now?

Katie Hahn [00:10:22]:

Well, it, it started off with experience. I, I was drinking from a fire hose. I was put in charge As a CEO of an IT company and the owners that I was working with, my other owners, they left to go off on another venture. And so it was a disaster. I was changing a business model, growing clients in charge of sales. Everything was happening at once and I felt that I didn't have a method to figure out what I needed to do. And so somebody had given me a book and it was the business model Generation by Strategizer. And it really helps to visually organize what your business model is and who are your clients, kind of all those basic things that you really need to know.

Katie Hahn [00:11:07]:

And I absolutely love the book. I still use it and to this day I talk to my clients, have them fill it out and I just share the link. There's some great videos, but once you understand your business model, then you can move on to say what systems are important to your business model and really where to start focusing. So it's a very easy starting point. The other one I just, I believe you can use in life, but specifically for sales, is how to win friends and influence people. By oldie but a goodie. It's got core ideas. And what I really like about it is I don't want to manipulate people.

Katie Hahn [00:11:49]:

It talks about how to be genuinely interested in people, how to be there to support their needs and hear them. Because I don't want to be this used car salesman. I am a high ticket closer. I love sales, but I want to do it for the right reasons. And I want my, the coaching clients that I work with to understand why that's so important. Because I want those evangelists on the outside, you know, I want them talking about it. And once you learn those and can align them, your businesses can scale because people aren't talking this negative talk about their experience, but also how they made you feel. And so I really want to combine those two.

Katie Hahn [00:12:26]:

And the life instance that really kind of put these all together is that I work on the back end for high ticket coaches and I see in their business and I'm like, all right, I already have a process. Doesn't matter if it's a coach or a traditional business. Let's put it in place.

Stuart Webb [00:12:44]:

Yeah. Do you know, I'm very aware that one of the things you were talking there about was the how to win friends and influence people and how. And I'm very aware that a lot of people, particularly who are struggling or perhaps just beginning to scale their business, they get very worried about sales because they feel dirty. They feel somehow it's forcing somebody to have something they shouldn't have. And I was talking to somebody not so very long ago, and they were saying, well, how do you feel about sales? Because my background is very different to most, and I was not trained in sales or anything like that. And I said, I eventually realized sales is about helping somebody, and I just wanted to be the most helpful person in the world. So when I was reaching out and I was talking to somebody about helping them, I would say something like, you have this problem, and I have this solution to your problem. If you'd like the solution, let's find a way of working together.

Stuart Webb [00:13:39]:

And they go, yes. And I go, well, there needs to be some money for that. And they go, of course there has to be some money. And immediately you'd go, this sales thing isn't so difficult. It's just reaching out and helping somebody. And it's not about trying to force somebody to have something they don't want. It's basically being the most helpful person in the world. But just remembering in the end to say, I need to pay my mortgage.

Stuart Webb [00:14:01]:

So do you mind if you help me do that?

Katie Hahn [00:14:03]:

I completely agree. I'm not traditionally in sales. That's not where I came from. I have an education and a science background. I'm a scientist by trade. So this is not my background. And it's just like you. What I find is, if I can be helpful and they align, let's do it.

Katie Hahn [00:14:20]:

And it's not slimy or anything like that.

Stuart Webb [00:14:24]:

So let's move on to the. To the real question that you've probably got for me, Katie, at the moment, which is, you know, you're probably sitting there thinking, he still hasn't asked the killer proper question. He's got these questions he's asked me, but he hasn't asked the real one that. That I'm. That I'm waiting for. So I'm just gonna have to admit that I don't know what that question is and ask you to tell me what is the real killer question that you want me to ask you? And then obviously, you have to answer it, because I don't know the question either.

Katie Hahn [00:14:52]:

Well, it's not difficult. I mean, if I was talking, like, thinking about this, it's like all this information is out there. You know, all these processes are out there. There's tons of templates. The question is, why do business owners, specifically coaches, women coaches, still need a coach or mentor? And that, for me, is it takes some realization that as a business owner, you still need to have that support. Because basic transformation in a Business is driven by just implementing. It's not about just the information you have. And I don't think that all this information that we can Google is making everybody money, because if it was, we'd all be on autopilot.

Katie Hahn [00:15:39]:

We need somebody to say, here's where you start. Here are the things you're blind to because you're in the business and really aligning and saying, okay, here are the things we need to do to get you to X, putting plans in place and holding somebody accountable. I was an athlete, and we have coaches for a reason. We need to have a team behind us. We have doctors. We don't just go to one. You know, there's always this team and this support, and we think that's okay in other areas of our life. But as a business professional, you know, we got to get our set, set our egos aside and say, you know what, there's somebody here who can help guide me.

Katie Hahn [00:16:18]:

And the point is that it's going to happen quicker and faster and easier when I have the right support. And that's why I do this back to your sales thing. I want to help people.

Stuart Webb [00:16:30]:

Brilliant. And we've gone full circle, which is exactly where we need to end. Listen, I thank you so much for coming out and spending a few minutes with us today. Katie, I think the advice you've given is brilliant. I'm going to just once again, Pete, go to Systemize Me free. Grab that stuff from Katie. There are not many people that give away as much free value as Katie does, so please grab that stuff as soon as you can. And one little request from me, please subscribe to the newsletter.

Stuart Webb [00:17:01]:

What I do is I send an email once a week, and all I do is I let you know who's coming up so that you can join in and grab the sort of free advice that people like Kate give. So go to Systemize Me forward slash subscribe. That's Systemize Me Forward slash subscribe. Get onto the newsletter list. You'll just get an email once a week, which basically there's a joke in there as well. So it's not all. It's not all stuff. There's a joke, there's a joke, there's a.

Stuart Webb [00:17:26]:

There's news about the people that are coming up on the podcast and also some really great ways of getting advice from these people. Katie, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. I really, really love what you're trying to do to help people, and thank you for being as generous as you have been with so much of your advice.

Katie Hahn [00:17:44]:

Thank you very much.

Stuart Webb [00:17:46]:

Listen, I'm looking forward to following Katie. I really do think you should do the same. Thank you, Katie.

Katie Hahn [00:17:53]:

Thank you.

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View Details

Who is Stever?

Stever Robbins is a strategic advisor dedicated to empowering individuals at pivotal moments in their professional journey. With a focus on reputation building, he guides business leaders and entrepreneurs who aspire to become recognized authorities in their fields. Stever's expertise lies in helping clients establish themselves as the go-to person around their key constituents, whether it's within their industry or among high-value employees. His approach is tailored to those eager to cultivate a magnetic reputation that naturally attracts attention and opportunities, positioning them as influential figures in their respective domains.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Understanding Business Relationships

05:54 "Public Speaking Overcomes Age Bias"

09:41 Networking Maintenance System

14:06 "The Myth of Hard Work"

14:45 Rethinking "Work Hard" Advice

18:16 "Maximizing Productivity and Networking"

22:45 Effectuation in Startup Success

24:28 "Networking: Meeting the Right People"

29:32 Reflecting on AI's Impact

31:12 AI's Impact on Critical Thinking

34:31 Networking for Personal Fulfillment

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at www.systemise.me/subscribe

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

If you are a business owner currently turning over £/$10K - £/$50K per month and want to grow to £/$100K - £/$500k per month download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://systemise.me

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

executive coaching, personal branding, business networking, building relationships, reputation management, career advancement, professional development, strategic outreach, public speaking, podcasting, productivity tips, maintaining connections, follow-up systems, industry recognition, business leadership, career success myths, high impact coaching, business startups, entrepreneurship, effectuation, business ecosystems, corporate politics, introverts in business, systematic networking, reconnecting contacts, business strategy, work-life balance, leadership skills, personal productivity, AI and productivity

SPEAKERS

Stever Robbins, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:31]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science five questions over coffee. I have my coffee here in front of me. I think Steve is ready to go as well. So I have my coffee. Up. We are caffeine up and ready to go. Looks, I'm really, really grateful that Steve has meant, spent some time with us. He's gonna spend a bit of time with us today.

Stuart Webb [00:00:50]:

Steve is well, he's, one of the most interesting and thought provoking and, innovative, speakers I've come across. So, Steba, I'm really grateful you're gonna come here and spend a few minutes talking to us about, well, five ideas we're gonna have over coffee.

Stever Robbins [00:01:08]:

Absolutely. Thank you for having me.

Stuart Webb [00:01:11]:

So, Steven, let's start with, I know you're you're sort of talking today a little bit about some of the some of the work you've been doing, and we're gonna get into it. So so tell us, who is it you're trying to help? What what what's the what's the the the ideal candidate for the sort of work you're trying to do with them at the moment?

Stever Robbins [00:01:26]:

Sure. I help people who are at an inflection point. People who need to get more widely known and who wanna become the go to person around their key constituents. At some point, I'll probably get a little bit more focused than that. But for example, a business person who wants to get known in their industry, a business person who wants to get known around the, high value employees. So So they wanna have a reputation as a, as a hire as a hire as an employer. Basically, anyone who wants to have a reputation that draws people to them and they want to establish a high profile as go to person.

Stuart Webb [00:02:02]:

And so this isn't just, just business owners. This could be anybody from a business owner to somebody who's already in in an employment and and just wants to get better known around their industry or bet better known around around the company.

Stever Robbins [00:02:15]:

Yeah. What I've discovered is

Stuart Webb [00:02:16]:

that this actually has been one

Stever Robbins [00:02:17]:

of the keys to many of the coaching engagements that I've done. I've I've spent the last twenty years as an executive coach. And I finally realized, wait a minute. Helping this person with their marketing was just like helping this person who, I I work with a lot of high potential leaders, so people who are being groomed for the c suite. And part of being groomed for the c suite is you have to establish connections. You have to be known within the company. You need to be able to to, you know, go to the right places, know the right people, call in the right favors, and get people working together. And I realized this is actually the exact same skill set.

Stever Robbins [00:02:49]:

What it takes to become known in your industry is the same thing that it takes to come to become known within your company, you know, with a few minor tweaks. Instead of speaking at a conference, for example, you might be speaking at a brown bag lunch, but, you know, largely the same

Stuart Webb [00:03:02]:

thing. Absolutely right. A lot of these people will have spent time trying to do this just just by, you know, maybe making making mistakes or maybe sort of trying to sort of get out there and do things, but but I haven't got anyway so far. So what are the what are the frustrations? What are the some of the things you've seen people do? I wouldn't say wrong, but are not necessarily focused in the right way in order to really get that that high impact that you're talking about.

Stever Robbins [00:03:29]:

Sure. Well, you know, one of the big ones is that people treat their business like a business. So if I were to ask people, do you do you know where you make money? Most people would say yes. They might be wrong, but but but at least the point is they have some idea. Like, they're they're paying attention. But when I ask people, do you know do you know who you're connecting with and why you're connecting with them and what their major motivational drivers are and how you can deepen a relationship with them and connect with them, they just kind of look at me and go, well, yeah. I mean, I called someone up to have a lunch date. And I'm like, so you're preparing a proposal and you spend six weeks doing research and write a 25 page proposal.

Stever Robbins [00:04:17]:

But when you're thinking about who do you need to know, who needs to know you, and how are you gonna create that connection, you give that no thought. You just sort of treat it the way that you did back in kindergarten, which by the way, don't knock kindergarten. Really good time, recess, awesome idea. I love the thing where you play with the blocks. But as adults, we get more sophisticated about things. I would say one of the biggest, problems that people have is they're not systematic about it. They don't decide who they're gonna contact. They don't actually have a system for making contact and then a system for maintaining relationships, which, you know, people think, oh my gosh.

Stever Robbins [00:04:59]:

This is gonna take me a hundred hours a day. It is gonna take time. Building and maintaining relationships takes time. However, it doesn't take as much time as one might think if you're systematic about it. And even in the best of worlds, you're only gonna have a small inner circle, and a lot of what you do is gonna be about getting yourself out there more widely.

Stuart Webb [00:05:20]:

Are you suggesting that some people don't think deeply enough about their networking and they just wander into a networking meeting with a bunch of business cards and hope for the best?

Stever Robbins [00:05:28]:

Oh god. Yes. Yes. So okay. I know that it doesn't come across in this in this format. I am a high introvert. You put me in a networking event, and I will find the cheese table, and I will nibble 200 of those little cheese cubes while desperately trying not to make eye contact with anyone. And I realized this about myself.

Stever Robbins [00:05:54]:

And what I found what and and the other thing too is I look, this is actually getting less true. I started getting gray hair, like, all of a sudden last week. I'm like, where did these come from? But prior to getting some gray hairs, I looked much younger than I actually am. And I would go to business networking events, and people would just look right past me. They would just assume, oh, who's this high school kid? He has nothing to offer. And what I discovered was that if I did public speaking and if I was on stage, people would pay attention long enough to me just by virtue of my being on stage that I could say something intelligent. And then they would go, hey, that guy on stage said something intelligent and then they would approach me. So I never had to leave the cheese table.

Stever Robbins [00:06:37]:

I got to be lauded as like, oh, this great public speaker. And of course, for introverts, public speaking is amazing because you have complete control over the room. You don't have to pay attention to anyone you don't want to. They raise their hand to ask a question. You ignore them. Public speaking is a fabulous introvert activity. And and what I found was that was people would start coming to me. So that that was, like, my first big in, you know, in you don't have to network the way that that people say where you go and you show up with business cards.

Stever Robbins [00:07:10]:

You can network by putting yourself on a stage and having people want to come to you. I started a podcast in 02/2007, and, it was called the Get It Done, guys. Quick and dirty tips to work less and do more. It was a personal productivity podcast. It made it to number five on I or number three on iTunes, which I was totally psyched about. Unfortunately, I was never able to monetize it. But one of the interesting things about that is that I started having people come up to me on the street and just saying, you know, hey. You're you're Steve Robins.

Stever Robbins [00:07:42]:

You're that get it done guy person. And I'm like, how do you know what I look like? This podcast is audio only. But, apparently, people found somehow found out what I look like. And, again, that was putting myself out there with my ideas in such a way that I actually built an audience and built people who wanted to, to come speak to me to connect.

Stuart Webb [00:08:04]:

And the problem with all of that, Steven, I think you've just sort of alluded to it, is you've gotta have a system. You've gotta have you've got to have a you've got to have a strategy, you've got to know what it is you're trying to do to connect with them. But but networks can go cold very quickly, can't they? I mean, you just mentioned a podcast in 02/2007 now. In Internet terms, that was that was pre pre dinosaur. You you you can't just assume that the the the people you've connected with three years ago even remembered that your name or whether or not you've got gray hair. You you have to have a system for being available and being with them all of the time.

Stever Robbins [00:08:41]:

You do. And that's one of the wonderful things. So first is so the podcast went through 2020, by the way. So there are some still some people who who remember who I am. But but part of it is in fact being in front of them in some fashion. And you don't have to you don't have to be in front of them all the time. You need to be in front of them enough to reactivate their memory of you. And one of the things that I I mean, one of the wonderful things about the Internet world is you can do that through many different media.

Stever Robbins [00:09:09]:

You can do it through video. You can do it through audio. You can do it through email, newsletters. You can also do it with the telephone if you're keeping in touch. I mean, I I'm if you're doing marketing, you might be trying to keep in touch with hundreds and hundreds and thousands of people. But you might if you're within a company and you're networking within the company, you're not necessarily trying to keep in touch with 10,000 people. You're trying to keep in touch with a hundred people who are your most critical people. Or if you're in a career and entering a new industry, you'd be and and you're and it's not just customers you're going after.

Stever Robbins [00:09:41]:

You may only only wanna be keeping contact with, you know, 20 industry leaders, five or six key suppliers, etcetera. And part of, part of, like, the systems that I have, which I hate, let me be very, very clear, there's nothing pleasant about this, is I have a whole follow-up system. And every it's pleasant to actually connect with people. What's not pleasant is actually sitting down there. And every day, I have a spreadsheet that I can sit down and go through. It'll tell me how long it's it's been since I contacted which people, which ones are currently high priority. And I'll just run through it and drop them all an email. Drop them an email, send them a text, make a phone call, and just do something to remind them that I exist.

Stever Robbins [00:10:23]:

Doesn't have to be a long conversation, but they need to see my name and and remember who I am. And, you know, I'll offer to reconnect at depth. Some people take me up on it. Some people don't. But it's about keeping your name front and center. It's not necessarily about having having tons of in-depth conversation or tons of in-depth content with them at every touch.

Stuart Webb [00:10:45]:

And I remember when I was a very young professional, I I I know, I know I only look back 12, but, but I was I was a a professional at one stage. And I remember one of my mentors saying to me, use the opportunity for the two minutes at the beginning of every meeting to sit next to somebody different. That way you'll find out somebody else who you haven't spoken to yet. So you don't have to you just have to be systematic in the way that you think. You don't have to necessarily sort of think to yourself. I must reach out to them. If you see them, you you you make contact, you make a note, you move on. Yeah.

Stever Robbins [00:11:15]:

I one of the things I was doing recently was cleaning up my address book because I have about 7,000 contacts, and I just decided that, you know, that's a lot of contacts. And many of these people I haven't talked to for quite a while. So I literally had been going through about, you know, 50 to a hundred names a week. It's slow going. And as I've been going through every single one, I'm like, oh, wow. Here's someone I really care about. And for whatever reason, we haven't connected in, you know, ten years. And I've just been dropping people an email or sending them a text and just saying, what are you up to? And it's amazing.

Stever Robbins [00:11:47]:

This is something that a lot of people are afraid to do. They're afraid that if they've lost contact with somebody, oh, it'll be so embarrassing for me to try to reestablish contact because it's been so long. No. Remember, it's been long for them too. They haven't reached out to you. You haven't reached out to them. Without fail, when I reach out to people after ten years, their reaction is primarily, oh my gosh. It's great to hear you, except for the person who says, wait a minute.

Stever Robbins [00:12:13]:

Does the restraining order expire? You know? You know? Like, why? You're the one I was supposed to delete from the

Stuart Webb [00:12:18]:

address book.

Stever Robbins [00:12:20]:

But but generally speaking, I've had a great response. I've reconnected with some people that I I I reconnected with a friend of mine I haven't seen in thirty years. And, you know, we had a great conversation, and it was all because I just picked up the phone. I picked up the phone, and I said, hey. Is this still your phone number? Because if not, I really wanna delete it out of my out of my phone. And she was like, don't delete it. Don't delete it. Call me today.

Stever Robbins [00:12:43]:

We had a great conversation.

Stuart Webb [00:12:44]:

That's brilliant. That's brilliant. Steve, I it it brings me to to what is technically question three, but I think we've sort of veered off track a little bit. And that, I know you've got some really valuable free advice, valuable free offers that you wanna sort of, leave the audience with. Do you wanna just describe those to us and and and tell us about, you know, how you are trying to help people with these, with exactly these problems?

Stever Robbins [00:13:06]:

Sure. Absolutely. So, as I mentioned to you, I don't remember if we were on air when I did. I've recently done a business pivot, and I previously dealt mainly with strategic business issues and am now shifting to this new model, which I call connected and respected, which is helping individuals do this kind of outreach. The the giveaway that I have today is a handout from a presentation that I did called 10 cultural and success lies. And,

Stuart Webb [00:13:36]:

Only 10? Wow.

Stever Robbins [00:13:38]:

Well, the the top 10. Well, let's make it a top 10 list. I gave this first at Harvard Business School, this presentation. I and I ended up being asked and came back and did this several times. The basic idea is as I got older, I looked around at people who were successful. I looked around. I I I did go personally to Harvard Business School, so I know a lot of people who are very successful in material sense. And I started noticing that the way they actually got there was not the way everyone says.

Stever Robbins [00:14:06]:

Right? Success lie I think this is number one. If it isn't, it should be. Is work hard and you'll get ahead. And I'm like, in what universe? I I mean, I know a couple people who are worth who are worth hundreds of millions of dollars when I compare their life to mine. They don't work harder than I do. Meanwhile, my cleaning lady I know how hard she works because I know how messy I am. My cleaning lady works her butt off, and she's never gonna have a hundred million dollars, at least not from not from cleaning. And that was the first cultural career lie that really got me wondering what other things do people say that have become conventional wisdom that if you really stop and think about them.

Stever Robbins [00:14:45]:

You know, we even tell kids to work hard. And I'm like, why would you tell a kid to work hard and they'll get ahead if that's not actually how getting ahead works? I mean, I wanna give my kids or my nieces and nephews because I don't have kids. I wanna give them advice that works. So I will say, work hard under the following circumstances for the following reasons, but don't expect these to be the thing that distinguishes you from other people. This may just be the price of admission or it may actually and this this was the weird thing about having a personal productivity podcast is I took a really hard look at what makes people productive. And one of the interesting things about being productive, if you're an employee, this is not true if you're self employed, but if you're an employee, the more productive you are, the more free time you have. The more free time you have, the less you appear to be working. The less you appear to be working, the more the people around you say that person is lazy.

Stever Robbins [00:15:36]:

And they give you more work to do because they think you have all of this free time, but they don't raise your salary because clearly, you were you didn't have enough to do previously. So when you are employed by someone else, the paradox is the more productive you get, the more work and the more responsibility you get without necessarily getting the rewards. When you're self employed, the more productive you get, you also get the rewards because you get to keep them, to keep the rewards yourself. So hard work, depending on the form, may or may not be having social and reputational consequences and maybe having career consequences that have nothing to do with your output and your productivity, but that have everything to do with the way that the hard work that you're doing is or isn't being perceived by other people. Should I tell you a secret I've never told anyone?

Stuart Webb [00:16:24]:

Please go ahead.

Stever Robbins [00:16:25]:

Okay, everyone. You're hearing this for the first time. I hope my first manager is not listening to this. I figured this out at my very first job out of undergrad. I was a computer programmer, and I Figured it out

Stuart Webb [00:16:39]:

a lot earlier than most of us at Stevie. You know that. Don't you?

Stever Robbins [00:16:42]:

Well, so I was much I was much more productive than any anyone else on the programming team, like, really more productive. And I realized that I wasn't get I wasn't getting paid more for this. In fact, they even told me at my review that I was that productive, and they said, but you're too young to be making any more money than you're making now. So, I had to finish the system that I was working on. I finished the entire system in two days, and I then spent the next six weeks releasing one new module at a time so that it appeared that I was doing six weeks worth of work even though I had only spent two days on it. I spent the rest of the time reading comic books. And what was interesting is because I was so much more productive, the amount of work I was releasing per day was comparable to what everyone else was releasing per day. Whereas if I had released it all in two days, they would have given me six more weeks worth of work to do.

Stever Robbins [00:17:41]:

And, anyway, I've never told anyone that before. If my ex manager is listening, Sheldon, now you know. And the statute of limitations has passed.

Stuart Webb [00:17:53]:

Steve, I hate to I hate to sort of, just summarize that in a in a phrase that that was said to me when I was a much, much younger person. It's not what you know, it's who you know. And so you come back to the fact that you can be brilliant. I mean you can really know some stuff, but if you don't know the right people or you don't know the right person to tell that to, you might as well know nothing.

Stever Robbins [00:18:15]:

And I

Stuart Webb [00:18:16]:

think you're illustrating that brilliantly with the fact that if you are, if you do have that free time, and I do know somebody in one company that I worked with who had a lot of free time because they were very productive. They just spent their time networking. They just spent their time going around making sure the senior managers knew who they were so that when they had an hour free and they had an idea, they knew to go and talk to about it. So they use their productivity extremely well. But, I'm really looking forward now to getting my hands on that and that that freebie that you just mentioned. And what I'm gonna tell people, look, if you go to this this link, I'm gonna put a lot of this stuff from Steve, you know, where you can find him, who you can talk to about him, and and some of his previous talks and things. I mean, we'll even refer to the podcast because I think the the productivity podcast, I do remember listening to it, was a brilliant brilliant insight into productivity. But if you go to systemize.me/free- stuff, we'll have links about Steve, what he does, how he works.

Stuart Webb [00:19:11]:

You can pick up all of that stuff there, and I really do think you should go and find out more about Steve. If you don't know who he is, you really should. So go to systemize.me, free stuff. Steve. I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna potentially take you back a little bit. You you've talked about productivity. You've talked about being a high impact coach. How did you get to be a high impact coach from being somebody who was a programmer? What what path was it were you on? Was there a program, a a course, a book, something that changed how you started to think about yourself? And I I appreciate we could now we could open a Pandora's box, and we could be here for a while.

Stuart Webb [00:19:48]:

So you take your time.

Stever Robbins [00:19:50]:

Sure. Let me let let me let me let me try to summarize as best I can. When I discovered that the hard work I I mean, this is this was my own lived journey. When I discovered that the hard work wasn't getting me the results that I wanted, I was gonna have to wait another ten years for my age to catch up with my work ethic. I started doing things like trying different companies, and I went back to business school, got an MBA, and I was with a series of startups. And after my I think it was my ninth startup, this was over the course of about of about fifteen years. After my ninth startup, I I was seeing patterns. Like, we we we myth mythological, myth logic.

Stever Robbins [00:20:32]:

We turn start ups into myths, at least here in America, and we have kinda corporatized to the whole start up process. So so there's all of this stuff, which just like the career wise, it is just complete b**t that people spew about startups. And part of it is things like how hard you have to work. And after you've been with nine startups, you start to notice the reason people are working hard is they don't know good project management. They don't know project scoping. They don't know how to identify what's important and what isn't. And if you know these things, then you simply, you know, you scope your work so that you can do it and you choose the work that's most important that's gonna get you the next step, etcetera. So I was at a start up.

Stever Robbins [00:21:12]:

It was driving me absolutely nuts to watch a bunch of very earnest, well meaning young people make all of the same mistakes. And I went to my lifelong mentor, and I said, you know, I I'm getting really tired of going through the same learning curve over and over and over and over. And they won't listen to me, of course, because they're young and adventurous and visionaries and all that stuff. And he said, why don't you try helping people from the outside instead of necessarily being part of the company? Because when you're the outside expert, people take you more seriously. And long story short, that's what led me into coaching, and I discovered I loved it. It's,

Stuart Webb [00:21:50]:

I'm gonna have to I I was laughing. I was trying not to laugh too much because this is a very serious subject. But I'm afraid I recognize so much of what you were saying because, you know, I I spent some time myself being a a start up mentor to some start up companies. And then nearly always ask the first question, which is, well, we're we're in the process of developing this or we're doing this. And I'll go, okay. Is that is that how is that gonna help your customer solve their problem? And they nearly always have no answer to that question. I think that's the basic question that you ask of any business. You know? Am I producing a solution to a problem, or am I doing this because it feels like it's the right thing to do? And, you know, I'm a scientist by background.

Stuart Webb [00:22:25]:

So I often use sort of the soul sort of, like, let's run an experiment and find out. And people would look at me as if to say, no. No. That's not how you do it. And I'm thinking, yeah. It is because that is actually the basis upon which most successful businesses have been built. But but it takes time to learn that sort of thing, doesn't it? And I think you've encapsulated that journey brilliantly.

Stever Robbins [00:22:45]:

There there is a there's a set of research in entrepreneurship and business formation that actually supports that. It's, done by a woman named Sarris Sarris Vathid at the Duke Fuqua School of Business, and she has published it under the title under the term effectuation, e f f e c t u a t I o n. It is she somehow has taken an extremely easy set of concepts and made them almost impenetrable using scholarly language. However, at the bottom line or at the at the end of the day, the bottom line is that most successful startups go through a period of extreme experimentation. And the ones that tend to be most successful and have the longest runways in terms of they're able to try the most experiments Mhmm. Are the ones who manage their investment very carefully. They make commitments in a very particular kind of way. And one of the big things that they do is they form alliances.

Stever Robbins [00:23:43]:

They become connected and respected, but they allow their network and their connections to help shape the business. And it becomes an iterative process where the business becomes shaped by the people around the business who put skin in the game. And skin in the game is the big differentiator. Anyone who's only put skin in the game, they get a say. And what happens is you have ecosystems developed, business ecosystems, in which everyone is an interested and committed player because everyone has skin in the game. And it may not look like the ecosystem that any of those players would have imagined in the beginning, but it's successful because everyone involved has had a hand in shaping it so that it meets their needs as well as the needs of anyone else. So it's called effectuation.

Stuart Webb [00:24:28]:

That's a brilliant I've not heard of that book, and I really am grateful for that. You've mentioned it. It's another one to add to my reading pile, which is getting longer, and I need to find some time to do it. But, you know, that is, that once again takes us back to this question about how do you know the right people and how do you keep the right people in your orbit so that they can actually be the partners that help you to form your ideas. I mean, we all have to we all have to have these networks. So it brings us right back to to your basic core tenant of this this discussion, which is you've gotta know the right people, and you don't know them by sitting in the corner with the cheese and waiting for them to come and approach you. You have to have a system for getting out there and finding them out and talking to them about these things.

Stever Robbins [00:25:10]:

Correct. And it it and it's the side of business that pretty much every successful business business owner either has because they work at it or because they have it naturally. Because let's be clear. If I look I was raised in a in a polyam a a traveling new age polyamorous hippie commune. And, you know, driving around in a in a 12 foot trailer with with our little commune members. And I went to Harvard Business School. So I was an extreme outsider to that entire echelon of society and and way of working. And it's been really interesting seeing that from both the inside and the outside because a lot of, you know, a lot of hundred million dollar deals do not get done the way you would imagine with tons and tons of due diligence and whatever.

Stever Robbins [00:25:59]:

It's, you know, my college roommate is running a fund, and he needs to invest in a gas pipeline for a tax deduction this year. Do you know anyone who's selling a gas pipeline? Oh, sure. My friend Bill is. I'll tell you what. I'll introduce you to Bill. You give me a 10% cut. Fine. And I'm sitting here watching these deals get made, and I'm like, really? Really? That that's how this happens? You know? Now there's plenty, I'm sure, that happened with a lot more due diligence and and a lot more care, etcetera.

Stever Robbins [00:26:27]:

But it's astonishing that that at the higher levels of business and presumably of it probably presumably, it's not just business. An awful lot of what goes on ends up being through personal connections, not through formal requests for, you know oh, can I tell you can I tell you something that will blow your mind?

Stuart Webb [00:26:50]:

Please.

Stever Robbins [00:26:51]:

I I realized this a couple weeks ago, and I realized I have never heard anyone else say this. I was thinking about, gee, isn't it a shame that there are no entrance criteria or entrance qualifications to be the leader of a country? And I thought about it. I thought, you know, I I honestly can't think of any country for whom there's their process of selecting a leader includes something like like they have to have passed economics one zero one with at least a passing grade or or a CEO. I've never heard of a CEO being given a balance sheet and saying, can you read this? What does this what does this balance sheet tell you about the business? Our leadership positions, none of them are based on actual competency measurements. They're all based on personal connections, who knows who and who has what reputation. And I would love a counterexample. Please send me counterexamples, but I haven't been able to think of them.

Stuart Webb [00:27:52]:

I hate to, I hate to to support what you've just said. I had a meeting with a CEO of a reasonably sized company, and I sat down with the CEO. And my immediate response was, I'm not sure how this guy got his job, but it wasn't by some sort of competence based interview. And I just asked him a simple question about his finances. Now I'm not an accountant. I'm not a great finance expert, but I knew a couple of questions to ask. And he looked at me and said, well, I don't really understand the numbers. I leave that to my finance guy.

Stuart Webb [00:28:28]:

I said, so how are you driving your strategy? And he said, strategy. What do you mean by strategy? And I said, well, do you know who your main customer is and how you're gonna make them happy? And he went, I'll leave that to my sales and marketing team. And I was wondering how this guy ran his team. And then I realized, he played a lot of golf, and he met a lot of potential customers on the golf course. And he invited those potential customers and potential partners to come back to the golf club and have a drink with him. And that's how he did his deals, and it was nothing more than that because he was playing quite a bit of golf. And and I just thought, hey. I wish I had your life, but on the same token,

Stever Robbins [00:29:06]:

I don't think

Stuart Webb [00:29:07]:

I'd be as successful somehow. And I'm I'm afraid you're absolutely right. We do not have enough people who have been taken through those those lessons unless, of course, they've failed miserably and learned from them. And I think as a species, we're not that good at reflecting and learning upon what we've done in the past and maybe sort of sitting quietly and thinking about it and perhaps correcting it in the future?

Stever Robbins [00:29:32]:

Oh, don't even get me started on humans as a as a species and how we learn. I've been playing a lot with AI recently, which is probably gonna be our next successor species. And and I've been playing with AI, but I've been doing it in a very particular way, which I have been observing my own reactions to the AI. And so I'll solve a problem, and then I will solve a problem with AI. And and what I'm paying attention to, I mean, obviously, is whether the solution is correct, but I'm also paying attention to what is that experience like for me. How is it different for me to use AI as a tool or not? Because I wanna find out. Is this a tool that I wanna use? And what I have found is the piece that you just mentioned, the reflective piece, is virtually a % missing when I use AI. So when I use AI to solve a problem, I'm kind of pounding at the keystrokes and hoping the AI figures it out.

Stever Robbins [00:30:25]:

But when I solve a problem on my own, I kind of stop and think deeply about it. So with AI, it's more like I'm an editor. Oh, okay. Here's the five page essay that chat GPT or Claude just did for me. I'm gonna scan it over to see if there are any obvious errors. But what I'm not doing is really reading it sentence by sentence and going, wait. Do I really believe this sentence? And if I don't, is Claude right or am I right? And if Claude is right, how can I learn this? And how can I incorporate it into my thinking? None of that is happening when I use AI, and it should be because that's how humans learn, and that's how we get better at things. So I am now very afraid of AI.

Stever Robbins [00:31:04]:

I am afraid that it is going to deskill us very, very rapidly. Yeah. And I use it anyway. Go figure it out.

Stuart Webb [00:31:12]:

Articulate you have articulated a number of problems that I think we've got with AI at the moment. And it's nothing to do with the fact that well, it is to do partly with the fact that it's stealing stuff off the Internet and the the business models are highly flawed. But I think it is it's, for me, too often we're lazy and we just use it because it's quick and it's easy and we don't have to do the thinking. And I think sometimes we find thinking to be too much effort and I think that's partly and we go back to how are we teaching children. We're teaching them we're teaching them some of the some of the things which are not necessary to pass exams as opposed to do thinking. It's we're teaching them about we're teaching about the fact that they should know this stuff, but they don't have to think they don't have to learn it by doing any thinking. They learn it because it goes up on the blackboard and they copy it down or they write to a blackboard. Whatever screen they use now in teaching, I'm sure they don't use blackboards anymore, but it goes up and they just copy it down.

Stuart Webb [00:32:03]:

So We could spend many hours on that, but I'm gonna take us away because otherwise, we'll be here for the rest of the afternoon. And I don't wanna keep you that long because I know you've got things to do. Steve, you must be thinking we've had some really interesting questions, but when is he gonna be asking that really key question, the one that really makes me say, well, no. This is the key one that you should have asked. So I'm gonna ask you now to to pose that question and answer it for us.

Stever Robbins [00:32:27]:

I think the question you should have asked me, is why do we bother with any of this? Why why are we striving for, quote, unquote, success or to build our business or to have our hundred million dollar exit? And, you know, there's tons and reams of research that says that on people's death beds, they do not say, oh my god. I wish that I had acquired one more company. Right? It's the relationships that matter. As I as we're sitting here talking, the day care center across the street is taking the little tots out for their walk. There's, like, 20 of them. They're holding this little rope, and they're they're climbing up on the curve, and they're jumping, and they're making these little babbling tock noises. And even though I'm here with you, oh my god, it's coming in the window and I can't can barely stop myself from running over and going, oh gosh, they're so adorable. They're the future.

Stever Robbins [00:33:23]:

So I wanna be really, really clear. Right? All of the success stuff and the business stuff, none of this means anything. The only reason we do it is so that we can have a meaningful, happy life with relationships and people we love. And if that's the whole reason we're engaged in this set of endeavors and pretending that this is important, then why not start with the connection with the connections and the respect and the relationships and and build your business around that. Build your business around who do I wanna hang out with because I do business eight to ten hours a day. I'm gonna hang out with the people I'm doing business with. Instead of choosing the business and then hoping that you can find people to buy, choose the people and then find a business to serve them. And forget the hundred million dollar thing.

Stever Robbins [00:34:16]:

Trust me. You know, a couch made out of platinum thread is not more comfortable than a couch that's you know, that old stuff one that you got in the junkyard. It actually probably is more comfortable. But you you get the basic broad idea.

Stuart Webb [00:34:31]:

I'd love I'd love to have a an old couch, just to sit and talk about this while I've done it. You're absolutely right, Steve. But I I absolutely believe that too many people are spending time in companies and building businesses that make them unhappy. And, you know, you need to you need to know people to reach out to and have a coffee. You need to reach out to and speak to people who can just feed your soul. And I just kind of feel like you've done that for me this afternoon. There there's a big I've got a I've got a large contact list as well. I'm gonna go through that today.

Stuart Webb [00:35:03]:

I'm gonna make a note of some of the people that I have connected with in twenty years. No. I'm not that old. In in five years. And, just, just send them a message and find out. You know, there are people that I was I I spent some very happy years, when I was doing research at universities. I probably haven't spoken to them In a few years, I really should reach out and just say hello to them, and I'll be doing that. And then I'll put a system in place to keep in touch with them because that's the key thing, isn't it?

Stever Robbins [00:35:28]:

That is the key thing. Just remind them you exist, and eventually, you'll both be in the same city. You'll get together for lunch. You know, you'll plan a diamond heist together. You'll succeed. You'll wait long enough for the statute of limitations to wear off, and then you'll write a screenplay about it, and you obviously will be played by George Clooney.

Stuart Webb [00:35:47]:

I I can think of nothing better that I wanna do with my afternoon. Steve, thank you so much for spending some time with me. Listen. I'm I'm gonna say once again, look. Go to systemize.me/free-stuff to find out about Steve. Find out about that valuable, 10, 10, tops tips that he's gonna give me. I was gonna say the 10 tips, but it's not. It's only the top 10.

Stuart Webb [00:36:08]:

It's nothing more than the top 10.

Stever Robbins [00:36:09]:

I need to go put the word top in the title of that really quickly.

Stuart Webb [00:36:14]:

And now I'm just gonna beg you. Look. If you'd like to hear more about some of the people that are coming up, that are as joyful, they're as useful, they're as informative as Steva. Go go join, my my newsletter subscription list. Systemize.me/subscribe. Get on the list. Just get an email. It it doesn't come out very often.

Stuart Webb [00:36:34]:

I do not bombard you with 15 a day. It's I haven't got time for that, but I'll send you an email just letting you know who's coming up on the podcast, who you should join to listen to because some of these are absolutely brilliant. Stevie, you have been one of those people. Thank you so much

Stever Robbins [00:36:48]:

for being

Stuart Webb [00:36:48]:

here today, and thank you for bringing to our attention those tiny tots that are outside right at the moment enjoying themselves. Go join them. Go have fun. Go wherever they're going. I'm sure it's better than wherever you were planning to be some boring meeting that you were gonna go to.

Stever Robbins [00:37:04]:

Quite probably. Thank you very much, Stuart. I've really enjoyed it.

Stuart Webb [00:37:08]:

Thank you, Stever.

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Who is Ryan?

Ryan Ware is a thought leader who helps individuals and organizations navigate the challenging period of change. He identifies a common tendency among people to undervalue the transitional phase between the current state and a desired future. Ryan emphasizes the importance of embracing this uncertain and confusing middle area, recognizing it as a critical time for growth and transformation. Through his insights, Ryan empowers others to appreciate the significance of this phase, ultimately guiding them toward achieving their envisioned future.

Key Takeaways

00:00 "Navigating Change in Business"

06:11 "Embrace the Journey of Growth"

07:04 "Embracing Change is Uncomfortable"

12:27 Embracing Change Through Curiosity

16:17 Adapting to Change in Learning

18:47 "Embracing Curiosity in Coaching"

20:16 Embracing Curiosity in Problem-Solving

24:05 Reframe Change Mindset Strategies

28:34 Join Our Expert Mailing List

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

change management, construction industry, architectural design, business transformation, team coaching, mindset shift, curiosity in business, growth mindset, human side of change, habit formation, leadership empathy, organizational development, business strategy, process improvement, learning culture, resistance to change, business coaching, fractional COO, project management, behavioral change, employee engagement, adaptability, consulting, coaching vs consulting, discovery call, strategy session, willingness to change, Amy Edmondson, Carol Dweck, failure as learning

SPEAKERS

Ryan Ware, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:31]:

Hi there, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science, five questions over coffee. I'm delighted, well, one, to have my, coffee in front of me, which is the most important part of all of this. There's not very much left in there at the moment, so I'm gonna need to refill that soon. But, I'm also delighted to to to welcome Ryan who tells me he has decaf coffee in front of him. So, don't, don't don't fall asleep on us, Ryan. You gotta be you gotta be entertaining us for the next twenty minutes or so. Ryan is a, keynote speaker, a coach, a fractional chief operating officer, and he really helps teams within the construction, architectural design space to navigate change, to think about the way in which they have to approach the changes that are, that are that they're approaching in their business. But it's a it's a it's a common problem that all business owners have to, think about, which is how do you navigate the changes in the business landscape around you.

Stuart Webb [00:01:28]:

So, Ryan, welcome to It's Not Rocket Science, five questions over coffee. Thoroughly looking forward to this. So, please, take your time to tell us a little bit more about how you help these teams to navigate change.

Ryan Ware [00:01:41]:

Yeah. Well, thank you for having me, Stuart. I appreciate the opportunity. I'm looking forward, to the questions and the conversation, even though it's decaf, try to run off natural energy.

Stuart Webb [00:01:52]:

That seems entirely reasonable. So let's start with the first question, which is Right. Let you I've already said that you work with sort of teams in the sort of architectural construction space. But, you know, the the common problem, who what are the sort of the the sort of give me the the the sort of common, ideal client, the person that sort of really is seeking sort of help from somebody like you at the moment.

Ryan Ware [00:02:12]:

Yeah. I I think there's a couple categories, but, generally, they they find themselves pretty much all in an area where they're recognizing that current state isn't exactly what they want. And they can envision this future state that they wanna get to. But they all, in some way, form, undervalue that middle that middle area. And that middle area is where things are uncertain, things are confusing, things, are unknown, and we've never seen them. We don't recognize them. It's what we call change. They undervalue that that time.

Ryan Ware [00:02:52]:

And by undervaluing it, they each have one group will overvalue current state and stay in it, and the other group will tend to rush through, that center area and and lack, the connection of human complexity into the change that's occurring whether in their individual life within a team or an organization.

Stuart Webb [00:03:17]:

And and tell me, Brian, I mean, you you you've been doing this for a while. You you you have some experience in it. What what are the sort of things that you've seen these business owners, these people within these sort of situations try before they reach you? I know when I've come across people that are doing this, they've they've they've normally done a bunch of things that try to help, but but rarely sort of, you know, seek out an expert such as yourself, and and I don't always succeed.

Ryan Ware [00:03:44]:

Yeah. It's you know, they say 70% of all change management and companies fail to meet the objective. And so a lot of times, what I mentioned in this middle area and undervaluing it, it's they'll they'll make an attempt on a new strategy, a new process, try a new solution within a project per se. And it doesn't go exactly as planned because they've never seen it before, and then they halt. And a lot of people will give up on that that center, change, area, which which is it takes a lot of time for us to learn something new, to develop, you know, new skills. We we already have habits. If we think about just a daily routine habit of getting up in the morning when who hasn't said, like, oh, I'm sorry. I'm sort of all out of sorts.

Ryan Ware [00:04:34]:

I got out of my routine in the morning.

Stuart Webb [00:04:36]:

Yeah. Yeah.

Ryan Ware [00:04:38]:

Yeah. When you get into that center area, what I see a lot of companies doing is, again, disconnecting the human side of change. And it's the objectives there. We wanna get this software put into place or there's a merger and acquisition done or or whatever. You know, it could be large or small sort of change that's occurring, but they don't go go to the humans and have the real conversation. So they'll they'll only bring up results and sort of go there. They won't drill any deeper, into the conversation to find out the root cause. They'll, they'll overvalue that current state as being something like, hey.

Ryan Ware [00:05:21]:

I've already been doing this a long time. I know how to do it, versus sort of a beginner's mindset of how do I test this? You know? How how do I work through through this change in order to learn? And I think you come from the world of science, and I try to tell everybody's like, we treated every project sort of as a laboratory or a change internally as this free testing zone to to regain knowledge on something that we've never seen before, it doesn't mean that we aren't taking what we've already known and just eliminating it. We're actually able to sort of stack on and and and grow. And I just find people rush through this. They see the goal, and they wanna rush through it. It's like, hey. You know, as simple as, hey. I wanna lose some weight.

Ryan Ware [00:06:11]:

Well, you can't just rush through that process, but you can start to recognize each day the little wins, and, you know, you don't rush through university. You know, the beauty of that the beauty of university is you go in and you're developing your learning. And even though you wanna be on the other side of it, even though you know at the end of the clarity is to graduate, you don't know what's happening on a daily basis. You can see the courses, but you don't know for sure. But where you're really in growth is that that middle confusion, you know, unknown territory that allows you to develop, and to begin to build a stronger relationship with change because you're now recognizing it as as an opportunity and a positive, not as a disruption or a cost or or a burden, to yourself.

Stuart Webb [00:07:04]:

Yeah. And I think you've mentioned two things. And and and and, what comes across to me most resonantly is change is tough, change is hard, people's habits. I mean I often remember the sort of the exercise I was taught when I was doing some of this which is you know this is the way you like, naturally lock your fingers. But if you do it the other way, it feels wrong, and it feels unnatural, and you desperately want to get back to the way it feels right. And just that action of sort of holding it there can make you feel uncomfortable, can make you feel very, very exposed if you like. And and just having to do that behavior change or or introduce something new takes people time to sort of understand that things won't be as threatening as perhaps they feel it is when they first come across it. And and the other thing is you say is is that sometimes when you when you are in that state, when you're when you're uncomfortable and when it's when it's you you have to start to think to yourself, okay.

Stuart Webb [00:08:02]:

This might not might not be as threatening as I first thought it was, but I have to want to learn to go through this. And getting to that mindset of wanting is kind of tough for a lot of people. You know, the business owner just wants to get them through it, and they're going, I was comfortable. Why why why are you making me do stuff which you don't? I I've got enough discomfort when I go home. You know? I've got a a family that I've gotta deal with. Why make me go through this discomfort now? I just wanna come here and be comfortable and and enjoy myself. You know? This is tough.

Ryan Ware [00:08:32]:

Yeah. It it's what I call willing participants first forced compliance. Right? So this is where leaders sort of begin to get it a little off track. A lot of times, they'll they're they're up the hill, and they believe they've said it, so therefore, the change is happening. And you have a middle layer who is trying to initiate the change, and everyone has their own their own agenda and their own goals towards the bigger goal. And this is where the human the human side, having that empathy of how difficult it is as a human to change. Like, just, you know, go do something simple. Get a new haircut, which I don't have the privilege to do anymore.

Ryan Ware [00:09:13]:

But, like, go change a style. Get a new shirt. Get a new get something small. How long does it take to adjust? And and when you start to recognize that within yourself and give yourself that time, that grace of adjustment period towards something new, you you can extend that same empathy towards others on your team, whether you're all coworkers or you are the manager or you're the leader. But when you when you connect the change to to humans and our and the way our brains want to function without getting into a lot of the science, because I know a lot of your shows have been able to already start to explain that, you described habits. They're great. They're perfect. We want them because that's where we're we can speed up and and be what we consider it our most efficient.

Ryan Ware [00:10:03]:

But we really hold on to that as, again, that overvalued state versus achieving what we want to. Like, taking seeing this middle area of it's always, you know, going to be a little unclear. The goal is there, but how you get there is going to still be unclear. You you overvalue that pain of going through it or the work to go through it or the the some people look at it as like, well, what if I fail? I'll be embarrassed. And what if I'm wrong? Mhmm.

Stuart Webb [00:10:38]:

First,

Ryan Ware [00:10:38]:

you know, believing in yourself and saying, like, I value that I have the ability to get through this. And even when it's not exactly what I thought, I can reframe my thought process in that moment of I've been here somewhere near here before. I've been through these things. I have the ability and think through with the team. But if we think embarrassment is, like, the end, or or we've thought something our whole life, and now it's wrong, and and we're afraid to say it and hold on to something, there's actually more cost to that and more pain to that. But we but we've it's familiar, so we keep it.

Stuart Webb [00:11:24]:

Yeah. And learning is hard, isn't it? I mean, well, I mean, we could we could do an entire an entire twenty, thirty hours on just learning. But I mean, learning is is is hard but is often undervalued in these situations. And I and I think you're absolutely right. People too often go back to when a a learning situation was difficult for them and go, well, I just don't wanna be there. You know, we we have to find these easy ramps, these easy paths, don't we? Yeah. And I'm I'm I'm gonna sort of bring in now because I think you've got some great, some some great some great offers and things that people, which we've put into our our our free stuff vault, where Ryan just took us through. I know there are a couple of offers in there, but, people, if you you go and go and look at these immediately.

Stuart Webb [00:12:09]:

In my opinion, immediately is is is is is possibly too too strong to work. But you need to get a hold of these and have a look at what Ryan is is is is giving giving away in terms of his valuable advice. Ryan, just talk us through, sort of some of the stuff that you've been able to sort of, offer to the listeners here.

Ryan Ware [00:12:27]:

Yeah. So we've got a couple ebooks that are out there really around mindset and and, you know, also just being able to navigate change by being more curious. Like, curiosity is, like, the key to me of change, and also this this idea that it's okay to be wrong once in a while. And what I mean by that, it's not, it's not that we always wanna just stand, you know, and fight against something that that we don't truly believe in, but that you could attempt to do something, and it's it may not go exactly as you thought. But now you know. And this is that world of science, and I'm trying you know, these these areas are about reframing our our thought about our relationship with change. And there's some steps and some things that you can go into, especially in chapter three of the the change mindset that some activities that you can begin to put yourself through that will help you sort of, like, assess your own relationship. Because I don't you know, you can't drive change as an individual in the company if you're not usually a willing participant or you aren't quite sure how how you react.

Ryan Ware [00:13:44]:

How do your emotions come up when something happens, until you recognize that your relationship with change tends to be one-sided. And no relationship is strong when when it's one-sided. Right. And I would say the other thing that we're we're you know, we typically will do is a strategy session or a discovery call because there's there's no one problem. As a coach or consultant, every company is different. While there's some similarities, it's just getting to know. I've gotta get closer to the team. I've gotta get closer to the problem to to be able to assess and work with them and build a relationship because, you know, consulting is is advice.

Ryan Ware [00:14:28]:

Coaching is questions. Like, I'm trying to get to your curiosity level to help you explore. And, you know, it's, to me, like, even with the speaking, I am just trying to spark enough curiosity that makes people start to question, like, I don't know. How did I learn this? Where did I get it from? Things like that to to be willing to say, hey. I'm curious enough to to go through this, like you said, and and begin to make

Stuart Webb [00:14:58]:

I think that's a brilliant way of putting it because to to make that sort of change for you to to start that journey. I mean, it doesn't matter where you are within an organization. You have to be curious about your own beliefs, your own your own behaviors, in order to get to the stage where you go, I now need to move beyond this this behavioral pattern, which which which has which has caused me to stay where I am. Because, you know, I I said this to one organization very recently who said, well, you we're talking specifically about the fact that, you know, their their growth had stalled. And I said, well, it hasn't stalled. It's going backwards because the world is advancing. Whether you like it or not, everybody around you is moving on. And so if you're sort of staying static, it means you're losing relative to everybody else two, three, four, five percent a year.

Stuart Webb [00:15:51]:

So you have to be changing constantly. Otherwise, you are behind. You're you're losing just by the fact that you're saying, well, I'm comfortable where I am. You you you're in actual fact losing. And so having that cautious sort of, belief that you need to question is absolutely critical to that whole process. I love what you were saying.

Ryan Ware [00:16:11]:

Yeah. I think it's we we forget that we're changing from the moment we're born.

Stuart Webb [00:16:16]:

Yeah. Yeah.

Ryan Ware [00:16:17]:

Life is constantly changing, but we're all you know, I I think it is. It's important that we have we create habits because we're taught that. Like, there's there's a reason that that you have to go through routines, and you gotta get them in sort of ingrained and embedded. But where I started questioning things, you know, little things is, like, as I learned math, my parents were teaching me. Those teachers were teaching me. Everyone had learned math the same way. But when I started teaching my son, I had never seen some of the new math that was coming through. And while I could be frustrated and I and I probably did get frustrated, like, why can't I figure this out? Why can't I learn it? I started realizing that the challenges that that generation is gonna have are different than than ours, but we we've learned math the same way, or we've done things the same way as all the other generations prior.

Ryan Ware [00:17:09]:

And without questioning, like, where where did we figure this? Where did we learn this? Or, you know, why do I believe this? Without doing that exploration, like, we're we're sort of allowing like, we love choice and we love control, but we're allowing other things to control us by not questioning it. And even though it may not be different, without knowing, we're letting someone else make a choice for us.

Stuart Webb [00:17:35]:

Brian, there must have been a, book, of course, a life experience that brought you to where you are with this knowledge, with this understanding, with this with this expertise in how to help construction companies go through the sort of changes you're talking about. Where did that come from? What was the what was the origination of of that? What was the book, of course, that you you think you'd recommend others sort of think about?

Ryan Ware [00:18:01]:

Yeah. I think that I think the book that really hit home was Carol Dweck's mindset. Courtney, you know, which is a couple decades old. But the just the things that I was seeing on a daily basis of how I was practicing architecture and then and left architecture and got into construction and was really trying to get people to reevaluate how they were building. You know, I watched, like, why isn't this taken off? I started just questioning, like, you know, this has been around a hundred years. Why isn't this taken off? Like, you know, we know there's other problems, like, all of it, labor shortage, all of these things occurring. It just I needed to know, like, what was the resistance? And it Yeah. You know, we could say it's risk.

Ryan Ware [00:18:47]:

We can say all of these things, but I just needed to start to understand the human mind. So reading mindset by Carol Dweck kicked off this this area for me to start thinking about, you know, how I train people in architecture, how I learn, how I wanted to take more of a coaching approach to it, and stretching people's minds as I was going through a change and implementing, you know, process and, you know, into those conversations because I couldn't force I couldn't force them to do it. If I've forced groups to to take on what I was trying to put in front of them as as, hey. Here's a new method to construction. Try it. They that's when they go into defense. Right? And and it it didn't work, or I don't have a choice. Someone is making me do this, opposed to using more curiosity, you know, kinda driven questions while having conversations with them.

Ryan Ware [00:19:51]:

Mhmm. You're trying to get trying to get them into not just their idea, but becoming those willing participants. So, you know, whether it's, you know, the Carol Dweck's and then reading a lot of the Dan Heath books. But one of my most favorite recent books is Amy Edmondson from Harvard, which wrote The Right Kind of Wrong. And you being

Stuart Webb [00:20:15]:

Great book.

Ryan Ware [00:20:16]:

From science. Right? Like, it's a it's a beautiful area where you you go back to that curiosity and exploration where just because you didn't get the answer today with all of the work that you did, it wasn't lost because you're using that experience as, like, we just know this didn't wasn't the right answer. It doesn't mean it's a wrong end. It just means it's one step closer to the right answer Yeah. Than being able to bounce back quicker. And I think that's one of the you know, that book has allowed me to be like, we have to think differently in this industry to address our problems. We we've got to kind of stretch our mind into into more curiosity sort of building experiences that create the project like a lab that we get the freedom to be wrong once in a while to make a mistake that some would say is too costly, which we're not talking about, like, you know, the buildings collapsing. We're we're talking about just selecting a new method, selecting a new delivery model, selecting a new material finish that that addresses other areas.

Ryan Ware [00:21:26]:

So, anyway, those are probably some of the books, but I would say the the one right now is Amy Edmondson's.

Stuart Webb [00:21:32]:

And I think Amy Edmondson has a a wonderful way of looking at it from all the way over from the malicious intent to destroy you through to the, hey. I was experimenting and that's a good thing, which we all have to bear in mind. You know, the the the the occasions in in which you know, you're talking about buildings collapse. There was one that I know she's talked about a little bit, which is a hotel that that unfortunately collapsed because somebody just didn't do the calculation, but that was because they were in the wrong mindset. So you you have to put yourself in the right mindset, Damien. That's the change is all about the mindset as you've been talking about and getting the right mindset. You know? Am I here? Should I be here in the I need to question everything because this is a safety critical issue, or, hey. This is a time for experimentation to learn and develop and grow.

Ryan Ware [00:22:25]:

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I I'm a child of, you know, the eighties and the challengers. A perfect example for me of one where information's sort of there, and sometimes we're afraid to talk about it. Sometimes we're whatever the reason. Right? And I just think that creating that safe zone is you everyone can say we're creating a safe zone of kind of that learning environment. But by by really as leaders, if you're going through a change, getting just going through questions, getting to everybody's curiosity gets them to become more willing participants. But you don't have to start it with a change per se.

Ryan Ware [00:23:06]:

You don't have to be going through a massive change to begin building a stronger relationships with change. You just have to sort of start with yourself and something you've been thinking about, something you wanted to learn, something you wanted to try, you know, anything to go into that that exploration. So

Stuart Webb [00:23:27]:

Ryan, I I I'm very aware that I've been sort of asking you questions that have sparked my curiosity, but possibly are the wrong questions for, people, who have sort of, understanding of this. And and and there must be one question that you really think at the moment I should have by now asked, and it's very, it's very foolish of me not to have asked it. So I'm just gonna ask you to tell me what that question is. What is the question that I should have asked you? And and, obviously, once you've you've posed the question, you're the expert. You're gonna have to answer it for me, which is, which is the only way that, I can I can get through doing this? So what's the question, Ryan, that I should have asked you by this stage?

Ryan Ware [00:24:05]:

Yeah. I think I'll I'll stay, I'll stay in a little bit of just kinda giving, an opportunity for the for the listeners to to test something. So it would probably be is, like, what is one thing that they could do starting right now in order to, kind of reframe their thought on relationship with change? And I would say this goes back to that change mindset ebook, which has some strategies in there. But I would just I I typically like people to just start with something in their their life that it could be small like, pick a small thing that you could just win on or something that you've known your whole life, and you haven't really questioned it. And the reason I say something like that is, as a kid, you know, for a long time, we thought, you know, something happened to a child actor, in a life commercial. Because we were told that, and we believed it, and we never validated. And your whole life, you go through these things like, hey. Something something might be true.

Ryan Ware [00:25:15]:

So my question my question for them would be is pick something in your life that you were taught and you believed pretty much your whole life, but you've always felt like, there's no way this is valid. There's no way it's exactly like this. And maybe it sounds a huge impact, but just start asking the question. Where did I learn it? Who taught it to me? Who taught it to them? Is it still valid? What situations were different? What would have to be true today in order for this to be false or even further in the truth? Just to start to stretch your mind into it's okay to ask questions. It's okay to start to wonder, like, I don't know. I don't know if this is real. I don't know if this is true. And I would pick on the construction industry and say, like, because we're taught, that's exactly how we do it, or how we design or how we set up a sheet or whatever, in a set of documents, that doesn't mean it's true.

Ryan Ware [00:26:19]:

It could be something that someone set into motion years ago and just happens to become part of the process, but it's not real. And I think you just have to be willing to start asking questions and see where you get and just just to test it. You know? Just stretch yourself a little bit into this new way of thinking opposed to sitting in this current state of, like, well, I just I think it's too hard to go through the change. I don't wanna ask the question. What if somebody thinks I'm not intelligent enough because I didn't know the answer? Or, you know, because I've been here for five years, I've been doing it. Will I look, you know, silly or embarrassed? Because, you know, you read the book Traction or anything in kinda operation systems and think through it. They'll say, like, hey. If you're not embarrassed, you haven't gone deep enough.

Ryan Ware [00:27:11]:

But I I would just say, like, it's you don't have to be embarrassed by it. It actually is this moment of, like, like, an moment. It's actually this beautiful like, I keep talking about this beautiful thing that has changed, which is that's where you're growing. That's where you're learning. It's not where you're actually being downgraded or suppressed. You're in you're in an area of this freedom to to, yeah, you know, sort of explore your, kind of a beginner's mindset again of

Stuart Webb [00:27:47]:

I love that. I love that. And I think that's a really important message as we come to the end of this because, you know, change doesn't have to be embarrassing. Change doesn't have to be, I can only do it if I'm really hanging out there. Sometimes the incremental, sometimes the small steps to help you get there can be just as effective, and it's about taking yourself from the the mindset of I just wanna be comfortable through to the curious, which actually is probably the biggest shift that you can go through. Mhmm. Ryan, what a, a lot to think about, and I'm really grateful for the fact that you you spent sort of twenty, twenty five minutes with us just sort of talking us through some of that. Thank you so much.

Stuart Webb [00:28:34]:

Listen, I I'm just gonna do a little tiny bit of self promotion at the end of this. If you would like to get onto the mailing list so that you get an email, once a week, which sort of tells you who's coming up and so that you can join the the the the the LinkedIn live to to listen to some of the real experts in this, in this sort of stuff like Ryan talking to you, go to, www.systemize.me/subscribe. It's as simple as systemize.me/subscribe. And there's a simple form. It asks you for your first name and your email address, and that's it. And you'll get an email from me that just basically sort of, sets out who's coming up, what they're gonna be talking about, and you can come on and ask questions and and talk to people like us as the knowledge that people like Ryan have got. Ryan, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Really appreciate you spending that time, and and I look forward to, to spending a bit more time with looking at what you're talking about and and learning more because I think, change is gonna be, the one constant that we can all agree is never going away.

Ryan Ware [00:29:40]:

Yep. Thank you, Stuart. Appreciate it.

Stuart Webb [00:29:42]:

No problem at all. Thank you.

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Who is Robyn?

Robyn Harris is the visionary founder of Wild Well-being, a transformative initiative born from her personal journey towards holistic health and self-discovery. Recognizing the profound impact of perspective on one's life, Robyn created Wild Well-being as a philosophy rather than a prescriptive set of steps. Her approach emphasizes the transformative power of changing thoughts, beliefs, and filters to ultimately enhance well-being. Central to her philosophy is the concept of "rewilding," which highlights humanity's intrinsic connection to nature. Through Wild Well-being, Robyn encourages others to reconnect with nature and rediscover their inner harmony, fostering a deeper sense of health and balance.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Embrace Nature's Rhythms

05:39 Rediscovering Childlike Wonder

09:41 "Embrace Stillness Amidst Noise"

10:26 "Adjusting to Pandemic Lockdown"

14:52 "Book a Free Chat with Robin"

17:55 YouTube Link and Health Insights

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

nature connection, well-being, rewilding, Wild Well-being, perspective shift, health and wellness, NHS, self-care, empowerment, intuition, childlike wonder, holistic health, stress reduction, mind-body connection, diabetes reversal, lifestyle change, seasonal cycles, intuition, loving yourself, personal growth, resilience, adaptability, stillness, mindfulness, burnout, self-compassion, mental health, symptoms as information, breathing exercises, emotional safety, grounding exercises

SPEAKERS

Robyn Harris, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:31]:

Hi there, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science, five questions over coffee. I'm delighted today to be joined by, Robin Robin Wilde who is, going to be giving us some fascinating insights, I hope today. If she doesn't, then I'll have to kick her out and find somebody else. But, Robin, is, is going to well, Robin, do you wanna introduce yourself and and talk about, your business Wild Well-being?

Robyn Harris [00:01:01]:

Thank you Stuart. Yes my name is Robin and my business is Wild Well-being and as you might be able to see on the screen there that is an acronym and it came from my own journey. And it's basically not as much a set of steps, but how we can shift our perspective because everything is about our perspective. Thoughts, we change our beliefs, we change our filters, we change our experience, we change our well-being, we change everything. It's transformative. And that's for I for me, my journey was all around nature. So Wilds fitted in with that and how we are a part of nature. And it's about getting back to that rewilding ourselves.

Robyn Harris [00:01:47]:

We hear a lot about rewilding now, and I recently watched the documentary on NEP, the NEP estate where they have allowed it to go back to nature and how that is so healing for the land and for the animals that live on that land for all of the plant life. And we can do the same for ourselves. And so wild fitted in with that as well, but it is an acronym, and that is Well supporting ourselves and changing that perspective.

Stuart Webb [00:02:12]:

Let's get into that. So let's let's talk about the sort of, the the the people who you're appealing to at the moment, the the ones that need to, go on that journey, towards well-being. So that I'm sure we're getting to wild, but let's talk about who those people are before we leap into the to the wild acronym.

Robyn Harris [00:02:31]:

I think most of us could do with a little bit more wild in our lives because generally speaking, certainly in The UK, we don't live as close to nature as we used to. But physically and genetically, we are the same as our hunter gatherer ancestors. We evolved alongside the cycles of nature day and night. The ebb and flow of the tides, the monthly cycles of the moon, those affect us because we are such a high percentage of water. You can see in a glass of water. You can measure tides in glass of water. It it the pull of the moon is that strong, and we are such a high percentage water that the moon impacts on us as well and obviously there's the seasons so we go through those alongside of nature so if people are feeling tired and sluggish in January and February we've started a new year we get all of this messaging of it's new year you know get to the gym and do all of those things. And you might be thinking, but we're still wintering.

Robyn Harris [00:03:32]:

Our body is still wintering. So that's perfectly natural and perfectly normal.

Stuart Webb [00:03:37]:

So tell me the you you you we've we've sort of touched a little bit on this. There are people who are suffering, and and need to go on that journey. What what do you see that they've done themselves before they start that process, before they start to discover an expert like yourself to help guide them?

Robyn Harris [00:03:57]:

Sadly, I think in The UK certainly and probably in many other parts of the world as well, our messaging that we receive is if you feel sick, go to see the doctor. And that's our first port of call. Without realizing that there's so much we can do to support our well-being well before we need to go to the doctor, and we see the results, don't we, in the NHS. It's crumbling. It's really struggling. They're under resourced, understaffed, etcetera. So if we could take back a lot of our own well-being empowerment, then we would take off a lot of that pressure on the NHS. And we could potentially keep ourselves well, not need the doctor.

Robyn Harris [00:04:38]:

So it's small things like coughs, colds, etcetera we could deal with and recover from, and we could maybe prevent some of those other, bigger illnesses. I'm currently doing a podcast with a colleague of mine, Steven Leggett, who is the diabetes destroyer because he was diagnosed with type two diabetes and he reversed it. So things like that that we can do for ourselves when we understand what our symptoms are showing us. Because symptoms are just information. Our body isn't going wrong. It's making a mistake. It's adapting. And when we understand why it's adapting, and we can then know how to not need that adaptation anymore, get back to balance and to well-being.

Stuart Webb [00:05:21]:

So the the let let's let's get into the acronym, the WILD. What what does it stand for? And then what is it that you're you you think you can offer as advice for people and listening to at the moment thinking, I know that I need to be a diabetes destroyer myself?

Robyn Harris [00:05:39]:

Well, I don't particularly work just with diabetes. It's one of the things that I cover. That's my colleague, Steven Leggett. But wild is the fact that quite often as we grow up we start off having that child life way of looking at the world and everything is new and everything is exciting and we're like little sponges and we just wanna know we're curious and we're eager to learn. But we get older and we get a bit cynical and a bit jaded and a bit disillusioned sometimes with life. So the w is to get back those childlike eyes of wonder. And some circles talk glimmers because so often when we're older we focus on all of the heavy burdensome stuff that we have to do. You know, the the general day to day life that can just get to be a bit mundane and we just feel like it's a struggle.

Robyn Harris [00:06:27]:

Whereas we're here to thrive and we can thrive when we look at the world through eyes of wonder, looking for all the joy, all of the excitement, being curious, being compassionate, being loving towards ourselves. So w for wonder, I for intuition, knowing that our bodies are wise. Biological, design. Biologic we are biological beings. Our body isn't going wrong. It's not making a mistake. It's making an adaptation. And when we can understand that and work with it rather than as I was doing right at the beginning of my journey, I was working against it.

Robyn Harris [00:07:07]:

I hated my body. I hated everything about it. It was letting me down. It was going wrong. Everything was crumbling and falling apart. Only it wasn't. That was just how I saw it. And then I came to understand its wisdom and understand things like my liver is doing over 500 functions for me every single day.

Robyn Harris [00:07:29]:

I had eczema. I thought my skin was fighting against me. It wasn't. It was doing a job for me. Yes. It it was uncomfortable. And, yes, it wasn't what I wanted, but it was actually trying to serve me. And when I came to understand that, and then I could see what it was telling me about myself and the way I was living my life and how I could change that.

Robyn Harris [00:07:51]:

So it's it's it's our wise and our compass. The l of Wilde is loving ourselves. How often become our own biggest critic. We're not there cheering ourselves on by and large. We're there picking holes in everything that we do. Whereas if we could love ourselves, because the picking holes and the criticizing ourselves isn't getting us the answers that we want to want in our lives. It's not moving us forward in the way that we want. It's holding us back.

Robyn Harris [00:08:16]:

So why don't we stop doing that and start loving on ourselves instead? And that's not to say that we let ourselves off the hook. We love ourselves best when we are challenging ourselves, helping ourselves to grow, nurturing ourselves, not just pampering ourselves. It's actually holding ourselves to account and being the best that we can be. And d is dance. Because I used to say and I've heard people say it to me. It's one step forward and two steps back. But when that's a dance that's not a problem. Again it's how we're looking at things.

Robyn Harris [00:08:53]:

And if we can see it just life has changed tempo. Life has changed its background music right now. It might not be what I would choose, but I can still go with that. And when I go with it rather than resisting it, I find my flow. It might not be my easiest style but I can still find how to work at that rhythm until it shifts again. Because it's always shifting, always changing and it's about being adaptable.

Stuart Webb [00:09:22]:

And is there a valuable piece of advice or or something similar that you can give to the audience listening now who are and maybe themselves struggling with the with the understanding their body, understanding the the the the way in which that's giving them signals that they find confusing?

Robyn Harris [00:09:41]:

Yes. I would say to allow time for stillness. Our world is so noisy and so busy. We have mobile phones that are with us by and large twenty four seven, bombarding us with information. And if you've got all your news notifications and stuff turned on, most of those notifications are not uplifting and cheerful and supportive. There are more things to be worried and anxious about, particularly in the current climate with all that's going on. So to make time for stillness, to make time to be still. So it's not just quiet and getting away from all of those messages and notifications and bombardments, but to take time out and to sit still as much as you can.

Robyn Harris [00:10:26]:

And that can take getting used to. And I used to think when we went into lockdown at the beginning of COVID and we all thought we can't do lockdown and we can't be home based and we can't just do all of that and then we were forced to. And I thought of it like jumping off a roundabout where when you first jump off the roundabout that's already been going around and you jump off, your insides are still spinning and your head is still spinning, and it feels deeply uncomfortable. But when we allow ourselves the time to adjust to that, then we find there's such value. And I heard so many people saying after we've been in lockdown for a while, oh, I didn't realize how busy I was, how much I was running around, and now I really value this time. We were noticing how much cleaner the air was. There were dolphins allegedly swimming through the canals in Venice. There were goats coming into, a town in North Wales.

Robyn Harris [00:11:23]:

The the wildlife was coming out because we weren't making as much noise and we weren't being as busy and there wasn't as much pollution. We can do that in our lives as well. We can make that space in our lives. Get back. A lot of people took up gardening or walking in nature. So those sorts of things we can bring back and remember how valuable they are. Make space and time for them.

Stuart Webb [00:11:47]:

You you you alluded earlier to the fact that, this journey you came on, brought you brought you to this understanding. Do you want to give us a a small a small insight into that? And I I don't ask for your life history, but but what was the the event, the the the book, or or whatever it was that brought you to the to realize that you needed to return, if you like, to that that wild state of being?

Robyn Harris [00:12:14]:

It was a long journey, and being me, I took the scenic route. So there was I don't think I could really pinpoint one point in time, but I had got to that point as I was kind of touching on earlier where my body, I felt, it was letting me down. It was breaking apart. It was crumbling. Everything felt like it was going wrong. I had eczema, IBS, a whole list of things. And then I would go to the doctor and they say, oh, you're borderline for fibromyalgia. You're borderline for diabetes.

Robyn Harris [00:12:44]:

And I thought, if I don't do something and it needs to be quite a serious something, I need to change my life, then I'm just gonna carry on going downhill, and I will be slapped with diagnosis left, right, and center, and goodness knows how bad it's going to get. So I tried the conventional. I tried going to the doctor and got put on medication, which did not work for me. I got referred for counseling, which also didn't work for me. And that was I mean, we're going back twenty odd years ago. So it was of its time, and it wasn't solutions. It wasn't giving me solutions. It was just giving me sticking plasters.

Robyn Harris [00:13:22]:

And it was fairly recently I looked back and I realized it didn't work because it didn't make me feel like I had the tools. So I I think at that point, I realized that's what I need. I need tools. I need to find things that are going to help me. I know life is always gonna be shift shifting and changing and throwing me curve balls. Where do I get the tools that equip me to respond to that? I I did a lot of reading as well, and I've come across terms like being response able. I felt very responsible. I felt like things were going in wrong in my life and it was my fault.

Robyn Harris [00:14:01]:

And there's a lot of reasons behind that, and I actually go into that in my book. But learning that I could be response able and that I didn't have to react to things, I could respond, and I could choose how to respond. And I'm currently listening to The Choice by Edith Eager. But I read books like,

Stuart Webb [00:14:24]:

Robyn Harris [00:14:24]:

read a lot of Brene Brown, and, I read Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now. So it was books like that and Louise l Hay, those kind of energetic and how we can work with our body and how our body is telling us so much information if we just know how to interpret it. It was those things that helped me to shift and transform.

Stuart Webb [00:14:52]:

So I'm just gonna show a a link on the screen now because I know you have got the ability for somebody. If they wanna book a free chat with you and just have a a short discussion, to explore some of this in their own life. If you go to www.systemize.me, that's systemize, s y s t e m I s e, Me hyphen, forward /free- stuff. I'm gonna put a link in that vault there to Robin's, website and her her ability to book a chat, which will enable you to have a short very informative, I suspect. I'm not gonna judge how Robin will do it, but I would imagine a short and very informative discussion helping you to sort of understand perhaps if you're hearing some of this and thinking, I can recognize myself in some of this. But that's gonna lead me on to the to the question that I've got at the moment in my head, Robin, which is, you know, I've asked you a number of questions and you've explained and answered those questions, but there must be one question that you're currently thinking. Why doesn't he ask that really important question, the one that we're all really thinking about and yet he still seems to be avoiding? So I don't know what that question is because I just don't haven't thought of it, but you have. So can you give us what is the key question that that you would like to to have given us the sort of the takeaway that you think we are thinking? And once you've done it, you'll obviously have to answer it as well because I don't know what the question is myself.

Robyn Harris [00:16:15]:

I think one of the big questions that comes up for me a lot in my work and that maybe people don't know how to articulate or don't even recognize in a sense, but what inside possibly they're asking for is how do I feel safe? How do I find that space or create that space that allows me the time and the the physical, emotional, psychological space to explore some of this stuff? Particularly because some of it is sensitive stuff. It's stuff that we have pushed aside or pushed down perhaps for years, and we've done that for a reason. So to suddenly say, right, I want to transform my life. I'm gonna have to explore some of that stuff if that stuff is holding me back. I need to look at it. I need to process it because I haven't. If it's still there and it's coming out in my body and symptoms, then I'm gonna need to process it. So how do I do that? How do I find that safe space? And I think there are ways in which we can create it for ourselves.

Robyn Harris [00:17:28]:

And I have a YouTube channel and on that channel I have a self care exercise playlist which goes through various different ways that I find really useful. Breathing exercises, energetic exercises, grinding exercises, that sort of thing to create that safe space. And also remembering it is not just physical safety but emotional and psychological safety. And it might require working with somebody for a while.

Stuart Webb [00:17:55]:

I will make sure that we put we put that same, same YouTube link into the, the vault to make sure that people can get to see that, Robin. And thank you for answering that because I think that's a really key point of this. I'm going to to thank you for spending these last sort of fifteen, twenty minutes with us. I think what you've identified is a number of things that actions even the busiest professional can take a few minutes to think about because health is so important. And thank you for bringing that to us. If you would like to get an and and hear more about some of the, the work that we're doing and and how we are bringing people like this to a wider audience, if you just go to www.systemize.me/subscribe, there's a simple form there. It's just your email address and your first name. You sign up to that.

Stuart Webb [00:18:51]:

You'll get an email which brings, to you the the who's gonna be on the the podcast recording this week. And you'll get here people like Robin who gives you such really valuable advice, that will help you live better and live longer and be less stressed in your business and personal life. So, Robin, thank you for bringing that to us. Really appreciate you spending a few minutes of your day doing that, and, I look forward to hearing more about this, as we go forward.

Robyn Harris [00:19:20]:

Thank you very much, Stuart. It's been great being here and sharing this passion.

Stuart Webb [00:19:25]:

Thank you.

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Who is Oli?

Oli Cohen is a documentarian dedicated to transforming ordinary lives into compelling narratives. Driven by the belief that everyone has an interesting story to share, Oli focuses not on fame, but on the intrinsic value of personal experiences. Recognizing the digital age's potential to democratize storytelling through accessible video technology, Oli bridges the gap between people's everyday stories and the wider audience they deserve. By capturing the essence of individual lives, Oli underscores the importance of personal history and its significance to loved ones everywhere.

Key Takeaways

00:00 "Live Storytelling vs. Written Legacy"

06:28 Life Stories Spotlight Feature

09:49 Bridging Generations Through Vulnerability

12:12 The Philosophy Behind Life Stories

14:32 Personalized Emails for Groundbreaking Ideas

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at www.systemise.me/subscribe

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

life stories, personal documentaries, legacy, video storytelling, capturing memories, documentary film, family history, emotional storytelling, nonverbal communication, archival footage, two-camera interview, photography, cinematography, preserving memories, storytelling philosophy, intergenerational connection, empathy, relationships, self-reflection, unsung heroes, audio-visual legacy, life story spotlight, nomination process, everyday heroes, pandemic impact, digital age, documenting lives, life story website, preserving family stories, legacy preservation

SPEAKERS

Oli Cohen, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:30]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science five questions over coffee. I have my coffee here with me. I've probably had too much of that so far this morning, so I'm likely to be hot. Very well hopped up. And I'm delighted to be joined today by Ollie Cohen. Ollie is a cinematographer and photographer, but more importantly today he's here to talk to us about the his founding of a company called Life Stories or a product called Life Stories. Life Stories is a way that people can tell their story and capture it. And I think this is a fascinating idea.

Stuart Webb [00:01:07]:

I think it's something that more people should know about. Hence, Ollie is here with us today. So, Ollie, welcome to It's Not Rocket Science, five questions over coffee.

Oli Cohen [00:01:17]:

Thank you so much for having me. Great to be here.

Stuart Webb [00:01:21]:

So, I mean, you've had a a fascinating story, your yourself, but what is it what is it you're trying to do? How is it you're trying to reach out and and help people with this idea of life stories, and the the content that that comes with that?

Oli Cohen [00:01:38]:

So, well, life story is about turning people's lives into documentaries. There's the the basic thinking that everyone's got a an interesting story to tell. It isn't fame that makes somebody have, you know, worthy of documentary. People all have, valuable stories that are significant to their loved ones. Yeah. There seems to be a disconnect or certainly there's a lack of, opportunity for people to have their lives turn into documentaries. And, you know, we live in this digital age, and so video, is a very accessible medium.

Stuart Webb [00:02:17]:

Okay.

Oli Cohen [00:02:17]:

So the idea is we turn people's lives into documentaries, which is a two camera interview, intercut with photographs, archive footage, and and music.

Stuart Webb [00:02:29]:

I think it's a I think it's a truly brilliant idea. I mean, a lot of people have sort of done this for themselves, but, I mean, I guess the problem that that we would all say is, you know, one, it's very difficult to interview yourself, but, also, none of us are particularly good at the editing something to make it look right. Have you seen people do this? And, frankly, it doesn't quite tell the story in the way that you go, I just know I could do a better job.

Oli Cohen [00:02:58]:

I don't know if people try to do it themselves. What, I am aware of are people getting their lives turned into books, and there's quite a few, operators in that in the sort of legacy space. And, you know, that's great. But my thinking was that so much of the emotional nuance gets lost when words get put on into, onto the script. And, you know, when you hear somebody's somebody speaking, there's a lot more powerful. There's so much more emotional information there that's that affects you as a as a listener. And, you know, but we're not just recording we're not just doing podcasts at Live Stories. We we're creating films, and so much communication is nonverbal.

Oli Cohen [00:03:48]:

It's in the body language. It's in the face of expressions. It's in the little twinkle in people's eyes. And I think that, through film, there's a lot more potential to capture the essence of somebody compared to just turning their life into a book. And I kind of I thought there's not when I was when I set the the the company up, there there didn't seem to be many people doing it. And it was something that I wish that I had done myself, not for me, but for for my sister. Yeah. That's the the origin story of why I set it up.

Oli Cohen [00:04:21]:

My sister, unfortunately, passed away not that long ago. And at the time, I was living in LA. And I, you know, I rushed. I got, you know, immediately within twenty four hours when I heard the news. I I got some documentary film equipment together and got on a plane back to The UK to try to capture her life on film, thinking mainly that this would benefit my, nephew, her son, who was only seven years old at the time. Because I thought he's never gonna be able to see his mother from an adult perspective. So I thought this is this is something that I can do to add value to this awful situation. That is sort of be a wonderful thing to be able to to get my my sister's life, on on film documented.

Oli Cohen [00:05:05]:

But I wasn't able to do it because of the pandemic. I wasn't able to visit her in hospital, and, it was a missed opportunity. And it was, you know, really, really sad. And, I just thought this is this is something that I'd like to be able to offer to other people. You know, that's that was the the, the beginnings of the idea.

Stuart Webb [00:05:27]:

I'm sorry to hear about that story, but I mean, it's a wonderful illustration of the fact that you don't leave these things until it's too late, do you? You do it now because none of us can really count on tomorrow or next week. We have matters outside of our control.

Oli Cohen [00:05:45]:

Exactly. Yeah. There's, there's that idea of, like, that concept of you you don't know you don't know what you've got until it's gone. Yes. Yes. And, you know, it's easy to sort of think well, well, I it's easy to not to not want to think about it at all or to put it off. Yeah. But Well I you know?

Stuart Webb [00:06:11]:

Great that there are people like you, on the at the moment trying to address this problem. Do you have a a a valuable, a piece of advice or or or offer that you have that you can you can bring to the audience at the moment?

Oli Cohen [00:06:28]:

Well, on on the life stories website, which is, lifestories.media, On the homepage, if you scroll down, there's this thing we're doing, called life stories spotlight. And with that, we you know, with this with that spotlight feature, we'll be we're encouraging everybody to think about who is it in who who in your life do you feel has, a story that, or just, you know, a life story that you would like to to document. And, and and then, you know, this could be a loved one, but it could be anybody you know. Somebody who who you have some respect for, because of something they're doing. It might be extraordinary, but it might just be not just it might be an an everyday an everyday hero, you know, and someone an unsung, hero, if you like. So what we what we're encouraging people to do is have a think who this person could be, get in touch with us, and and then we will select a particular story that we think is worthwhile documenting, and we will cover all of the the costs and the production ourselves. So it's something we encourage people to think about, who would you like to nominate?

Stuart Webb [00:07:45]:

If you didn't catch that, website, the the the the link will be in our vault where we put all of the content of these these, these podcasts. So if you go to www.systemise, s y s t e m I s e, Me forward / free - stuff, you will see a link to Ollie's website and details of that, in that in that vault, and you will be able to access that from there. Ollie, you've got a fascinating history. You've been a city photographer and photographer, as we've said, with some really impressive stuff being shown across the world. You've told us the story of how you sort of got here. Are there other stories that you've captured as part of this, a part of this project which which have made you realize just how valuable it is to to have this content available for documenting lives, even if it's not lives that are past, but lives that are ongoing?

Oli Cohen [00:08:44]:

Yeah. Well, thanks for asking. The there are a lot of, a lot of surprising, things that happen when you make a film about someone's life because they they can sometimes unlock I mean, I'm I I don't wanna I don't need to be like therapy sessions, but they can sometimes unlock, emotions in, that they that people have kind of, not wanted to talk about. You know? Because in with family stories, you know, this is something that's occurred to me. When a child asked an adult a question about that adult's life, you know, children are quite inquisitive. The adult gives them a very, you know, child friendly watered down version of what actually happened. And then that those stories sort of get a bit cemented and stuck. But then when when you go to make a life story film about somebody, and you ask them certain questions or particular questions about their, about what it was like for them growing up at that place at that time.

Oli Cohen [00:09:49]:

And on these situations, sometimes, things can, they can show a vulnerable people can show a vulnerability, that they haven't shown to their children before. So the generation below get to see their parents or their grandparents with, a new perspective, which is which can, help bridge the generational divide, which I find a, you know, I I find that such a a powerful thing, helping because because ultimately life story is is about it's connected people through stories to help people feel more connected with each other and particularly with the their loved ones. But as well as that, people who are answering their questions, they they, often have certain realizations themselves. Yes. Yeah. Because we, you know, we all we all have this need to be appreciated, to be listened to, to be heard, to be seen, to be appreciated. So there's some in the process of doing that, that you can tell that people really enjoy it. They really benefit from doing it, and they get to sometimes look at their own lives in a slightly different perspective and kind of think, actually, you know, I've done alright.

Oli Cohen [00:11:05]:

You know? Because we I think a lot of us feel really critical of ourselves. But when you look back and think, you know what I did, I did do, okay. I've got through this and I've done pretty well. And I don't have, loads of regrets. A lot of people say they they don't regret the decisions they made, which I often find yeah, an interesting bit of a confusing thing to me, but it's, you know, it's the process gives people new perspective on themselves.

Stuart Webb [00:11:33]:

Yeah. Brilliant. Brilliant. Ali, I'm I'm very aware that I've asked you questions that I'm sure you think at the moment are sort of you know fairly softball questions that really haven't sort of gone to the heart of the matter. But there must be one question that you think well he's forgotten to really sort of nail the killer question. So as I've, as I'm thinking about this, I'm gonna suggest that you try and ask me what is the killer question I should have asked you, and then, obviously, you will have to answer it for us because you already know the answer. Well,

Oli Cohen [00:12:12]:

there's the questions about, the the sort of philosophy behind life stories. And so you could you could ask you could ask me that. And, I I can I can just answer that if you if you like? The there's a few things that stick out. There's the line from, Joan Didion, who she said, we tell us we tell ourselves stories, in order to live. And I think that's the line. So stories help us make sense of the world, and they encourage empathy with each other. So that's really very much aligned with the sort of the thinking behind life stories. And similarly, I'm a big fan of Esther Perel, and one of her sound bites is that the the quality of, our relationships determine the quality of our lives.

Oli Cohen [00:13:16]:

So with life stories, we we you know, obviously, it's about preserving memories. But ultimately, it's more about deepening our relationships with people. So, yeah, that and and stuff we've already talked about about this the the impermanence of of things. These are the the key sort of philosophies or the the the thinking behind life stories.

Stuart Webb [00:13:48]:

Brilliant. Oliver, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. I'm just going to make a short appeal after hearing frankly about the fact that relationships are so critical, stories are so critical to our well-being. If you would like to hear more about things like this where we speak to some really groundbreaking thinkers and some people doing some very different stuff, and I love meeting these people. You should wanna meet them as well. You should wanna get onto the newsletter list. So come to www.systemize, that's systemise,.me/subscribe. Just fill in short form.

Stuart Webb [00:14:32]:

It just asks you for your email address and your first name just so that I can send you something a little bit more personalized than hey. And you will get an email from me telling you about some of the really groundbreaking thinkers coming up with such brilliant ideas, in the next week or so, on this, live stream. Oliver, I just want to thank you for spending a few minutes with us today talking about what I think is a really, you know, we don't think enough about the fact that, you know, as somebody who is ordinary I have got stories, I have got things that people might be interested in hearing, and those stories bring a better connection which inevitably is a healthier life altogether. So thank you for just bringing that to us and I I hope that people get on to the to the vault and have a look at that, that that story that you told us, the the where you can go and actually capture some of those really brilliant brilliant, brilliant stories from other people. Thank you for for being here.

Oli Cohen [00:15:31]:

Thank you so much for having me on. Great to talk to you.

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Who is Kimberly?

Kimberly Gawne is a dedicated professional in the field of alternative education, known for her insightful critiques of the traditional public school system. With a focus on Canada and the United States, Kimberley frequently addresses a common concern shared by parents, educators, and observers: the outdated nature of public school curricula, many of which have remained unchanged since the 1990s. Her work highlights the urgent need for educational reform and innovation, as she humorously notes that some educational materials are older than she is. Through her advocacy, Kimberly aims to inspire a modernized, dynamic approach to education that better serves current and future generations.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Public School Curriculum Criticisms

05:11 Parental Involvement in Education Crucial

06:59 Thoughtful Outsourcing Responsibilities

10:44 Discover Kimberly's Journey & Resources

14:17 "Unasked Killer Question"

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Alternative education, public schooling system, homeschooling, outdated curriculum, classroom sizes, private school, parent involvement, educational complaints, teacher frustration, educational outsourcing, parental responsibility, school PTA, student learning styles, burnout in homeschooling, educational support, star students, tutoring services, socialization in homeschooling, educational accountability, flexible learning, educational resources, school system reform, individualized education, factory-style education, John D. Rockefeller education, educational history, digital education, parent educator communication, modern curriculum, real-world preparation

SPEAKERS

Kimberly Gawne, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:32]:

Hi there, and welcome back to five questions over coffee. I have my coffee here in front of me. I need it at the moment because a man has just stopped it started chopping down a tree outside. So if there's a noise, that's what it is. I'm delighted, however, to be here with Kimberly Gorn. Kimberly, is gonna be talking to us about providing alternative education solutions for parents who are dissatisfied with the public schooling system. So, Kimberly, I love I love the attitude you brought with you as well. You've promised me you won't have skate stage fright.

Stuart Webb [00:01:06]:

You're just gonna do it. So I love the attitude. Let's do it together. How are you doing?

Kimberly Gawne [00:01:12]:

I'm doing well. It's really nice to be able to chat with you. Thank you for having me on. I appreciate it.

Stuart Webb [00:01:17]:

No problem at all. So, look, Kimberly, let's start with the the obvious first question. For anybody who is, who is at the moment sort of maybe themselves, struggling with the public schooling system, what are the sort of sort of thoughts that they have? Who who are they? Who is it you're trying to reach, and what is it you're trying to tell them?

Kimberly Gawne [00:01:38]:

I would say that the I mean, that's a good question. I get that I get asked that a lot is what are the complaints. Right? Because, I work in the alternative education space, and so a lot of people say that, well, you know, what what complaints are there with the public school system? They asked me to specify. And I kind of make a joke of it, and I say, well, a shorter list is what's not wrong with the public school system. The most common ones that I hear from people in terms of complaints, whether they're parents, whether they're educators, or whether they're just kind of on the sidelines of looking at how public education works is the curriculum. The fact that the curriculum itself is so outdated, so outdated, especially in I I can't speak for European education as much, but in Canada and The US, public school education, some of those curriculums have not been updated since nineteen nineties. Like, they're older than me. Not to you know, like, people aging is a different thing.

Kimberly Gawne [00:02:36]:

Curriculums aging is quite another. I think it's really important to make sure that we have accurate and updated information that we're teaching to children, let alone, you know, with the framework that we're teaching as well, or that from which we're teaching. Mhmm. So curriculum is definitely the biggest one. That's the biggest complaint that I hear. The other complaint is, the classroom sizes. And there's no getting around that no matter how you look at it. Public school or private school, you are typically in a class of anywhere from 15 to 30 plus children.

Kimberly Gawne [00:03:10]:

And and that's not that you're not able to really talk to the kids. You're not able to really teach them, in the way that they learn best. Right? That's one of the biggest frustrations I see from parents. I also see that from educators, but on the different side of the perspective because they're expected to teach all 30 children to the best of those kids' understanding, and they just can't. It's not possible.

Stuart Webb [00:03:33]:

Great. So, you know, I think we we can all we can all identify with with people who have you know, if you're you're a business owner, you don't wanna be trying to sort of reach out to 30 customers at a time. So, you know, parents are in the same situation. So tell me, what are these people I often say this about sort of, you know, when somebody sort of sees a a business person that's tried to solve a problem, parents are trying to solve this problem as well. What what are the sort of things you've seen that they've tried to do and maybe made mistakes trying to solve as part of their, desire to get their children better educated as part of their frustrations with with watching this situation at their school?

Kimberly Gawne [00:04:20]:

I see I see some commonalities when it comes to parents, trying their best. And this is not to say that, you know, parents don't have good, good intentions. Of course, they do. We all have good intentions when it comes to our children, especially when it comes to their education. One of the common mistakes that I see parents making when it comes to their child's education is outsourcing it without any sense of responsibility, without any sense of responsibility. One of my favorite things to say is that the public school system is glorified babysitting. I get a lot of hate for that, but it's true if you think about it. What else are are parents doing other than sending their children to a public school that's going to just babysit their kids all day while the parents are at work.

Kimberly Gawne [00:05:11]:

If the parent themselves does not have any responsibility, any communication, any sort of, initiative to go and talk to the teachers, to go and get involved with the school activities, to go you know, if there's a PTA, go get involved with the PTA. If there's no responsibility on the part of the parent in terms of getting involved with their kids' education, the children are the ones that suffer because those are the kids that will fall through the cracks. Because the teachers, quite simply, don't have the brain space and or the time, to be quite honest with you, to give all 30 children the the best of what they are able to give them because they have Of course. They have, what, forty five minutes or fifty minutes or, you know, maybe seventy five if you're talking about high school. If you have a child whose parents are not involved and whose parents are not, as active in their school life, that child is going to suffer because nobody's looking out for that kid's best interest in terms of educationally speaking. Right? In in my in that specific context for me, no no one's looking out for their educational interests. So that's a really common mistake that I see parents making is outsourcing without any sense of responsibility. There's nothing wrong with outsourcing, but you still have to be involved because you're you as the parent are your child's first, you're you're the child's first barrier to or the first first guardian to, getting that good education, to be able to to speak for your child if they're, you know, in elementary school, they're in grades one through eight.

Kimberly Gawne [00:06:43]:

They're not really able to speak for themselves in terms of what's best for their best educational interest. You as the parent, that's your job. And if you're not saying anything because you're not involved, there that no one else is going to do that for you.

Stuart Webb [00:06:59]:

And I think that's a really good message that you've given with the fact that too much outsourcing is done without thought of the responsibilities you own as the sort of parent or, the the the, you know, if we we think of, you know, too many times people outsource things without really thinking about their responsibilities within the process, which is exactly what you've described. A parent just sort of, you know, says, well, I I don't know what else to do. I'm just gonna I'm just gonna leave it and hope for the best. And that's where things go wrong, isn't it? When you hope for the best, we often we often fail to realize that actually there, you know, there are things we can do. There are things we can the actions we can take in order to improve, if not if not, drastically change the situation.

Kimberly Gawne [00:07:50]:

Absolutely. Absolutely. And like I said, it's not there's nothing wrong with outsourcing because you can't do it all yourself. That's another mistake I see parents making is that they they can they're like, okay. Well, I'm gonna homeschool my children. I'm gonna do all of it myself. You will burn out so fast. Absolutely.

Kimberly Gawne [00:08:07]:

Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:08:07]:

Yeah. You know, if you if you're if you're busy working or if you don't have the the necessary income in order to be able to afford to sort of have one parent take the time off, then then it becomes very difficult, doesn't it?

Kimberly Gawne [00:08:19]:

Mhmm. Yeah. Absolutely. Even if you have a parent, we have I have quite a few clients actually who that's a sort of, that's the sort of category that they fall into where there's one parent who is actively working and away from home, and then there's the other parent, usually the mom, because that's just how the dynamic works, who's homeschooling kids, who's chosen to make the time to homeschool the children. But when you have multiple children, I and I'm speaking from experience here, when you have multiple children that you're trying to homeschool in the same household at once, it is a lot. It is a lot. So there's nothing wrong with outsourcing, but you still have to be involved. Right? You can't just outsource with that and say, okay.

Kimberly Gawne [00:08:57]:

Now it's this person's job. I'm they you know, I'm I'm paying them the money. They'll just they'll just take care of everything. You as the parent still have to be an active participant in your child's journey, whatever that looks

Stuart Webb [00:09:09]:

like. So is there a a piece of advice, an offer you can you can provide people who are currently watching this and going, this is me. This is me. I'm I'm kind of intrigued to know more. What what what is the valuable piece of advice that you would you would offer them?

Kimberly Gawne [00:09:24]:

I would say that the most valuable piece of advice I could offer parents at whatever stage they might be at in their child's journey, This is perhaps more of a reassurance than advice. It is never too late to start over. It's never too late to say, hey. Something needs to change because this isn't working anymore. Right? Yeah. And in order to say that, it requires a sense of accountability as to, like, hey. This isn't working for me. This isn't working for my child, more importantly.

Kimberly Gawne [00:09:57]:

What can we do to change it? Instead of sitting there and saying, oh, well, you know, it's already ruined. They're already in public school. You know, they're already in private school. It's it's not working, but whatever. What else do you do? I would encourage people to look outside the box. There's so many different solutions for alternative education these days, and public school is just not it's just not where it's at anymore in terms of preparing children for the real world, in terms of fitting a family's flexible lifestyle. It it is just not there. So my piece of advice, look around you, take stock of what the world is like, ask yourself, is this public school system preparing my child for what this world is going to be like in ten years or even in five years.

Stuart Webb [00:10:44]:

And I'd encourage everybody to go to the link that I'm just showing at the bottom of the screen at the moment, which is www.systemize.me/free-stuff. We'll have links to Kimberly's website, her LinkedIn profile, and and everything there so that you can you can find out more about what Kimberly's talking about here and and and understand the sort of actions that you can take in order to solve these problems if, you are, who, if you're one of the people that, that that you you feel it's Kimberly is talking to you at the moment. Kimberly, can I just sort of find out a little bit more about how you got to be well who you are today? What was it? Was there a book? Was there a was there a a course, a program, a life situation that eventually brought you to the realization that you need to take this sort of responsibility for stepping into the outsourcing breach, if I can put it like that.

Kimberly Gawne [00:11:47]:

Mhmm. I I just laugh. I'm just chuckling as you're saying that because it was definitely not a book. It's simply not a book or a course, or program. It was, as we mentioned, a life situation, that brought me to starting like, to to starting star students and to being able to, provide that for families. I graduated teachers college in March or rather in April, of twenty twenty. So if

Stuart Webb [00:12:15]:

people were to graduate.

Kimberly Gawne [00:12:17]:

I'm telling you. We went home, and it I I remember it to the day. It was Friday, 03/13/2020, because that was the Friday before March break. To make a long story short, we we decided we were taking two weeks, and I never saw my kids again that I was teaching. That was a that that was the five let me call that the the cherry on the icing on the cake of a long line of complaints that I had, with my with the public school system in my six years of post secondary education. So I really had to take a hard look once I graduated. I did that year. I had to take a hard look at, is this something I really want to do? And the answer was no, quite frankly, because it was not something that I was willing to sign myself up for.

Kimberly Gawne [00:13:05]:

It was not something that I wanted to have be my fulfillment. I could not I I could not see myself doing the a public school teaching job and coming home every day, Monday to Friday, for the next forty years, looking in the mirror and genuinely saying to myself, I did a good job today with those kids.

Stuart Webb [00:13:26]:

Yeah. Yeah.

Kimberly Gawne [00:13:27]:

That was what it came down to. That was what it came down to. I realized I could not do that. I could not look myself in the mirror and say I did a good job with those kids. I said if I can't do it after, you know, two years of being in school, in a school, how am I gonna do that for forty? For the next forty, right, or thirty or whatever my code would be in the public school system. So that I mean, that was where it started because I I was kind of I I said, okay. Well, that's not I I can't I can't do that. What am I going to do instead? And star students was born to make a long story short, star students was born from that.

Kimberly Gawne [00:14:04]:

It was born from the desire to do something different and the desire to see something different for the kids of this generation and for future generations because they don't deserve what they're getting in the public school system. They don't.

Stuart Webb [00:14:17]:

And and I think that's a that's a a brave action to take at a very tough time for the world anyway. But, I mean, that is a that was a that was a driving force clearly, and and I guess that's what led you to this, which is kind of what I'm expecting you to be thinking at the moment. Do you know he still hasn't asked me that killer question, which I just don't understand why he hasn't got this? So, you know, I'm obviously unable to think what that killer question is because otherwise, I wouldn't now be asking you to say, what's the question that you think I should be asking you so that you can really sort of get me to understand exactly the next actions I should take. So what's that question that you think you would like to answer? And then, obviously, once you've asked it, you need to answer it, Kimberly, because that's the way this works.

Kimberly Gawne [00:15:05]:

Right. The I would say the killer question that I always that is always the number one thing that people ask me when it comes to homeschooling. They find out that, you know, we provide homeschooling services and and tutoring services. Tutoring services is something that people can, understand because it's in our cultural schema. Right? When people find out that Star Students is very much about homeschooling and we provide a variety of homeschooling supports, the first question that people always ask without fail, when they when they talk about homeschooling is, oh my goodness. How are you gonna homeschool children? They need to be socialized. What do you mean you're taking it from public school or some sort of variety of that? Right? That is the killer question I get asked. I get asked that on podcast.

Kimberly Gawne [00:15:51]:

I get asked that by parents. I get asked that by, teachers, public school educators. Right? What do you mean? Are you gonna homeschool your children? You can't you can't do that. They won't be socialized. That's my killer question, I would say. Because the answer, I think, really shakes a lot of people. It really makes a lot of people think about how our world is set up. I very simply respond to that question, and I say, is public school actually educating your children, or is it indoctrinating them into the nine to five factory style workforce? Not one person.

Kimberly Gawne [00:16:34]:

Every single person has that look on their face. They just oh, you're right. If you look into the public school education, history, if you look into the history of how public school education got started, it was John d Rockefeller that started our public school education. Not to get on a history tip. I am a history fan. I'm a history major, actually. Not to get on a history tip, but John d Rockefeller started the public school education system with the intent with the publicized intent of making sure that he had factory workers and not thinkers. So if that doesn't say to you about the intentions of what the public school system intends to do to your children, if that doesn't say something to you, I I don't know what will.

Kimberly Gawne [00:17:25]:

That that's my killer that's my question. Gives people a lot to think about.

Stuart Webb [00:17:32]:

And I was about to say and I think that is an interesting point at which to say, this is where people let's go back once again. Have a look at what Kimberly's, Kimberly says in in her profile and and and the, the the website get and where where you talk about getting getting started with with homeschooling. So, Kimberly, I'm just gonna, I'm gonna leave people with that thought, and ask them to check you out further. And at this point, I'm just gonna say, look. If you would like to get onto the main list so that you get access to that free stuff or if you would like to, to to hear about the people that are coming up on the podcast coming up, go to this form, which is www.systemize, that's with an s, not a a zed or z,systemize.mesubscribed, s y s t e m I s e, Me forward / subscribe. And, you'll just get a it's just simple form, email, first name, and then you get an email once a week, which basically tells you about who's coming up on the podcast. Now outside my window, the tree is being heavily chopped down, so I don't know if you can hear that. So I'm just gonna thank I'm gonna thank Kimberly.

Stuart Webb [00:18:48]:

Okay.

Kimberly Gawne [00:18:49]:

So you're good.

Stuart Webb [00:18:51]:

Thank Kimberly for her time now. Kimberly, thank you so much for coming on to talk about this. I really hope that people do get on and, listen to some of this stuff that you're saying because I think it's important. Kimberly, thank you so much for being with us. I trust, that the kids continue to behave. I I know, I know in the background, you've got quite a lot of activity, so enjoy the time with them. They grow up very fast, and, eventually, they become less educated and less trouble, but an awful lot, a lot of my distant to you. So enjoy the time you got with them now, and thanks for coming on and talking to us.

Kimberly Gawne [00:19:29]:

Thank you so much for having me. It was a pleasure.

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Who is Howard?

Howard Polansky is a pragmatic individual who navigates life's financial intricacies with a focus on strategic decision-making. Recognizing common defaults in financial practices, he often critiques the conventional 30-year mortgage system prevalent in the United States. Polansky understands that while many opt to pay extra on their monthly mortgage to reduce the term, the fixed nature of the monthly payment remains unchanged, a topic he frequently discusses. His insights reflect a deep understanding of financial commitments, emphasizing the impact of additional payments and highlighting the etymology of "mortgage" as a lasting "death pledge." Through his observations, Polansky shares his wisdom on making informed financial choices.

Key Takeaways

00:00 "Cash Flow Chat with Howard"

06:03 Pay Yourself First, Always

08:01 "Ebook Insights on Home Equity"

12:40 "Prepare Financially During Success"

16:21 "Key Unasked Question"

19:32 "Motivating Business Financial Freedom"

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Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

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systemise.me

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Cash flow, cash flow coach, financially led, debt management, high debt professions, medical debt, student loan debt, mortgage payments, fixed debt payments, paying off debt, interest reduction, offset mortgage, home equity line of credit, business owners, business cash flow, paying yourself first, tax payments, IRS, emergency fund, financial planning, risk management, business continuity, business loans, personal finance education, burnout, work-life balance, entrepreneur finances, insurance planning, financial ebook, income preservation

SPEAKERS

Howard Polansky, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:33]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science, five questions over coffee. I haven't actually got a coffee in front of you at the moment. This is actually fruit tea, because if I drink too much coffee, after lunchtime, I start to go to sleep. And I don't wanna go to sleep right at the moment because I'm really interested in speaking with Howard Polanski. Howard is a he's a cash flow coach, who doesn't need to speak to one of those nowadays. Howard is the cash flow coach at Financially Led, and we're we're gonna get into what that means at the moment. But who doesn't wanna spend some time thinking about cash flow and how to preserve it in these days? So, Howard, welcome to It's Not Rocket Science, five questions over coffee, and I trust you're ready to take us through cash flow and financially led.

Howard Polansky [00:01:26]:

Thank you, Stuart. Thank you for the opportunity.

Stuart Webb [00:01:30]:

It's It's terrific. So let's start with, let's just start. You're you're you're a former dentist, so we'll get into how you ended up in this situation. But who is it you're trying to help with your advice on on cash flow and and financial matters overall?

Howard Polansky [00:01:47]:

Those that don't like being in debt. And if we're talking about people let me just use The US since that's where I'm based. Those professions that are high debt type of professions, medical doctors, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists, lawyers, where they just have these massive fixed payments that they're trying to navigate around. And sometimes it feels like all I'm doing is going to work to literally pay off these debts. When do I get to enjoy my life?

Stuart Webb [00:02:25]:

Yeah.

Howard Polansky [00:02:25]:

And and I'm not saying that there's not other industries that face that challenge, but those are the obvious ones that if there is a way for us to minimize the impact of those fixed debt payments, get them out of our lives sooner, pay less interest. Now all of a sudden, you have more money freed up at the end of each month.

Stuart Webb [00:02:47]:

And and and, Howard, I'm I'm sure you can you can sort of, you can help us to understand this, but was that a situation that you were in as a dentist? Did you find yourself wondering every day, why am I doing this? There must be an easier way to make a loss, and that's what you led you to where you are?

Howard Polansky [00:03:05]:

Well, I didn't know if that was gonna be the question now or it was gonna be question number five in terms of how I got into this. If you wanna wait until then, we can, or you want me to go through the story now, I will.

Stuart Webb [00:03:16]:

Yeah. I'll put it I'll put it to you as question five. Let's just talk a little bit more about how you, what you the the sort of things that the the people you've helped have got into the sort of trouble they have, and what are they trying to do to get out of it? What is it what is it you see when you sort of they they eventually engage an expert like you and you start dealing with them? So they they recognize eventually they they have a problem and they need to do something about it.

Howard Polansky [00:03:42]:

Yeah. So, I mean, one of the I hate to call it a mistake, but one of the ways that people are doing it just because it's either it's by default or by design. And so by default, they're like, I've got this mortgage. Let's just say that. And in The US it's a thirty, traditionally a thirty year mortgage. Well, I don't wanna pay on this for thirty years, so let me throw a little bit of additional money against this. So if I've got a $2,000 mortgage, let me put 2,200 and I know that's going to save me some time. The problem is, what's your payment the next month? It's still the $2,000 It does not change when you put extra money against the mortgage because the more mortgage is two French words put together, which literally means death pledge.

Howard Polansky [00:04:39]:

So the system is set up for you to make payments until the day you die or you're gonna die trying. This allows you and, again, you're we're over on different sides of the pond, so I'm not gonna keep this a secret. Over in The UK and Australia, they're known as offset mortgages. So the open ended mortgages where all of the money can go in to lower the overall balance of the debt. When you lower the overall balance of the debt, you're lowering the amount of interest you pay on a daily basis. And then when the expenses come due, you just take that much out, but you've got the excess now attacking the entirety of the debt versus the way that it's set up in The US. They have a one way street known as your house in front of you. You only make the minimum payment because you're like, if I put more money in, I can't get the money back out.

Howard Polansky [00:05:42]:

And when we don't have access to money, that's when people don't sleep very well. So that's the common mistake is how I'm just putting more money into this loan, but then if something happens, I get disabled, I get fired, I still have this fixed payment in front of me, and now I have no wiggle room.

Stuart Webb [00:06:03]:

Yeah. I I'm always very aware that a lot of business owners, disobey, for want of a better word, one of the golden rules which which I think is is something I hope you'll you'll agree with, which is they forget that they need to pay themselves first out of the income into their business. They're putting it against all sorts of other things, and then eventually they realize that there isn't anything left for them. And they they're left in a situation like you've just said where suddenly they are unable to pay the bills that have come in for their family, and they then have to get back on the treadmill and work even harder because they've now forgotten that they've got a life. And and I just think it's it's it's often this the the the the the golden rules of, you know, thinking about your cash flow and how you allocate it are so difficult for many business owners for for reasons because often we are not taught. We are not given the instruction early enough in our lives about how to manage money.

Howard Polansky [00:07:04]:

What's even worse than not paying yourself first is not only do you pay yourself, you take the money from the IRS that you have to pay them and use that on your expenses too. I've seen that situation happen also. That's never a good situation that I wanna be involved in.

Stuart Webb [00:07:23]:

Now if there's one thing you should definitely be very aware of is the tax man will find you and will hunt you down if you are if you are diligent in, not diligent in playing that that money off. Howard, look. The the the these must be times at the moment. People are are listening to you and thinking, I think I hear myself in this. This might be me. What valuable piece of advice or or or free free offer can you sort of help people with? And, and how would you sort of, you know, give them that that allow them to sort of access you?

Howard Polansky [00:08:01]:

Yeah. The probably the easiest way to understand a little bit more of the concept behind this is my ebook. So financiallyled.com, so that's just LEDfinanciallyled.com/ebook. It'll take you maybe about twenty minutes to go through and start to understand the three lessons on how and why this works. The second, if I'm okay if it's okay for me to get a second piece of advice, Stuart, is if you have lived in let's just keep it on the personal side for now. If you've lived in your residence for a number of years now, whether it's in overseas or in The US, it doesn't matter, Your house is probably appreciated substantially, and there is equity. There is cash literally trapped in the bricks. While you're employed, while business looks good, go get a home equity line of credit.

Howard Polansky [00:09:08]:

Have access to the cash because you just never know what's gonna happen in life. I mean, here's a perfect example. One of my clients is a dentist. She texts me back in November saying, guess what happened to me two months ago? I'm like, this is just out of the blue. I'm like, I don't know. COVID? It's like, no. Two ruptured aneurysms and a mini stroke. Mhmm.

Howard Polansky [00:09:34]:

Mhmm. She's 40 she's 46 years old, Stuart. I don't think this was in her life plan in terms of, oh, I'm gonna go I wanna be in the ICU and have brain surgery for three weeks sitting in a hospital. If it wasn't for having the business line of credit set up twelve to eighteen months ago, her business would be toast. That buffer of cash is what allowed her to keep paying the bills. Even though there was no money coming in, it was the access to cash that allowed her to pay her team, pay the bills so that she could get back to still having a a functioning business.

Stuart Webb [00:10:19]:

I've just put a link, on the the screen in front of you, Howard. I'm gonna put that story and the link to your ebook into our vault. Our vault, if you if it listen, guys, it if you're listening to this and you go, I need to do that. If you didn't capture what Howard just said, go to, Systemize, and that's the word systemize, but it's spelled with an s, not a zed, systemize slash free hyphen stuff. There's a vault there with with and and we'll put Howard's link, and we'll put that story in order for you to be able to sort of capture that and come back to it again and again and again because that is really valuable advice. I think that's a truth that everybody should be trying to do, Howard. It's not just dentists that have aneurysms. Anybody can have one of those.

Stuart Webb [00:11:03]:

You know, I I have a a a a friend who went on a very nice holiday, fell over, skiing, and they were in a similar situation. They were suddenly unable to work. And if they hadn't set up the right systems in place in in his case, it was the fact that his business carried on because he had set up teams that were working. But he had to you have to think ahead, don't you? You have to you do have to do exactly what you said. This might not be in the plan, but there is a risk that this could happen. So, therefore, I need to sort of deal with the risk before it happens, not as it happens because it takes time. These things take time to set up. They don't happen overnight.

Stuart Webb [00:11:46]:

You have to plan it. You have to think about it. You have to put that into your thinking, don't you?

Howard Polansky [00:11:51]:

Absolutely. And and look, you know as well as I do, when are banks gonna gonna be most, when are they gonna be most appreciative of giving you money? When you don't need it.

Stuart Webb [00:12:06]:

When you've got it.

Howard Polansky [00:12:08]:

That's exactly as soon as you're in distress, they're the last people that wanna help you. So get this set up while things are going good

Stuart Webb [00:12:18]:

Yeah.

Howard Polansky [00:12:19]:

And just have it there just in case because stuff happens. I mean, we're live, so I definitely don't wanna say what I normally say, but stuff happens. And it's just far easier to have this all in place before any of this stuff happens because we know it's happened to everyone. It's a it's part of life.

Stuart Webb [00:12:40]:

It is. And, you know, there's an old there's an old story about a man walking down the road, it's pouring with rain, and he sees a farmer digging a well. And he turned around and said, why are you digging the well when it's raining? And he said, because now the ground is soft and the digging is easy. The last thing you wanna be doing is digging a well when there is no water and the ground is hard. So if you're in a situation at the moment where your business is still doing well, I know we're going into some, economically interesting times at the moment, but if you've got a business that's doing well, now's the time to be digging that well ready for when, perhaps the the ground hardens and it's not quite as easy digging. Howard, I'm I'm I'm gonna gonna, gonna get on with this because otherwise, I think we'll be here for many, many hours talking about this. So was there a sort of we we sort of talked about the the the origin of your sort of, a realization that financially led was the way that you wanted to go. Was there a a books, a course, something that led you from from where you are as a dentist now to being, the guy that tries to advise other people that, they need to think about their cash flow?

Howard Polansky [00:13:50]:

Yeah. The the one book which really helped in terms of solidifying this whole concept, the author's name is Harsh Gill, h a r j is the first name, g I l l. And it's the book is something like pay off your debt sooner. That was the first time I ever heard in terms of this offset mortgage, they call it the Australian mortgage or whatever. And I was like, oh my god. This is the most logical way I've ever seen in terms of being able to pay off debt. It doesn't have to be a house. It can be student loans.

Howard Polansky [00:14:29]:

It can be cars. It can be business loans, whatever it is. I just realized that once I was able to utilize this for myself and I got my I got down to a $24 house payment, which might be about £20 for you. I shared that with another dentist and he could not believe what he was seeing and is like, can you help me? And I'm like, I think so. And he ended up paying off his house in eight months instead of thirty years. Wow. Wow. And and that and that's when it really the light bulb went off.

Howard Polansky [00:15:07]:

And then later on, I was like, wait. I think I can help apply this idea to businesses because if the business has more cash flow, where's it gonna spill over? It's gonna spill over to that owner's personal life, which is where I was trying to make the impact anyway. And the answer is, yeah, it works beautifully, for the average business owner, the cash flow improvements been over $65,000 in year one. So

Stuart Webb [00:15:39]:

But again, not

Howard Polansky [00:15:41]:

doing anything crazy.

Stuart Webb [00:15:43]:

For those that want a personal testimony, I had an offset mortgage. We became mortgage free quite a while ago, and, I'm very grateful for the fact that I found it. So, Howard, perhaps perhaps if I'd got this advice from you many years ago, I'd I'd have to but but I found it myself. So they're a great thing. They're a great thing.

Howard Polansky [00:16:03]:

For the right person, if you're gonna go and just, you know, spend on Louis Vuitton and Lamborghinis and and trips around the world and you don't have the cash flow to back that up, please don't do this. You are going to get yourself in trouble.

Stuart Webb [00:16:21]:

I will I will not I will not immediately go out and buy a Lamborghini then. I will I will keep that. I'll keep what I've got at the moment because, clearly, that would be the wrong wrong thing for me. So, Howard, let let me let me let me sort of, help you get back out to helping people do this rather than talking about it. Is there a question that you think I should have asked you in these questions? Is there one thing that you're thinking? I wish you'd hurry up and get to the really important question. And, obviously, once you've posed the question, you need to answer it because I don't know what the question is at the moment.

Howard Polansky [00:16:55]:

We've kinda hinted at it before. How the heck does someone go from being a dentist to doing this?

Stuart Webb [00:17:02]:

Let's talk about it.

Howard Polansky [00:17:04]:

Yeah. So I tell people now sometimes life leaves you little clues and other times life hits you with a two by four. My two by four moment was Sunday morning, Memorial Day weekend twenty eighteen. Jaden, my older son, is 12 years old. I'm sitting next to his bed. He realizes I'm there and he says, Dad. His voice is barely above a whisper. Yeah, buddy.

Howard Polansky [00:17:30]:

I lean over the bed, I put my ear over his mouth to make sure I can hear him, and he says three words I'll never forget. Am I dying? Oh. Twelve days earlier, Jaden came home with a stomachache. Three days after the stomachache were in the ICU at the Children's Hospital having emergency surgery. Woah. It was a it was appendicitis that turned septic, twenty nine days in the hospital, 19 of them in the ICU, eight straight days of sedation because he went to the Operating Room 5 times. After they take the tube out of his throat, they give him methadone and morphine to bring him down from the drugs he was on. So my 12 year old son looks like a heroin addict coming down from a high, and the very first question he will only ask me are those three little words, am I dying? My first breath was, did I hear him correctly? My second breath was, do not lose it right now.

Howard Polansky [00:18:34]:

I look him in the eyes, and I tell him, no. You're not dying. You've had prayers from thousands of people all around the world, and you're gonna be just fine. He looks at me, he knows I'm telling him the truth. He closes his eyes to get more rest. I walk outside the room and then I broke. I was already miserable. I was burnt out from sixteen years of dentistry.

Howard Polansky [00:18:57]:

And one thought seared into my mind, if life is this fragile and I'm unhappy with the path that I'm on, burn the ships, it's over. That's what I did. I sold my practice September 2018, just walked away. And if I didn't make the bold move of walking away from dentistry, I would have never had this $24 house payment and never took the shot to open open a new business and do this. So that's that's the one question, Stuart.

Stuart Webb [00:19:32]:

Howard, if if if that is the story that motivates people to get and think about their cash flow situation, to manage their business in such a way that they turn it from being a millstone around their neck to something which is actually an asset and something which brings them the financial freedom that you got from making that decision. I trust and pray nobody has to go through what you went through to make that decision, But we can all learn from the fact that you cannot regulate, cannot plan for life to continue being the joy that it is. So if it is currently raining in your business and the ground is soft and you are not currently digging the well and taking advice from people like Howard, I would encourage you, please go and find that stuff in the in what we've said with that, Howard. Get that ebook and get on and listen to some of the brilliant advice. Howard, listen. That is a hugely, humbling story for me to have listened to, and I'm grateful for the fact that you spent just a few minutes with us giving us that story. Let me just let me just be slightly flippant now and just say please come subscribe to our newsletter list because I would love you listening to us now to to be able to get and hear people like Howard talk about these stories and really motivate you to make your business better. If you go to www.systemize.me/subscribe, there's a simple form.

Stuart Webb [00:21:06]:

It just asks for your first name, your email address, and that's all I want from you. Just so I can send you an email once a week saying we've got this really great guest coming up tomorrow. Come listen to some of the stuff they do, and you can listen to some real truth bombs, like Howard's given us today. Howard, that is a powerful way to end. I'm not really wanting to say very much more other than thank you very, very much for coming on and motivating us to get control of our finances and our cash flow. And and and thank you for taking the steps that you've taken in order to be that, that cash flow coach.

Howard Polansky [00:21:41]:

Stuart, thank you for the opportunity.

Stuart Webb [00:21:44]:

It's been brilliant. Thank you.

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Who is Helle?

Helle Brodie is an insightful entrepreneur who intimately understands the challenges faced by business owners in today's fast-paced world. Acknowledging the widespread issue of burnout among entrepreneurs—characterized by stress, overwhelm, and sleepless nights—Helle champions the cause of work-life balance and mental well-being. She recognizes how the pressures of entrepreneurship can spill into personal life, affecting friendships, family, and even self-care routines. Driven by the need to transform chaos into mastery, Helle is committed to helping fellow entrepreneurs navigate these hurdles, ensuring they remain at the top of their game without sacrificing their well-being.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Entrepreneurial Burnout: A Common Struggle

06:08 Beyond Step-by-Step: Entrepreneur Growth

08:06 "No Magic Button in AI"

10:00 "Overcoming Fear for Better Decisions"

13:56 "Entrepreneur Resource Access Steps"

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Business success coach, Entrepreneurs, Freedom in business, Livelihood, Business transformation, Chaos to freedom, Time freedom, Financial freedom, Internal freedom, Entrepreneurial burnout, Stress, Overwhelm, Sleepless nights, Pressure, Self-doubt, Loss of confidence, Creativity, Business mastery, Safe zones, Working harder, Chasing opportunities, Unconscious blocks, Success mindset, Growth mindset, Conscious mind, Unconscious mind, Entrepreneurs Freedom Formula, Autopilot business, Self-discovery, Alignment

SPEAKERS

Helle Brodie, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:00]:

So yes. Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science five, questions over coffee. I've had some technical difficulties today, although, to be honest with you, it's probably not the coffee that's causing it. I'm delighted, however, to be here with Hela Brody. Hela is a business success coach. She really specializes in working with entrepreneurs, to create freedom in their business and their livelihood. It sounds absolutely fantastic. She's been an entrepreneur herself for thirty seven years in two vastly different industries.

Stuart Webb [00:01:00]:

I'm sure we're gonna get into that. And she's really got an intimate understanding of the complexity and, I believe, the simplicity business. So she's gonna help us to understand exactly how we can transform our businesses from a state of chaos to a vehicle for freedom. That's time freedom and financial freedom and the internal freedom to savor the life. So, Hela, welcome to the podcast. I really am looking forward to this, and, I'm looking forward to having a conversation about how you're gonna help us to transform these, these complex piece into something simple we can all enjoy.

Helle Brodie [00:01:36]:

Absolutely. It's wonderful to be here, Stuart.

Stuart Webb [00:01:39]:

Terrific. So, Helen, let's start with the the first question I would start with, and that's just try and describe to us, if you can, the the the person you're trying to help. I mean, you've mentioned there are things like freedom, and I think we all can all identify that sometimes as a business, we don't feel as if it's a freeing thing. So tell us about the sort of the sort of person you're trying to reach to help with these, with these problems.

Helle Brodie [00:02:02]:

Right. So so fifty percent of entrepreneurs admit to struggling with burnout. You know, it's the stress, the overwhelm, the sleepless nights. You know? And the the the pressure can feel exhausting and and all consuming. And, you know, it creeps into your friendships. It creeps into your family life, and it like, it even creeps into that gym membership that you promised that you'd start using next week. So as entrepreneurs, we know that we need to master our business. We know we need to be at the top of our game, and yet we've created a state of chaos in our business.

Helle Brodie [00:02:40]:

And after a while, it starts to starts to wear on, our our self belief, you know, and and and we we quietly start to doubt whether we can really do this, whether we're really cut out for this. Right? And so, you know, when that self doubt creeps in, we, we start to lose our confidence, We start to lose our clarity, our energy, our drive, and our creativity. And so I'm here to help people get all of that back.

Stuart Webb [00:03:18]:

Terrific. I'm I'm sure that you find there are, people who try to do things to help themselves in these situations. I know I come across people. I'm a I'm a big fan like yourself who sort of try and help people find ways in which to make their business something which runs on autopilot. And I know they've tried a hundred different things. They've tried the courses. They've tried the books. They've tried, a thousand and one things.

Stuart Webb [00:03:41]:

What what are you seeing that people, have tried before they sort of find somebody like you to help them to to produce that sort of that sort of, unblocking, in their in their business?

Helle Brodie [00:03:53]:

That's a great great question, Stuart. So typically what I find is that they go back to what feels safe. You know, they've looked at the courses, they've looked at, read books, they've, you know, gathered all kinds of knowledge. And so they go back to what feels safe because quite often they're feeling like they're sort of on the edge. Right? And so, you know, what feels safe? Well, working longer and harder feels safe.

Stuart Webb [00:04:19]:

Yeah.

Helle Brodie [00:04:20]:

Yeah. You know, chasing every opportunity out there feels safe, because this is what's got them to where they are now.

Stuart Webb [00:04:28]:

Yeah.

Helle Brodie [00:04:28]:

The challenge is that what's got them to where they are now isn't necessarily

Stuart Webb [00:04:33]:

It's taken to where they are.

Helle Brodie [00:04:34]:

To the next level.

Stuart Webb [00:04:36]:

Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.

Helle Brodie [00:04:38]:

Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:04:38]:

Now I think I think you've got a really valuable free offer that you are gonna give to the and I'm just gonna let everybody know, know that, we're gonna put this in our vault. So you don't have to remember this. This will be in the vault, so you'll see it. But Helen's got a really valuable offer to help people with this. So, Helen, can you tell us about the the really interesting offer that you've got that you're gonna help with today?

Helle Brodie [00:05:02]:

Yeah. It's called the Entrepreneurs Freedom Formula. Wonderful. What it is, it is it, outlines 10 areas of your business that, I can say you should, you could look at. It would be advisable to look at to create freedom in your business. Time freedom, financial freedom, and the free the internal freedom to really savor your life. Because we know that working longer and harder and chasing absolutely every opportunity isn't necessarily what works. You know? And Mhmm.

Helle Brodie [00:05:35]:

You know, one of the things that that I can't give you the the 10 steps to is one of the keys is really aligning your conscious and your unconscious mind. Now I I can't I can't offer that as a free resource difficult thing to do on your own. Right? And that's one of the keys to how I'm able to help people, really get to the next level in their business, create that freedom, and, and move forward. Live life with new dreams.

Stuart Webb [00:06:08]:

So these so the 10 steps that you're you're hearing here, this is this is the outline that people can start to understand. But but, really, that's that's not the end of the journey, is it? What we're talking about here is something which you've gotta partly self discovery, but also that's something that you've got to sort of understand exactly how to apply these things. I often think that that's one of the failures that we have as as entrepreneurs. We see a formula, we see a set of steps, and we go, well, I'll just implement those as they as they are, and they'll just work. And that's not the whole story, is that?

Helle Brodie [00:06:36]:

Right. Right. Because because, I mean, the so when I talk about the the, unconscious blocks that that that are holding you back from your progress, You know? I mean, so we've heard all all heard about mindset. You have to have a success mindset and a growth mindset, and that's all very true. This goes one level deeper than that because our in our conscious mind, we we set our goals. Our unconscious mind is the part of our mind that acts actually helps us achieve our goals. Mhmm. And until we have those two things aligned, it's gonna be really hard to achieve your goals and do everything that you wanna do without working longer and harder and pushing and struggling.

Helle Brodie [00:07:19]:

So so it creates ease and flow in your business. Now you still have to have a work ethic because growth and change don't happen on their own.

Stuart Webb [00:07:29]:

You know what I mean?

Helle Brodie [00:07:29]:

I'm sure you've heard a lot of people talk about, oh, it's just so easy. You know? You just think it and think positive thoughts, and all the good things in the world will will come to you. Well, that doesn't necessarily happen. And when we I'm I'm trying to be kind. So when we align our with our unconscious minds, then it becomes a lot easier because we're not we're not self sabotaging us ourselves. We're not keeping ourselves from achieving the goals that we really want. I mean, this is what we really want.

Stuart Webb [00:08:06]:

So Yeah. I I I absolutely know what you mean, and I think it's something we too often, we we too often, we sort of look around and go, oh, there's there must be I'm just looking for the magic formula. And, you know, I was talking to somebody about AI, and they went and, and we were discussing sort of, you know, AI in the business and and how to automate something, and they went and and is that when the magic happens? And I went, no. There's no magic. I'm sorry. There is no magic. There is there is hard work and, you know, there was there is this sort of, you know somehow there was this belief that somehow I I I just push that button. Everything just happens, doesn't it? It just all becomes nice and funky, and that's just not the way the the world works, does it? Right.

Helle Brodie [00:08:45]:

Yeah. There's no I call it the easy button. There's no easy button. Right? You know, big red button where you just push it and everything happens beautifully and miraculously. You know, wouldn't wouldn't that be nice? And if if there was, everybody would be doing it, and we'd be looking for something else, wouldn't we?

Stuart Webb [00:09:03]:

Terrific. That's a great message, and that's a great way to great way to segue into my next my next question to you. There must have been something, a a book, and we talked a little bit about it at the beginning when I gave the introduction about sort of your journey from from vastly different, industries. Can you was there a was there a was there a point in your life, a book, or a program or something which brought you to this understanding? How did you get to where you are now?

Helle Brodie [00:09:28]:

Right. Well, I mean, it it wasn't a book like, I do have a favorite book, or a book that that's been very significant in terms of my beliefs and my growth.

Stuart Webb [00:09:39]:

Please tell us.

Helle Brodie [00:09:40]:

And and I'll you know, give me a second. So that my process to get from from one industry to to another was that I real recognized that, my clients in in the other industry were not always making, what I would say, rational decisions.

Stuart Webb [00:10:00]:

Mhmm.

Helle Brodie [00:10:00]:

They were making decisions out of out of fear and scarcity. And and I had great solutions to offer them, and they agreed until it came to down to the bottom line. And so until well, and I'm sure you've come across those people as well. And so as I dove into that, I came to understand that that they were living in stress, overwhelm, fear, anxiety. They may not have shown it on the outside, and that's where their decisions were coming from. So in my other business, my goal was to create a better world, you know, and that was more that was primarily environmentally. And I realized that if I wanted to, create a better world through that industry, the best thing I could do will help the people in that in so that's it's kind of a roundabout way for how I got to where I am. And and, you know, I promised you that I would I would tell you about a book that's been particularly significant for me.

Helle Brodie [00:11:11]:

It's called, Unstoppable Self Confidence by Andrew, by Andrew, Leadham. And so the the most valuable lesson in that, or the most valuable lesson that I've taken from that is wrong with you. As an entrepreneur, when we don't succeed, when something goes wrong, you know, you start thinking, what's wrong with me? Why can't I do this? Why can't I figure it out? Valuable resource that says, really, there's nothing wrong with you. And what he does is he helps us to, think the way the 1% do. The 1% who all who who achieve their goals, who have success, who live life on their terms. And it all comes down to there's nothing wrong with you. And so it's a beautiful resource that that, I mean, it's a it's a great book. It's it's fascinating, and it certainly opened my eyes in in many areas.

Stuart Webb [00:12:14]:

Well, it's not one I've come across. I'm glad you've introduced it to me. I should be checking it out because that is a hugely valuable step forward for all of us. But let me get to the right to the to the question I've got for you here, which is I'm sure you've been thinking for all this time where you you've been talking away and thinking, well, the the question he question he should be asking me is is so critical. Why when is he gonna get to that one? Well, I'm gonna give you the opportunity of telling me what the question is. And then, obviously, when you've posed the question, well, you're gonna have to answer because I really don't know what the question is. So, therefore, Helen, what's the question I should have asked you in these last few minutes you really think I should have asked?

Helle Brodie [00:12:52]:

So the question is why do I think it's so important for entrepreneurs to thrive? Because I work with entrepreneurs, So why is it so important for entrepreneurs to thrive? And so I I truly believe that entrepreneurs hold the key to our future. They're a huge part of our economy. They're the movers and shakers of the world. Right? They're nimble. They're resourceful. They're creative. You know? And and and they're great adjusting. They're resilient.

Helle Brodie [00:13:28]:

They're adjusting to what you've called the the new normal. Right? Big corporations can't adjust. They're they're not as nimble. They're not as creative. They're not they're not as passionate. Right?

Stuart Webb [00:13:42]:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Helle Brodie [00:13:43]:

And so I believe that when entrepreneurs thrive, they they create a better world.

Stuart Webb [00:13:50]:

Wow. What a what a So that's

Helle Brodie [00:13:53]:

why I wanna work with entrepreneurs.

Stuart Webb [00:13:56]:

Hello. That is just such a fantastic just such a fantastic I'm gonna say no more because I think you have ended that, and given us something to think about, during the rest of today and tomorrow. If you're an entrepreneur, you hold the key to the future. So I wanna reach out to you and say, you probably need to go on to, within twenty four hours, we will have Heller's resource at this link, and I would get onto it. I would start looking at those 10 steps immediately because I think you, need the, need to be able to get in and tap into some of this wisdom. But, before you do that, you need to go to this link, which is www.systemize.me/subscribe. That puts you on the newsletter list. You know that you get an email from me just once a week that actually tells you about who's coming up on this podcast recording each week.

Stuart Webb [00:14:56]:

And you have the opportunity to get on, listen to it live, and if necessary, dive in and ask questions of great experts such as Heller and, really understand how to make your business move that one step forward that you need to make it move each day. But remember to get on and have a look at the stuff that Heller will have, to help you to do that. Heller, I wanna thank you for taking a few minutes out of our of your valuable time and giving us your your wisdom for us to to take away and think about and to really sort of dwell on. And I appreciate the fact that you've, given us that very valuable free advice, today. So thank you very much for doing that.

Helle Brodie [00:15:35]:

My pleasure. It's been an honor to be here with you today.

Stuart Webb [00:15:39]:

Brilliant. Thank you, Helen. I really appreciate it.

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Who is Paige?

Paige Arnof-Fenn is a seasoned marketing strategist who specializes in helping businesses enhance their visibility in today's competitive landscape. Her clientele ranges from mid to emerging market companies with revenues between $2 million and $200 million to early-stage venture-backed startups, and even large Fortune 500 corporations. With a keen understanding of the challenges organizations face in cutting through the noise, Paige has dedicated her career to crafting strategies that elevate her clients' profiles and expedite the sales of their products and services. Her expertise lies in navigating the complexities of modern business environments, ensuring that her clients stand out and succeed in an ever-changing market.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Raising Visibility in Competitive Markets

03:12 "Every Business is a Brand"

07:06 Focus Marketing on Outcomes, Audience

11:56 "Show Humanity, Not AI"

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Marketing
Brand
Visibility
Profile
Products
Services
Business
Brands
Pandemic
Online presence
Customer expectation
Audience
Message
Trust
Social media
Outcomes
Commodities
Price
Real estate
Competitor
Features
Value
Experience
Connection
Humanity
Artificial intelligence
Growth mindset
Dale Carnegie
Storytelling
Brand promise

SPEAKERS

Paige Arnof-Fenn, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:00]:

Start dancing. Hi and welcome to It's Not Rocket Science five questions over coffee. I have got my coffee with me here. It is, in a mug which I got when I recently returned from Lanzarote which is and Paige has got her coffee with her. So I'm delighted today to be speaking with Paige on our fen. Paige is a really brilliant marketing connector, she's into into connecting, captivating, and converting those customers. So we're gonna learn a lot about how she's done that and what she's been doing in her business. And, Paige, welcome to It's Not Rocket Science, five questions over coffee.

Stuart Webb [00:01:11]:

Welcome to giving us your spin on the world.

Paige Arnof-Fenn [00:01:14]:

Thank you, Stuart. It's great to be here. Thanks for having me.

Stuart Webb [00:01:18]:

No problem. Now I know that, you are, you are you are interested in in these companies and and how they market. So can you tell me the sort of sort of business leaders, sort of business, work the business that you work with? What are the sort of problems that you see that they have that they are maybe maybe not quite converting at the moment?

Paige Arnof-Fenn [00:01:40]:

So the majority of our clients, I would describe as, mid to emerging market, kind of 2,000,000 to 200,000,000 in revenue, but we also work with companies who are early stage venture backed startups or even big Fortune 500 companies. And a lot of the common denominators, that affect all the organizations today is, you know, they're getting lost in the noise. There's just so much going on, and they want to raise their visibility and their profile so that they can sell more of their products and services faster. And they just feel like, you know, there's just a lot going on, and it's hard to get noticed today.

Stuart Webb [00:02:25]:

And and tell me, Paige, what are the problems that you've noticed that they have with that getting noticed? Because you're right. A lot of scale up businesses are are often struggling to break through the noise, and and sometimes sometimes it's simple steps they take. What are the sort of things that you find that that business owners you're working with, business leaders that you you speak to are struggling with and how and and what are the mistakes they're making?

Paige Arnof-Fenn [00:02:50]:

So you know, one, one universal problem, I think, is a lot of people feel like I'm really not a famous person. I don't run a big company that has global recognition. I'm not Taylor Swift or Serena Williams or Beyonce. You know?

Stuart Webb [00:03:10]:

Few of us are, Paige. Few of us are.

Paige Arnof-Fenn [00:03:12]:

But a lot of, you know, small business owners don't think of themselves as brands. They just think I'm running this small company. It's not that big of a deal. But the truth is everybody's a brand today. And I think if we learned anything during the pandemic, it's that if you don't exist online, you're really invisible today. And so, you know, the thing that I try encourage, people that, reach out is I really hope that I can convince you that it's important that you do brand yourself and brand your your product or service in a way that connects with your customers and clients on a on an emotional level. A brand is a promise of a consistent experience, and it you want to own real estate in your customer's brain so that every time they have a problem that your product or service that, can help them solve, that they think of you first. And if you own that real estate in their brain, you're a brand.

Paige Arnof-Fenn [00:04:18]:

And if you don't, you're a commodity. And commodities compete on price, and that's a really bad place to be. Because if you're competing on price and all you do is lower your price to win more business, that's not a sustainable option.

Stuart Webb [00:04:33]:

I think that's a brilliant message, Paige. And I must admit, one of the businesses that I was helping when it came to the pandemic, when they started the pandemic, they had unknown no online presence. They'd never thought of it. And by the end of the pandemic, they had more business coming in online than they had in their physical store. And, actually, that was one of the causes of the problems they then started to have in terms of that, as you said, that promise. Because, you know, what often you find with brands, with marketing, is that people promise one thing but can deliver something very different. And it's that experience of then failing to meet the customer expectation which actually causes so many problems. And that is a is a it becomes a business issue very quickly, doesn't it? Because people rarely understand that they have to have to live up to what they're talking about in their marketing.

Paige Arnof-Fenn [00:05:22]:

Absolutely. And you you really need to own a very specific, message. You can't stand for everything. You can stand for one or two things. And I think another big mistake people make is they try to be all things to all people. And they

Stuart Webb [00:05:38]:

All people. Yes.

Paige Arnof-Fenn [00:05:40]:

Million, benefits and features out there. People don't remember the features. What they wanna know is how you're gonna help them. How are you gonna help them solve their problem? So it's really important to hone in on your message, figure out what those really singular things are that really matter to your audience and reinforce those messages in everything that you do. And don't spread yourself too thin online either. If you try to be on every platform all the time with all the messages, again, it's just gonna dilute your brand. People aren't gonna, remember too much. And if you're not consistent in your message, if you try to be one thing on one platform and another thing on another platform, you're not building trust.

Paige Arnof-Fenn [00:06:32]:

And, you know, brands are you know, you you wanna have, unique, special, and different messages that build trust in what you're saying. And people buy brands they know, like, and trust. So make sure they can find you, that you're talking about yourself in a way that's relevant and compelling, and that it's constantly being reinforced in everything that you do. Those are the brands that succeed. And like you said, if they do it well, their business will explode.

Stuart Webb [00:07:06]:

I love the what you're saying, Paige. And I must admit I I I buy into it a lot of the time because so often I think business owners fail to recognize two things. One of which is, you know, they're reaching out onto 17 different social media platforms, and they've forgotten that on 16 of those social media platforms, their audience is not there, and they are just wasting their time and their effort and their money to reach out to somebody who just doesn't exist. And the other thing that I find so many small businesses do is they forget that they're trying. They should be selling outcomes. They should be selling the outcome of the because, you know, that once again, we go back to that promise. Somebody is not interested in the fact that I I often sort of talk to to people and say, when you buy a stapler, what is it you're looking for? You're not looking for metal. You're looking for us for for the fact that the paper will hold together.

Stuart Webb [00:07:54]:

So tell people about the paper being held together and how good it is that it does that, not the fact that it's made out of metal because that's a feature that nobody can relate to. And so often people forget that it's that outcome that they're really interested in, not the the steps to it. That's just the incidentals.

Paige Arnof-Fenn [00:08:12]:

Bingo. What's in it for them? How are you making their lives more convenient, simpler? You're saving them time. You're saving them money. And like you said, if you're just spinning your wheels and you're spending a lot of energy to no end, it's running you ragged, and it's not building your business.

Stuart Webb [00:08:30]:

Yeah. We're back to that most popular radio station on the, in the world, WII FM. What's in it for me?

Paige Arnof-Fenn [00:08:37]:

You got it. Bingo.

Stuart Webb [00:08:40]:

Paige, you must have, and I'm gonna put your, on screen now the the the website where we could come and find more information about you, which is at mavensandmoguls.com. Is there something at that website that we can all latch on to which is already valuable piece of free advice?

Paige Arnof-Fenn [00:08:56]:

Absolutely. I have a lot of free content. Articles, I've contributed to a lot of books. I've got videos. I've got podcasts. So if anyone that wants to learn more about branding or marketing, personal branding in a digital world, it's all there. There's no gated. You don't have to, give me, email address.

Paige Arnof-Fenn [00:09:18]:

There's no fee, and I think there'll be a lot of great content for people who wanna learn more.

Stuart Webb [00:09:24]:

And anybody who hasn't actually managed to capture that email that that that that now and we'll put this into there. We keep a record of all of the great stuff that that guests on the show come across. So if you just go to systemize.meforward free forward free hyphen stuff, I'll try and say that again only this time in English. Systemize dot me hyphen, sorry, slash free hyphen stuff. If you go to that link anyway, you'll see it in the show notes. You will be able to go straight onto a I will have a link straight to Paige's website, and you'll go straight into that in order to be able to get to that. So, Paige, we've got to know a little bit more about you as a as a person. So what is it? Was there a book, a program, a life experience, something that brought you to the point here where you became the the the the marketing mogul that you are?

Paige Arnof-Fenn [00:10:15]:

So, you know, I am constantly reading and trying to learn. I think having a growth mindset is so important today. There's so much out there. I I like the classics, to be honest with you. I think Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People is one that if you haven't read it or you haven't read it in a long time, there are a lot of great tips on human nature and great marketing tips as well. But there are a lot of current people, Seth Godin, David Meerman Scott, Guy Kawasaki, people that have been real practitioners in marketing and technology, and they don't use a lot of jargon. They're very straight shooting. They talk about their real life experiences in the trenches, the good, the bad, the ugly.

Paige Arnof-Fenn [00:11:04]:

And I always learn if I follow them online or read their books as

Stuart Webb [00:11:09]:

well. Good good good attitude to have a growth mindset. I love it. So we come to the the million dollar question, Paige, the one that I know you've been asking yourself. When is he gonna ask me that really killer question? And so I'm going to say to you, what's the killer question I should have asked you? And then, obviously, once you've told me what that killer question is, you better answer

Paige Arnof-Fenn [00:11:30]:

it because I won't know the answer. So maybe is there a quote or, something that motivates you, that inspires you, that affects, you know, how you I love that question. Build your business. And I would say there's a quote. It was attributed to Teddy Roosevelt, but I I think it's been attributed to a lot of people. It's that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Stuart Webb [00:11:54]:

And I think I love that.

Paige Arnof-Fenn [00:11:56]:

I think it's a great quote. And I think especially in this day of artificial intelligence where people are kind of throwing a lot of things, you know, to these rope robotic machinery online, and what comes back is very generic and robotic, copy. And I think you have to remember to show your humanity to stand out today. So people are not looking for facts and figures and to be inundated with a lot of data. I think you have to find the stories that are unique, special, and different to you that make you stand out and get remembered. So, you know, I think if you remember nothing else about our talk today, just remember that showing your humanity, the good, the bad, the ugly, the things that the lessons you learned that only you can share, your origin story. What what is it about you that or how are you gonna help people in a way that they're gonna think of you first and remember you because you're a human being and you're not some AI tool that, you know, uses all the same buzzwords and keywords and copy, people aren't gonna remember that, but they will remember you if you have a great story.

Stuart Webb [00:13:14]:

Do you know? I think that's a really valuable and I hope a timely piece of advice. I know a lot of people today are using AI to write their blog posts. They're using AI to write their books. I came across somebody the other day who is using chat GPT to write his book for him. And he's using it in a very clever way with some very interesting prompts but at the end of the day when I read something I need to hear the writer's voice and that's when you suddenly sit there and go 'I cannot imagine' I couldn't imagine actually when I read what this this person I I won't use his name, but when he sent me what he'd written, I went, this doesn't sound like it. It doesn't sound like the way he talks, and I certainly don't buy into what he's saying because of it. You've actually got to continue to remember that marketing is about that. Once again, that's delivering on that promise that you make, isn't it? And if you fail to deliver because you have one voice in your marketing and another voice in your delivery, you fail to connect with a customer.

Paige Arnof-Fenn [00:14:13]:

Exactly. And you get one chance to make a great first impression, so don't blow it.

Stuart Webb [00:14:18]:

I love that. Paige, that is an absolutely brilliant way to stop. We're gonna stop there before we ruin it by saying anything which actually isn't nearly as brilliant as what you've just said. So, I'm just gonna put this up at the moment. Let's, let's let's let's just ask you. People, if you are interested in getting a a I send out a normally, I send out a weekly newsletter, and it just tells you who's coming up on the podcast in the coming few days. And if you'd like to get on that newsletter so you can get ready to hear some of the great interviews that we have with some brilliant people like Paige, go to systemize.me forward slash subscribe. Simple form.

Stuart Webb [00:14:54]:

It only asks you for two things, your name and your email address. You'll have nothing more than that. You will only get an email from me about once a week, and that that's as simple as that. So please go to systemize.meforward slash subscribe page. Thank you so much for coming on. What a brilliant piece of advice. And just remember, if you're using AI to write your marketing materials at the moment, you are missing a huge opportunity to be a brand which people connect with, which people love to trust, and that is missing out, and you're leaving money on the table. So, Paige, thank you so much for your time.

Paige Arnof-Fenn [00:15:28]:

Thanks, Stuart. I love chatting with you today.

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Who is Adam?

Adam Warner is an accomplished technology professional who has navigated a successful career from hands-on software engineering to becoming a chief technology officer (CTO) at a prominent company. Starting from humble beginnings, Adam honed his technical skills and gradually rose through the ranks, moving from engineering roles to leadership positions such as VP of Engineering, and finally stepping into the CTO role. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated exceptional technical acumen across various industries. Nevertheless, like many technology leaders, Adam initially faced challenges adapting to the broader executive responsibilities of aligning technology with business objectives, cultivating strong leadership teams, and establishing influence among fellow executives and board members. Through perseverance and dedication, Adam has become a respected figure in bridging the gap between technology and business strategy.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Navigating Executive Anxiety

03:48 CTO's Strategic Reflection Tools

10:22 Subscribe for Weekly Podcast Updates

11:05 "CTOs to Executive Coaches"

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

CTO coach, Stuart Webb, Adam Warner, executive thinking, technology leaders, technical expertise, business goals, leadership presence, strategic leadership, CTO chasm, delegation, strategic approach, vision oriented, frustration, burnout, stalled career growth, firefighting, strategic risks, engineering team, business alignment, weekly reflection session, introduction call, helping first, CTO Playbook podcast, Satago, Patrick Lencioni, five dysfunctions of a team, thinking like a business leader, Turn the Ship Around, David l Marquette, executive coaching.

SPEAKERS

Adam Warner, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:31]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science five questions over coffee. On this occasion, here is my coffee in my mug here. I'm joined by Adam Warner. Adam is a CTO coach helping, executive thinking within those people who are technical leaders. So, Adam, welcome to It's Not Rocket Science five questions over coffee.

Adam Warner [00:00:54]:

Thanks Thanks so much. Good to have me. Good to have you here. Thanks so much.

Stuart Webb [00:00:57]:

So so, Adam, let's start by, just exploring exactly it is who it is you help. What are the sort of people that are reaching out to you and asking for your help as a CTO coach?

Adam Warner [00:01:07]:

Yeah. Sure. So typically, it's the CTO, the chief technology officer, or the most senior technology leader in a company if they aren't called the CTO. They could be anywhere from startup, scale up, large enterprises, and they're typically someone who's transitioned, as you said, from being a hands on software engineer of some sort, VP engineering, into that senior leadership role. And it can be from almost, you know, any vertical. They're often incredibly skilled technically, but often feel unprepared for the broader executive responsibilities that they now find themselves with at at the CTO level. So often it's around, you know, aligning tech with business goals, building up their teams, and then they often face challenges in securing buy in from the other executives and then building that sort of leadership presence at the executive and board level.

Stuart Webb [00:01:55]:

So tell me, what are the sort of problems that these people have faced before they get in an an expert while you you involved, you know, in terms of both the business issues and also sometimes some of those, some of those more soft skills, the the the persuasion, the ability to influence?

Adam Warner [00:02:15]:

Yeah. That that's that's pretty much it. So I think there's there's a couple of things that people face. And and one of them is, the the the gap between the technical expertise and the strategic leadership. They're sort of trying to cross this, what I call the CTO chasm, really. And it's really about moving from being an individual contributor to being, working through delegation. It's going from the tactical approach to the strategic approach. And at the same time, migrating that view from the, sort of execution oriented perspective to the vision oriented perspective.

Adam Warner [00:02:48]:

And and the kind of feelings that people come to me with is sort of frustration, sometimes it's burnout, sometimes it's careers, stalled career growth. And sometimes I find them where they're sort of firefighting every day. They're struggling to get time to think strategically, sort of lurching from issue to issue, and often struggling to sort of step back and give themselves space and time to lead proactively because they're constantly in execution mode rather than thinking long term. And without the right guidance, people can make this transition. You know, it can take years of trial and error. But my role really is to help them cross that, well, you know, the CTO chasm as I call it, by accelerating that process of trying to figure out all of those things together and get them all to line up. A bit like getting all of the tumblers in a lock to line up at once so you can move to that next level and act strategically.

Stuart Webb [00:03:36]:

So, Adam, you must have one valuable piece of advice or one valuable, piece of, offering that you can you can give to people at the moment. What is that that offer that you get?

Adam Warner [00:03:48]:

I've got three, actually. One of the simplest and most powerful things a CTO can do, I think, is to implement a sort of a weekly strategical reflection session. So just setting aside thirty minutes every week to just analyze what are the biggest strategic risks I face, how well is my engineering team aligned with business goals, where am I spending my time. So just thirty minutes a week set aside for yourself to reflect and figure out where you're going. It's something that's completely free, completely straightforward, and and everybody can implement that straight away to to strong effect. I also offer a free thirty minute introduction call, with every CTO who'd like to have a chat with me, and I take the approach of helping first. So it's a good way to get some instant feedback on the current challenges and some of the other options that are available to you in terms of the different directions you could go in. And then lastly, I also host a podcast, as you mentioned in the beginning, called the CTO Playbook.

Adam Warner [00:04:38]:

That's aimed primarily at helping CTOs excel in their role. Taking a a playbook in each episode, often with a guest speaker who's an absolute expert in their area that they work in their topic. And you can find that podcast by searching for the TCO the CTO playbook, sorry, on your favorite podcast platform or by visiting my website, sunnova.tech/podcast.

Stuart Webb [00:05:00]:

So we're gonna we're gonna put a link to those things that Adam just mentioned in our, our free vault which is systemize.me/free-stuff. So if you go to systemize.me, if you didn't catch any of that, go to systemize.me-freestuff. I'll put that as well into the notes. You can you can you can catch all those, those valuable free offers that I've just offered you there. So, we'll we'll have those in our show notes. Adam, I'm I'm gonna sort of, try to sort of dive in a little bit to the sort of acumen behind the, behind the CTO coach here. That must have been a book, a program, a life experience, something which brought you to where you are today? What what what was it that sort of took you on the journey? What ended up sort of, you know, becoming Adam, the CTO coach, and what was it that inspired that?

Adam Warner [00:05:54]:

Yeah. So about twelve years ago, I became a founder of a startup, a cofounder, I should say. I started side, Stephen, who's the founder of Satago. And I sort of went through that role, figuring things out the hard way. Most of the time, I had some good mentors along the way with members of seed camps who had access to a a couple of great people, from there. But it was that kind of it was that sort of step of of, first of all, figuring out all the challenges I had in front of me and working out step by step, you know, sort of using the brute force approach to get through it. And I think, really, the thing that that brought it home was is this idea of stopping thinking like an engineer and beginning to think like a business leader. And there was really two, areas there.

Adam Warner [00:06:33]:

So one was this transition of trying to figure out a lot of things at once, which you already mentioned, Crossing the CTO Chasm. And the other one was really closely related to that, which is actually from the, Patrick Lencioni book on the five dysfunctions of a team, which is that you gotta you gotta act in your first team. And in that case, as a CTO, that's the executive team. It isn't the engineering team. So So that's another one of those key transitions that once I figured out and got my head around it, became a lot easier to understand what was expected of me. And in terms of mindset shift, there was also a book that really helped, which I'd been recommended years earlier, but really came into its own. And that's a book called Turn the Ship Around by David l Marquette. And the reason it's so useful is because it represents that mindset shift to the leader, to then stop that process of of change across the entire team as well as in yourself.

Stuart Webb [00:07:18]:

Brilliant. Look, Adam, it's been me asking the questions up until now, and I I guess one of the things that you must be thinking is, well, there's a second obvious question. Why isn't he asked it? And so, therefore, I am going to, immediately turn that over to you and say, what is that obvious question that you wish I have asked you at this stage? And and, obviously, as it will be your question, you'll need to answer it for us. So what's the obvious question that I haven't asked you up until now?

Adam Warner [00:07:45]:

So the obvious question is why don't more CTOs get coaching?

Stuart Webb [00:07:51]:

Why doesn't everybody get more coaching? Adam, are they? It's not a not a problem limited to CTOs. I often wonder why it is that people are somehow resistant to the whole idea of having somebody that they can sort of rely on and and tap ask and and be outside of a situation to just say, do you know, I just want an ear?

Adam Warner [00:08:10]:

And a lot of the times, I think people do rely on their immediate leader. They have, a mentor. A lot of people have somebody. And in other cases, people go to coaching and training courses. But I think with CTOs, there's a particular challenge in that. I think many c CEOs get coaching. And in fact, I think if most CTOs turn around to their to their most most CTOs turn around to their CEO and say, do you get coaching? The answer would probably be yes. And that's also true for many CFOs and COOs.

Adam Warner [00:08:37]:

But it so there's a lack of awareness that CTOs don't really realize it's an option. Often, CTOs being classed as a delivery role rather than an executive role. And so, it's just not that common. There's not many people who talk about CTO coaching. That's one thing. I think the other the other reason is is applicability. I think there's a there's a lot of executive coaches out there and they're quite generic, in terms of the the background that they expect somebody to have. And it doesn't always apply or resonate particularly well with the CTO.

Adam Warner [00:09:09]:

There's a difference in the the course you take through a company from engineering than if you come, for example, sales or marketing, where you've got a lot more focus and emphasis on, for example, communication. I think training courses fill some of this gap. I think mentors can really help. But mentors can, you know, they can be a bit hit and miss based on the right kinds of experience. The CTO role might be only forty years old, but it's a very broad church in terms of the different kinds of roles that CTO covers. So my approach, for coaching is slightly different. I basically blend together coaching, teaching, and mentoring. And so coaching is that, you know, the blockers, the fears, the confidence, you know, in some cases, the imposter syndrome.

Adam Warner [00:09:48]:

Teaching is the frameworks and playbooks that you haven't been previously exposed to or had experience in. And mentoring is kind of two folds mentoring. One is holding people to account based on promises and expectations, but the other part is also being able to bounce ideas off somebody, with a lot more experience and background. And, you know, what are the unexpected side effects? What would be the in consequences that I can't foresee coming from those kinds of things? And so having that, approach, really, I think a lot of CTOs just don't realize that coaching's available and out there. There aren't that many CTO coaches who specifically focus on this.

Stuart Webb [00:10:22]:

Brilliant. Adam, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us and talking us through that. I'm just gonna leave, one final, link for people. If you would like to get on to the, the mailing list that we send out, we send out an email about once a week, and we just let people know about who's coming up on the podcast and other things that we're thinking about at the moment. It it contains two or three things that we're thinking about, two or three things that are common and going on in the world, plus, plus some humor. We try and inject some humor to every newsletter because we think the world should be a brighter, buprenier place. But if you'd like to get onto that newsletter list, come on to systemize.me/subscribe. That's systemize.me/subscribe.

Stuart Webb [00:11:05]:

Alan, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Really appreciate it. I hope to hear in the future how many more people get their coaching from the CTO background, and go on to become successful executives. Thank you so much.

Adam Warner [00:11:18]:

Thank you, Stuart. Great to have you.

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Who is Karen?

Karen Rands is a dedicated advocate for entrepreneurs and investors, striving to bridge the gap between innovative ideas and financial support. With a strong belief in strategic, world-changing initiatives, she leverages her expertise to instill confidence in investors and guide them towards impactful investments. Through her podcast, Karen addresses the common challenges faced by startups, providing insightful advice to entrepreneurs who often venture into capital-raising without fully understanding the nuances. Her mission is to equip emerging businesses with the knowledge they need to start on the right foot and succeed in their entrepreneurial journeys.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Misjudging Capital Needs Hinders Growth

07:25 Understanding Early Customer Acquisition

10:18 Investment Readiness Assessment

12:32 Emotional Investing for Impact

17:14 Strategic Board Structure for Control

19:34 Free Consultation and YouTube Webinars

23:01 Discovering Angel Investing's Exclusivity

26:59 Entrepreneurship Challenges and Misconceptions

28:51 Investing in Startups for Profit

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

capital consultancy, entrepreneurship, capital raising, investors, angel investors, compassionate capitalist, business podcast, startups, scaling business, venture capitalists, reg a plus, crowdfunding, valuation, financial independence, market validation, revenue generation, investor confidence, competitive marketplace, emotional investment, strategic investment, due diligence, incubation, acceleration, product market fit, financial forecasting, convertible notes, safe agreements, entrepreneurship challenges, angel investing, financial education, investing risk.

SPEAKERS

Karen Rands, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:31]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science, five questions over coffee. I am truly honored today to be in the presence of a real expert in their field. Someone who spent, their dedicated their career to helping entrepreneurs raise capital and guiding investors to make smarter, more respectful in and impactful investments. And that's Karen Brands who brings with her over twenty years of experience in capital consultancy. She consults entrepreneurs, advises to angel investors and networks. She's a leader of the compassionate capitalist movement. And this is a top ranked business postcaster as well. So I'm really, really grateful that Karen has been able to spend a few minutes with us.

Stuart Webb [00:01:21]:

Karen, welcome to It's Not Rocket Science. Five questions for coffee. I'm really looking forward to this discussion because I think you've got some really valuable things to tell us. So welcome to the show.

Karen Rands [00:01:32]:

Thank you so very much, Stuart. And and I have been, since we got reconnected on LinkedIn, looking at some of the podcasts and the different interviews that you've done, and it really are some true golden nuggets out there for entrepreneurs to be able to, like, get in there and and, like and I love the way that you do it with just the five questions. So, you know, you chop chop, we get to it, and get good stuff going there.

Stuart Webb [00:01:56]:

We're only gonna ask the five questions, but, obviously, you know, we are really interested. If anybody is watching on the livestream, they need to pop something in. Please post questions in the chat. We'd love to have this interactive. So but let's start, Karen. Karen, talk to me a little bit about the sort of, investor or entrepreneur you're trying to reach, the sort of person who needs the help that you could give them in order to guide them in the right direction towards the capital they need to raise.

Karen Rands [00:02:25]:

Okay, Stuart. That so I saw that question before. You paved with a little bit different. It's always a struggle for me because you have two sides of the coin, right, with entrepreneur entrepreneurs and investors and different problems. So one is strategic change the world kind of thing with what I do with investors and bringing in this, you know, to get confidence and confidence in investing. But, you know, the there is a challenge, and part of the big reason why I do my show, my podcast show itself is for those entrepreneurs out there, it they startups always know about, seems like raising capital, and they'll get out there and they'll they'll get some good advice. They they get a lot they oftentimes don't know what they don't know. So they get started wrong.

Karen Rands [00:03:16]:

They get started with wrong perceptions of what it's gonna take to raise capital and actually get to scaling their business. And as a result of this, you find both sides of that table, the angels and the entrepreneurs find themselves in the same problem spot. And that problem spot is the fact that they raise an early round of capital. They are successful in getting to that point, but they underestimate how much capital they're gonna need in order to fully go all the way to the end, to be able to get to a profitable exit, to be able to continue on their life cycle of growing. And by the time that they figure out that they need to go raise more capital, they oftentimes are now not attractive to the next round of potential capital people like venture capitalists. You know, they find out that they need more money than a bank is gonna be. Let's just so let's say somebody raise give me an example. They raise a million dollars as a technology company, let's say, And they and they think that because of the way they calculated their numbers, that's gonna be enough to get them into making $10,000,000 in revenue.

Karen Rands [00:04:28]:

But in reality, they end up making 3 or $4,000,000 in revenue with that. They might have a little bit of cash flow and some money that they keep putting back into their business to try to get it to grow. And they struggle with scaling because they really need another 5 to $10,000,000 to become the $50,000,000 or the $70,000,000 company that they originally forecast that they would be when those angels put that million dollars in. So they look around and they go, wait. Okay. I I I'm too I'm wrong industry or too slow quote VCs. I'm not big enough for private equity funds. I need more money than a bank will give us, and I'm too big and stale.

Karen Rands [00:05:06]:

And I didn't do what I said I was gonna do, so the angels aren't gonna give me any more money. Where do I go? And the angels are looking at them going, this is what the every you know, everybody knows about the ten ten companies in a portfolio. I call the three in the middle of the Midlands. 3 go out of business, three do one does really well, three do pretty good that make up for the others, and the three just sort of putter along the Midland companies. Well, those Midland companies have a great opportunity to be able to use some of the new programs available with the jobs act like reg a plus that's designed for growing companies to go out and raise tens to, you know, up to $75,000,000 in a year. It gives the angels an exit. It gives them access to capital to grow and eventually create a, potential exit way into a Nasdaq small cap. So biggest problem, they don't know what it's gonna take to get all the money to get all the way, and they have no idea that there's a program out there like reg a plus that could solve the problem.

Stuart Webb [00:06:10]:

And I think that's a really critical point that you've made there, Karen, which is so often people haven't thought through enough what they're gonna do with the capital in order to be able to really properly scale, isn't it? That's one of the major issues. And it's an issue for an angel as well because they're looking at the plan and going, well, they're asking me for this much, but I know they need more. But why aren't they asking for it? What is what is wrong that I have that they haven't actually come to me with the right ask? And, you know, that gives you that gives angels and investors a problem as well because they really want people to ask for the right amount. They don't need somebody coming back for two, three different different asks. It gives them all sorts of problems. We could talk about dilutions and things like that. But the fact of the matter is an angel needs somebody to be on the ball and understand what they wanna ask for as well, don't they?

Karen Rands [00:07:00]:

Yeah. And it's a sequence. You know, you build value that they it's really down to the numbers. I dig into the numbers deep because then I know whether they have any idea what they're doing and if they're gonna be successful at doing it because and I had a call earlier in the day. A guy was like, yeah. If we just get 1% of this giant market, it's gonna we're gonna be we'll be like, whatever. And I said and I laugh. I always have to laugh.

Karen Rands [00:07:25]:

It's like, do you understand that that's not the issue? It's how are you gonna get your how are you actually gonna get your first hundred customers that pay you money? Not some euphemistic 1% of a big marketplace. There's a hundred companies chasing after that 1%. You know? So that is such a it's so understanding. And and I and and, yeah, I could we get it. We could probably spend the whole thing talking about financials and how they do the financials, but that's really is the secret of their success is understanding their marketplace, how they're gonna generate revenue, what's gonna cost them to do it, how much time and money is it gonna take them to get to that point so that and and then how much money do they need to get to that point? Right? And if they if you and and not get over into this this bogged down to this percentage thing, because if you get your shares at 25¢ a share, if that's what you're selling, when when Amazon first, you know, started raising capital, they raised a little, and then they go another round at 50, another round at a dollar, another round at a dollar 50, another round at $2 and raising incremental money as their value went up and they delivered on it. And if an investor says to an entrepreneur, okay. Come back to me when you finish this round or come back to me when you have those hundred customers. It's not because they're it's because they don't believe that entrepreneur has the ability to do it, and they don't wanna shoot them in the foot.

Karen Rands [00:08:51]:

They just wanna, like, put a caveat out there because if they believe that they had the ability to do it, wouldn't they want the stock at 25¢ and not a dollar a share? It's because they don't think they're gonna ever get there. That's why they say that.

Stuart Webb [00:09:04]:

Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. And it is it is you know, it's in everybody's interest to get it right first time, isn't it? It's absolutely the right thing to do to get it right because you then you then save yourself a whole lot of trouble. We could talk for many hours about this, and I'm gonna try. Because you also do as well with with angel investors and helping them to make the right sort of choices and to make the right sort of calls. So is there is there anything you sort of turn around and and and think about in terms of how you help, investors as well to understand how they make their smart investments.

Karen Rands [00:09:37]:

Well, it's the offering the due diligence. So when I ran my angel investor group for about a decade, you know, I got really, really good at screening companies to see who was worthy of being able to pitch to my investors, which ones I thought the investors would be most likely to invest in. Right? So when you have reviewed a thousand some odd business plans and models and ongoing, you know, you start to pick up a few things here and there. And also in preparation when I was, you know, writing the book, I probably interviewed a hundred investors and I and on my podcast. Right? So it's like, what worked for you? What was your biggest mistake? All that kind of stuff. And it kinda ties right back into what we were talking about. It's the red flags. Right? I I have a program.

Karen Rands [00:10:18]:

I take companies through an analysis and identify their red flags and give them a red light, green light, yellow light, whatever to go forward to investors. And the, and it really comes down to truly understanding the problem, the solution, why they're the only ones who deliver the solution, and, you know, how are they gonna get there? Do they understand their marketplace well enough to know, like, how they're gonna how they're actually gonna get there and put money in the register? And it's you know, people talk about that, like, incubators and accelerators will sort of talk about the product market fit. That's kind of a thing that people like to throw in there. That's just really catchy little words that came out of a book that, you know, are are do you have do you know where your product fits, and does the market want it willing to pay you the money you need in order to make a profit?

Stuart Webb [00:11:13]:

Yeah. Yeah. No. Yeah.

Karen Rands [00:11:14]:

It's still common sense sometimes, but it it's it it because here's the thing. Emotion. So I call it subjective and objective. Emotion so way too often onto investors, buy based off of emotion. And this is when I wrote the book, it was really an anticipation because of crowdfunding that, you know, angel investing has a black eye in a lot of financial sectors for lots of different wrong reasons, not valid reasons, but it's still out there in this in the ethersphere. Right? And the and I was afraid that these people would be like, oh my god. Now I can invest in entrepreneurs. I better go do this.

Karen Rands [00:11:54]:

And they would see a video. They'd fall in love with the company. They wouldn't look at any of the things that you would need to look at, you know, for buried entry or ability to perform. And they would invest and then lose their money, and it would continue to give angel investing a black eye. And so it was one of those things that you just it there the so I have in my course, I you it's a very disciplined process that you go through and a scoring system so that you can know where if it's between it on a scale of one to 10. Seven to 10, write in. It's your industry. It's your stage.

Karen Rands [00:12:32]:

It's your the structure of the offering. It, you know, it's it you know this marketplace. It fits it checks about enough of the boxes. And then a five would be like, oh, it's not really perfect, but I just love this entrepreneur. Oh, I love what they're doing. So you consciously are making a decision that says, I know this is riskier. I might lose my money on this, but I'm willing to do it because I just I'm giving credit to my emotion of wanting to do this because it's gonna feel good. Because one of the main reasons why I figured out why millionaires that have the ability to be an angel investor in this sector that is considered, like, so risky, right, is because of the good that they feel when they make an investment with their dollars, and they're having an impact not only to potentially change the world with the problem that that company that founder is solving, but they just like that founder.

Karen Rands [00:13:31]:

They wanna see that founder be successful. So they if they can balance it properly with objective reasons why this is good a good investment with their emotional reasons why I just really like this and it makes me feel good, then hopefully they get a win win. But they've got to be conscious of that. If they're not conscious that they're making those choices, they will invest on emotion almost all and I've done it. I I have I have broken my own rules and invested on emotion that I'm still, you know, ten years later for waiting for that return on investment. So, you know, it is easy to go down in that slippery slope of doing that, but that's really it's it's it's understanding and really thinking through common sense logic. Do they have what is necessary to succeed?

Stuart Webb [00:14:18]:

Yeah. Brilliant.

Karen Rands [00:14:20]:

Sipping my coffee.

Stuart Webb [00:14:23]:

Karen, I mean, we've we've we've just started started the the talking about this. So so and you've started explaining a little bit about how, investors are and, and and business people sort of end up in these situations. What are the what are the problems that you've seen some of these investors, some of these, some of these, business people get into before they come across somebody like you? And and and and what is it, that you see them do that you can sort of try and help them sort of steer away from those problems before we even get there?

Karen Rands [00:14:54]:

So we talked we touched on it a little bit with valuation. Valuation is one of those that I think they oftentimes can make mistakes. And then I they come into me and they're struggling with raising capital. I'm sort of like the fixer when it comes to entrepreneurs. A lot of times they're like, oh, I don't know where to go. Karen, can you help? And then I'll look at this stuff and I go, this is why you're having a problem raising capital. And and then and then hopefully, they haven't spent too much money with the wrong people at that point in time so that they can fix themselves to get fixed so they have their odds of being able to raise the capital increases. But if you you know, there used to be a pretty steady rule of thumb that if you were an idea stage, you might be a million dollar valuation.

Karen Rands [00:15:37]:

Right? And then once you got past that and you had an MVP and you, you know, kind of had some market validation, you might be able to go to 5,000,000. And then based off of actual forecast, you would do some sort of like a net present value of a higher valuation, but you would be raising money along the ways. And that's when convertible notes and safes became all the rage because it got out of that conversation of what are you a million or $5,000,000 company in the beginning, and it would just convert or give you some kind of sweetener for putting money in now for when, an institutional round that set the valuation happen. And so I think that's probably one of the areas. And entrepreneurs will be like, oh, if I'm 1% of the marketplace, I'm gonna have a hundred million dollar business in five years. Therefore, I'm a $75,000,000 valuation. It's like, no. Not really.

Karen Rands [00:16:31]:

You know what I mean? It's like, no. Because and they're like, well, you know, they just they just have this Pollyanna approach to it thinking that because they believe it, they see it, it will happen, and that's not the case. It's it's always stair stepping your value and getting out of that scarcity mentality of a percentage of. Because if you understand how to structure the company, you're gonna have preferred and common. So common are the voters. Preferred gets the fur VCs all want that because that's the first right of the technology if something happens. Right? And you can end. And also once you get their board of directors are the ones that actually make most of the operational decisions of things.

Karen Rands [00:17:14]:

And so you set up from the beginning that you're gonna have your core executive as three people on the board, and then you give two seats up. But you put in your your stockholders agreement and in your formation that add certain amount of revenue or a certain amount of capital raise, you add two more seats. So you you can you always you keep control of your company through the structure of it and how you go about raising that capital having to feel like, oh my god, I've gotta have 51% of a $75,000,000 company when you will never raise the capital on that valuation. Because just real quick, I've the reason why is investors think this and I learned this from some of my key investors. When I say, well, how come you didn't like that? I love that company. What do you mean? And they were like, their valuation is too high. I'll never make my money. How do you mean? Well, if they came in at, let's say, 25,000,000, well, that means that in order to get the typical minimum five times the investment, they have to have a revenue number and stuff and such that they will sell for a hundred million, 5 times that valuation.

Karen Rands [00:18:24]:

And if they raise any more capital, that valuation continues to go up. And it's they can't get to where they can get an exit. That's why you see all of these unicorns imploding because they're not really that value. It's just the money that got put in.

Stuart Webb [00:18:39]:

Yeah. Yeah. Karen, we talked a lot about some of the the valuable advice. Is there a a a valuable piece of advice, a a free offer that you have? And, this will go in the the the notes, but just describe it. I'll I'll make sure this goes into, into this vault that we have where all of our free stuff is available. But is there is there a free, free piece of advice, an offer you're gonna sort of present people here that we could put into the vault for them.

Karen Rands [00:19:10]:

Okay. So so I'm gonna three kind of three things. Right? So the Wow. The pure free thing is I have a an ebook. It's called, 12 secrets of innovation. That is, me explaining 12 there's 47 inside secrets in the book, inside secrets to angel investing. And so I explained 12 of them to an investor and an entrepreneur perspective. And that's, you know, a pretty short one.

Karen Rands [00:19:34]:

I'll put that I'll I'll give that link will be in your with your free stuff. And then, I do offer up a, you know, a free initial twenty minute kind of get to know you, you know, give you some little snippets of of stuff. Happy to talk to people. Give them some quick feedback. You know, they can then sign up for a full hour if they want. And then the thing is on my YouTube channel, this is the re a resource is that I've been making these webinars and talking about how to raise capital and what do you need to do in great detail, interviewing lots of different people about that. And they're all on their video. Some of some of them been lost over time in migration of the RSS feeds for the audio, but the videos are there.

Karen Rands [00:20:20]:

And the video, there there's a a playlist that says for entrepreneurs. So they go to YouTube, search on my name, Kiera Rance, get the link in your show notes. They can go to the playlist for entrepreneurs, and there's a lot of content there that they can just, at their leisure, learn and digest and, you know, submit questions or whatever.

Stuart Webb [00:20:44]:

That is a fabulous resource. And I have gone on looked and had a look at that, and I will make sure that link is you get free stuff. Go to systemize at systemise.me/freestuff. You free hyphen stuff, that is. You will go to that link. You can then click on the stuff that Karen has just said, and we'll make sure that those links are all working. And you can go and get that from and that resource that you talked about, those those videos, they are really, really interesting. And you have spoken to some very, very interesting people, Karen.

Stuart Webb [00:21:17]:

So, I really encourage people to go look at that one. Let's let's just understand a little bit about more more about you as a person that can. Was there a particular book, of course, anything that brought you to the vast knowledge you've got now about how to how to become, a revenue, or a a a capital raising machine? The the sort of person that does that, but also the way that you're helping us to become the the compassionate capitalist.

Karen Rands [00:21:49]:

So, I would say it's an oldie, but it changed the way I reference it a lot in my book itself. And I, and that would be, thinking well, Robert Kiyosaki's, cash flow quadrant, which was was the the the subsequent to Rich Dad Poor Dad. Right? His first book was Rich Dad Poor Dad. Yeah. And I read that long time when I was still an employee, at IBM, but it was it the whole idea of the white quadrant versus the left quadrant and how you go from being chain changing hour trading hours for dollars to become a custom business owner that could run a business without being there, and it made them money and then taking that money and putting it into other investments. That was profoundly changed my I didn't know ain't about angel investing out there. One of the real ironic things out there, Stewart, and it really it took me I did not unpack this until probably, like, just a few years ago, even though I've been working with angels and entrepreneurs for a long time. I had never heard the term angel investing.

Karen Rands [00:23:01]:

And then in IBM, I was a I was like a person that package companies up to go get venture capital and come back and spend it with IBM and get our capital money. But I had never heard the term angel investing until I left IBM to help one of my clients raise capital in the middle of the .com bomb, mind you. That's my own little bubble that I was in. And I got invited to this angel group, and I tell them my story that it was like I was walking into a secret society where the people in this room, because we had to close doors back then, you couldn't general solicit. Next big thing because they put their money into it. Right? And it and in any way, it was so it was that piece of it, why more people didn't hear about, know about angel investing, particularly when crowdfunding happened. And then the second piece of it was this perception that 20 people in that room picked one company, the other two weren't worthy. Well, no, you when going through with my process, you might review six companies, pick three that you think are are the best for your particular audience doesn't mean those other three aren't good.

Karen Rands [00:24:09]:

And the one that they pick doesn't mean the other two aren't fundable. It's just that's the scarcity of capital. Right? So that was my that was the book that really set me on a journey of thinking different about money and looking at, you know, how you put money to work for yourself. That one, and then, you know, there's been, when I'm first learning about angel investing, there wasn't any book out there about it. I was one of, oh, wait. The guy that was starting New York angels, he he wrote his book a little bit before me, but it was really about how angel groups should do. And then there was, Jason Connes' book came out at the same time line. It's really about his own personal experiences.

Karen Rands [00:24:50]:

But I wrote my book because people were coming to me saying, hey, Karen. How how do I learn how to be an angel investor? I've got clients that wanna be an angel investor, and they don't know how to be an angel investor, and I can't advise them. I work for Maryland. I'm not allowed to talk to him about that. So where where can I send them? And so all the entrepreneur books I read about how to raise capital and all the sessions I had gone to, like, talk people talking about their experience, I started reverse engineering it to be how what should investors look for in companies and how to be a good investor. And that's where I, you know, wrote the book, my book, to be the step by step guide for how to go about should you would you could you be an angel investor.

Stuart Webb [00:25:33]:

And, Karen, you are now an absolute, an expert on this. This is this is a valuable resource because, you know, there are people who wanna get into this but just don't understand the value of increasing their capital by putting it into the right place safely and in a sensible way. And, you know, thank you for being that resource. We're we're kind of coming up to, coming up towards the end of this. And and I wanna give you the opportunity of sort of telling me the question I should have asked, which I have not yet done. So it's not a question I haven't yet asked. And if there is, you know, please, tell me what is it you would have liked me to have asked? And obviously, when you ask that question, you're gonna have to answer it because

Karen Rands [00:26:19]:

Well, I know the answer. I'm not sure

Stuart Webb [00:26:23]:

Tell us the question and the answer.

Karen Rands [00:26:27]:

So you you maybe you can fit tell me what the question would have been for this answer. So, it would be like why I mean, would I'm gonna do a simple version of the answer, but why is it that more people, aren't investing in entrepreneurs? Okay. Yeah. The

Stuart Webb [00:26:45]:

because they should.

Karen Rands [00:26:46]:

That the answer the so the US Treasury and the SEC commissioned a report last year, and their findings were pretty much the same. Lack of awareness

Stuart Webb [00:26:58]:

Mhmm.

Karen Rands [00:26:59]:

Lack of tools and lack of of education. Right? So I solve that's my trifecta. I'm solving that. But I also think that there, we have a deep rooted sort of like very deep roots in our American psyche that says to be financially successful, to be financially independent, you need to be a successful entrepreneur. And the reality is that not everybody's cut out to be a successful entrepreneur. You know, if you're doing a market participant, may you're opening up another restaurant, you're opening up another thing that other people do, then you've got a whole different set of challenges and competition to deal with. If you're being a market maker where you're saw you're creating a solution that nobody's done before, it's a one off or wedging into an existing marketplace, You know, that's a whole other set of things. Right? And both of them take you know, one of the things when I first started teaching about entrepreneurs, I say, if you can't figure out how you're gonna make double the amount of money you make in your day job right now in the next two years, don't even get started.

Stuart Webb [00:28:03]:

Yeah. Yeah. It's a start. Yeah.

Karen Rands [00:28:04]:

Because you got you know, you you keep your job. And now I say, so it is a misnomer to say the best way to create to be create financial independence to be an entrepreneur. Because the reality is for ninety years when it was illegal for everybody else to be involved in in for entrepreneurs to raise money from somebody they didn't already know, that wasn't already a millionaire before the jobs act. And for people that weren't already millionaires to invest in those companies. Okay. During that period of time, we, the, we created this, this myth that it's super, risky. It's not super risky if you know how to do it because millionaires could they don't choose to just throw their money away. Oh, wait a sec.

Karen Rands [00:28:51]:

I got an extra million bucks. Let me just throw it into some companies so I can lose it. No. They're putting a million dollars into those companies because they expect to get $10.15, $2,030,000,000 back. And the you know? And so you don't have to be the successful entrepreneur that sacrifices everything, your family, your your you know, seeing your kids' football game, your benefits from your job, you can take that extra money that you have, liquidity, the $50 you were gonna invest in the real estate that you got shut out of, or the $50 you were gonna use in your savings to start putting, you know, into starting a business and put that into 50 companies. Put it put 5,000 into 10 companies. Whatever. You know what I mean? There's so many ways that you can share in the success of those entrepreneurs that are solving a problem that you love, that have the gumption, the real desire to work those eighty, ninety hours a week that they have to work, and you they need your money to be successful.

Karen Rands [00:29:55]:

So it's a win win. When When you figure out how to do that, not only do you get to invest in entrepreneurs that you believe in that are doing something that you're also passionate about, but you share in their success without all the risk of being that entrepreneur.

Stuart Webb [00:30:09]:

Karen, that is absolutely the right way to end this because you've talked about some things which I'm really passionate about myself, and that is do not start going down the path of starting your own business unless you love what you're doing. Find find ways of supporting those people who do love what they're doing and work with them because so many I find so many business owners who aren't ready to do that. And they do what I call the path of least assistance. They don't look for the assistance they need. They battle out on their own, and they get tired, and it becomes difficult. And I just want to help get out of that problem. But that's another podcast which we will not start now because that's gone for another two and a half hours. So let me just finish by saying, Karen, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us.

Stuart Webb [00:30:57]:

Really appreciate it. Love the energy. Love what you've done. I'm just gonna ask everybody who's who's watching at the moment, please go to this link, which is systemize, systemise.me/subscribe. Please put your name, email address into that. It's a very simple just to form your first name, your your email. What I do is I send out an email once a week with who's coming onto the show so that you can hear the true gems that these people bring onto the show and really educate you on the way in which you could, one, get the sort of capital or whatever it is you need into your business to grow it, and two, how you can be more successful in your life. So Karen, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us.

Stuart Webb [00:31:41]:

Really appreciate you spending a few minutes with us today. I just hope everybody goes to the, to the vault and gets that free stuff that you've been asked me about because they need to hear this great stuff from you. And I really, really want them to hear more from you. So thank you so much for spending some time with us.

Karen Rands [00:31:56]:

Yeah. Absolutely. I look forward to continue our conversation when I'm recording you and asking you the questions.

Stuart Webb [00:32:02]:

I'm looking forward to it as well. Thank you, Karen, and speak to you again soon.

Karen Rands [00:32:07]:

Alright. Thanks, Stewart. Bye bye.

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Who is Anne?

Anne Bland is an insightful and compassionate advisor dedicated to helping individuals who haven't fully received the support they need. With a keen understanding of the challenges people face, Anne empowers them to recognize their own struggles and the steps they’ve already taken to address them. She guides her clients to see when it's the right moment to seek further assistance, offering innovative solutions and encouraging them to take notice and make meaningful changes. Anne's unique approach ensures that people feel understood and equipped to tackle their problems more effectively.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Compartmentalization and Self-Care Importance

07:47 Inner Wellness and Happiness Connection

10:50 Balancing Personal Space in Relationships

14:35 Developing Stress Management Tool Library

15:49 Smiling as Stress Relief

21:55 Mindfulness Techniques for Anxiety

24:45 Creating Meaningful, Purpose-Filled Lives

27:30 Access Free Resources Online

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

selfishly happy, business people, work-life balance, compartmentalization, burnout, leader, self care, happiness, stress management, communication, personal development, mental health, professional growth, emotional well-being, self-awareness, mindfulness, nervous system, energy, relaxation techniques, positive psychology, neuroscience, self-mastery, transformation, leadership, organizational culture, parasympathetic nervous system, breathwork, inner smile, meaningful life, stress response, relationship management

SPEAKERS

Anne Bland, Stuart Webb

Anne Bland [00:00:31]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science 5 questions over coffee. I'm delighted this afternoon to be joined by Anne Bland. Anne is a coach and mentor with a range of experience, but mostly, she's gonna be talking this afternoon about how selfishly happy you, which I think is gonna be a really fast paced topic. It's how do business people become selfishly happy. So, Anne, welcome to It's Not Rocket Times, 5 questions over coffee. Looking forward to talking with you enormously today.

Stuart Webb [00:01:02]:

Thank you so much, Stuart, for having me. I'm really looking forward to this conversation.

Anne Bland [00:01:07]:

So can we just start by sort of, helping to define or, people to understand the sort of person that you're looking to help?

Stuart Webb [00:01:18]:

Right. My clients often are professionals who are leaders in their fields, either as entrepreneurs or working in an organization who kind of balance try to balance the work and life and not quite succeeding in that. So maybe there is a there is a there is, you know, one of them is well, managed, but the other one is not. So it's like kind of that compartmentalization that we all kind of, resort to as, as a go to method when we try to struggle too many things. It's easier to put things in a box, if you see what I mean. Mhmm. And not realize that they're interlinked.

Anne Bland [00:01:58]:

I did. And they are interlinked as well, aren't they? There's no doubt about it. Even though we want to all pretend that somehow we are, superheroes, we are human beings at the end of the day.

Stuart Webb [00:02:09]:

Yeah. And we are really not super, beings, I think. What's the the question? We're we're we're supposed to be human beings, not human doings and definitely not super doers. So I I definitely have a lot in my CV as you said. And I think that's the, that's the culprit why I've burned out myself few times in my life. And it's not really something that I take pride in, cause you, everybody's about to in, in modern stressful life to burn out or get exhausted once in their lifetime, but not three times. I mean, you know, you start thinking, what's gone wrong there? So I think I've learned my lesson and really got my teeth in over the last 5, 6 years to understand what makes us happy, joyful, pleasure filled human beings.

Anne Bland [00:03:03]:

So we'll come onto that, I think in a minute, Anne, because I think there's some really good stuff you've got to say. But let's start by talking about sort of things that people have done Mhmm. Who are perhaps not quite getting the help they need that you can provide. What is it that they've done themselves to try and resolve some of these issues? How would they recognize themselves and go, oh, wait. They're talking about me. Perhaps this is this is the time when they should really start to take notice.

Stuart Webb [00:03:34]:

I think it is that compartmentalization I said earlier, you know, where you want to kind of put things in particular boxes and, okay, I I leave that there. You know, my marriage is not very good or my work life, I'm struggling in in particular relationships. And I try to kind of just avoid that. The other thing is, because there is some other aspects in life that are bringing fulfilment and joy and, and a sense of achievement. The, the other thing I see is that people just tend to plough through stress. So there is this kind of magical thinking that if I just get into the Christmas or if I can just get into the, before the summer holiday starts, if I can get through this week and then it's the weekend and I can catch up and relax or I can, I, but, but it doesn't happen that way, unfortunately? And then the other thing is that I see a lot is that people don't think, especially in men, that self care is something that one ought to be, investing in. And if, if, if they ask their, family, they say, yeah, why don't you just look after yourself a little bit, demon? There is that kind of, opportunity to actually learn what makes each one of us more calm, happier, more pleasure filled, and peaceful, and also joyful to be around with. And I think it's that kind of understanding that self care is not just for women or self care is something that actually needs to be one of those pillars that we invest in and get tremendous return on investment.

Stuart Webb [00:05:15]:

I'd say, regardless who you are, regardless of your status, regardless of your, agenda.

Anne Bland [00:05:23]:

So let's talk about some of those things that you you do to help people understand that self care, that, that ability to, as you put it in your your bar lines, to be selfishly happy. And it's got a bad reputation, hasn't it? But actually, you know, a bit like when you're here when you're on a flight, it tells you to put the oxygen mask on yourself first before helping anybody else because how can you possibly help somebody else if you've fallen unconscious or, and you are unable to sort of do anything. So let's talk a little bit about what does it mean to be selfishly happy. Let's talk a little bit about that. And then perhaps you could sort of I know you've got some some some things, some valuable advice, some valuable free things that you'd like to sort of bring to the audience. So perhaps you could describe those, and and talk a little bit about that.

Stuart Webb [00:06:13]:

Yes. So putting that oxygen mask on yourself first before helping others is, is is something that I talk a lot about because I feel that, again, it's embedded in my own experience. I'm very passionate person. I want to change the world. I want peace and happiness all around. And then I realized that, you know, when you work in that kind of social impact or environmental impact, scene, you tend to burn out very quickly because you can't control the external externalities. And the only thing I can change is how I react, how I feel and how, what kind of energy I bring into any table, any situation, any relationship, any work. And, and I think that's the, that's the key is really kind of going in.

Stuart Webb [00:07:03]:

And that's why I call it selfishly happy because it is putting that oxygen mask on yourself first. And also if you become selfless, like we're all told, especially women that, oh, you just need to serve others. You need to be helpful. And, you know, you know, don't put yourself, you know, it's, it's bad. It's egoistic. And I'm not talking about ecocentricity. I'm talking about, becoming more of you becoming self full in a way because selfless can, can become quite toxic eventually. You know, it can become a person can become bitter or, or, or, or a doormat or people pleaser or, or, you know, that there is, there is a balance to be had.

Stuart Webb [00:07:47]:

And I believe if we are in good health, if we are in good energy, we are happy, we have so much more to give out to others and to the world at large. So there is this kind of understanding that it starts from within and more we can regulate our own nervous system, just talking about sort of neuroscience spiel it's, speak it's, it's, it's more important to actually regulate your own nervous system so that you don't come across as aggressive or, or you don't come across as, as somebody who is just, there for themselves or, or, you know, just avoiding situations that actually benefit from having frank discussions, for instance. So it is, it is that kind of play with words if you like. And I do know that lots of people are, well, you can't say selfish. And I said, well, let's just, you know, really understand what's behind it as opposed to, you know, getting to the, preconceived idea. So it is kind of deliberate to stop people to think and kind of what do I actually mean by that? What is it to become happy truly? It is to know what you need. It is know how to get what you need, and it is understanding what your fears and anxieties are and taking care of those.

Anne Bland [00:09:08]:

So we've got a question from Mark. And perhaps this leads into some of what you're gonna talk about in terms of the valuable free advice you've got for our audience. But but Mark asked, in your opinion, what does self care look like for a man? And I suspect it probably isn't just going to the the nail spa and getting your nails done. Although, you know, let's face it. It could be that. But I mean, what is it that you would say men, in particular, should be looking for in terms of what they need to do to care for themselves to make them, efficient and effective human beings?

Stuart Webb [00:09:45]:

Thank you, Mark. That's a that's a very good question, and I really appreciate, you, raising your hand and asking that question. It looks very different to different people, of course, regardless what gender you are, but there is a lot of energy that men have that, that I think for instance, exercise is something that often men don't do because it is something that, you know, that there is there, there are responsibilities at home, there's responsibilities at work. So it is very easy to stop that. And maybe then just sit down when you're exhausted and open the telly, open a can of beer And, and nothing, no judgment there, but it is, it, it could be something that, what is it that, and I think whoever you are is to really ask that question to do that pausing and kind of do the list. What is it that really makes me feel good? You know, it's for somebody it is, you know, have a good, male friend who loves art. You know, he just goes to the art classes on every Saturday morning. You know, he just goes off and does art.

Stuart Webb [00:10:50]:

You know, whether it's, painting flowers or painting nudes, I don't know, but it is, you know, amazing that you can just kind of realise that, okay, what makes me happy? What is the time when I can, you know, play chess with somebody on the other side of the world or, or do a game of some sort? You know, it is, it is that, but also it is the need to, to spend time on your own. And I think one of the biggest things I've noticed with relationships is that often, especially if one of the, one of them in the relationship is, is a home maker. They often feel very, isolated or they, they just yearn for having an adult conversation. And the other one comes from work and just yearns for solitude and yearns for having, oh, I just, let me just get my coat off. And, you know, let me just, you know, have 5 minutes to actually state those boundaries and saying, look, can I just have my 10 minutes? And I'll just go to the bedroom, get changed, and I just lie down for a while. I just need to empty my head and land into the home life. And I think this is very important that people learn to communicate what they need so that they don't become begrudged and and oppressed and suppressed just because we tend to please people that we love.

Anne Bland [00:12:16]:

Just a small insight from my own life, which I think sort of illustrates the difficulties with this week. Then in my household, there were 2 busy very busy professionals both, you know, pushing hard at their career and a child. And it was a rule that the one that picked up the child from nursery or school got home, did childcare, and the other one would spend 10 minutes on the drive before they came in. Because the minute they walked through the door, responsibility passed to the other one because they haven't had their downtime. And so therefore, there was this sort of an it was, it's unwritten. We had discussed it, but it was the rule that you spend the 10 minutes in the car decompressing because the minute you walk through the door, I haven't had my 10 minutes to decompress. Yeah. And immediately, you've got you've got the responsibility for making sure that nobody's nobody's doing anything silly because I need to just go away for a few seconds.

Anne Bland [00:13:07]:

And it was quite difficult to balance because sometimes they'd look and go, I I may have had my 10 minutes in the car, but frankly I could do with another 10 minutes in the house. And it's like, I don't care. I'm sorry. I need the time. So we you've gotta learn to communicate these things and balance them, haven't you?

Stuart Webb [00:13:24]:

Yes. Absolutely. And congratulations for that awareness and that practice because that again is it's not just about yourself, but it is starting from yourself. What do you need? And asking for it, communicating it with a with a kind of nonviolent loving way and making the, making the, the, plan and whether it's outspoken, whether it's a practice, but it is, it is important to actually, have that understanding. And I would always, always, champion talking because we often think that, you know, oh, they understand, but often they don't. So it is good to actually spell it out and, and talk about it. I've got so many ideas that I could share here, but I want

Anne Bland [00:14:08]:

to, I want to keep it to, to your time limit. So over to you.

Anne Bland [00:14:12]:

Oh, we have no, we have no time limit. If you wish to talk for the next hour, we will let you out.

Anne Bland [00:14:18]:

You don't know what you're leashing here unleashing here.

Anne Bland [00:14:22]:

Oh, maybe it can. Maybe 45 minutes. So but there is there there's obviously some stuff on your website which which we could go and have a look at. Can can you describe some of the stuff that we'll find there and and and some and how we might access, you know, what what we what we'll access it?

Stuart Webb [00:14:35]:

Well, my my website is not actually very much geared towards, things yet. It's, it's something I it's under development, but, I really want to create a library of tools that people can start practising because I strongly believe that there is, there is this culture at workplaces where people are demanded to push through that stress. Then the organisations are wondering, well, why the hell do we have such a staff turnover? And we all know how much staff turnover costs for organisations. Well actually not everybody understands the wider impact. You know, you might kind of look at the recruitment costs and, and, you know, teaching somebody to, to land in their new job, but actually it's not just that it's somebody else working 3 to 4 jobs at the same time whilst they are recruiting a new person or somebody is learning. So, so it is also impacts on their health and so on and so on. So it's just lots of ripple effects. So do you have a kind of, library anywhere where we can actually drop in, for instance, I was just teaching today, in another call, in another group, and an old Taoist practice called the inner smile.

Stuart Webb [00:15:49]:

And this is something I definitely want to put on the website is how a busy person, even during the work day can just take 2 minutes or even just 2 seconds and just practice in a smile. It's one of the most effective ways of getting your nervous system, which is often at work days during work days in, in this kind of, reactionary, you know, stress response of, of fight flight, which is important. Otherwise we don't get anything done. But we are also designed to be more a human being in that rest digest parasympathetic nervous system response where we can sleep without needing to take sleeping pills or your, your normal whisky or whatever. So it is, it is important to, not, not knowing whether you have whisky. So I'm not saying, well, I'm, I'm, you know what I mean? It's very easy to think that in the morning we need coffee in the evening, we need an alcohol, you know, drink to, to, to calm us down. So it is, it is kind of things like breath work. It is meditation.

Stuart Webb [00:16:51]:

It is about, doing, embodiment practices, just like, you know, sport is, you know, exercises or just, you know, shaking and dancing a little bit, to let that tension go and stretching, you know, just very simple things like this and just learning how to breathe so that you can access that parasympathetic nervous system. So it is interesting how people think of, well, of course I can breathe. Of course I can smile, but how many actually do it? You know, we could when we are in that stress response, even our breathing becomes like kind of, we hold breath a lot. And we just but when you actually get into that parasympathetic nervous system response, what I observe is that people start, oh, there is that sigh and there is, oh, isn't it delicious just to be and just just relax. And you could just do this like a microsecond, and it will be money in the bank, in your energy bank and well-being and and happiness bank. So things like that. It's quite simple things I'd like to offer to people.

Anne Bland [00:18:04]:

Indeed. And and I know the power of breathing, myself because I've been doing I've been learning better breathing techniques myself, for for other reasons other than standing here doing this. And one of the things that we've been trying to learn how to do is the fact that when you breathe in rather than sort of doing this with your shoulders, which is, you know, how we're able to breathe bring immediately bring the whole music tension is to just breathe deeply from down into the diaphragm down low. And then you don't hold it. You just suspend. You just relax and allow the air to be there rather than thinking about it. And it's quite difficult to sort of turn your mindset to this ability to think, well, I'm just gonna allow the breath to be in me. But it's actually really powerful because it stops you trying to sort of do.

Anne Bland [00:18:53]:

You learn how to sort of just enjoy the experience of saying, okay. I'm now standing. I'm completely relaxed. I'm not actually holding my my my my tension anymore. Nothing's happened. The air hasn't just suddenly disappeared. It's it's still there, and then you can breathe out later. And it is a mindset thing, isn't it? Learning how to control your feelings, learning how to control of that.

Anne Bland [00:19:15]:

And and it brings a sense of calm as you do it because otherwise, you're sort of fighting your body.

Stuart Webb [00:19:21]:

Yeah. And have you ever heard, you know, this expression that any any place, any organization is a reflection of the leader?

Anne Bland [00:19:28]:

Absolutely. And I'm watching it with an organization now and just Yeah. Aware of just we can talk a little bit about this. There is toxicity, and the suggestion from the management was shut down the office. We'll never we'll never change this culture. And I went, I think the culture starts here. Oh, really? And you can change the culture at the bottom if we just change 1 or 2 things around the management. And yet, there was this sort of, oh, no.

Anne Bland [00:19:53]:

We just sack everybody. It will solve the problem, which was a very disappointing thing to hear.

Stuart Webb [00:19:59]:

Yeah. I don't think transformation organizational transformation works quite like that. But just as a as a simple example, just taking your breathing, ex example. And you were saying that how it's so easy to kind of be like this, you know, and just hunch, you know, just, you know, your shoulders are 10 tense and all that. But the studies show that a person, in terms of body language, you know, just the idea that who do you trust is somebody who has a long, distance from ear to their shoulder. So when people were shown pictures,

Anne Bland [00:20:38]:

I was thinking, oh, I've got, shoulder pad you know, pads in this jacket. So, oh, dear. Should have chosen a different jacket or or blouse.

Stuart Webb [00:20:47]:

But but but it is it is that kind of when when somebody's like this, you kind of, you know, people were shown pictures. And when they were looking at people who were like this, you know, it's kind of, oh, I don't trust that person. So if there is that kind of energy that somebody is going to launch at you, you know, from the management, you know, like you said, you know, there is that toxicity. It's not going to change by changing the, the people who are below them. It is about, okay, how can we relax this, this, this boss or this, this C suit, in this organisation so that they can learn like you just demonstrated how you're breathing differently and how you can just, you know, and it's it's simple as that because we are animals in so many ways. We have that primitive, you know, ancient brain. And when we see somebody who actually holds themselves with esteem and has that posture of calmness, and I'm you know, we feel that, okay, they are in control. You know, it's not like, you know, you need to kind of because they are reflecting this fight flight, you know, all the time.

Stuart Webb [00:21:55]:

It's quite fascinating how this all kind of links together. And there are so many tools we can use in organizations where we kind of, okay, just mini, micro, micro pausing, just become aware, and then use habits like breathing, like in a smile, like just being present with your with your physical body through your 5 senses. What can you hear? What can you see? What can you feel? Just doing this, you know, for for, 10 seconds. Just trying to feel the ridges of your fingers with your, if if this people can't see the picture, you know, the video. It's it's just putting 2 fingers like your thumb and your, first finger together. And for 10 seconds, which is about 3 breaths to to just move your fingers and just really focus on on feeling the ridges of your skin in on on on those fingertips. And even that simple 10 second, 3 breath exercise will put you into your body, out of your thinking mind where the anxiety often lives, you know, and just fall into your body and kind of, you know, it doesn't have to be. Even if you're in a meeting in a boardroom and you can just do that when you start feeling anxious.

Stuart Webb [00:23:14]:

You know, it will help you to calm down and get into that, parasympathetic nervous system. And there's so many other things.

Anne Bland [00:23:22]:

And was there a particular book, of course? I mean, you have a a a a very, very wide career, but, obviously, this is this is this is this is something that's that's that's come to you. Is there a particular book, of course, that you, read or took that actually started this journey for you?

Stuart Webb [00:23:39]:

Well, I think 10 years ago when I burned out last time and I I decided to to resign and and divorce and all sorts of things happened, and started, learning everything. You know, it was I was like a sponge. I I realized that I didn't have joy and pleasure in my life. I just been on that kind of autopilot. Oh, you know, just one more day, one more week, one more month, and I'll make it through or, or whatever it is that we tell these quite toxic stories to ourselves. Which is fine because we're just trying to cope. You know, it's okay. I'm not judging here.

Stuart Webb [00:24:18]:

It's just that we the society hasn't taught us how to look after ourselves. So I can't pinpoint. I'm really sorry. I can't, I know you asked this and I can't just choose 1. You know, I can't choose 1 because I've studied positive psychology and intelligence. I've studied breathwork. I've studied, how pleasure works for our favor. I've studied Taoism.

Stuart Webb [00:24:45]:

I've studied, so many things, neuroscience, you know, neuroplasticity, all these kinds of, how do we create positive habits so that we can look after each other ourselves and then, you know, each other, because like we said, the energy and the, the nervous system, emits to others is going to impact other people just like in that organizational structure, but also at home. So I've learned tantra as well. I've learned so many different things in terms of philosophies, practices, and, ways in which, you know, I feel that if we have the self awareness that, okay, this is what I need, how am I going to get it? So what are the tools and processes and practices? So having that self mastery. And then eventually, how do we express ourselves in the world, in our relationships in a more balanced, constructive way so that we can actually have that impactful, passionate mission, purpose filled life? Because that's what every human being in the end of the day is looking for is to have a meaningful life.

Anne Bland [00:25:56]:

So that leads me, I guess, to the last question I have for you this afternoon. I'll let you get along with something. I know you're not you need to get on and do and that Yeah. Is there a question I haven't asked you? Is there something that you're thinking, well, he's missed the point. He's just completely misunderstood what we're trying to do here. Is there a question that I should have asked, which you would like me to have asked? I don't know. And you have to answer it.

Stuart Webb [00:26:22]:

Well, I don't know. I mean, in terms of the Not really. I think we've discovered quite a lot of things, and, and it's it's as long as piece of string, isn't it? It's like kind of we can talk about this much. And when you said, oh, you have an open mic, I said, you don't want that because I will talk. You know, I will talk for England. I will talk for the world. So, now I think I would I would perhaps invite people to ask questions if there is anybody in the audience that, I don't know if Mark has already let

Anne Bland [00:26:58]:

Well, we well, I'd say we have Mark who asked. And the only question he's he has made it, the third comment is, it's hard to be there for someone if you're going through stress and you're struggling to deal with it. So my my sympathies, if, if that's your situation. I know how difficult it can be. And, Mark has just given us a compliment. So that's very kind of you, Mark. Thank you very much for for enjoying it. And I hope I I don't think I've done very much to contribute other than ask Anne the right questions, but Anne, you've got a huge amount of knowledge, a huge amount of value that you've added this afternoon.

Anne Bland [00:27:30]:

I really appreciate how much effort you've put into this, and I thank you very much for coming on and speaking to us. I just one thing. If, Anne is in the process of, of of of of building things, so, you will continue to be able to see, a lot of the free stuff that we have at, for this website where people give away free advice. But if you go to go.systmise.comforward/freehyphen stuff, you'll find a list of all the free things that, people have given away. And if you would like to get an email every week, who just will tell you exactly is coming up so that you can join as Mark did today and spend some time asking questions of people I can. Go to go.systmise.comforward/subscribe. It's a simple form. First name, email address, all we want, just so that you get an email, which basically says, who's coming up this week? And you've got the opportunity to join in the live and ask questions as Anne has been here answering your questions.

Stuart Webb [00:28:33]:

Anne, thank you so much for spending 20 minutes with us and talking about this. Really appreciate some of the advice. We'll all be touching our fingers in meetings in future, try to learn how to be more relaxed as we are presenting and and talking to the boss. So thank you for those tips, and I really appreciate the time you spent with us.

Anne Bland

Thank you so much for having me. I really enjoyed this discussion.

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Who is Steve?

Steve Feld is a seasoned business consultant known for his keen ability to analyze and understand consumer demographics and psychographics. With a talent for uncovering unexpected market insights, Steve often finds that business assumptions about target markets can be misleading. He has successfully guided clients to reshape their marketing strategies, revealing that the true key to their success lies in the genuine connection they establish with their customers, beyond just their messaging. Steve's own experience in business echoes this lesson, as he discovered that his thriving client base did not align with his original target market, yet his authenticity and expertise kept them coming back.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Welcome Steve Feld, business coach, for questions.

05:54 Free advice and book at www/systemise.me/free-stuff

08:43 What's the essential question for your message?

11:09 Prioritize crucial tasks early for business success.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

business coach, small business owners, entrepreneurs, target market, messaging, elevator pitch, customer demographics, marketing strategies, valuable advice, tech startups, networking events, expertise, published author, authoritative figure, marketing piece, business growth, massive results, audience engagement, client engagement, business owners, business plan, business focus, business execution, business career, massive action, business achievements, business clarity, business improvement, business dreams, business goals

SPEAKERS

Steve Feld, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:31]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science 5 questions over coffee. I have in my hand what is left of, a mug of coffee. It's not quite as full as it was earlier on today, but I wanna welcome Steve Feld. Steve is a business coach, who works with a a range of different organizations, range of different businesses. I think we're gonna get into some interesting conversations about the sort of thing he's trying to do at the moment to help businesses move forward in what we can all describe, I guess, as some interesting times. So, Steve, welcome to It's Not Rocket Science, 5 questions over coffee. I hope you're ready for, an interesting few questions, and I hope you too are well fueled up.

Steve Feld [00:01:12]:

I am well fueled up. I my blood type is coffee, so I am ready for

Stuart Webb [00:01:16]:

you. Terrific. Steve, let's start with the the sort of, the business owner, the business that you're trying to help. What's the what's the problem that you often see? And I know, we're likely to have a lot of common common common problems, but what are the more common ones that you see, when you start to engage with those businesses?

Steve Feld [00:01:37]:

Absolutely. Since I work primarily with small business owners, entrepreneurs, the biggest thing I see is they really don't know who their target market is.

Stuart Webb [00:01:46]:

Mhmm.

Steve Feld [00:01:47]:

And that starts affecting everything else, and they wonder why no one their messaging isn't working, why their elevator pitch isn't working, why nothing's working. It's because you're trying to be everything to everyone. And reality is you're nothing to everyone because they don't Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:02:06]:

It's it's common, isn't it, that so many people desperately don't want to exclude somebody. But the fact of the matter is that by being targeted and very specific, you will attract other people anyway because it sounds as if you know what you're talking about.

Steve Feld [00:02:22]:

Yeah. It's absolutely it's like putting the red rope up. Right? Get books from get books solid. You put the red rope up, you only let the people you want in. Guess what? People now wanna be in, so they're gonna form a line outside. That's what you want.

Stuart Webb [00:02:40]:

Yeah. And and so often as well as small business owners, I come across they they very, very rarely actually do their level best to actually screen, and they end up being sort of open to too many people and unable to help the people who really, really need it.

Steve Feld [00:02:56]:

It's so true. It's the messaging too. It's like, as consumers, we're all the same. If it let's say you don't eat fast food. So if there's a fast food commercial on, you zone it out because you're not their target market, and they know that. So what So, Steve,

Stuart Webb [00:03:16]:

so so, Steve, what do you find these business owners have done in the past to try and help themselves before they they get somebody like you and to sort of really help them to refine their pitch and refine their their offering so that it becomes targeted at a particular at a particular niche person?

Steve Feld [00:03:33]:

Absolutely. I mean, the first thing I was telling was, like, well, you have cuss if you have customers now, let's see who they are. Let's look at their demographics, psychographics. And I did that with one of my clients, he thought his market was x y z and when we looked at his clientele it was a b c. He changed his marketing and found out that people still went with him because they liked him. They ignored his message. I mean, it happened in one of my businesses. I'm wondering I was targeting, you know, financial planner CPAs, and then one day I woke up, realized I'm booked to the gills with clients, and not one of them was my target market.

Steve Feld [00:04:12]:

And so I asked my clients, like, why did you go with me? They go, we just ignored CPA. Everything else in your message really spoke to me. Yeah. So Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:04:22]:

I got rid of it. It's surprising, isn't it? And so often, we sort of we look at these things as sort of, you know, that it's gonna it's gonna hurt me, but in actual fact, it absolutely never hurts you, does it?

Steve Feld [00:04:33]:

No. If your if your message is still in the ballpark, it's okay. You're gonna be alright. But getting it on home plate, you're gonna knock it out of the park all the time. And I I see that with entrepreneurs when I ask them, so what do you do? And they go on and on. Well, we're all the same. We all zone out. But if it's crystal clear, who here's who hires me.

Steve Feld [00:04:56]:

Here's my market. Here are their problems. Here's how I solve them. Guess what? You have my attention even if I am not your market.

Stuart Webb [00:05:04]:

Yeah. Absolutely. Steve, I think you've got some really valuable advice that you can give to the audience at the moment that helps focus in on this, and I've got a a link, I believe, that you are you're gonna do, to help us out with. So tell us a little bit about what this valuable free piece of, advice is that you have. Yeah.

Steve Feld [00:05:23]:

I with my very first book, I've written 9 others since then, but it's 8 simple marketing strategies that you can put in your business right away without spending money. Because since I know my market, it's like they're getting beaten up like you're supposed to buy Google Ads, you're supposed to buy all this. No. Let's hone in on your messaging, get it crystal clear, implement just 1 or 2 of these marketing strategies at a time, and really start seeing some massive results fast.

Stuart Webb [00:05:54]:

Now that sounds like a valuable free piece of advice, and I'm really glad that you've done that, Steve. So if we go to bizcoachsteve.comforward/100co, so that's, bizcoachsteve.comforward/100k, and that link will be in the show notes. There's a valuable very valuable piece of advice for you, a free book that will help you to put that into your business. So, Steve, what other than you said, there are 9 books in your in your in your repertoire. What was the thing that actually brought you to being a coach with this very simple, specific, really useful message for people?

Steve Feld [00:06:30]:

Well, I've been there, done it. I mean, unfortunately, I've had highs and lows. I've owned and operated 7 businesses and turned now a 4th my 4th one around. I learned the good things and the bad things in one of the things I learned from being around other business owners is make sure your messaging is spot on. Really know who your target market was. Because I started like everyone else. I actually started writing business plans for tech startups, so it was very, very niche. And I didn't do business plans for anyone else but tech startups.

Steve Feld [00:07:09]:

And I was swamped. I had a waiting list. So then I started expanding out, and that's when I realized stay in your lane, and everything got better.

Stuart Webb [00:07:20]:

Mhmm. Okay. Okay. It's back to that simple. You know who you help. You know how you help them, and you know who those people are. You can definitely sort of you where you you you when you start explaining the things that you can do, you definitely find yourself in a position where those other people, see the advice you can give. But by knowing exactly how you help somebody, you can reach out and help them, can't you? I often say to people that are well, small business owners who are very afraid of selling, they'll say to, you know, they say, well, I don't really like selling myself.

Stuart Webb [00:07:50]:

And I sort of I can often turn around and say, well, stop thinking of it as being somebody that sells anything. Just think of being some somebody who's very helpful. And you just know how you help and why you help them. And people will pay you for the privilege of helping them. And that's all you need to do.

Steve Feld [00:08:06]:

You're a 100 spec spot on. I always call it sell without selling. Serve first. What can I do for you? And watch the the results versus we've all been to these networking events where someone is hawking I call it hawking your junk because you're you wanna build a connection, but if I can come to you and say, hey, Stewart. Is there something you need? Someone I can connect you with? Some kind of resource I can provide you that's gonna help you in your business? I don't want anything in return. What can I do for you? I think it's more valuable than buy my junk.

Stuart Webb [00:08:43]:

That's a brilliant that's a really brilliant piece of advice. Steve, I I guess we've I I've asked you I've asked you some some interesting questions. I guess you've thought that I probably asked you the wrong questions. So here's my opportunity to throw over to you. There must be one question that you would like me to ask or one question you would like me to have already asked that that is gonna help people to sort of really understand what your message is here. So what's that one question that you want me to ask? And, obviously, once you've asked it, well, you're gonna have to answer it for us as well. So tell us, what's the question that I needed to have asked?

Steve Feld [00:09:19]:

One thing I see with entrepreneurs is they when they start a business or even have an existing business, It's what can I do to get myself out there? And out there is marketing their name recognition. And one of the biggest things I see, it depends on the industry too. So if I, can go to networking events, maybe like insurance or something like that, that's the way they build their network. That's how they get out there. But there's other ways too, because you could be the expert in something. We're all experts in something. Use it your expertise. Get on a stage.

Steve Feld [00:10:00]:

Get on a podcast. Get on a summit. Share your knowledge. Write a book. I kid you not, I used to have a publishing company. I was cofounder of it, and we had a publishing company for entrepreneurs. So we wrote their book, and it was all done in less than 1 week.

Stuart Webb [00:10:20]:

Wow.

Steve Feld [00:10:20]:

So now they become a published author, they're an authoritative figure, and they can give this book away as a marketing piece. And we saw these businesses skyrocket just by telling their story.

Stuart Webb [00:10:36]:

It sounds so simple. It sounds so simple, but it's not that easy to execute, is it?

Steve Feld [00:10:42]:

Because being, you know, business owners, it's do you have a laundry list of things to do? Yeah. And I'll get to that one day. Well,

Stuart Webb [00:10:51]:

if you

Steve Feld [00:10:51]:

have some there's plenty of people like me out there that can help you. All they have to do is sit down with you. I swear to god, in 1 hour, you're gonna see massive results, and you're gonna start taking action right away. Guess what? It's gonna be done before you blink.

Stuart Webb [00:11:09]:

Yeah. Yeah. Brilliant. I think the the the the most important piece of advice that I was given many, many years ago when I first started with my business career was somebody sat me down and said, remember, if you can achieve the one thing that moves your business forward today before 11 o'clock, the rest of the day is free for you because you've already done the massive action. If you leave it until 4 o'clock in the afternoon, you've wasted the whole day. So get it done. Get the one thing you know you've gotta get done that day, get it done, and everything else is a bonus. If there's one thing I've taken away from it, it is sit down and do that one thing, which actually moves the business forward and get it done.

Steve Feld [00:11:52]:

I couldn't agree with you more. It's you know, eat that frog. Get that big audacious goal out of the way. Although others will fall into place, and you're gonna love it.

Stuart Webb [00:12:04]:

Brilliant. Steve, I think this has been a brilliant discussion. I hope everybody takes you up on the offer of getting that book, and I hope that they understand the the focus that you've given them. I'd just like to to point you in the direction of the newsletter we produce, which is, we we send out a newsletter once a week, which basically says who's coming up on the podcast. So you can really tune in on the valuable advice these, these great podcast sets we have. So if you would like to just know exactly who's coming up in the next week, go to this link, which is link dot the complete approach dotco.ukforward/newsletter. That's link dot the complete approach dotco.ukforward/newsletter. That's just the HTTP thing before that, and you will get a newsletter.

Stuart Webb [00:12:49]:

It just says once a week, basically, who's coming up, who what their specialty is, and just come and join us on LinkedIn and YouTube and the other places that we broadcast this so that you can see exactly the sort of valuable advice people like Steve bring to you, and you can move your business forward by doing that one thing and being really focused. Steve, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Really appreciate you bringing that clarity, that focus, and that message so simply and so directly to what we've been talking about.

Steve Feld [00:13:19]:

Well, thank you for having me, and I just hope everyone out there find that one thing in your business. Take action on it, and live your dreams. Achieve your dreams and your goals.

Stuart Webb [00:13:31]:

I love that. Thank you very much indeed, Steve.

Steve Feld [00:13:34]:

Thank you.

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View Details

Who is Jamie?

Jamie Toyne is a seasoned coach who specializes in empowering creatives and entrepreneurs with ADHD, helping them navigate burnout and rediscover joy in their professional journeys. With over 13 years of experience working alongside entrepreneurs, Jamie has developed a deep understanding of the challenges they face. His career began as an M&A adviser, where he honed his expertise in business strategy and growth. Transitioning from consulting to coaching around five years ago, Jamie's unique approach is informed by his firsthand experience running startups and an accelerator program. Today, he is dedicated to guiding his clients towards achieving their goals while maintaining optimal performance and enjoying the process.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Coaching ADHD creatives and entrepreneurs overcoming burnout.

06:42 Action as reward: Journey's flow prevents burnout.

07:48 Rebuild brain-body connection for optimal flow state.

12:16 Developed ADHD program, blending flow and neuroscience.

16:05 Clear alignment needed with personal values, actions.

18:52 Jamie's website resource helps counter social media distractions.

21:00 Looking forward to your help improving flow.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

ADHD business coach, entrepreneurial journey, burnout symptoms, energy levels, executive function, adult ADHD, business scaling, business exit, inattentive ADHD, hyperactive ADHD, flow state, focus improvement, alignment, self-esteem, creative entrepreneurs, business motivation, coaching strategies, flow research, internal family systems, VAST, social media distraction, mergers and acquisitions, neuroscience of flow, mindset, business performance, energy management, cognitive overload, high performance program, true nature, ADHD diagnosis, flow blockers.

SPEAKERS

Jamie Toyne, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:31]:

Hi there, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science 5 questions over coffee. I have my, mug in front of me here filled with what I could only assume is coffee. It's looking a bit brown and sludgy now because it's been made a while, so, it won't be so so good. But it keeps me awake. And I'm delighted to be joined today by Jamie, Jamie Toyne. Jamie Toyne is a a a certified ADHD business coach. He helps you to unlock your ADHD superpowers and soak your Purna. And I know he's been involved in starting, scaling, and exiting businesses.

Stuart Webb [00:01:06]:

So I'm really looking forward to a great conversation with Jamie. Jamie, welcome to It's Not Rocket Science 5 Questions Over Coffee.

Jamie Toyne [00:01:13]:

Thanks, Stuart. Nice to be here.

Stuart Webb [00:01:16]:

So, Jamie, let's start with the obvious question. Look. Tell us a little bit about the sort of business person you're trying to help. What's the what's the sort of problems they're probably noticing in and around their business, their life? How do they recognize that they're the sort of person that you're trying to help?

Jamie Toyne [00:01:37]:

Yeah. So I work with creatives and entrepreneurs who have ADHD and generally starting from a place of burnout. And they're basically sort of struggling to, a, enjoy the journey of reaching their goals and, b, sort of perform at their best, and enjoy the process of getting towards their goals. So, that's sort of the target audience of people that I work with. It took me a little while to, get there. I've been working with entrepreneurs for 13 years. I was a m and a adviser for many years, and have run a few startups myself and, and run an accelerator program. And, I moved from consulting into coaching, like, 4 or 5 years ago.

Jamie Toyne [00:02:27]:

And then really only in the last 2 years that I sort of really narrow down on working with people who specifically struggle with burnout and specifically have ADHD.

Stuart Webb [00:02:38]:

And and tell me, what do you think are the the major symptoms of something like burnout, Jamie? What what are what are people sort of because it it manifests very differently in a number of different people. So what is it you're looking to sort of point people towards to say, you know, this might be you if you're feeling this?

Jamie Toyne [00:02:55]:

Yeah. So one is like energy. So if you're, like, feeling constantly physically, emotionally, or mentally exhausted, that's a big that's a big one. If your performance is, like, significantly below your sort of baseline or your average, another one is, like, your sort of self esteem and attitude, like, if you're easily frustrated or easily irritable or have a lot of negative thoughts about yourself or other people, that's another big symptom. So what what have we got? We got motivation, energy, you know, sort of attitude, self esteem, and I guess motivation is the other really obvious one if you're really struggling to get motivated.

Stuart Webb [00:03:38]:

And and what sort of things are you likely to have found, these people do to try and resolve these issues before they they come and speak with an expert such as yourself?

Jamie Toyne [00:03:50]:

Well, the obvious one, you know, a lot of people, you know, there's, you know, been a big, like, surgeon surgeons of, surgeons surge of, of, like, adult ADHD diagnoses. A lot of people

Stuart Webb [00:04:04]:

Yeah.

Jamie Toyne [00:04:05]:

Didn't get picked up for ADHD in childhood, which is for a number of reasons, but a lot of people, you know, there's 2 main types of ADHD. 1 is, hyperactive and the other one's inattentive, and then there's the the combo, the delicious combo of hyperactive, inattentive, which I'm so lucky to have. But, yeah, a lot of people that had inattentive ADHD didn't really, you know, show those, like, very classical a d a ADD symptoms back in, back in the eighties, nineties, and early 2000. So, you know, an obvious thing is to see a psychiatrist and, you know, get medicated that's, you know, has has some efficacy with focus and ability, you know, to improve their executive function and stuff like that. The obvious other one is, like, you know, taking a break, going on a holiday, and and doing all those types of things. What other things do people do, when they're feeling burnt out? Well, some people actually push harder. Some people double down and sort of go like, whoop. I'm feeling like I'm sort of stuck in the mud here.

Jamie Toyne [00:05:10]:

I need to push even harder to just, like, get through this bit. And, you know, once I reach the top of my my mountain, then I'll be able to relax. So, yeah, people approach it differently.

Stuart Webb [00:05:20]:

And you never quite get to the top of that particular mountain, do you, Jamie? That's the problem. Like, you know, you you climb a mountain, you think to yourself, this is the peak, and you see a further peak. It's like being sort of, you know, up in the the mountains of any any location. You sort of you push a peak, and there's another peak further on. You can never quite see the top of the mountain, can you?

Jamie Toyne [00:05:39]:

That's usually what happens. Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:05:42]:

So tell me, is there a piece of advice, a a a valuable sort of, something that you would offer people to sort of say, look. Here's one thing that you could do, one one way of getting out of this, or or, you know, here am I. Come talk to me.

Jamie Toyne [00:05:56]:

Sure. Yeah. I I really when I when I started researching burnout, I really wanted to come up with, like, what, you know, what is no one likes to enjoy the, experience of burnout. What's the opposite of burnout? What's the antithesis of burnout? And and the best answer I can find to that question is is flow. And, you know, we all sort of understand what flow is. It's when you're sort of totally absorbed or wrapped in the in the present moment, and, you know, every sort of action and decision sort of flows effortlessly and and sort of clicks into place. Right? And that's when we feel intrinsically motivated. And I think I think the interesting thing about flow is that it's an autotelic experience.

Jamie Toyne [00:06:42]:

So the action becomes the reward in and of itself. So talking about that that journey, the entrepreneurial journey, you know, a lot of people struggle to enjoy the journey, and they're so focused on getting to the top of their mountain that they'll do anything to get there. And the journey's usually a lot of suffering and and and and pain, and grit and, and hustle, basically. And so, you know, really the idea is, you know, I I sort of think of burnout on one end of the spectrum and flow on the other. And so if we can get into flow, where we sort of become immune to burnout is is is what I've found personally and what I've found for for my clients as well. And so, the advice or the the tip I could give, is really thinking about the way that we approach, manage the management of ourself, like, the that almost our relationship with ourself. And so I'll give you an example. You know, there's there's a part of ourselves which I might call the higher self or the or the general who's you know, that's sort of the prefrontal cortex.

Jamie Toyne [00:07:48]:

That's the part of the brain that's, coming up with strategy and setting the vision and setting goals and tasks and and organizing everything, and writing your to do list and things like that. And then you have, you know, your lower self or the or the workhorse as I call it, or what Tim Go away would refer to as second self, which is sort of the intuitive body and also the the part of you that actually has to sit down and do the work, and actually execute. So when I was a tennis player, you know, that'd be a part of me that would be deciding where I'm gonna hit the ball and how I'm gonna structure the point, and then there'd be the actual part of me that actually has to swing my racket. And, usually, what I see is when we are burnt out, that relationship between those two parts is completely disintegrated and broken down. And so, what I really focus on with my clients is helping rebuild that relationship, and so that those two parts are working together as a team. And that's when we start to get into flow. So it's almost like designing our environment and our systems and the way that our business operates to be aligned with what I would call our true nature. Right? Because I think flow our our flow state or our our state of flow is essentially our natural state of being, And it's the conditioning and the stress and the, you know, all the things that we complicate our lives with that block us from flow.

Jamie Toyne [00:09:12]:

And so what I really would recommend is, like, trying to identify the things that are blocking you from flow and removing them, and that's the quickest way to resolving burnout. And so an example of things that would be blocking you from flow would be things anything that you're putting energy into where that energy seems to leak out and it drains your energy. So if you're putting the energy into something and it rebounds back to you and it's energizing, it's in alignment. And if that energy's flowing out, and flowing one way, it's probably out of alignment. And so that could be a relationship in your personal life. It could be a business partner, an investor. It could be a customer type. It could be some way that you're structuring your business or the hours you're working.

Jamie Toyne [00:09:50]:

It could be anything. And so really doing a bit of an audit of everything that you think might be zapping your energy and really looking at that and looking at ways that you can either remove that or optimize it or modify it so that, you know, it's, it's more in alignment and it's, it's not blocking you from flow, but it's creating space for flow to emerge, your natural state of being.

Stuart Webb [00:10:13]:

So I've just dropped a link into the bottom of the, the screen that anybody can see here, which is where you offer a free coaching call for somebody who perhaps wanna wants to go back and discover that state of flow. And I know what you mean by flow. It's something which, well, obviously, you as a former professional sportsman, really sort of appreciate the the ability to sort of get into that point where the the point in where in your business, for instance, you are no longer thinking about everything that has to happen. It's happening, and you're able to move your your thoughts to sort of, you know, the future, the strategy, rather than having to be thinking about what happens next in this business in order to just keep it alive, which is kind of, you know, my level of tennis. I don't know. Yours is probably slightly better than that. My level of tennis is how do I manage to keep this ball from actually sort of just dropping on this side of the net, and I never see it again. But, you know, you need to get to that state, don't you, with your business, which is where, you know, the you the the racket swing is happening.

Stuart Webb [00:11:08]:

It's moving the ball to where you want your opponent to be, and you're thinking about sort of right what you know, when I finish this game, I'm gonna have a really nice dinner because I'll I'll reward myself having having beaten this guy. So that is the state that we need to get our business to. Jamie, let's let's move on to something which I hope is is gonna sort of give a bit of an insight into is there a is there a a a course, a program, a a book, something which actually brought you to the point at which you understood maybe your own h ADHD, maybe the way in which you can sort of sort of conquer some of these ADHD feelings. And at this point, I'm just gonna I'm just gonna flash up the fact we've got Therese Baptiste who is a I love Therese. She's watching in. So, Therese, hi. I know you're somebody that really understands this sort of thing. You have so much energy yourself.

Stuart Webb [00:11:58]:

I'm not even gonna try and sort of compete with you. So hello, Therese. Jamie, let's get back to the to the point, you know. Is there a particular book, of course, or something which helped you to understand flow, helped you to understand how you recover flow in your life, how you started to sort of bring this into your own coaching practice?

Jamie Toyne [00:12:16]:

Yeah. I I so I was I was diagnosed with ADHD as a child, so I've I've always known I've had it. I I was never medicated, so I've I've sort of learned different strategies and techniques just by through trial and error and a lot a lot of suffering and and three pretty significant burnouts throughout my life. But I did recently the most recent training I've done is a ADHD training program done with a woman called Brooke Schmidtman, who's fantastic. So that was a really cool I've done a bunch of study on sort of the neuroscience of flow states and and and burnout. So it was really cool to, you know, I sort of developed this high performance program for entrepreneurs and then to really marry the the the neuroscience of flow with the neuroscience, and psychology of of of ADHD, was was was really sort of what allowed me to develop the curriculum for this program that I run, which is called FlowJo. I was talking about the relationship between different parts of ourselves. You know, I wanna credit, internal family systems or parts theory, as, you know, it's a sort of a 50 year old, psychotherapy practice that has been, you know, pretty transformational for me personally.

Jamie Toyne [00:13:26]:

I've been working with an IFS practitioner for years, and I've done a short training on that. Also, the Flow Research Collective, I'd love to, you know, credit them. I did their program 0 to dangerous, which sort of really talks about the mechanics of flow and how to cultivate flow states, and sort of in sort of the biohacking and, you know, hacking the sort of biology in the mind for flow. So that was that was pretty pretty amazing as well. And then, you know, all the coaching training that I've done in those courses have been massive. I got so much out of that for for myself, and it's allowed me to, you know, really feel confident, working on a month with clients as well.

Stuart Webb [00:14:10]:

Brilliant. We're we're kinda getting towards the end of this, time now, Jamie. I'm thankful that you that you know what to sort of, you know, bring yourself to sort of just spend a few minutes with us. But I kinda wanna ask you one final question, but the the question that I wanna ask you is is probably one that I would prefer that you sort of, you know, ask of of yourself. And and what is that question that I have not yet asked that you think is the most important one that you think that we should be we should be hearing? And and, obviously, now that you've asked yourself the question, you need to answer it. Just my way of not actually doing all the work here on the podcast and making you do it more.

Jamie Toyne [00:14:51]:

What question would I would be most useful? Well, I talked about burnout and flow and how flow is sort of the the antidote to burnout. So I guess and I talked about removing the blockers. I guess, maybe the next practical question that people would have is, like, what are those blockers? What are and, you know, how what's an example of how you could remove them? So I'd be happy to answer that.

Stuart Webb [00:15:16]:

Good good question, Jamie. What are those blockers? What is it that we should be we should be looking at?

Jamie Toyne [00:15:22]:

Well, I mean, they can be anything as I mentioned before, but I like to categorize them into sort of 5 main areas. The first one is clarity, and so that's really, you know, as I mentioned, flow is your natural state of being. So really what you're trying to do is connect back with your true nature. And so being really clear on who you are, what your passion, your your your purpose, your values, your vision for the future, your mission, all of those things, having that really crystal clear. A lot of people have done exercises like that, but often when I ask people, describe what your purpose is in a single sentence, or what's your what's your mission in a single sentence? A lot of people really don't know how to answer that, and they need about 10

Stuart Webb [00:16:03]:

sentences to

Jamie Toyne [00:16:03]:

answer it.

Stuart Webb [00:16:04]:

So Good point.

Jamie Toyne [00:16:05]:

I think being really clear on that. Once you're really clear on that, the second blocker is, alignment. And so, we I talked about the two way energy flow, so I won't go back into that. But, essentially, once you're really clear on who you are and what your true nature is, it's very easy to identify things that are out of alignment with you. Right? And so an example for me is, when I was running my mergers and acquisitions company, we were an all commissioned business, and it meant that we had a negative cash flow cycle. So we're always doing the service up front, and it just meant that and and my employees were, were on a heavy commission basis. And so just just the ups and turns, you know, the ups and downs of the market and whatever, it just meant that when there was volatility in the market, there was volatility in my my team and my company and my my whole life, and it didn't really align with the way that I wanted to live my life. And so that business model was just not aligned with with me and my what my values were in the way that I wanted to create sort of safety for my team.

Jamie Toyne [00:17:04]:

So, I I mean, that's one of the main reasons I burnt out in that business that I I ended up exiting a few years later. So, that's an example. 3 is focus. That's a really obvious one. Attention, like, you know, we live in an ADHD world now, so even if you don't have ADHD, a lot of people are struggling with variable attention stimulus trait, which is, basically, you're experiencing all the symptoms of ADHD, but it's not a permanent neurological disorder of the brain like I have. It's just, basically an environmental thing that's been created through cognitive overload, which is being caused through the way that we integrate you know, interact with, with digital media and and wherever else. So that's the other really big one. The 4th, sort of blocker of flow or culprit of flow is mindset, and that's pretty self explanatory, but limiting beliefs and all the rest of it.

Jamie Toyne [00:17:56]:

And then the 5th and final one is just energy. You know, if we're if we're burning the candle at both ends, we're just, you know, we there's there's there's no resources there to to to flow, to get into flow. Your rivers run dry. So there's some of the 5 areas. And, yeah, like I said, the audit is probably, you know, just auditing everything and and and realizing, like, where where are my blockers. And, actually, on my website, I have a free diagnostic tool. You can answer a bunch of questions, and it will give you an analysis of where you sit on the spectrum of burnt out to flowing. There's sort of 7 levels, and it will also give you a breakdown of those 5 blockers.

Jamie Toyne [00:18:35]:

So it'll tell you, you know, whether your mindset's closer to burnout or blocking, and you can sort of start to identify what areas, might be causing blockages, you know, that keep you at risk of burning out, and stop you from sort of performing at your peak, and flying.

Stuart Webb [00:18:52]:

Useful. Useful. And I think that's a really useful resource. If people wanna go to Jamie's website, there will be notes in the, in the show notes where we'll put a link to that so that people can see that, get on there, and have a look at that. Jamie, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Personally, I am really aware of the very dangerous nature sometimes of social media that can that can prevent that flow state, the ping, the dingle from the phone, the side of the desk, that constant reminder that we should be looking at it because it's not in our interest. It's in the, interest of the social media companies that run those platforms to keep us engaged on that. It doesn't help our flow state at all.

Stuart Webb [00:19:29]:

So turn off those pings. Turn off that thing that sort of pops up at the bottom of your screen that tells you you've got a new email. You don't need to worry about that email. If you're in a flow state, forget the email. It'll wait for several hours quite often, honestly. So turn off your phones, turn off those pop ups, focus on what you're doing. I know they're the things which really present me prevent me from getting into flow. So I'm I'm really big into what some of what Jamie mentioned in that third part of his what can prevent your flow, for you there.

Stuart Webb [00:19:58]:

So I'm really, really hopeful that people learn how to do that in the coming year. Jamie, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Really appreciate you spending a few minutes here. I'm just gonna sort of put out the appeal that if, if you'd like to be able, like Therese was today, joining in with the conversation, watching these things live on LinkedIn each Tuesday that we do them, if you go to this link, which is httpscolonforward/forward/link.thecompleteapproach.co.ukforward/newsletter, I've gotta make something shorter than that soon in order to get that. But if you go to link dot the complete approach dotco.ukforwardsmash newsletter, there you will find a very simple form. It just asks for your first name. It asks for your email address. That's all it is.

Stuart Webb [00:20:42]:

You give you put that in. I will then send you an email once a week, which says this is who's coming on. This is what they're gonna talk about. This is where you join us. Come on. Join. Have a really great conversation with the guests that we have coming on to this podcast. Jamie, thank you very much for spending a few minutes with us.

Stuart Webb [00:21:00]:

Really appreciate it. And I look forward to watching what you do to help those of us who are struggling with flow to get better again, in the coming months.

Jamie Toyne [00:21:11]:

Thanks, Stuart.

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Who is Lauri?

Lauri Smith is a visionary in the realm of authentic communication. With a deep understanding of the constraints imposed by traditional speaking models, she recognizes the dissonance felt by individuals striving to convey their genuine selves. Whether addressing audiences through a TikTok video or a TED Talk, Lauri is committed to helping people break free from outdated molds and masks crafted during the industrial era. Her mission is to empower speakers to transform the ambiance of any room, helping them step into their roles as true leaders and change-makers without compromising their authenticity. Through her innovative approaches, Lauri offers a path for those eager to leave a genuine impact, guiding them to speak and gesture in a way that truly aligns with their unique essence.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Inauthentic speaking inhibits true self-expression.

05:08 Practice presentations early; familiarize with location.

10:17 Authenticity in acting: shedding protective masks.

12:18 Embrace authenticity to expand personal presence.

16:21 Sign up for podcast updates via email.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

soulful speaking, speaking coach, visionaries, empaths, soul driven vision, authentic speaking, impact, transform vibe, TED Talk, TikTok, mainstream speaking solutions, industrial era, mask, leader, change maker, alignment, true selves, inauthentic speaking, PowerPoint, script, presentation practice, networking meeting, inner critic, hope, intention, oneness, charismatic presence, flow, energetic hug, raising consciousness, primal and purpose.

SPEAKERS

Lauri Smith, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:31]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science 5 Questions Over Copy. And I'm delighted to be joined by Laurie Smith, who I'm thinking this is gonna be an interesting conversation because Laurie is a soulful speaking coach. Now if that doesn't sound like the most interesting conversation you're gonna have today, I don't know what is. Laurie is, somebody who helps visionaries, empaths, people who are on a soul driven vision to share their magic, share their story on stages, big, small, podcasts, etcetera. So I'm really looking forward to hearing Laurie's stories and Laurie's, advice. And welcome to It's Not Rocket Science 5 Questions Over Coffee, Laurie.

Lauri Smith [00:01:12]:

Thank you so much, Stuart. I'm so excited to be here with you today having this conversation.

Stuart Webb [00:01:18]:

Well, let's get into it. Let's start by speaking about those those visionaries, those empaths, those those people who are on that soul centered, journey, and how you how you how they how they are trying to reach what they're trying to do.

Lauri Smith [00:01:34]:

Well, the thing that can sort of steer them off course is they're wanting to speak in a way that is authentic, wanting to speak in a way that has an impact and transforms the vibe in the room, whether that's a TikTok or a TED Talk. And a lot of the mainstream speaking solutions out there are putting them in a box that was created in different waves of the industrial era. That's one way of speaking, one way of gesturing so that it's creating sort of a mask that doesn't feel like it fits them. And sometimes as a result of that, they go into those rooms and they feel the dissonance and they feel like there's nothing that can help them, or they go into those rooms and they they hide their true selves and they try to fit into the mask or the mold that they're being given as what a leader or a change maker quote, unquote, should be. That

Stuart Webb [00:02:37]:

Should be.

Lauri Smith [00:02:37]:

It's supporting this era that we're now in where people really need to be authentic and to be in alignment with themselves and their 1 in 8,000,000,000 way of showing up.

Stuart Webb [00:02:52]:

And and and how have they tried to address this before they come across somebody like you, Laurie? What are the what are the things they they tempted with, you know, presumably is everything from speaking in an inauthentic way through to not speaking at all.

Lauri Smith [00:03:06]:

Yeah. Speaking in in that inauthentic way that they think they should. So, they might try to be hyper intelligent in a left brained way when that's not fully their that's not really their true inner radiance, or they might someone might have told them that they needed to be peppier, or that they needed to work harder or be funny and make the audience laugh and they might have gone to places like toastmasters and not not felt an alignment with that. They might have decided, I'm not a speaker. I'm not a leader, so they're not doing it like you said. Some people have gone to solutions like yoga and mindfulness, and on their own, they're trying to take the wisdom from yoga and mindfulness and having it translate onto the stage. A lot of them will spend a lot of time creating the PowerPoint, trying to come up with the script, the what am I going to say so that they've got the whole entire thing mapped out moment by moment, and they're essentially reading because they think that saying that there is an absolute perfect thing to say and that saying it is gonna get them the impact that they're looking for when it really isn't. It's much more effective to have an outline and to get up from your chair unless you're actually preventing presenting from your chair like I am right now.

Lauri Smith [00:04:46]:

To get up on your feet, so to speak, and to practice out loud just like a basketball player will practice their free throws again and again and again so that when they go into the game they can make the shot in the high stakes circumstances of the game rather than just thinking about the free throw.

Stuart Webb [00:05:08]:

Yeah. I often talk to leaders that I work with about important presentations, and many of them, like you have said, are the sort of person that will have a a PowerPoint deck of 50 slides and just put them up and read them. And so often I turn around and say, well, how many times have you actually practiced that? And I'll get practice. I didn't get it until 2 minutes before you start. Yeah. And and I've often said to them, you know, the thing is you should have it 2, 3 days before and get to know it, and then stand in the room where you're actually going to give the speech so that you're used to the place where you're gonna do it. So you're used to the site because it will change, and practice to not get it right, but fail to get it wrong. You know, I'm a I I I I sing when, in the, on on evenings, and we we compete.

Stuart Webb [00:06:02]:

And and the idea is that we don't sing and get it keep getting going until we get it right. We keep going until we can't get it wrong. You don't forget words because they're ingrained. And that's what speaking has to be as well sometimes. It has to be something which is just coming out of your soul. Isn't it?

Lauri Smith [00:06:19]:

Yeah. And with speaking, I think of it a lot like Saturday night live, where for Saturday night live, they create a thing, and then they've got a list of scenes and moments that they wanna hit in the scenes backstage and then when they go to do it live, it's semi scripted so they can do it fresh in the moment and speakers, they know their stuff more than they believe they do and they need to practice that structured improv enough to look down, see a bullet point, and know what do I wanna say with this bullet point? And what do I wanna say in the next bullet point? And it can be their same messaging, the thing that they know really deeply and are passionate about and slightly different every single time.

Stuart Webb [00:07:13]:

Yes. Yeah. So that you hit that audience connection, don't you?

Lauri Smith [00:07:16]:

Yeah. Absolutely.

Stuart Webb [00:07:18]:

I think you've got a very valuable, piece of, free advice that you're you're offering, which I'm showing on screen now, which is, voice hyphenmatches.comforward/sorryforward/podcast. Tell us what what we'll find there, Lori, and and how it can help.

Lauri Smith [00:07:37]:

That is the Soulful Speaking podcast. When you go to that site, you'll get to listen to the podcast for free. A quiz will pop up that you can take that will tell you which mask you're using and hiding behind, probably unconsciously, and then there's a whole bunch of resources and tips that are gonna come back after that. That's the the free free offer to start moving forward. And, I think you also wanted a tidbit of advice that they could put into action right away.

Stuart Webb [00:08:11]:

That would be great.

Lauri Smith [00:08:13]:

Yeah. The the advice that I would give to people is to set an intention for what you want the audience to experience emotionally or energetically. And it's not something like I want them to like me. That's an inner critic driven thing and with the intention we're trying to take the reins away from the inner critic and give it back to that highest most confident part of yourself. So it might be something like I want to give the audience hope. If you're going into a networking meeting instead of thinking I hope they hire me or I hope I don't screw up. I hope I don't say the wrong thing. Those are all soul suckers trying to protect us.

Lauri Smith [00:08:57]:

I'd like to give the audience a glimmer of hope either for themselves or for a friend they've got that is struggling. It might be something like I wanna see people expanding or opening as if they're opening their heart which is a little bit more of an energetic or a physical thing and when we do that instead of looking for what might go wrong and then that becoming a self fulfilling prophecy we're connecting with that soul driven mission that we're here to do and then aligning with, a mile marker of that and we'll start to notice shifts toward people feeling more hope rather than shifts toward, oh, I think I might said I think I just said the wrong thing.

Stuart Webb [00:09:50]:

That's a really wonderful tip. That's a really wonderful tip. And it it's you're right. We all need to sometimes learn to silence that inner critic, don't we, and take away the oxygen.

Lauri Smith [00:10:00]:

Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:10:01]:

What is it? What is it, Laurie, that got you, to become the soulful speaker? Was there a particular moment in in your career or your your journey? Was there a a book, a course, something which sort of took you from where you are to where from where you were to where you are now?

Lauri Smith [00:10:17]:

The the key there have been a lot of different bread crumbs along the way that I followed, and the key that I talk about a lot was in an acting class that I took. Many people think that acting is about lying. It's actually quite the opposite. It's about authenticity and mirroring things back to humanity. And in my favorite acting class ever, there was an exercise one day where I was up there by myself instead of being up there with a colleague or 3. And I kept pulling myself together between these little bits of the exercise, very similar to these masks that industrial speaking is consciously or unconsciously asking us to wear. And Richard, my teacher, stopped the exercise and said, whatever that is that you're doing in between, stop doing that. And I said, I'm not that comfortable having everyone's eyes on me.

Lauri Smith [00:11:21]:

And he took off his glasses and he said, well, then you've picked a strange set of careers for yourself. You're an actor, a teacher, a speaker, a leader. Part of you wants this. In fact, part of you knows you're meant to be here. And that really struck me. And even my protectors and inner critics deeply trusted him, so it was like my heart and soul knew he was right. And because I trusted him and the space that he held, I jumped back into the exercise and was actively releasing those masks, and it felt like decades of protection were melting away in a kind of combination of fire and ice and when the exercise was over I looked out at my classmates and I felt completely in sync with them. I felt like I could see and feel what kind of a day they were each having.

Lauri Smith [00:12:18]:

And I now say it was my first moment of being in flow or in oneness that lasted beyond the sport or beyond the acting. I had had them while acting before. I had had them while playing basketball in high school where time just doesn't seem to exist. And when it's over, people ask you about a certain play or a moment, and and you're you kind of don't know what they're talking about because you were so in it. And what I realized from that is that our charisma, our one of a kind presence comes from allowing ourselves to be seen while also holding the room in kind of an energetic hug. And that's at the root of how I work with speakers today. It's the same way that that acting instructor worked with me. Instead of thinking that you need to reach for something other than what you are, It's about letting go of everything that the world has told you that you should be and then learning how to expand your energy from there.

Stuart Webb [00:13:32]:

That's a wonderful story, and I think we all we all need a Richard. Don't we? We all need we all need that somebody who looks at you and tells you how it is and helps you to uncover the truth behind what you're hiding. And I know I have had Richards in my life who have been exactly the same, not with acting, but with with with other things. Yeah. Laurie Laurie, there must be one question that I have not yet asked, which you are really itching, witching an issue that I could could ask you. So what is what is the one question that you think I should be asking? And, obviously, when you ask it, you need to give us the answer.

Lauri Smith [00:14:15]:

Yeah. That's always the rub, isn't it? I I lead networking groups, and I will come up with great questions and forget that I have to answer them. The the question that popped into my mind when you asked that was the

Stuart Webb [00:14:28]:

why. Mhmm.

Lauri Smith [00:14:30]:

Why am I

Stuart Webb [00:14:30]:

Love the question.

Lauri Smith [00:14:32]:

Yeah. I and the short answer is it's my calling. And the longer part of that that I that I've kind of lived into or I am living into is I believe that speaking soulfully is actually part of raising consciousness on the planet. That is the biggest why. So the more soulfully our leaders and change makers can speak, the more it's gonna have a ripple effect. I see there's that image that we also in, like, a science class of evolution of humans, where they're hunched over, little bit taller. And to me, the way most of the western world is speaking is a generation or 2 back. It's actually not aligned with our our highest selves, our most courageous selves, and helping us to oddly, not oddly, recapture the kind of expressiveness we had as babies while marrying that to our sense of purpose or our intention or our mission as an adult.

Lauri Smith [00:15:48]:

Primal and presence coming together, primal and purpose coming together and creating a more resonant presence is it's it's a it's a huge thing, and it can also be paired down to tiny, small moment by moment things.

Stuart Webb [00:16:06]:

Brilliant. I love I love the message. I love the way that you put it. And I think you're right. We all need to, we all need to grasp those moments. We all need to find those moments. Even if we're not in front of a stage, we need to grasp them for ourselves anyway. Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:16:21]:

Laurie, it's been wonderful having you speaking to us. I'm just gonna take a moment now and beg, people to just go to this link, which is link dot the complete approach dotco.ukforward/newsletter. If you fill out the form there and only ask for an email address and your name, you will get an email once a week who and it all it really tells you is who's coming on the podcast this week so that you can get and listen to the sort of advice that you get here and also ask questions, on on the podcast of the, of the authors and people that we have speaking. So, Laurie, thank you for coming and spending a few minutes with us. I appreciate that you've, got a busy day ahead of you, so I'm gonna let you go and get on with it and get more of those, people that really need to make TikToks, TED Talks, and other connections. Make them soulfully.

Lauri Smith [00:17:14]:

Thank you so much for having me, Stuart. You have a great day and a great week as well.

Stuart Webb [00:17:19]:

Thank you. Oh, no

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Who is James?

James Robertson is a seasoned consultant specializing in diagnosing and resolving organizational challenges related to business information systems. His expertise encompasses a wide range of systems, including ERP, CRM, AI, WMS, and TMS, which are integral to the operations of many organizations. James's ideal clients are CEOs who are frustrated with their substantial investments in these systems, which often fall short of delivering the intended value. Within just two days, James guarantees to pinpoint the root causes of performance issues, articulating them in clear, understandable language. He emphasizes that, contrary to common belief, these problems are rarely technology-related, helping CEOs navigate and overcome obstacles in a non-technical fashion.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Help CEOs frustrated with underperforming business systems.

05:56 Hour's diagnosis, then deeper two-day analysis.

09:33 Robust RFP process ensuring accurate, fixed agreements.

12:10 Executives poorly define and start projects strategically.

16:11 Join newsletter for updates and participation opportunities.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

rocket science, coffee, ERP systems, CRM systems, engineering, human side, business information systems, CEO, technology issue, operational level, executive level, ERP configuration, information systems, management information system, desktop PCs, strategic decision support, strategic requirements, procurement process, IT service providers, strategic view, diagnostic consultation, system remediation, IT manager, system upgrade, cloud, SaaS, business disruption, newsletter, LinkedIn lives, strategic business value.

SPEAKERS

James Robertson, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:31]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science 5 questions over coffee. I'm delighted to say I have my coffee in front of me. I probably had far too much of this already today, but we keep going because that's the name of the show so I must drink it. But I'm delighted to be joined by James Robertson. James is an engineer, with 30 years experience who now is applying his massive engineering skills to understanding the human side of things like, the systems, these ERP systems, CRM systems that we all have to use, and trying to understand exactly how the human side sometimes interacts with those hard IT things, which don't always work. So, James, welcome to the show. Looking forward to our conversation enormously.

James Robertson [00:01:23]:

Thank you, Stuart. I'm looking forward to it.

Stuart Webb [00:01:26]:

So tell me a little bit about the sort of person you're trying to help with these problems that they've got.

James Robertson [00:01:33]:

Stuart, my ideal customer is the CEO of an organization that is frustrated with the business information systems. And as you said, that could be e r e ERP, CRM. It could be even AI for that matter. WMS, TMS, any any of these big business information systems that run part or all of an organization. If the CEO has just not getting the value that they expected when they signed up for what is generally a very substantial investment, I can come in and in 2 days, I guarantee that I will tell you exactly why it's not performing, and I'll tell you that in language that you understand. And I will tell you that 99% of the time, it will not be a technology related issue. Although most people would see it as a technology issue.

Stuart Webb [00:02:27]:

That's that's that's quite a it's it's quite a, well, it's an it's a it's a fascinating area to dive into, James. It's quite a quite a a bold claim to say that you can do it in 2 days. So I wonder what is the what is the problem the the the thing that the CEO has probably been trying to do? How long have they been wrestling with this issue before they come across somebody like you?

James Robertson [00:02:50]:

Sometimes for years.

Stuart Webb [00:02:52]:

Yes. Yes.

James Robertson [00:02:53]:

Just to just to elaborate on the point that you made, the reason I'm so bold about my claim, if you go to a general practitioner, doctor, medical doctor, they'll ask you 2 or 3 questions. They'll take your pulse. They'll maybe mesh measure blood pressure. They might take your your your temperature, and they will they will stack those, readings up against years of experience and massive knowledge, and they will say, okay. Take your aspirin and call me in the morning, or don't do anything. I'm calling an ambulance now or anywhere in between. I'm much the same. I will come in.

James Robertson [00:03:29]:

I will ask you some key questions. I will listen very attentively for some key words that you may use, and I will then say, right, this is how you fix it or it can't be fixed at all and we need to set about, procuring a new system and anywhere in between that.

Stuart Webb [00:03:47]:

And and the and the as you say, the CEO, the CFO, many of the key leaders in the organization probably struggled with these issues for many years in an attempt to sort of get to the bottom of things, and they're doing it, well without the knowledge you have and from a a position of, well, this thing was supposed to do this, so let's keep trying until it starts to do it. And that's often a a highly detrimental state to be in, isn't it?

James Robertson [00:04:13]:

Well, absolutely. I mean, I'm just thinking now of, an investigation I did for a major listed company. And chatting to the CEO, he said, you know, we've got this big ERP. It was under the big brands. And it says at the operational level, it's doing 90% of what we want. At the executive level, it's doing 10% of what we want. And he had 5, senior chartered accountants. When I say senior, the company cars were in the CDC class, and they were spending all week all month, every month preparing the board back because the he couldn't get what he wanted out of the ERP.

James Robertson [00:04:51]:

And the reason he couldn't get the information out of the ERP was that the ERP was just so badly configured. So he could've he could fix that problem. It would've probably taken 6 to 9 months to fix the problem, but the problem was fixable. But he was looking at the technology and blaming the machine when it was the people using the machine that was the problem.

Stuart Webb [00:05:12]:

Interesting insight. James, I think you excuse me. I think you've got a, an offer that might be useful for some of the, some of the people who are currently listening to or watching this. And I'm showing that on screen. This is a free consultation you offer, and I don't know if you wanna give us some details of this, but it's, if you email james.robertson@thehyphenerphyphendoctorsontcom. That's james.robertson@the hyphenerphyphen doctor.com, and those, that email address will be in the show notes. James, do do you wanna just tell us a little bit about, you know, the sort of thing that happens during that consultation so that, you know, hopefully, we can encourage a few people to take that offer?

James Robertson [00:05:56]:

Stuart, it absolutely would. What I'm thinking in terms of is probably about an hour. It could be more. It could be less. I'm not stuck on the hour. And I will ask some of those questions that I just mentioned to you, and I will make an initial headline diagnosis of what I think probably are the issues. It'll be a tentative diagnosis. I would then need to come in and spend a day or 2 days with your people, look at the system, look at the data, talk to a few people who are experiencing the problems at the level of the c suite, and I will then either be able to confirm that diagnosis or refine it or maybe find that the the initial diagnosis was off the mark, although I'd be surprised if that happened.

Stuart Webb [00:06:41]:

Brilliant. James, tell us I mean, you're you're obviously a huge amount of experience. You're an engineer with with great qualifications. What what brought you? Was there a particular program, a a book, a course? What brought you from, from an engineer to somebody who's now hooking at much more human centered issues and systems?

James Robertson [00:07:05]:

Have you got all day?

Stuart Webb [00:07:08]:

We have as long as you need.

James Robertson [00:07:10]:

Stuart, the there are couple of key milestones in getting to what I do now. First was, when I finished my PhD research, I had a lot of data. I'm talking now 1981. My dad bought me one of the first desktop PCs on the market. I learned how to use it. I computerized his business, and in the 1st year, he was able to double his turnover because he could do things that nobody else could do. He was an investment consultant. So from that, I learned that, a, I had an apt to do for doing clever things with computers, and, b, that you could add huge value to an organization by doing those clever things.

James Robertson [00:07:52]:

I then moved on. I worked for an engineering company. And as a side hustle, if you wanna call it that, I took over the IT function, and I project managed and partially architected the design and development of what in those days we called a management information system. I'm talking 19, 87. Today, that product is an ERP, and, again, very dramatic benefits to the business. I then went out on my own because I thought I'd got this attitude. I started speaking at conferences, and what started happening was chief executives, presidents, etcetera, would come up to me during the break and say, doctor Robertson, we're having problems with our systems. We really like what you're saying.

James Robertson [00:08:34]:

We're not getting anything like that. And I would start going in, and I found that in in 1 to 2 days, I could tell them why, the the system was not working, and I could tell them how to fix it. And I've been doing it ever since. And then I've developed, other things in terms of strategy, etcetera, and helping, rigorous procurement process and and so forth that go hand in hand with that.

Stuart Webb [00:08:59]:

Do you know the, the concept of the rigorous process for procurement, I think, is probably as important as anything, isn't it, James? Because one of the problems that we often find with these things is it's it's the expectation at the beginning that has been set which causes the issues. I I've been involved in a number of these situations where people will say, well, we thought it was gonna do this, or we had asked for this. And, unfortunately, it's very often the case that that was never going to be possible, and that's where the the problems came in and came from.

James Robertson [00:09:33]:

Absolutely, Stuart. So the process that I've got, I've got a a very robust request for proposal document about, depending on the client. It's sort of 45 to 60 pages, and it closes all the loopholes that are traditionally used by IT service providers to negotiate change in scope. I then do a strategic definition of what the requirement is, and I take the the the the the process through a rigorous process of scanning the market to find the most appropriate software and to find the most appropriate implementer and then lock that down into a very watertight contract and a very strong, achievable fixed price. And I then manage that whole process through that. But part of it is, again, knowing what the typical shenanigans are, if I can use that word, that are used by implementers to go in with a low price and then push the price right up, and and, to also to make sure that the definition of what's required is properly documented because so many people go out to procurement with just a long wish list of anything that they can think of. And what I do is I bring it down to 7 critical requirements weighted in terms of the relative importance, and then I design the entire project around those seven factors. And those factors are determined in consultation with the, the CEO and the rest of the executive suite.

Stuart Webb [00:11:07]:

That's brilliant. I I think Jameson

James Robertson [00:11:09]:

I think one of the things that's different about what I do is I always start with the CEO, and I work top down from the executive suite. So I make sure that I understand the strategic view of what this thing is supposed to do. And the same with diagnosing the problems. Yeah. Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:11:27]:

That's great news. James, there must be one question at the moment that you're thinking. He hasn't asked me about this, which is the real key thing. And so, therefore, I'm just gonna sort of ask at this stage if there is a a particular question that you think I should have asked by this stage. And, obviously, as you know the question, you then have to answer it for us. So what's the key question that I haven't yet asked you?

James Robertson [00:11:50]:

Why is it that so many systems work fine at an operational tactical level, but are absolutely useless from a point of view of supporting strategic decision support?

Stuart Webb [00:12:06]:

Interesting question.

James Robertson [00:12:08]:

And I've What

Stuart Webb [00:12:09]:

is the,

James Robertson [00:12:10]:

what is the answer? I've touched on that I've touched on that fleetingly a couple of times already in this in this talk. It's basically that people do not know how to start a project at the executive level and define the strategic requirements at the start and then build the entire solution from that point of view. Or if you're remediating a situation, if the things that I've talked about, the same applies that you go in at the executive level, you understand from an executive point of view what the issues are, and then you cascade that down into the nuts and bolts of how the system runs. Mhmm. And one of the thing one of the things that goes horribly wrong with so many projects If the CEO says, I don't understand IT and delegates to the CFO or the CIO or the COO or the IT manager or whatever, and those people do not have the it's not their responsibility to have the overarching strategic view of the business. So they start with a finance bias or an IT bias, and I and I hate to say this, but a lot of IT people are so focused on the g wiz of the technology that they do not have any comprehension of what strategically so you'll find a an IT guy saying, yes. We must go with the latest upgrade. We need correct answer from a strategic point of view is, you know what? This is doing the job.

James Robertson [00:13:45]:

We don't need to go with the latest upgrade, for example. And that's a that's a hot topic at the moment.

Stuart Webb [00:13:53]:

And I think you're referring to the fact that certain systems at the moment are now getting to the stage where they need to be upgraded to the latest version, which in call which involves quite a lot of cost and quite a lot of effort, but may or may not end up delivering the value that the business requires.

James Robertson [00:14:11]:

Absolutely. You know, the technology now is very mature. The bulk of the systems out there, the ones that have been around for the last 20 years, are mature. They're stable. They're getting the job done. We're now going into a mode where those vendors are coming and saying, well, we've got the new latest and greatest, biggest, and best, and it's we're gonna move to cloud, and we're gonna move to SaaS, and we're gonna do this, and we're gonna do that. Oh, and by the way, it's gonna cost you a £100,000 or £1,000,000 or whatever the case may be, and it's gonna take, 9 to 18 months to to implement it. And we don't really wanna talk about it, but there's gonna be a whole lot of business disruption while you do that.

James Robertson [00:14:56]:

Profits are gonna take a bit of a knock while we do it. And at the end of the day, we're not actually sure what the strategic business value is going to be. And I'm now saying to people, you know what? There's a little known legal principle which allows you to say to that vendor, you know what? I'm not gonna take that upgrade. And, that's, the secret sauce that we can talk about on that call.

Stuart Webb [00:15:26]:

That's a really brilliant cliffhanger on which to end this series. I presume, it's series 2. We'll start with that answer and move us on to other answers. James, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us and giving us those insights. I really appreciate you spending some time with us. I'm gonna take a little moment now just to sort of, do a bit of a plug for myself. I send out a a newsletter every week, which just says who's coming up on the podcast in order for you to join these LinkedIn lives and to be able to ask questions of people like James, and I'd love you to join that newsletter. So, would you please go to this this link, which is httpscolonforward/forward/link.thecompleteapproach.co.ukforward/newsletter.

Stuart Webb [00:16:11]:

That's link.thecompleteapproach dotco.ukforward/newsletter. Join the newsletter. Get an email, just, once or twice a week with who's coming up, what they've got to say, and at least, be able to get in on the conversation so that you're able to get the answers to the questions you've got. James, in the meantime, whilst we wait for people to, get all of that down and to, to reach out, I'd really like to thank you for coming on to the show today and talking about this very important topic. And I do hope that you're able to, once again, help more businesses get more value out of the systems they've invested a lot of money into, but somehow don't quite manage to do everything they need them to do. So thanks for coming on and telling us about it.

James Robertson [00:16:57]:

Stuart, it's been a great pleasure. And the interesting thing about it is you can take a system from down there to up there sometimes quite easily. So, I look forward to hearing from your listeners.

Stuart Webb [00:17:10]:

Terrific. Thank you, James.

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View Details

Who is Len?

Len Bruskiewitz is a seasoned advisor specializing in strategic exit planning for small to mid-sized business owners. With a focus on businesses generating between $1 million and $15 million in revenue, Len understands the critical importance of having a written exit plan. He is passionate about helping entrepreneurs navigate the complexities of succession planning, especially given that approximately 60% of business owners lack a formal plan. Len emphasizes the necessity of being proactive, as waiting until a traumatic event or a sudden desire to exit can often be too late. Through his expertise, he guides his clients to ensure a smooth and profitable transition when they decide to leave their businesses.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Founders can't scale businesses without delegating decisions.

05:00 Failure to document and lack of guidance.

09:04 Evaluates current business value and improvement areas.

11:19 Found "why" through "The E Myth Revisited."

15:53 Dependence on one entity risks business stability.

17:30 Daily practices essential for business innovation, diversification.

20:43 Subscribe for guest updates and podcast replays.

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Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Business coach, certified exit planning adviser, business owners, exit plan, business life, retirement, traumatic event, crisis, business challenge, independence, salable company, scaling, founder, decision-making, documentation, systems, automation, business valuation, free advice, business valuation calculator, industry, revenue, profits, readiness, business innovation, Michael Gerber, The E Myth Revisited, recurring revenue, customer base, business buyer, business value, strategic buyer.

SPEAKERS

Len Bruskiewitz, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:31]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science, 5 questions over coffee. Delighted this afternoon to be joined by Len, Len Bruskewitz. I'm gonna get that wrong. Aren't I, Len? But, that

Len Bruskiewitz [00:00:43]:

was a good That was a pretty good run. Pretty good run at it.

Stuart Webb [00:00:48]:

Len is a business coach, and he's a certified exit planning adviser. That's a conversation I'm really interested in having because so many business owners don't think about their exit nearly early enough in their business life. You start a business and then you suddenly realize, there's a crisis in life or there's a time to think about retirement. And then you ask the question, well, how long is it gonna take you to get out of this business? It's nearly always longer than you think. You need to start thinking about this much earlier in your business life.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:01:15]:

So I think this is going to be a really excellent conversation. And I'm really delighted that

Stuart Webb [00:01:15]:

Len has made a few minutes in his day to join us to have this discussion. So welcome to It's Not Rocket Science 5 Questions Over Coffee, Len.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:01:29]:

Great. Thank you, Stuart. I'm I'm, I'm really happy to be here and and, looking forward to sharing some information with, with your viewers and listeners.

Stuart Webb [00:01:38]:

So I may have sort of cited, already to sort of tee you up on who the person is that you help, but let's just let's just let's just fully understand exactly sort of what the business owner is that you help, how you how you sort of how they should be identifying themselves.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:01:55]:

Yeah. You you absolutely hit it. You know, if if I think about who my ideal client is, it's a business owner, probably 1 to $15,000,000 in revenue. And the the challenge that they're facing is what you hit upon. About 60% of business owners don't have any kind of written exit plan. And that's a big challenge because as you said, once a traumatic event happens, you know, a death, divorce, disability, it's too late. And it's also too late when you say, I wanna be out of this business in a year. Right? That's it's too late.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:02:36]:

You need you need some time. Right? And and so that's the biggest challenge I see. Right? But if you think about when when I start working with a client, the biggest challenge that that I have is helping them get independence from their business. Right? You know, if it's the case where every decision runs through them, everything to run the businesses up in their head, nobody else can can do anything, that ends up leading to a company that's worth next to nothing, unfortunately. So that's, yeah, that's the biggest challenge. Once I start working with somebody is to get them to back away, from the day to day and and, you know, let make the company salable.

Stuart Webb [00:03:22]:

Yes. Interesting interesting line. You've you've used a couple of real key terms because I deal with businesses who are sort of really scaling, and they have the same image. You have the same problems. You know? You have a founder who's there making every decision, and you cannot scale a business if the only person in the business that can make a decision is the founder. And when they go on holiday, they don't make a decision. In fact, so many of them don't even bother to go on holiday because they know it's a problem. So you've just started me into the sort of the second bit of this discussion, which is, so what are the things they've tried to do themselves before they sort of suddenly come across somebody like you that sort of changes all of that?

Len Bruskiewitz [00:04:01]:

Yeah. I think I think there are a couple things they they think they do or or, make an effort at.

Stuart Webb [00:04:07]:

Up, please.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:04:09]:

One of the first ones is they think they've communicated well, to their family, to their employees, and in in in essence, they haven't. Right? I'll I'll just use an example of some data around succession. Right? So the idea of of a older generation with the idea to pass along the business to a younger generation. Data says about 50% of the older generation think that the younger generation is going to take over. In reality, that only happens about 25% of the time. So you've got a big gap there. And what does that do to? It's because the 2 parties haven't communicated well enough and it's the same to employees. Right? Am I going to sell this business? Am I going to sell it to you, the employees or the management? So communication is definitely one of the biggest things that they do.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:05:00]:

The other is just waiting too long. You've hinted at it before. You know, they know they need to document everything that's going on in their business, but, you know, it's just easier because I know it in my head, I, you know, I'll just do it and then something happens and and it's really a a can be a pretty traumatic experience. The final thing is that, they try things but they don't have any kind of sounding board. Right? Running a business is pretty lonely, and, they just don't have the the background and what it takes to get to get a business ready because for most business owners, this is their one and only time that they are transitioning out of a business. So they just don't know what they need to do and they're, you know, there shouldn't steps you need to take. And so that's a big piece of what they think they've tried but haven't really done all that well.

Stuart Webb [00:05:53]:

Then you you hit about something very interesting there, which is documentation. And and once again, in my work, I spend an awful lot of my time working with people with documentation and systems to automate things largely because once again, it makes a business scalable, but it also ensures these businesses don't run into those repeated errors, which so often the full cause business valuations to crash. But but I read, and I I don't know whether or not this is your experience, but a business is is often 2 to 3 times more valuable if it's just got simple documentation which tells other people how to run the business so that somebody else can step in and start running it fairly immediately. And I don't have to go through the pain of trying to work out how on earth everything works around here.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:06:36]:

I completely agree with that data. And if you think about the the things if you if you think about the other side, what what absolutely crushes the value of a company? It's that lack of independence, lack of documentation, and bad accounting. Right? Those three things, are are the killers. But but I agree with you. Documentation feels like such an important thing for many reasons. You know, exit aside, just making the business run better, but but there isn't that rigor. I think it's always a, I mean to do this, but the status quo is just easier to, to maintain.

Stuart Webb [00:07:16]:

And it's it's true, isn't it, that you, you know, you find yourself fighting fires everywhere. And and then when somebody turns around and says, we should write down what happens is, well, we're never gonna get into that problem again, so why should we? So, you know, it becomes just one of those self fulfilling prophecies, doesn't it?

Len Bruskiewitz [00:07:33]:

It absolutely does. So, you know, this is a I think this is a human problem. Right? I I mean, everybody deals with this in their personal life, in their business life. It's hard to take the time even though, you know, the data will tell you that 5 minutes here is going to save you, you know, 50 minutes down the road or 500 minutes, whatever the multiple is.

Stuart Webb [00:07:56]:

Brilliant. Brilliant. Len, now this is where we get to the the really valuable thing for people who are watching or listening or, coming back to this recording, and that is I think you have got a very valuable piece of free advice that you can you can have. And I I think I've put on screen here the place where to you go in order to to get that piece of free advice. It's greater heights coaching dot com. That's greater heights coaching dot com. That that'll be in the notes. But tell us, what will we find at greater heights coaching dot com?

Len Bruskiewitz [00:08:27]:

Well, that's my personal website. So you'll find a fair bit of information about the exit planning process, about some of the options that are out there for people. But what I process, about some of the options that are out there for people. But what I really like everybody to check out is I've got a free business valuation calculator. There's a link up at the top right of the site. It takes about 15 minutes and what it does is gives you a basic idea of what your business is worth today. That's based on your industry, your location, your revenue and your profits today. And then it asks you a set of questions that really get to how ready is your business.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:09:04]:

And so what it does is it comes out with a valuation of what your business is worth today. And then based on your answers to those kind of readiness questions, it gives you an idea of how much more value is missing, and the basic areas that you need to work on in order to, you know, to close that gap between what your business is worth today and what it really could be. So it's a, you know, it's not gonna answer every question for you. But in 15 minutes, it gives you a pretty good feel for what the areas are that you could really improve upon to increase the value, should you cut to that point where you wanna turn around and sell your business down the road.

Stuart Webb [00:09:45]:

Great great piece of, great piece of of work, and I sincerely hope people go and take advantage of it because, you know, knowing the first step to knowing where you have to go is having some sort of map. And, a simple document like that, which just points out where things are missing, is the first step to a really good map.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:10:04]:

Yeah. And it's simple. Like I said, it's this isn't a this isn't a a challenging thing. It's 15 minutes, and you get some really great, really great feedback there.

Stuart Webb [00:10:15]:

Brilliant. So, Len, what what what was it in your in your in your past history? What was it that sort of brought you to this? Was there a particular experience or a program, a book, which sort of started you thinking about how do businesses or business owners exit from their business as well?

Len Bruskiewitz [00:10:33]:

Yeah. I think I I'm gonna bring up 2 points, not to cheat on the question here. The the first was an experience. I started out doing kind of generic business coaching. Right? I was helping small business owners. And one of my first clients was a 72 year old woman who had run her business with her husband for over 50 years. And, he unfortunately passed away. And as much as she was involved in the business, she really didn't have a good feel for what was going to happen to it.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:11:01]:

You know? She's 72. She said, hey. I need a plan here. So, when we first started talking, she said, Len, I can't sleep at night because I don't know what's going to happen to my business. We sat down. We worked through options. We came up with a plan. She's implementing that plan now, and she said, Len, I can sleep at night now.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:11:19]:

So to me, that was a huge, you know, kind of I think I found my why. So that was the first event. And then the the piece of of literature around that was a book by by Michael Gerber called The E Myth Revisited, which I think is just an unbelievable way. He he does a great job of laying out why most businesses aren't successful, and the hint is we've already talked about it. The the business owner is too much in the business, in the weeds of running everything and not stepping back and looking at the big picture. But to me, that book is really excellent at laying out the things that, you know, that a business owner needs to do. And that's really, you know, keep innovating, document everything. Have we talked about that before? And really understand what your metrics and business drivers are.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:12:18]:

Those are kind of the 3 key pieces to take you from, you know, a a single business to something that can scale.

Stuart Webb [00:12:27]:

I love it. Okay. We've had a really interesting discussion, but I I sense there is a question that you think I should have asked, which I haven't asked yet. This is my get away from the get away from it and not do too much work on these things, questions. So then there's a there's a question that you're thinking I should have asked by now. So come on. Tell me, what is the question you want me to ask? And then, obviously, you know the answer to the question that you've just posed.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:12:53]:

Yeah. I think a lot of people who are who are, watching this, listening to it are saying, well, how does the business get valued? So I think that's the question I would like you to ask me and and let me take a run at it. So this is really you know, it it's a bit of a loaded question because businesses are valued depending on a number of factors. So one of the factors is, you know, ultimately who the buyer is. So there are buyers that are going to ultimately pay less for a business that might be your children, right, or your employees. Or it may be somebody who just wants to kinda run come in and run the business. They're they're gonna probably pay a little bit higher. The highest, value payers are those who this business is strategic to them.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:13:39]:

So they can take what you're doing and leverage it with what they're doing. Right? Maybe it's an opportunity for them to sell additional things, your product to their customers or their product to your customers, whatever. So that usually yields the highest value. So so that's a big it depends answer on who the buyer is. But I wanna go one level below that and say, how is value driven regardless of who they are.

Stuart Webb [00:14:03]:

Great question. Great question.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:14:05]:

Yeah. And so this is this is one that I think will surprise some people. Only about 20% of the value of a company is are the things that you can see externally. So what's the status of the market? What's the company's kind of position within that market? Only about 20% of the value is driven that way. Fully 80% of the value of a company is driven by what are called the intangibles. Right? And these are we I I think about this in 4 big categories. Right? So we call them the 4 c's. They're different kinds of capital.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:14:41]:

The first one is the structural capital. So are your processes documented? Do you have metrics in place that you understand? Right? So those that's one big piece. And again, that's that translates really well to somebody else who wants to buy the business. The second one is the customer capital. So do you have recurring revenue? Is all of your revenue dependent on 1 or 2 customers? That's a huge risk if it is. Right? So how dependable is your future revenue? How dispersed is it amongst different customers? That's customer capital. The third one is social. This is really what's the culture of your company.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:15:20]:

Is there owner independence or not? Right? And the final one is the human capital. So do you have a great team? Is there some know how within your company that nobody else has? That again, if you do, that's a huge value adder. If you don't, that doesn't add a ton of value. So I think about those those intangible things that are built into your company that are only visible from the inside, really. And that's what drives the vast majority of the the value in a business.

Stuart Webb [00:15:53]:

Do you know it's, it's interesting you you've you've made 2 comments, in the last couple of minutes, which I think, is not well enough understood. Maybe I'll just expand that to 3, having said that then. But let's say, the power of 1 is something which I worry about a lot with with businesses. They are often dependent upon 1 business, 1 customer, 1 supplier, 1 route to market. I was in a position like that with one of my businesses where I had one very large customer and when they canceled that contract, you can imagine the devastation that had upon the business. It it meant basically restarting from scratch trying to build a customer base. We had relied upon this customer for a very, very long time, and they just seem to be reliable until eventually it was one day, yeah, we're canceling. We're no longer needing 35, 40, 50%.

Stuart Webb [00:16:44]:

I think it was something about 75% of my workforce. We're all dedicated to this one customer. That can be a huge risk. But it's equally, you know, one person in your business who knows everything. You know, that can be the founder, but it can also be one key person that's been there from day 1, and you're there thinking to yourself, Joe's always been hugely reliable. They're never gonna leave, and then they do, and everything suddenly falls apart. So the power of 1 is hugely important. And the other thing that I think you just basically alluded to, which I think is really important, you know, you need to keep innovating.

Stuart Webb [00:17:19]:

If you haven't got a team that are empowered and ready to innovate, you're stymieing your own growth and causing yourself more issues than you can think of.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:17:30]:

I completely agree. And and what's what's important to to realize is that these are all daily things. Right? This isn't something you do in an annual planning process. This is these are things you have to live every day. And, you know, not not to steal too much thunder from my valuation calculator, but some of the questions some of the things you just brought up are questions. You know, are you innovating? Do you are you getting ideas throughout your organization? Are you reliant on only 1 or 2 customers? And and I think this also gets back, Stuart, to, you know, that timeline we talked about early on. Right? So if you're trying to innovate and if you're trying to to diversify your customer base, You can't do that in 30 days. Right? So my timeline when I when I talk to clients is, you know, a minimum of 2 years, and it's really 3 to 5 years, before your business is ready.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:18:25]:

And then once it's ready, now it's maintenance mode. But the reason I say that is if in in many transactions, it just once you, agree to sell your company, it's 9 months to a year before that Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:18:39]:

That's the that's the you know? Yeah.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:18:41]:

Right? So if you take 1 year, then now, okay, that's a year out. Now you've gotta get ready. If you've got, you know, some accounting maybe that's not so pleasant, you know, that takes another couple years to work its way through. Documenting all your processes. Right? Leveraging, you know, figuring out what you're really good at and going for that. It all takes time. So can you sell a company in less than 3 to 5 years? Yes. You can.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:19:07]:

But it's probably not gonna be for the value that you want because some of these things just have to happen and they take time.

Stuart Webb [00:19:15]:

And I think you've hit upon a couple of good things as well then, which is, you know, doing these things means that when somebody knocks on the door, that strategic customer that sort of, you know, you've been working with that says, you could be a really key part of my organization. I'd like to buy you. If you then turn around it's a bit like, you know, oh, I've got an opportunity. I now need to put together the document, the sales document. If if it's not there ready to go, you spend the next I don't know how long putting together your sales document, and then the opportunity is gone. So be ready at every time by putting these processes, these thinking, this stuff in place from day 1.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:19:49]:

Exactly right. You know, you you hit upon the exact, example I give. Somebody could walks in the door, and it does happen. Somebody walks in the door and says, hey. I wanna buy this business. If you say, hang on. Come back in 18 months when I'm ready. They're not coming back.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:20:08]:

Stuart Webb [00:20:08]:

Yeah. Agree. Agree. Len, it's been absolutely brilliant having this, conversation with you. We we could obviously talk far too long and probably would if we didn't bring it to a whole and bore quite a lot of people. But I think the important thing is we've left them with just enough information to think to themselves. I think I better go and have a look at greaterheightscoaching.com and see what, the valuation of my business could be. And I'm also gonna put in a plug for, my own newsletter, where I talk about the sort of brilliant people like Len, who are coming up on this podcast in in a few days.

Stuart Webb [00:20:43]:

Normally, it comes out on a Tuesday morning about that Tuesday's guest. And if you wanna go to link.thecompleteapproach.co.ukforward slash newsletter, link. Thecompleteapproach.co.ukforward slash newsletter. You can get, that newsletter delivered to your inbox just twice a week. Once with the who's coming up and you can immediately get on and ask questions of people like Len when they're here live. And then also hear them when we replay them on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all the other usual Pod places. Len, thank you so much for coming and spending some time with us. Really appreciate the effort you put in and I think if people haven't by now realize selling your business is not gonna happen if in the next 5 minutes.

Stuart Webb [00:21:28]:

You really have to prepare and think about it in the most strategic way, then, then they've they've not been listening properly. So I thank you for coming on to tell us about it.

Len Bruskiewitz [00:21:36]:

Thank you. I appreciate the time.

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Who is Endre?

Endre Hoffmann is a dynamic thought leader and aspiring author dedicated to exploring the intersection of beliefs and skill development in achieving personal and professional success. Through his writing, including his upcoming book "How to Become a 6 Star Business," Endre reflects on his own journey of self-improvement and discovery. Initially caught in repetitive cycles of behavior, he sought answers through a diverse array of self-help strategies, including meditation, reading extensively, and attending transformational events led by renowned figures like Tony Robbins and John Demartini. Endre's personal exploration underscores his belief that one’s life is ultimately shaped by the depth of their beliefs and the refinement of their skills.

Key Takeaways

04:31 Found mentor after years; now help others.

09:47 Struggles with commitment due to parental divorce.

13:15 Commit, research, follow the process, ensure results.

14:29 Commit to processes for desired results. Resources available.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

self-doubt, potential to freedom, change lives, guiding people, doctor of self doubt, relationships, self worth, transformation, personal development, mentor, meditation, books, past life regressions, hypnosis, psychologist, Tony Robbins, John Demartini, self development, limiting mindset, unlocking potential, resource, personal growth, self-discovery, symptoms, problems, solutions, commitment, results, money back guarantee, success.

SPEAKERS

Endre Hoffmann, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:31]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science 5 questions over. Well, it's, it's actually I'm just finishing, fruit tea rather than the coffee at the moment because I probably had far too much coffee today. So So I'm just gonna try and do my best to, to not overwhelm my guest today, Andre Andre Hoffmann, who is the, he calls himself the doctor of self doubt. Andre guides people from being trapped in self doubt to potential to freedom, change their minds to change their change their lives. And I'm delighted, Andre, you're here with me today, and thank you for making a few minutes, available to speak to me on my 5 questions over coffee.

Endre Hoffmann [00:01:12]:

Thanks for the invitation. I'm so happy. Hopefully, it will inspire people to step into their power. All in. Ask the questions.

Stuart Webb [00:01:20]:

Always good. That's always good. So let's start with the question. Yeah. The the first question that I have is, so so who is the person that you're trying to reach with this? What is the what is the doubt that they have, and, and how are you how are you, how do they how do you identify them? How do they identify themselves?

Endre Hoffmann [00:01:40]:

What a good question. Now I really need to go back to my old version of self, and I had a lot of doubts. It's it's having self doubt about why you're here for, what's your role or purpose in life. That was a big one for me. I wasn't feeling good enough, and I tried things that I never finished them. I I never felt that I deserve success. And I I thought I would just play small for for the rest of my life. And I felt I need to compare myself to others most of the time.

Endre Hoffmann [00:02:19]:

And my relationships have been, well, down the toilet at times because I I even even my investments, then not not feeling good enough. The the lack of self worth has put me into situations where I invested money where I've never seen it again. The the quick reach schemes, I have to say. And, then my life basically collapsed at the age of 42. So I was about to lose my health because I was driving trucks in Australia. It was not a happy time. I had 2 children. They were quite disconnected from me.

Endre Hoffmann [00:02:53]:

I worked 247. And my wife one morning said, well, is it time for us to divorce? And and this is when I usually get the call when somebody is has tried everything, and now it's it's time for a new mind to take over and, and reset them for life.

Stuart Webb [00:03:17]:

And what is it that you find that the people that you're talking to like this have tried before? What is it you tried before they come across an expert like you who can help turn around their their their self doubt, their their inability to break themselves free of these problems?

Endre Hoffmann [00:03:34]:

I believe results and I think I there's a quote, in one of the books that I was writing is called how to become a 6 star business. The quote said, your life never outperforms your, beliefs and your skill level. And and I was unconscious. I was, bringing things from the past, and I've been just, going in circles. And these circles have been well, I tried meditation. I was reading hundreds of books because I was always hoping in the next book, there is the holy grail to unlock myself. I've been doing past life regressions, seeing hypnosis, psychologist, Tony Robbins events. I've seen, record live, John Demartini.

Endre Hoffmann [00:04:31]:

So so the biggest names in personal development, but I didn't realize I was not specific enough about knowing figuring out what my problem is and then find a specialist to then solve it for me. So I spent over a $100,000 on things that didn't actually work, and I spent 13 years trying to find the answers in 75 countries while I was roaming around this planet. I just needed the right mentor that I found in Australia, and it took us, what, 6 to 12 months to to almost uncover who who I am. And this brand came out of that that transformation. I realized my 43 years of struggle of finding, looking for myself worth has has now started to make sense. Now now I know why I have gone through that struggle with my dad, and I'm never feeling loved, never feeling good enough now. I can help others to to do the same job, and I'm hoping it won't take 40 years.

Stuart Webb [00:05:48]:

So I understand you've got a a great valuable piece of advice, valuable free offer, for the people who are who are watching us today. And this, link will be in the, show notes, so I don't necessarily have to read it all out, but it's on screen at the moment. That's, if you go to the website of doctor of self worth.com and then look under doc self worth resources, doctor of self worth, and then how to discover. Tell us, what's the resource? What is it that you'll find at that link?

Endre Hoffmann [00:06:20]:

I'm giving your name my methods. And

Stuart Webb [00:06:23]:

And that's excellent.

Endre Hoffmann [00:06:25]:

And and and I think it would be too easy to to use because, you know, the biggest obstacle to personal transformations is the fact that if you are stuck in a certain limiting mind or mindset or thoughts or emotions, then unfortunately, as you are the person reading that resource, you are the person attending that event. You are filtering out most of the the stuff that is confronting you and that you probably should be doing. And

Stuart Webb [00:07:01]:

Mhmm. And

Endre Hoffmann [00:07:01]:

this is why reading books is giving you more IQ, but what you really need is a new experience of yourself. And that usually does not just happen by reading books. So please use that resource. I want you to understand where you might be stuck if you're listening to us, and and do the exercises as much as you can. What what I found after 200 books on personal growth self development that I always find a way to sell some of that.

Stuart Webb [00:07:38]:

Tell me, what you you've mentioned some of these books. Is there a particular book or a course, you've mentioned some great speakers you've been to see, that really helped you to sort of come to this point now where you now now understand yourself, you understand how you can help people to discover their own self worth?

Endre Hoffmann [00:07:57]:

I I believe Anthony Robbins is a great and fine example. Yet these events where there are thousands and thousands of people, you will not necessarily be confronting your own specific problems. It won't be solved unless you are called on stage, which is almost like the lottery ticket to win. So so they really I think the best course of action is to to get a specialist. And and this is why I give away free sessions for a whole one hour, one and a half. I don't care because whether one works with me or not, there must be big revelations, big, you know, light bulb moments, at least someone gets it. Not trying to treat the symptoms of, oh, I haven't got money. My relationships are not working, or, my health is deteriorating.

Endre Hoffmann [00:08:59]:

Sometimes these are the areas of lives that are reflecting self worth, challenges. So so once we've got the root, then at least you will work out who you need to see or you need the specialist who can deal with that. And then this is why probably people are going to the dentist states if they have a tooth problem. We're not going to see our lawyers. Right? And and these days, I believe we have wonderful, wonderful specialists, and and this is why I want to offer anyone the chance to to have that discovery call where we can, work out what's been. It's about connecting the dots. That's what people tell me usually. To connect the dots like, I had this wonderful lady about 3 weeks ago.

Endre Hoffmann [00:09:47]:

She said, well, it doesn't seem like my businesses are going well. She's started 4 and and never went and finish become successful. And what we found out, it was interesting. She was telling me all of these symptoms, and I said, well, what's been like before? Like, where did you get this behavior that you don't finish things or don't commit? And she realized when we I started to ask about the pattern, and she said, well, my parents divorced at the age of 2. And from that point, she had to these two parents had really different habits and beliefs, and she started to sort of be loved by both of them. So she she built this dual personality. And and and they wanted to be loved each other, and and she could never go one way in her in her life because it was not she's she was hope feeling that she could lose the love from the other person and and the other parent. So so she's been trying to struggle and survive with 15, 20 years of in between the 2, and they were always confronting, conflicting each other.

Endre Hoffmann [00:11:03]:

So interesting pattern.

Stuart Webb [00:11:06]:

Yes. Yes. That that's a a fascinating story, and and and I trust you you were able to help out. And I put on screen, the the link that you've just mentioned where you can get this free, consultation to in order to to really sort of help people to understand exactly how they can, they can overcome some of this, and that's at calendly.com, doctor of self worth slash meet the doctor. Andre, you've given us some great insights into into ways in which people are currently trying to to to struggle with some of these issues. But is there a question that you think I haven't asked? One that you feel I should have have asked by now that you would you would really like to sort of to to emphasize as one of the things that, that that you think is an important issue?

Endre Hoffmann [00:12:02]:

I believe that each each one of us who's listen listening now and and and looking for solutions, like, really, really simplified. And this is one of the resources on that page. If you click there, I think it's called sort your s**t out so you can get what you want. Because, like, make it so simple. Don't complicate it. Think of what are the symptoms? What are the problems that I'm dealing with in my life? And if I have all of these problems, how have I created them? What what must I been believing? Or what thoughts and emotions I might have that have created these problems. Then then all you need to do is look for someone in the world who has had the same or very similar problems. And that person with consistent results are helping others to solve the same, and they come through resolved and with wonderful break shoes.

Endre Hoffmann [00:13:15]:

Don't don't waste your time and money on anything else because why? Why would you do that? And if they have consistent results, if they have raving 5 star reviews, like, I don't know how many I have, but still 5 star standing, then commit to the process. Like, that commitment is a must have. So take every advice, follow the process, and, and I believe if you've done your research. Right? Maybe not the first one, but maybe the second or the third one will will help you. And this is why I have in that resource a few advices for you to check-in how much your results matter to these people because I do have money back guarantee for specifically that purpose because I spend over a $100,000. So the last for my mentor, I said, well, is there money back guarantee? Because I'm kind of having enough of my IQ is over the roof. Yet, I'm stuck in a life where I'm working 60 hours a week and, and I'm losing my kids in life.

Stuart Webb [00:14:29]:

Mhmm. Mhmm. Andre, I think that's a a wonderful way to to to finish this, which is, you know, the look for the person that has the results and commit to their process, which is the secret that you need in order to be able to sort of move yourself forward rather than spinning and watching other people and and then just trying to emulate it. It is about sticking with that process that you know will produce the results that you're looking for. And so, I just go back to your link and say, if you go to doctor of self worth and look for self worth resources, doctor of self worth, and then look for the how to discover, you will get the resources I believe you'll need. I'm gonna finish with, a a link of my own, where, if you would like to get on a a mailing list so that every week you get an email that tells you about the people that are coming up on these, live in, discussions where you can hear this sort of wisdom and hear this sort of, amazing content which allows people to to move forward in their business, in their life, go to this which is httpscolonforward/forward/link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk. That's link.thecompleteapproach dotco.ukforward/newsletter. Get onto that, onto that, form.

Stuart Webb [00:15:56]:

It's a simple form. It just asks for your first name, your email. That's it. You'll just get an email once a week, which basically just explains who's coming on, what they're about so that you can join in and listen to some really great wisdom. And I wanna thank Andre, the doctor of self worth, for making a few minutes with us this evening to just talk a little bit about what exactly he does and how he helps people. So, Andre, thank you so much for your time.

Endre Hoffmann [00:16:22]:

See you very soon.

Stuart Webb [00:16:27]:

Thank you, Andre.

Endre Hoffmann [00:16:28]:

Thanks.

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Who is Catrina?

Catrina Clulow is a seasoned business consultant renowned for her meticulous approach to market segmentation and customer persona development. With a focus on empowering her clients to achieve precise targeting, Catrina advocates for an in-depth understanding of potential customers by creating detailed personas. She encourages businesses to go beyond surface-level insights by identifying characteristics such as age, job titles, earning potential, and qualifications. By understanding where personas gather information—be it on social media platforms like Threads or X—and their roles within decision-making units, Catrina helps companies tailor their messages effectively. Her strategic guidance enables businesses to position their products successfully, ensuring they meet the unique needs of users, budget holders, and technical advisers alike. Through her expertise, Catrina Clulow has become a trusted advisor for companies striving to refine their target market strategies.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Need detailed client personas for targeted messaging.

05:59 Technical experts struggle with effective communication skills.

08:33 Free resource for identifying target customers available.

11:59 Katrina provides foundational insights for impactful change.

14:51 10 minutes boosted their order without cost.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

https://scientificvaluebuildingmachine.online/

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

marketing executive, fractional marketing director, small businesses, medium sized businesses, international technology marketing, start-up technology businesses, tech founder led, ideal customer, marketing services, target market, decision making unit, engineering side, defining client, marketing budget, marketing journey, commercial side, technical adviser, marketing budget effectively, technology sector, customer experience, verbiage explanation, product marketing, promotional aspects, marketing process, sales process optimization, software as a service, order completion, purchase process, buyer drop-off, marketing foundations.

SPEAKERS

Catrina Clulow, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:31]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science, 5 questions over, coffee. This is my coffee, which I have in front of me. I shall need this today to keep me, caffeinated. I'm here, and I'm delighted to be joined by Katrina Clulo. Katrina is a, marketing, executive and and fractional marketing, director for small businesses, mid medium sized businesses. She's got over 30 years of experience in international technology marketing. So I'm really looking forward to having a discussion with Katrina about how she helps those small and medium sized businesses really make a difference and understand how to use their marketing budget effectively. So welcome to the podcast, Katrina.

Catrina Clulow [00:01:14]:

Many thanks, Stuart. Glad to be here.

Stuart Webb [00:01:17]:

Terrific. So, Katrina, let's start by, the obvious question. So to to who is the sort of, ideal customer that you are trying to help with your marketing services?

Catrina Clulow [00:01:29]:

Yeah. My ideal client tends to be start up small technology businesses. That's why I've got my 30 years experience. They're typically between seed and series a, and they are typically a tech founder led. So on the engineering side, they're very well defined. But on the more commercial side, they find they have an issue really defining who their ideal client is.

Stuart Webb [00:01:55]:

Mhmm.

Catrina Clulow [00:01:55]:

They don't have the budget for full time CMO. They may be flirting with the idea of a fractional CMO. But at the time I start to work with them, they typically start off with a target market of everyone or all b to b businesses, and that is just not gonna give them the knowledge of the hurdles that their clients face and they won't know where to place the messages or the type of language to use. So it's those companies that are just starting out with their on their marketing journey.

Stuart Webb [00:02:29]:

It's a it's a it's a common problem, isn't it, Katrina? Too many people think they could be all things to all people, and yet Yeah. Effectively, what they're doing is they're diluting their marketing budget by throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping that some of it sticks. And Yeah. You know, I know from, I know from from from experience that, you know, spaghetti, unless it's properly cooked, doesn't stick at all, or, you end up in a situation where it's just a mess and you can't actually work out what you're supposed to be doing. So it is a it is a problem to try and market to everybody, which too few people recognize as a problem and think of it as a strength.

Catrina Clulow [00:03:06]:

Yeah. Yeah. And it as you say, it just dilutes everything. They just really need to get into the nitty gritty of who they're targeting. And I tend to suggest to my clients that they really go down into detail as in the so far as that they'll actually give a name to the persona. And once they've got that name, they can visualize in their minds, they know their age range, their job titles, their earning potential, their qualifications. Do they are they on threads? Are they on x? Are they on blue skies? You know, where are they sitting? Where are they getting their information from? What are the main issues that they face? And where do they sit in that decision making unit? Are they a user, a budget holder, technical adviser? Because everybody needs slightly different messages so that you can get your product in in front of them and successfully ordered. So a lot of companies don't go into enough detail on building these ideal clients.

Stuart Webb [00:04:19]:

And it's so important to understand the language they use as well, isn't it? Otherwise, you're talking to them in a language which they don't recognize. They they don't recognize themselves in the way that you're they're with the way that you are projecting to them.

Catrina Clulow [00:04:32]:

Yeah. And I've consistently said even when I was working as an IT reseller back in 19 nineties, I remember turning around to the MD and saying, look, I translate your technical speak into finance director speak. I make it more commercial. They understand it because if you just do go off with your technical jargon, they switch off, you've lost the sale. Actually, work out how you're making their lives easier, how you're making their business more profitable, they're going to listen, they're going to invest. So, yeah, there's a lot of that translation needs to happen, especially in the technology sector from bits and bytes into what that actually means. Nobody really cares if you've written the back end in c plus plus or Python or whatever. Yeah.

Catrina Clulow [00:05:30]:

They just wanna know that it's gonna do the job that you say it's gonna do. And you so that's why you really need to know your ideal clients inside out.

Stuart Webb [00:05:41]:

And and what are the things that you found that these business owners that you were speaking to, these these founders, these excellent engineers that you come across that that are they try to do for themselves and have somehow failed to manage to make make real until you've you you come look up come along and help them.

Catrina Clulow [00:05:59]:

Yeah. Yeah. I tend to find because my background's really weird. K? My first degree is in German. That's an arty farty subject, isn't it? My master's is in computing. It's like, okay. That's a sciency person. And I tend to find that those that are the technical don't necessarily have the skill set to do the the verbiage, to do that ex explanation because they understand it inside out, but they don't know how to put that across and that's, a bit of a a bit of an issue and that's why they need somebody or they're too close, too up close to the what they're dealing with that they forget to take the step back and see it from their customer's point of view, because they get so down in the dirt making sure that the tech's working, they forget to take that step back to work out how they're actually gonna take this to market.

Catrina Clulow [00:07:11]:

Brilliant.

Stuart Webb [00:07:12]:

Katrina, I think you've got a a a an offer that you've you've made available to people watching us that that's gonna help them with this, Yeah. This problem. And that's to understand who it is that they're trying to work with. And and as you say, the the incredible value behind actually understanding who it is you're talking to and and what the solution that you have for them so that you can explain this in their language is is is the basis of all of marketing.

Catrina Clulow [00:07:43]:

Yeah. Yeah. And so the, URL that's flying across the screen at the moment, people go there. That's a PDF downloadable workbook that actually takes people through step by step. Some bits are b to c related, some bits are b to b related. There is one page which is specifically for technology companies, but you do all these relevant sections for you and so it ends up so that in your head, you'll know that you're actually marketing to Katie and Steve, but the other campaigns out there for for Ricky and James or whatever. So it is it's there. Free of charge.

Catrina Clulow [00:08:26]:

Go download it. What have you got to lose? It'll help you walk you through that process.

Stuart Webb [00:08:33]:

And I'll just give you the URL, which will be in the show notes for this, for this for this podcast, but that's www.cutthrough, and that's c u t t h r o u g h dot marketing slash ideal hyphen customer hyphen profile. So that's www.cutthrough.marketingidealcustomerprofile. Go down, go download that, an excellent free resource which can help you to really get clarity on who it is you're trying to speak to so that you can get your service or product in front of them. Katrina, I mean, is there a particular I mean, you've given us a very interesting sort of background to your to your to to your journey to how you became this chartered marketer. But, tell me, what is it? Is there a particular book or a particular course or something which took you from German student to science, computer science graduate through to, through to somebody that actually now helps organizations to do their marketing?

Catrina Clulow [00:09:37]:

Well, there are a variety of people, and they tend to be the people that tell me something is not possible. So for example, I wanted to study computing at school, and my headmaster, mister Hague, sat me down and told me that I couldn't study computing at school, and this is going to date me because it was only available as a CSE, not an o level, and I needed to select another o level. And, it was anyway, it was a subject for boys. He literally said that. We are talking in the mid eighties. I was the only girl in the computing club, the school. And I never got that out of my system. So when I graduated from my German degree, it was in that 1991, 1992 lovely recession and there weren't a lot of graduate jobs around.

Catrina Clulow [00:10:37]:

So I was offered a conversion masters into computing, and I went and did it. But what I found was I really enjoyed computing. I really enjoyed what computing could do for us. I really hated the actual programming bit. It was just translating from English into computing speak. So that's why I went into the marketing side and used my computing knowledge so I developed a CRM before CRM was a term that people had heard of for the first company I worked for. So that is I have had a variety of people through my life. I've had careers advisers at university tell me, you know what, Katrina? You should women aren't list literally said to me early nineties, women are not successful in business.

Catrina Clulow [00:11:34]:

Why don't you go into teaching? So when somebody tells me something that's not possible, then I just go out to prove them wrong, and I really enjoy the work I do with marketing. It's translating from text speak into people speak, and it's actually helping the organizations I work with be successful, but also their clients be successful.

Stuart Webb [00:11:59]:

Fantastic. Fantastic. Katrina, you've given us a a great insight into the importance of, well, I was gonna say niching down, but that's a that sounds like it's a bit of a bit of jargon. So I'm gonna avoid saying that immediately because, I don't want people to think as we're talking talking jargonization. But you've given an an insight into to the real foundations of how you you make a a difference. But, there must be one question that I haven't asked, which you would have really liked me to have asked at this point. So is there something that you're saying to yourself at the moment internally? Gosh. I wish you'd get to the point or I wish you'd get to this question so that I can answer it.

Stuart Webb [00:12:39]:

And and, obviously, now that you've got I've externalized that, you're now gonna have to ask that question and then answer it for us, please.

Catrina Clulow [00:12:45]:

Yeah. I think that there's a lot of confusion about marketing. A lot of people think that marketing has to cost a lot of money. They equate marketing with advertising and promotional activity, but the answer is definitely not. Marketing doesn't have to cost you a lot of money. There's an awful lot that you can do with the various marketing piece for wanting for an a bit of jargon there that doesn't cost any money. And getting those elements right, whether it's the people, the processes, the physical evidence, how you're going to market, which route you're going to market your product and plan it. Okay.

Catrina Clulow [00:13:30]:

I that's a p I tend to slip in these days. If you get all of those right, you don't need to spend as much money on promotional aspects. But all of that builds on the customer experience and they don't cost any additional money. So I can give you one example of a client I work with. Typical engineering company. They've developed this software as a service. People were starting the purchase on that website but then were dropping off before they got to the end of it. I took a very quick look at their process and they got 14 steps.

Catrina Clulow [00:14:07]:

No no buyer is gonna go through 14 individual steps. And then to just to buy the software. And then they, they've got about 7 drop off points. So I reworked their process, got rid of anything that really didn't need to be there, automated as much as I could so that we got down to a process of 5 steps. There were 2 drop off points. The first one was the company name that was making the purchase, and you can't get away from that. The second one was the credit card details or invoice numb or purchase order number. And again, you can't get away from that.

Catrina Clulow [00:14:51]:

But me spending, and it was literally was 10 minutes of my time, me spending that 10 minutes increased their order take. Didn't cost them any money. There was no great big Google Ads campaign out there. It just was what

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Who is Kim?

Kim Morgan is a dynamic individual driven by a profound desire to facilitate change in people's lives. Through introspection and thoughtful inquiry, she discovered a unifying theme among those she engages with: a shared aspiration to transform aspects of their lives, careers, and relationships. Kim is passionate about helping others break free from repetitive patterns and Groundhog Day scenarios that hinder personal growth. Whether it's boosting confidence, altering behaviors, or achieving health and well-being goals, Kim is committed to empowering individuals to make meaningful, lasting changes. Her insightful approach inspires others to break the cycle and embrace a renewed sense of self as they strive for improvement.

Key Takeaways

05:33 Insightful analysis of targeting business offerings effectively.

09:08 Unintended consequences complicate scientific research processes.

12:50 Self-consistency theory explains resisting personal change.

17:22 Discussed reluctance to chase clients for payment.

20:18 Choose between unchanged future or transformation chair.

23:00 Properly planning takes time, also benefits business.

24:50 Visualize failure to prevent project mistakes.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

https://scientificvaluebuildingmachine.online/

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Kim Morgan, coaching journey, personal development, NLP, Freudian psychotherapy, Carl Rogers, humanistic therapy, coaching course, Nancy Cline, Time to Think, active listening, team communication, family estrangement, research, podcast, Stuart Webb, It's Not Rocket Science, client transformation, CEO coaching, relationship change, confidence building, behavior patterns, mindset shift, technical difficulties, payment reluctance, leadership style, vision chairs exercise, premortem technique, business planning, neurobiological patterns.

SPEAKERS

Kim Morgan, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:31]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science 5 questions over coffee. I better not show you the logo on this particular mug it's advertising. Kim, have you got something refreshing in front of me or is

Kim Morgan [00:00:43]:

it just I'm sorry. I forgot it was meant to be coffee.

Stuart Webb [00:00:48]:

Oh, well

Kim Morgan [00:00:48]:

water. It's 5 questions over water.

Stuart Webb [00:00:52]:

It's 5 questions over water or any other drink, gin, is also acceptable, I'm sure. But anyway, I'm really delighted to be today in front of Kim Morgan. Kim is an exceptional, coach. She has over 25 years of experience in working in coaching, and and she believes that, that her using the coaching methods that she's been working, she's she's worked with CEOs. We've worked with parents. She's worked with families, and she believes in the power of coaching. It has a unique, insight into coaching. So, Kim, I'm really delighted to to be here in front of you today talking to you about this.

Stuart Webb [00:01:28]:

So thank you for make making a few minutes to come onto It's Not Rocket Science, 5 questions over whatever drink you have in front of you.

Kim Morgan [00:01:37]:

Thank you, Stuart. I'm thrilled to be here. We made it after a couple

Stuart Webb [00:01:42]:

of board

Kim Morgan [00:01:42]:

starts, didn't we?

Stuart Webb [00:01:43]:

We did. We did. Pim, let's start with let's start with that coaching. Let's start with, who it is you're trying to help. We've mentioned CEOs. We've mentioned families. We've mentioned parents. You know, what is the sort of the the thing that that brings those people? What's the the problem they have, the the issue that they have that that you are looking to help them to to resolve?

Kim Morgan [00:02:08]:

Do you know, Stuart, this is such a good question. Yeah. I, yeah, I had advanced warning of this question, and and it just threw me actually because I immediately went to you're right. We provide coaching in so many contexts. We provide it in house. We provide it to individuals. We we teach coaches how to coach. So I was like, well, there isn't a client.

Kim Morgan [00:02:33]:

But it was just a really good business question because it forced me to think, yeah, what do they all have in common? What do they all share that brings us? So so thank you for that. It was it was really helpful. So I I came to the conclusion that it is they all want to make a change. But, you know, it's it's as general as that, but they all want to make a change which will improve their lives, their career, their relationships, how they feel about themselves. And those changes include, you know, anything you could think of, but confidence changed their behaviors, their repeating patterns, those things that go, oh, here I I am again. You know? It's Groundhog Day. I thought I sorted this, but I'm back again in this familiar place. Might be health, well-being, that sense of, you know, every new year, we write those resolutions that we aren't gonna walk 10,000 steps a day, and then it's the 31st December and we haven't.

Kim Morgan [00:03:39]:

So, finances, levels of assertiveness, their leadership style, how they manage, their business performance. It can be anything, but they want to change it for the better. That's what Kim,

Stuart Webb [00:03:52]:

I love that.

Kim Morgan [00:03:53]:

Unifies all of them.

Stuart Webb [00:03:55]:

I'm so glad you've done that. Thank you. I'm so glad you were able to clarify it.

Stuart Webb [00:05:33]:

I'm delighted you can hear me again. Let me just go back to what you're saying, Kim, because I think it's brilliant insight. And it's one of those things that I I spent I spent a lot of my time with business owners who who tell me they can they can work with anybody or they tell me their their product is absolutely, appropriate for everyone. And they don't do what you've just done, which is actually truly drill down and think of the one thing that they're trying to do to understand exactly therefore how they can make their pitch, make their service or product really, appropriate for the person they're trying to fit people. Yeah. And so glad that you you were able to show how effective a question that one was by actually sort of doing that analysis.

Kim Morgan [00:06:20]:

So thank you. I'm nothing if not obedient. I take questions very seriously.

Stuart Webb [00:06:27]:

I like that very much. Okay, Kim. So let's get back on track. You've done a great job of of identifying what it is that who it is that you're trying to to talk to. So let me just understand now. You've got this this this person. What is it they've tried to do, before coming to an expert like you to try to, understand what it is that you can do to help them?

Kim Morgan [00:06:52]:

So I think they've tried to change. I think they've tried all the usual things. You know, maybe they've bought a self help book or a business book. Maybe they've been on some training courses. Maybe they've just set themselves some goals and bought a journal, and and I'm not knocking any of those things. Those things are all valuable things to do in the process. But I think what they don't know is just how complex and sophisticated and challenging making real lasting change particularly to our very ingrained sort of beliefs and behaviors can be. And I I think most people kind of assume that if we decide to make a change, we follow the required steps, and the change will follow.

Kim Morgan [00:07:50]:

But you know what we know, and this is where I think coaches really come in, and certainly, I hope most coaches operate in this way. I know barefoot coaches do because this is what we really sort of major on, a deep understanding of how change happens and how it doesn't happen. So the factors that bring about change and also the complexity of our kind of neurobiological, psychological, familial, physical, historical patterns of behavior that just become entrenched. And despite the best of intentions, like I said before, we just, like, find ourselves reverting in, like, simp you know, in the most simplest ways, trying to brush our teeth with the other hands is almost impossible. So think about trying to completely change your leadership style from, like, very people pleasing to slightly more authoritative or vice versa. It's really hard to do without knowing everything you need to do to be able to do it. So that I think that's where we come in.

Stuart Webb [00:09:08]:

And I think that's a really great summary of what some most people find themselves in because, you know, the the the problem that we all face, of course, is as you've said. You know, I look back at my history, my history as a a scientist. When I think about some of the experiments that I was trying to do when I was still a simple simple scientist working my way through the the various bits of the the cell that I was working on and the the interactions, you can never see quite what the unintended consequences of certain actions are, can you? No. You you make one simple change and it was the basis of sort of scientific research. You make a change and you go, well, I didn't expect that. That's just completely, completely blown me. And now I've got to think of a reason why that's happened then, test whether that's going to happen again. And that's quite a complicated thing when you're dealing with just, you know, what I was dealing with, which was simple bits of cells and DNA and viruses.

Stuart Webb [00:10:02]:

But Yeah. But you're dealing with an entire human being and the way that they interact internally and with the whole of the world.

Kim Morgan [00:10:08]:

Yeah. And it it's really huge. You've just made me remember a client years ago who had, a strong regional accent, and this was a long time ago back in the day when organisations used to say, if you want to get on around here, young man, you're gonna have to get some elocution lessons. So he did. He trotted off to get some elocution lessons and gradually sort of practiced and came home, to his family and started speaking in a really plummy voice. But, actually, they all fell about laughing. They didn't support it at all. None of his friends did.

Kim Morgan [00:10:48]:

A simple example like that, made him just give up because he didn't want his family treating him in that way. You know, even something that was quite easy to change, there are external forces that oppose it, but there are also so many internal forces. As a scientist, you probably know the term homeostasis, do you? I do. Which you can probably explain it better than I can, but it's been adopted by coaching, which is any kind of systems' tendency to revert to a set state. So is that about right?

Stuart Webb [00:11:31]:

That's about right. That's about right.

Kim Morgan [00:11:33]:

Thank you. So my best example is our temperature. Whether it is boiling hot outside or in the Arctic, our body will be looking to maintain our temperature at at, you know, that, ideal temperature. And exactly the same happens with our behaviors. In spite of all the kind of actions that we do, we will find ourselves reverting to what's familiar. And I've worked as a therapist. I've worked with families. I've worked with families where there have been year long kind of interventions to stop the patterns of behaviors in the families where they all have their role, you know, the placator, the the kind of aggressor, the person who just sits there and doesn't participate in it all.

Kim Morgan [00:12:25]:

Lots of work. Lots of times after all that intervention, they go home and almost as if by magic, they slot back into those places that are so familiar. So this is what we're battling against, really. It's often also called self consistency theory. And if I can just, like, share a few more examples from

Stuart Webb [00:12:49]:

research Please do.

Kim Morgan [00:12:50]:

Research from self consistency theory. There's there, are, you know, there are lots of studies of people who've won the lottery. Not all of them do this, but there's a real been a real tendency for people who've come into lots of money to suddenly, you know, go about losing it, almost unconsciously wanting to get back to what they know, the world that they know. I there was a study out recently about, weight loss in, weight loss programs, and there's a 97% recidivism rate. So after doing all that, 97% of people go back to where they once were, and some and some even put on a bit more weight than that too. Couples and family therapy, you know, the same thing. I've already mentioned it. So so this is what we're battling against, and that's why even if you're trying to make a change, you you just don't know that all this stuff is going on inside you, and a coach will be able to help you.

Kim Morgan [00:13:55]:

I I often say that a coach when people say, how do you describe coaching? There's lots of there's lots of sort of, you know, fairly dry, explanations of coaching. But the one that I landed on years ago was, like, being a business book or a self development book that's come to life that actually holds your feet to the fire. That tells you, you know, and makes you do those exercises.

Stuart Webb [00:14:22]:

Yes. And it's so important, isn't it? And you you talk about weight loss. I mean, it there are so many factors which actually begin to sort of play into that space. You you know, there's evidence that it's not only your psychology, but your body. There are so many things which are fighting against you making that progress. So you you can you you need to you need to have some some way of reflecting on that. You need to have somebody who's helping you to see the unseen. There's a concept that you'll probably know but far better than me, the Johari window, which is where you don't see your own behaviors unless somebody actually sort of points them at you because they're hidden to you.

Stuart Webb [00:15:00]:

And and and it's that where I think so often there's people who are sort of saying, well, don't worry about we we can get through, but we don't actually see, the the the sort of the thing the impacts we have. And I was saying about, you know, the unintended consequences. So much of what we do have these unintended consequences that we don't even notice, and we do need somebody to help us find them. We do need help somebody to help us work back towards how those, impact upon not only yourself, but on the people that you're hoping to affect.

Kim Morgan [00:15:28]:

Yeah. Definitely. Definitely. And, you know, these play out too. I I was thinking about coming on to this, podcast today. I was thinking about something that's happened really recently in my own business, actually. Because I would say that, generally, we at, therefore, are people pleasers. We have really strong people pleasing traits.

Kim Morgan [00:15:52]:

I guess that's why we got into this business. We wanna make people feel better, and we want people to feel good. And that has tremendous advantages in our business because, you know, we build rapport and empathy easily, I hope. But it has downsides too. And this week, the downside really hit me because our, accountant sent me the usual kind of monthly management accounts. And I and for the first time, I really looked at our accounts payable, and our accounts receivables. And I've noticed that we pay people really quickly, and we get paid really slowly. And and and that's not you know, that that's a great example.

Kim Morgan [00:16:43]:

That's really nothing to do with knowing about accounting because we do. Our own sort of desire to kind of put other people's needs before ours is even showing itself in that way. And and and in addition to that, I noticed that my accountant had mentioned that, you know, quite a few people have owed us money, and she'd said, I I've given them a gentle nudge. And I thought, gentle nudge? Isn't that telling that here we are, our sort of beliefs and behaviors manifesting themselves even in that organizational context?

Stuart Webb [00:17:22]:

Kim Kim Kim, you you've you've hit up on a you've hit up on a spot that we could spend the rest of this this this week discussing, but I had a discussion with a client recently who turned around to me and said, almost exactly what you've said, which is one of those, oh, I do hate chasing people for money. And I said, would you prefer to just put a note at the bottom of your invoice with keep your money, I don't really want it. And they went, oh, good grief. No. I don't mean that. And I said, you've just told me that's exactly what you've said. You basically said you don't chase them. You would prefer to let them keep the invoice and just not pay it.

Stuart Webb [00:17:55]:

And and I have to ask the question, where would your business do if everybody did that? And they looked at me as if to say, well, you're just being silly now. But it's exactly what people do, isn't it? They they turn around and go, I've given you my time. I've given you my skills. I've given you my expertise, but I don't really want to charge you for it because that feels dirty. Yeah. I it's nice. Somehow that money is dirty.

Kim Morgan [00:18:16]:

Yeah. It's really rife, particularly in the sort of helping professions. But but that point that point is really valid for what we're talking about here in terms of, you know, just changing a behavior, doing some training, or reading a book about how to run a business isn't enough unless unless you have somebody help you examine the beliefs and the patterns that are driving your behaviors. And that's where the challenge really happens.

Stuart Webb [00:18:48]:

Let's turn, I hope, to the thing where we can give some people some, some some free advice. Now, I've put on here a a link to your your podcast and webinars where I believe you've got some fantastic free webinars. That's on barefootcoaching.co.ukforward/podcasthyphen and hyphen webinars. But I believe you've got other giveaways that you are keen to sort of talk to people about. So tell us about the exercise that you are hoping to walk people through.

Kim Morgan [00:19:20]:

Great. Thank you. So first of all, I'm gonna talk you through this exercise as as sort of carefully and as quickly as I can given the time limitations. But if you want to contact

Stuart Webb [00:19:33]:

I will I will cut I will cut you off when eventually I get bored of listening to you. So I'll try and wrap it up by, try and wrap it up within an hour.

Kim Morgan [00:19:42]:

Alright. I'll do the same. But, yeah, if people want me to send them the instructions for this, kim@barefootcoaching.co.uk. Well, just write to me. I'll I'll send you a free sort of download of how to do this. But this is one exercise that you can use for yourselves, you can use for others that just really, really works and then and sort of engages you with the consequences of your everyday decisions and behaviors. We call it vision chairs. It's as simple as this.

Kim Morgan [00:20:18]:

You put I like to put 2 actual chairs in front of myself at some distance away. 2 chairs, and you have in your mind the change that you'd like to make. And you, determine which of those chairs represents a chair of no change. A chair where in 3 or 5 years' time, actually, you never got around to it and things are just as they are today, or a chair of change. The chair that says, I did it. I'm somewhere else. I'm do I'm behaving differently. And you simply look, you know, you first of all, you look at that future chair in 3 years' time where there's no change, and you see what you see.

Kim Morgan [00:21:04]:

You notice what you notice. Very often, you know, some people go, that'd be okay. You know, I'm fine. But very often, people will go, actually, it hasn't stayed the same. It's got worse. It's got worse because I haven't done anything about my fitness, and therefore, it wouldn't stay the same. If I want to be really kind of brutally challenging to people, I'll keep putting another chair behind that one and another chair behind that one. So, okay, let's look at 10 years' time what the impact will be.

Kim Morgan [00:21:35]:

I I want to say I've used this really successfully with, sort of things like smoking cessation, and I've also used it highly successfully when working with police forces who wanted women victims of domestic abuse to actually go to court. Because it's challenge it can be challenging in those situations to see where I might be if I don't do anything. But, you know, coaching is about empathetic provocation. It's about ruthless compassion. It's no good going, oh, you're doing really well. It's sometimes we have to, like, show people where their behaviors might take them. So do that. You know, whatever it is, you might go, you know what? It doesn't matter that much or actually, I don't wanna be there.

Kim Morgan [00:22:22]:

Then come back, look at the other chair, the chair of where you want to be. Not exactly sort of, you know, a a chair of dreams, but a a chair of what could be really possible. See what's different about that future you, go and sit in it, and talk back to yourself today about the steps that you took to get there. So what did you do? Who helped you? What resources did you need? What support? How much, you know, extra learning did you have to do? And how does it feel to be there?

Stuart Webb [00:23:00]:

Mhmm.

Kim Morgan [00:23:00]:

And then and and, basically, you know, it takes a long time to do it properly, but the the the you know, that's what you do. You come back to the chair. You look at the 2 chairs and go, what am I gonna do? You know? What am I gonna do? Because I'm kind of seeing my future a bit here. And, it also it doesn't just necessarily work for a change. Can I tell you one more thing? I don't know how much time we've got. But it also works for business planning really beautifully. There was one occasion when I went to exhibit, one of these sort of learning and development conferences early in Barefoot's history. And I just had a few of bits of, like, 84 papers stuck to the stuck to the sort of screen behind us.

Kim Morgan [00:23:49]:

You know? The I can't remember what it's called. You know, that exhibition stand. And and everyone else had all these products, and it was so colourful. And I was just mortified. And when I came back, I said, I don't wanna be I don't wanna be in that situation next year. Actually, my, at yeah. The my PA at the time did this with me and said, come on then. You know, do your own exercise.

Kim Morgan [00:24:16]:

And and I said, and when I sat in that chair, I said, we've got products set about £10 because people, they don't wanna spend a lot. They want something small that they can pick up, something that's colorful. And that gave rise to a whole range of, little boxes of coaching cards that we sell, that whole exercise. So I I will send you downloadable instructions to do it if you want to. It's just something I do every year to go, am I going in the right direction as the years tick by in my life?

Stuart Webb [00:24:50]:

That's a very interesting exercise, and it reminds me of one that I do with clients, which is what I call the pre mode premortem, which is when you're embarking upon a project, you actually ask yourselves, okay. Let's imagine it's gone horribly wrong because we're all very capable of catastrophizing. So you imagine just how horribly it's gone wrong, and now now you've got yourself to that. What happened to make it go so horribly wrong? Tell me everything which could possibly have gone wrong to get you to this mindset of where everything's gone so horribly wrong and people will come out with all sorts of things. And you just put all of those on a list and you go right those are all the things we're not going to do, now let's talk about the things we will. You do have to put yourself in a different mind, don't you? You have to get into a different mindset in order to actually explore those possibilities and work out what you need to do.

Kim Morgan [00:25:32]:

You do. In my experience, people do it really easily. First of all, they go, oh, I'm talking to chairs now. Yeah. Exactly what I feared would happen when I came to see a coach. But, actually, it's it's, it's so powerful. And many years ago, I can remember watching a television program where it was about, parents whose children were obese, and they they actually did something like this. They sort of, did a sort of reconstruction of the a construction of the future where they had what their child would look like and be like and feel like in 10 years' time if they hadn't done something about their diet and it hadn't

Stuart Webb [00:26:17]:

Oh, what a lovely example.

Kim Morgan [00:26:20]:

Powerful powerful impact. Kim

Stuart Webb [00:26:24]:

Kim, let me come come come to my 4th question before, before I let you go back to your world of helping people who really need it. What is it that brought you here? What's what is the what is the one book or or course or or program or whatever that that truly brought you from who you were to to where you are today?

Kim Morgan [00:26:49]:

That's a that's a really good question. And I don't I I don't think there was one that brought me to coaching because I because I was just on a journey of devouring everything I could about personal development. I was a therapist, and then I did every course and book available. And then I I think back now, and I was I was only young, and I, obviously, had a lot of confidence. And I just thought, you know what? I think I can write a coaching course based on everything I've done. So it was a a whole mix of lots of different people. I studied NLP. I studied Freudian psychotherapy.

Kim Morgan [00:27:30]:

I studied Carl Rogers' humanistic person's sense of therapy, and I thought took what I thought were the best bits of all of it and created this course. The book that has made the biggest impression on me and on, students on our coach training program is called Time to Think, And it's written by a wonderful woman called Nancy Cline who I I had the privilege of getting to know really well, and she actually taught on our course for many, many years. She stopped teaching because she won't work online because she's so much about that humans human interaction. But I think everyone should read this book, time to think, which is just about the power of listening actually and giving people your really full attention.

Stuart Webb [00:28:26]:

I love it.

Kim Morgan [00:28:28]:

Have you read it?

Stuart Webb [00:28:29]:

I have. You have. It's it's lovely.

Kim Morgan [00:28:32]:

It's an amazing book, isn't it?

Stuart Webb [00:28:34]:

And And it does make it does make you realize the importance of being present, because you are so much more able to affect things if you're truly present. And I think that's that's a lesson that we all need to learn.

Kim Morgan [00:28:50]:

Yeah. And and also sitting in it is like the mind that holds the problem also holds the solution. And if you give people the right conditions to think, not be interrupted, Somewhere inside, they'll come up with the right solution for them. And it, you know, it seems to be a really, really powerful philosophy. In our team, we sometimes just do everyone has, like, 5 minutes each to say something, go around the team, and no one and we all have to keep our eyes on them, and we all have to listen intently. And every time we do that, we're sort of mind blown by how in those 5 minutes we we've learned so much more about that person than we have in the previous, like, month Yeah. Of chitchat.

Stuart Webb [00:29:45]:

Active listening. Kim, I'm gonna come to my 5th question and this is the question which is, which is the one that I I enjoy asking the most actually if I'm gonna be honest with people, and that is what is the question that I haven't asked you that you wanted me to ask? And this is obviously the where I really learn about, what it is that's currently on your mind and how you're thinking about what you're trying to do to affect those people that really resonate with what you're talking about at the moment.

Kim Morgan [00:30:14]:

I, yeah, I had so many thoughts about this, but I think the question that I would like you to ask is, yeah, what's next? You know? What's next? I was a kind of pioneer. I was a pioneer of of coaching, and I'm still passionate about it. But I'm really always looking for the next thing that's gonna help people.

Stuart Webb [00:30:44]:

And so, Kim, what is the next thing for Barefoot Coaching and for Kim Morgan?

Kim Morgan [00:30:49]:

I think it's more for Kim Morgan than Barefoot Coaching. It's, I I I I think I said, I do a lot of work with grief and loss. And it's a kind of offshoot of grief and loss that I'm really noticing in in clients and people in the world, and that is like family estrangement. There are more and more children divorcing their parents and parents divorcing their children. And I just think it's something that is, you know, people is gonna need a lot of help with.

Stuart Webb [00:31:29]:

Yeah. So

Kim Morgan [00:31:29]:

that's the I'm doing a bit of research into that right now.

Stuart Webb [00:31:34]:

Kim, I wish you every success with that. I love to hear the fact that you're gonna address that. And that's the father of a current 23 year old who still seems to be clinging on like a limpet, showing no signs of divorcing me. I'm sure he won't need your help, but he'll need help from people like you to do so much, in his life. Kim, it's been an absolute pleasure. I mean, a real, real pleasure to have you spend a few minutes with us, and thank you so much for sharing so much intimate knowledge of what you do. I'm just gonna I'm just gonna do the, the quick outro, which is, look, if you would like to get an email so that you actually know who's coming on to these things and gonna spend some time listening to people like him, giving huge amounts of value and and, and wisdom. Just go to this link, which is link dot the complete approach dotco.ukforward/newsletter.

Stuart Webb [00:32:28]:

That's link dot the complete approach dotco.ukforward/newsletter. It's a simple form. You'll get an email once a week, which basically says this week coming up is whoever it is. Tune in and watch the Wisdom Roll. Kim, thank you so much for spending some time with us. I appreciate this is, we had a little technical difficulty, but but we got through the technical difficulty, and we heard you brilliantly throughout it. And and you've really poured wisdom, and I really appreciate the time you spent with us. So thank you so much indeed.

Kim Morgan [00:32:59]:

I really appreciate you inviting me here. Thank you. I've really loved talking to you. And whoever else is here, thank you for being here.

Stuart Webb [00:33:06]:

Yeah. We've had we've had some wonderful people, like, and I know Therese Baptist has been here. She's a fantastic fantastic person. I love I love I love Therese. Sally Sally Alou Richards, Andy Chandler. We've had people listening to you, and I know they're gonna enjoy listening back to this, and and hearing what you've been having to say. So thank you so much for spending some time with us.

Kim Morgan [00:33:30]:

It's been a real pleasure. Thank you.

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View Details

Who is Dale?

Dale Young is a dedicated coach and guide for Christian entrepreneurs, passionately supporting them from the very inception of their business ideas through to the stage where they may have up to 10 employees and generate revenues between $500,000 and $1,000,000. He understands the unique challenges these entrepreneurs face as they strive not only to grow their businesses, but also to deepen their mindset, enhance their business acumen, and integrate their faith into their professional endeavors. Dale is committed to aiding them in laying a solid foundation to achieve sustainable success while making a meaningful, eternal impact through their ventures. His mission is to help these entrepreneurs realize their higher calling beyond personal gain, nurturing a sense of purpose and significance in their work.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Helping Christian entrepreneurs grow mindset, business, faith.

04:41 Business owners should transition from technician mindset.

09:21 Transitioned from IT to full-time coaching career.

12:25 Coaching: Aligning mindset with entrepreneurial faith.

14:04 Consider entrepreneurship carefully; it's not for everyone.

Some free resources at https://coachdale.com/firststep

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

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Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

https://scientificvaluebuildingmachine.online/

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Christian entrepreneurs, business coaching, mindset growth, practical business steps, aligning faith and business, growing a business, eternal impact, business sense, entrepreneurial journey, spiritual gifts assessment, mindset coaching, IT industry experience, digital marketing agency, virtual administration industry, building a business foundation, overcoming stress and overwhelm, building a team, hiring contractors, solid foundation, practical results, eternal impact, business assessment, entrepreneur journey, start-up company, Soul searching, coaching practice, creating a company, entrepreneur seizure, business owner role, business growth.

SPEAKERS

Dale Young, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:31]:

Hello, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science 5 questions over coffee. I have in front of me my coffee. I hope coach Dale has his coffee in front of him. He has. That's excellent. Welcome once again to, to my guest today. Coach Dale is a, a leader who tries to to align, and give you practical business steps aligned with your faith and to grow your business as a result. So, Dale, I hope, we're gonna have a great conversation today.

Stuart Webb [00:01:03]:

And welcome to It's Not Rocket Science, 5 questions over coffee.

Dale Young [00:01:07]:

Well, thank you, Stuart. I'm honored to be here, and I'm honored to be a guest on your show.

Stuart Webb [00:01:12]:

Oh, you're too kind. Dale, let's let's start with, with who it is you try to help and and what is the the problem, the the issue that they have that they're that they're that they're seeking to solve.

Dale Young [00:01:24]:

Well, Stuart, I'm really called to help, Christian entrepreneurs all the way from the start up, from even maybe into the genesis of the idea stage, all the way up to maybe 5 to 10 employees, maybe, you know, maybe revenues of 500,000 to a $1,000,000, something like that. So that kind of range, and that covers a pretty wide range. But all the thing that all of these people have in common is they're still working on growing their mindset, growing their business sense, growing their faith, and getting it all integrated and getting everything done. Because at this point, everybody is so busy that it's like it's just too hard to get anything really accomplished and accomplished right with a solid foundation. And so they really, are working towards building a business that's going to last, and they really want to make an eternal impact with their business. They may not even realize that themselves yet, but deep down inside them, they they have that feeling that I'm doing something more than just creating a life for myself.

Stuart Webb [00:02:35]:

You you sort of alluded to it there, Dale, that that that that the the problem that these people have before they come across somebody such as yourself. Can you can you build a little more upon what that that problem how it might manifest itself? Give me some examples of some of the the people that you've worked with with the problem they had, the issues they had before you you got involved.

Dale Young [00:02:54]:

Well, one of my best clients, her name was Sam. She basically had done all this magazine publishing, and she thought she was a writer. And she was just overwhelmed and overworked and stressed, and it just wasn't working for her. And so just working with her, I got her to shift her focus and realize she wasn't using her god given talents and god given gifts. And so she was actually trying to work in the wrong industry. And she actually shut that down and created a virtual administration industry. She's like, the head of the VA, club, so to speak now. And she's thriving.

Dale Young [00:03:36]:

She you know, it's 5 years in, and she's doing great guns. Got 30 clients nationwide, and she's got, I don't know, 16 people that work for her in a in a contractor type capacity types though. So, you know, just getting the mindset, what should I be doing? Who am I really at my core, and what should I be doing? What is God calling me to do? And for her, that was a tremendous change. There's another guy

Stuart Webb [00:04:02]:

after that. Yeah. Sorry. And I'd say sorry. Carry on.

Dale Young [00:04:06]:

Yeah. I I was just gonna say there's another guy. He had a digital marketing agency, and he was, you know, he he didn't know whether God was calling him to grow or not. You know, it was him and one other person. And now we've been working together about 3 years, and he's now up to, I think, 4 4 employees or something like that. So, you know, just getting it right and understanding how to work together with other people was a big key for him. Really getting to the point where you have to realize you can't do everything all by yourself. It really takes 2 to do it.

Stuart Webb [00:04:41]:

Yeah. I'm I'm often coming across many business owners who have forgotten that they are no longer the the technician or the person that does. They need to shift their focus and understand their role is different as a as an owner, as somebody that's using their talents in order to bring bring other people into the business, in order to provide them with with the livelihood they need. And that's a that's that's something we should all be doing is to look around and go, well, should I be doing this or should I be looking to help, other people be part of my business and bringing them on? And I know that's a lot of the time fear stops people from doing that because they don't know that they've got the the necessary wherewithal to do it.

Dale Young [00:05:24]:

Well, exactly. And, you know, the thing is you can always start small. You can start with contractors, and you can start by hiring out certain pieces of your business and such like that. You know? For instance, I've got a bookkeeper for myself, and I've got my I've got the VA peep people that I work with. You know, I've actually spent a lot more money with her than she ever did with me. You know? So it's it's really interesting, but but we got a great relationship. And, you know, it's you know, we're we're good friends, in addition to to being that. And the the whole thing is we're called to help each other.

Dale Young [00:06:01]:

You know? God is a God of love, and God is, somebody that wants to do better. And he did better for us. We need to be doing better for him, and that includes, you know, everybody around us. So I'll just put I'll just leave it there with my face, but for today, but, but that's my basis of what if I do everything with Pai.

Stuart Webb [00:06:21]:

That's it's it's good to hear. I mean, do I mean, you you've got a a great valuable piece of advice that I know that you you you you're offering at the moment. So I'm gonna put the the link to this on on the screen, and it's a coachdale.comforward/firststep. Tell us, what is that valuable first step that you're that you're telling people they should take during during today's discussion?

Dale Young [00:06:46]:

So this is especially for Christian business owners, from start up to to growing up to their first for few employees. It's really the first step to aligning your faith and your business, because it's when you build your business together with your faith, you're building on a solid foundation. And when you do that, you're gonna set the business up right and it's going to go. So, going to go going to grow. But, anyway, the first step here, it's really a series of questions for me to help assess where you are in your business, but then it goes into a really detailed spiritual gifts assessment. And through that spiritual gifts assessment and those questions, I'll create a video response to you. You'll get the results of the spiritual gifts assessment immediately. But then I'll also send you a video saying, okay.

Dale Young [00:07:39]:

Based on your questions and based on the, what I see in the spiritual gifts, here's how you're using them or here how you're here's how you're not using them. Here's where you might use them better. You know, I'll look at your website and and everything else and just kinda give you some expertise advice. And then if you're willing to connect after that, we can connect after that, for a free, complimentary session.

Stuart Webb [00:08:05]:

Do you find that the video helps you to build a better relationship with those business owners, David? Is that is that the reason for the for the video? Because it's quite a a lot of effort you're giving to to help people to to see that and to to start that journey.

Dale Young [00:08:19]:

Well, sometimes people are reluctant to, get too honest and too open in just the first session. And so this is a way to get a little bit of valuable advice back and forth. You get to see how I interpret things, and you get to see, you know, does that fit up with your beliefs and does that match up, and does it give you an If I can't give you an in a 5 or 10 minute video based on everything I've looked at here, maybe I'm not the right guy for you. Okay? And that's okay. I don't need to be serving everybody. I need to be serving the people that I need to serve.

Stuart Webb [00:08:57]:

I love the I love the approach. I absolutely love the approach. I mean, Dale, it it may be may be obvious, but what what what's your history? How did you get from here? What was the the the the program, the course, whatever that brought you to where you are in terms of helping those business owners who really do need to do what you're you're asking them to do?

Dale Young [00:09:16]:

Well, that could take a whole 30 minutes all by itself. But Please

Stuart Webb [00:09:20]:

take the time you need.

Dale Young [00:09:21]:

I I will I will try and shorten it quite a bit. So I actually grew up in the IT industry and served for more than 4 decades in the IT industry. Was exposed to coaching and got into it in 2011, but I was still working full time in IT until 2016 and, then part time in IT until 2021. And so through that time, I was building up my side gig, so to speak, on my coaching practice. And then I got into that intermediate time between 2016 and 2021 where I was working part time on IT, full time on coaching. And I found that I was really not focused on what kind of client was I trying to serve. I wasn't nearly as focused as what I am now. And so I did a lot of praying and a lot of soul searching, and I put some of the tools together, and I tried a few different things.

Dale Young [00:10:20]:

And just in the last couple of years, it's really come together that I really need to be focusing on Christian, startups up to, you know, about 20 employees, something like that. I need to be focused in that area, and I need to be focusing on helping them build that solid foundation that will deliver those practical results so that they can have those eternal impacts. That's really that's really has come together. Just been a lot it's been my own journey of, you know, how do I how do I go further? How do I impact more people? How do I, you know, actually actually impact the world and get to those eternal impacts that I'm trying to get to? This seems to be the vehicle that I'm going to be using.

Stuart Webb [00:11:06]:

And given given your your experiences and given what you've gone through, that's some really relevant experience to bring to those people because you you know how they're feeling, you know what they're doing, and you can you can speak directly to them.

Dale Young [00:11:17]:

Absolutely. And and I've been through the entrepreneurial journey back in, 2000 to 2004. I was part of a start up company that went really, you know, rocket science up, talking about science, but we we rocket ship it up. We we in our 1st year, we were number 10 on the entrepreneur hot 100 fastest growing companies in the US. And then 4 years later, we're, declare almost declaring bankruptcy. So, but the primary thing I learned through that time is you can't you can't do it by yourself. You have to have a team around you.

Stuart Webb [00:11:58]:

Yeah. Great advice. Great advice. Dale, I I I I'm sure there is a question at the moment that you are, wishing that I'd asked you, and I haven't done it. So, here's the here's the opportunity you've got to to answer the question that I haven't yet asked, but, obviously, you need to you need to tell me what that question is before you do it. So what is that question that you would have liked me to ask, which I haven't yet?

Dale Young [00:12:25]:

If I can phrase it as a question, it would be something along the line of, what do you actually do when you coach? And, you know, what I'll come back to do is, coaching is a little bit more of an art than a science still. It's one of those things you you look and see what people need. But, basically, I help people get their mind right. Okay? There's a lot of people that call themselves mindset coaches. But, the the one that really stands out to me is you've got to get your mind right around how does your faith work in your business. You gotta get your mind right around what is this whole entrepreneur journey. Okay? What what's it all about here? Why am I even going on this journey? Is this even a journey I'm supposed to be going on? Really going into questions like that and really just saying, okay. Now that you're now that you're on this journey, now that you're stepping through these things, what what are you going to do about it? What kind of eternal impacts are you trying to make? You know, and how do you build a foundation that you can build on and get some results? Because if you can't get results, you're not gonna be in business.

Dale Young [00:13:46]:

So, you know, so there's a lot of things around just the mindset. And then, you know, have coming out of an IT background, I can help people with, you know, oh, you need to build this list or you need to build that thing or you need to get a CRM or you don't need to get a CRM. It all just depends on their circumstances.

Stuart Webb [00:14:04]:

I will I will say that the the one thing that you said in there which really resonates, and I think is is such an important thing that people do need to consider before they before they start. I mean, a lot of people, and we we've sort of talked a little bit about this, they they they they're they're good they're good managers, they're good contributors, and then they feel that they need to start a business for whatever reason because they think it will be easy. It'll be easy money. It'll get them get them what they want. And so often that's not the path for many people. They're not the they're not the entrepreneur they think they are. And so having somebody like you to sort of double check that, to have a think about whether or not that is the journey they should be on, I think is a great step, as you start to try and build a business because it isn't for everybody. You really do have to have a certain mentality and a certain calling as you put it in order to be able to actually do that because it's not a it's not an easy journey as you've demonstrated it.

Stuart Webb [00:15:04]:

It can take take effort. It can take time. It can be can be difficult. So, getting that getting that step right is a very very, very good first step to do it.

Dale Young [00:15:14]:

And, certainly, I'm not trying to discourage anybody from being an entrepreneur, but I think you do have to weigh the cost ahead of time too. Mhmm. It it is gonna be a long journey, especially if you're gonna build something that is going to have an eternal impact.

Stuart Webb [00:15:28]:

Yeah. Yeah.

Dale Young [00:15:29]:

So, you know, but, I think everybody before they actually open up a business, they need to go read the E Myth revisited, you know, and where it talks about the whole, technician and entrepreneur and manager and all the all the roles that you have to play when you're when you're a solo business. And, you know, be sure that that, what they call it in the book, they call it the entrepreneurial seizure. Right? You know, you're a technician that lives bigger job, and you wanna create a a company so that you can do your job. Well, creating a company has a whole lot more aspects to it than just doing your job. And so you gotta have that gotta have that mindset. And, you know, I wish I had read that book before I jumped into starting my coaching business here. So

Stuart Webb [00:16:19]:

I love that recommendation, Dale. I think that's absolutely fantastic. You need to go get that book. You need to you need to go to, to dale's coachdale.comforward/firststep. That's coachdale.comforward/firststep, and get to see how he can help you to align what you're trying to do with who you really are. So, if you're ready to, to see more of these, if you wanna get on to my newsletter list so that you see, who's coming up in the next couple of, weeks and you can connect, watch us live on LinkedIn, and then later on get it as a podcast, you need to go to this link. You go to to link dot the complete approach dotco.uk. That's link dot the complete approach dotco.ukforward/newsletter.

Stuart Webb [00:17:06]:

That takes you to a form. You fill it out. You get an email once every couple of weeks, and it's as simple as that. Coach Dale, Dale Young, I really appreciate you spending, a few minutes with us today. Thank you very much for giving us these insights, and, bless you for coming on. Thank you very much.

Dale Young [00:17:22]:

You're quite welcome. I was honored to be here.

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View Details

Who is Suzanne?

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano is an accomplished leader specializing in guiding organizations within highly regulated and complex industries. With a focus on efficiently managing numerous initiatives, projects, and products, Suzanne excels in promoting services and ensuring their successful execution. Recognizing the challenges posed by limited internal resources, she adeptly maintains organization and drives progress by seamlessly developing and executing both internal and external communications. Her strategic approach and expertise enable leaders to stay on a growth trajectory, hit milestones, and achieve their goals effectively.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Forethought aids leaders in complex, regulated industries.

06:14 Overcoming fear of new initiatives in teams.

09:08 Critical free offer differentiates key marketing messages.

10:39 Request "magic coffee" session via email now.

14:13 Forethought doubled revenue in under 2 years

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Magic Hours, regulated industries, marketing strategy, CEO, compliance, legal, healthcare, financial industries, education, internal communications, external communications, growth trajectory, customer support, patient caregivers, new product launch, communication strategy, target audience, operational issues, communication experts, business leaders, scalable business, virtual company, communication challenges, systems and processes, entrepreneurial operating system (EOS), business growth strategy.

SPEAKERS

Jeff Standridge, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:30]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science, 5 questions over coffee. Really glad today that I'm joined by and I'm gonna get this wrong, Suzanne, so apologies. It's it's a tongue twister. Suzanne, Sarsfield Scurano. Did I get it right?

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:00:46]:

Correct. Thank you, Stewart.

Stuart Webb [00:00:48]:

First problem solved. Let's let's not do that one again because I should get it wrong next time. But Suzanne is the president and CEO of Forethought Marketing. I'm really excited to have Suzanne here today. She's already just warned me that she's bouncing off the walls with coffee already. I've had some I've had some coffee. So we are gonna have a great time. We're gonna talk about, marketing and how things like magic hours can help you.

Stuart Webb [00:01:13]:

So, Suzanne, welcome to the podcast. Really looking forward to our conversation, and thank you for spending some time with us.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:01:20]:

Thank you for having me. I'm excited to share and and learn from you as well, Stuart.

Stuart Webb [00:01:25]:

Oh, well, we we try our best. We try that. So, Susan, just let's start by sort of talking about the sort of customer that you you're trying to help. You know, what is the the problem that they've got and how are you sort of addressing that with them?

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:01:40]:

So at forethought, we're perfectly aligned for leaders in primarily highly regulated and highly complex industries Because these individuals, you often have a plethora of initiatives and projects, products to promote and services to put out there, and keeping all of them on task and ensuring that there are efficiencies can often be one of the challenges. Sometimes there are insufficient resources internally to handle everything that's going on that they're on this growth trajectory for. Maintaining all of the tasks in an organized fashion in order to hit milestones and move forward is a big one. And at the end of the day, it really comes down to seamlessly developing and executing on both internal and external communications.

Stuart Webb [00:02:41]:

Yeah. And it regulated industries are tough, aren't they? I've done some work with regulated industries and, you know, you can't just say anything you want. Marketing has to be a very controlled and very tightly thought through strategy. You just can't launch into just anything, and that often provides a lot of constraints, but also it adds in many more wheels of sort of, you know, admin before you can actually start doing the marketing that the CEO is often desperate to get out there.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:03:10]:

Exactly. We we really pride ourselves on playing well in the sandbox, not just with marketing teams, but with compliance, legal. You know, there's there are many nuances when you're working in health care and financial industries that education where you really wanna make sure that you're doing everything accurately and correctly according to the different regulations out there.

Stuart Webb [00:03:33]:

Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. So what have you found, Suzanne? Because, obviously, you know, being the expert and being the sort of person that sort of is helping with this. What have you found those leaders have been trying to do and have sort of found themselves unable to execute? And and and where do you sort of really differentiate what you do to help them?

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:03:52]:

Thank you. First of all, one of the mistakes I see is not prioritizing communications early on. Yeah.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:04:01]:

You know,

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:04:01]:

as we talked about with compliance, if they're, establishing a new entity within an organization or they're launching a new product, everybody's focused on a lot of the operational issues and thinks, oh, well, we're not ready to communicate just yet. The problem with that is we don't just throw something out there. Right? There's some quite a bit of planning. There's quite a bit of strategy. Having us in those communication early on really supports us in understanding the nuances of what this is gonna be operationally. It helps us understand how customer support or patient, you know, caregivers will be affected by this. The other thing that oftentimes I find leaders lose sight of is stretching our teams too thin. Right? This is new, and there probably are funds allocated for it, but we've got great resources in house, and we have people who understand what we're trying to accomplish, but they may not necessarily be communication experts.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:05:00]:

And they may have a lot on their plate already. So we're really stretching them thin. The third thing I find is focusing only on external. Oh, well, when this is up and running, you know, we'll look for the students or we'll let all the clients know. What about our internal teams? It's very important to maintain internal communication in order for our teams to galvanize behind these really imperative initiatives and new business, you know, revenue generators. So how do we include the internal team for communication is critical to the success. And last but certainly not least, probably most importantly, is the idea of not aligning and listening to the point of view of multiple departments. So when an organization is about to embark on a very important new initiative, they may seek the advice of a small group.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:05:56]:

It's critical to understand that everybody or various different departments leaders will have points of view that are relevant. And although differing, it's important that we all align on what is the end goal here, and that's where our magic sessions come in. And

Stuart Webb [00:06:14]:

I'm I'm gonna come back to the magic session in just a minute, but you sparked a whole load of thoughts. I just wanna sort of a very interesting you know, one of the things that I've seen in the past, and as I've done I've done work within regulated industries, you know, teams are often so focused, on business as usual if you like. They're focused on the thing, the initiatives that are already going that when you come along and say there's new initiative, they're almost afraid. They almost don't wanna take it because it's one of those well, as you say, it's it's new. It's something which we haven't done before or this one is gonna be different, and we've got a lot that we wanna avoid. So how do you help them to overcome that sort of, you know, the fear of the unknown, the fear of the new, and push them into that space where where they need to sort of grasp this and take it then once they've got it rolling back into the the the the the the the the new business as usual sort of flow.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:07:06]:

That is a great question. You really teed me up perfectly here, Stuart. I love it.

Stuart Webb [00:07:12]:

We try our best. We really do.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:07:16]:

So you're right. A lot of there could be pushback, There could be concerns. There could be just the regular. I've got too many other things to do here. So we like to do is listen. We believe at forethought that 50% of communication is listening. And if we don't take the time upfront on initiative to bring in the appropriate team members and have a session where we can explore and, discuss that which is of fear to them, how can we overcome it? And, I I share this one story. I remember when I first launched forethought about 15 years ago, I was at a health care system, and I had various people in the room.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:07:59]:

Amongst them was the CFO and the director of physician relations. Right? So I asked the question about this. We were about to launch a clinically integrated network. And when I asked the question, who is our target audience? Simultaneously, the CFO said the patients, and the director of physician relations said the the physicians. So I said, okay. Great. Let's talk about this. And, clearly, they were both right.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:08:26]:

It was a matter of having a conversation together as a team, identifying how we were gonna prioritize these audiences, what the key messages were for them. Right? Had we not had that session and I just came with one specific communication strategy for one of those target audiences, it would have been a failure. So it is important that we overcome these fears, that we share, that we listen, and that we respect everybody's point of view because everybody is bringing something to the table contingent on their roles and responsibilities in the organization. And that that really is key to to this is having a safe space where everybody feels comfortable sharing, chatting, and bringing it up.

Stuart Webb [00:09:08]:

I love it. I love it. And and I think that really does bring us into the next thing, which is I think you've got a really critical, valuable free offer that you'd like to sort of put out. And I think this is a really good one because for me, you've just given a great illustration, and I've been involved in something like it where I did something with with a with a a supplier of of health care products in this country. And exactly the same thing came up, which is where one person was saying we're talking to the health care providers and one person saying we're focused on the customers, the the end the end clients, the patients. And the and the problem is you need 2 different marketing messages. You need 2 different thing. And it's doing some something like what you're about to tell us about that actually sort of gets you to the point where you recognize that.

Stuart Webb [00:09:53]:

So tell us about your valuable free offer.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:09:57]:

Thank you so much, and thank you for this platform. I think it's important for leaders to share and for us to understand the nuances of each other's businesses so that we can move forward. I've heard some of your other guests' offers, and I love them. So I went out on a limb and I said, we're gonna do a free magic hour. At forethought, when we believe that there is an opportunity for someone to learn and really have a takeaway of what it is that we do, we dedicate 1 hour with only 2 leaders. Right? So often a magic session will involve multiple leaders. And magic is actually an acronym. It stands for marketing alignment, goal implementing collaboration.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:10:33]:

That's what it's all about.

Stuart Webb [00:10:34]:

I want you to put that in uppercase letters, shouldn't I? You'll correct that on the on the notes.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:10:39]:

So for your listeners today and leaders out there, if you send us a message at info info at forethoughtmarketing.com, and in the subject, put magic coffee. We would like to know the leader's name, the business URL, so we have some familiarity what industry we're talking about, and a phone number so we can reach out and schedule a magic hour for you. We have several to choose from, so we would have a preliminary conversation to understand what the needs are, whether it is, coming up with more actionable core values, or perhaps you're looking at identifying a sales process, or maybe it is, a little bit more. We would just identify which one fits best your needs and provide you with a magic hour. So if you type in magic coffee in the subject, send us an email with the leader name, business URL, and phone number. We will get that scheduled for you.

Stuart Webb [00:11:37]:

I will ensure that that is all in the notes so that if anybody hasn't managed to type all of that and write all that down, they will get access to that in the notes. So just to repeat, that is magic coffee to info at forethoughtmarketing.com, and you're just looking for the URL, the name of the, business leaders, and that's 2, I think you've just said. 22 leaders.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:11:57]:

Maximum of 2 leaders, and it would be for 1 hour.

Stuart Webb [00:12:00]:

Mhmm. And 1 hour, and, that's a pretty valuable offer for 2 leaders to get clarity in an hour about what they've tried to do with that. That's that's incredibly valuable. And and thank you, Suzanne, for doing that. So let's just understand a little bit more. Is there a particular book or a course? When you said that you set forethought up 15 years ago, was there something which led you to this? What was the what was the driving force that sort of took you to this?

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:12:26]:

That's a great question. So it's a two part answer, I guess. Back in the day, I worked at a

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:12:33]:

traditional is it okay? Do we have a little bit of time? Those who know me know I didn't talk for a

Stuart Webb [00:12:38]:

for a while. What have you got?

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:12:42]:

So, I started my career at a traditional advertising agency. That is to say, 28 years ago, right, prior to the digital, the .coms, all this excitement. It was very traditional, and I loved what I did. I love communication. I love meeting with clients. I felt that there was a better way of doing things. And I had this vision where we can sit in a room and have leaders discuss the target audience, who they see themselves as, what benefit they will provide their target audience, and what features do they have to truly collab corroborate those benefits. Right? And that was sort of the beginning of, I see this and I see it differently.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:13:27]:

Also, forethought launched as a 100% virtual company in 2009. So I saw the future with a little crystal ball. I said, you know, I feel there's a better way. I shouldn't have to be tethered to a desk and fight traffic and go all the way to this office when I can work from anywhere. I'm going to embrace technology and work from home, have team members who can work from anywhere. Because especially in the creative space, I believe that great ideas don't necessarily come from an office chair or a boardroom. They might might come from a beach chair or a family room. And so since 2009, we had that, and it it was it was just really exciting and different and provided a great space for team members to be truly happy with what they do.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:14:13]:

But when you asked me about what is most impactful, so when I launched back in 2009, we were in business for about 12 years, and things were going good. But then, of course, it was after the pandemic, and I said, gosh, my clients are in health care, education, and financial services. We didn't have to pivot. What am I doing right here? What's next? And how can I make the business even more, scalable? So we embarked on EOS. I'm hoping that many of your listeners know about the entrepreneurial operating system that Gino Wickman developed so many years ago, and that made a tremendous impact. Why? Because we were always so focused on our clients and doing such great work for them that we didn't have the systems and the processes in place to take us more scalable. And in less than 2 years, we doubled our revenue with EOS. So it was real it made a huge impact, and we we live and breathe EOS at forethought.

Stuart Webb [00:15:12]:

Wow. And I do wish more companies like you took on board that message of the fact that it's it's systems processes that actually allow you the time to turn your good work into great work and take you double because I'm working with a number of organizations now that really haven't got that message yet. We're try I'm trying to get to to that message. So I shall have to introduce them more to somebody who's been through the journey of getting processes. Susan, this has been really valuable, and and I and I don't I don't want to sort of miss a great opportunity to get a great question, in. But the trouble is I don't have the last great question. You have the last great question. So I'm gonna turn it over to you.

Stuart Webb [00:15:53]:

I'm gonna get you to do even more work. What's the question that I should have asked you, which I have now failed to do? And, obviously, once you've asked some question, you need to answer it for us.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:16:05]:

Well, I wanna thank you for that question because I think it is very, generous of you and wise, and I appreciate that. What I did in preparation for our show today, I saw that the mission of it's not rocket science is to bring a new idea for building business to growth hungry business leaders and owners who wanna double their profits in under a year.

Stuart Webb [00:16:26]:

Yeah.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:16:27]:

That is a mission. And I did some introspection for myself, and I was like, what did it really take? I think that's a good question to know from someone who's been able to do it. Maybe it wasn't in under a year, but it it's been substantially short in my opinion. And the big takeaway for me was grit. Right? I love that word. It's all about passion and perseverance. And I believe that business owners and leaders, we face so many challenges that it's important for us to have this unyielding courage and this firmness of mind and spirit to get us through those challenging times. For me, I have 5 things that I focus on regularly that I feel your listeners might benefit from.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:17:20]:

And the first is limit your negative thoughts and language. Okay? There are words that never come out of my mouth. You would never hear me say something like we can't afford that. Right? I would change and flip that to maybe that'll be in the future. We'll look at this at another time. I'd love to do it. Now is not right. Right? Just just change that psychology in your mind.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:17:41]:

Never use anything that's negative. Number 2, stretch your comfort zone. Right? Like our our personal trainers tell us this all the time and we're like, oh no, how much further can we go? But if we get out of our comfort zone, learn a new skill or or a new read a book that you might be something that you're not sure about. Speak with somebody who's taken a lesson that's outside of your industry. Maybe just to, to kind of stretch it. Number 3, take care of yourself. I cannot stress this enough. You know, people burn out so easily.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:18:15]:

Like what, what brings you joy? Is it yoga? Is it dancing? Is it gardening? Is it motorcycle riding? Whatever it might be, make sure you are putting yourself first. You cannot help others if you don't put that oxygen mask on you. So take care of yourself, whatever that looks like, nutrition, going to doctor's appointments, getting rest, going to bed early, shutting down the computer, whatever that might be. The 4th one is practice mindfulness.

Stuart Webb [00:18:42]:

Mhmm.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:18:42]:

I meditate every day. You know, being present. When you practice your mindfulness, it supports you for when those unexpected challenges arise. And I can't tell you how valuable it is to have that peace within yourself. And last but not least, as the leader, you are a your people are like a mirror with you. So cultivate hope. Be optimistic. No matter what the situation and we've all been there.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:19:14]:

Right? We've all had situations that were very challenging in the career, in the business. But as the leader, it is your most valuable tool with your team to be hopeful, optimistic, and positive to inspire them for the future. You should believe in your soul that you can do it, and you will be able to do it. And those are my my five tips for my grit that has gotten me through the last 15 years.

Stuart Webb [00:19:37]:

Wow. Fantastic. I and, Susan, I don't know how to finish after those 5 fabulous fabulous messages. In fact, I almost feel bad to start to say what I'm gonna say, but thank you for for bringing bringing such brilliance to that. Listen.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:19:57]:

I'm I'm I'm

Stuart Webb [00:19:58]:

I am just gonna just say we have such fantastic guests with such brilliance. I don't know that I can I can top it? If you want to hear more from people like Suzanne, you need to be on our newsletter distribution because then I send you an email, and I tell you who's coming up. And you can get on, and you can watch us live on LinkedIn, and you can comment on this and learn from this. And, to do that, go to this email, which is to go to this website, which is at link.thecompleteapproach.co.ukforward/newsletter. It's a simple form. Fill it out. You will get an email, and you will know about the brilliance that you can hear from people like Suzanne and participate and ask questions and get the sort of wisdom that Suzanne brought to us. Suzanne, I'm a blown away.

Stuart Webb [00:20:47]:

Thank you so much for those questions. Thank you for everything you've said in the last 5, 5, 10 minutes. It's been it's been so good to hear from you and to hear about what you're doing with forethought, and I really look forward to seeing how it's gonna grow.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:21:01]:

Thank you. And, Stuart, thank you for your show. I know it's a lot of work. You're so organized. You've got a great team. I appreciate how smooth it's been. It was really a joy, and thank you for providing this to the community, the business community. We need it.

Stuart Webb [00:21:14]:

Thank you so much, and we'll see you again soon.

Suzanne Sarsfield Scarano [00:21:17]:

Yes. Bye.

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Who is Jeff?

Jeff Standridge is a seasoned business strategist and consultant with a strong focus on innovation and strategic growth. He is the founder of a company that serves two distinct customer segments - startups in the state of Arkansas, and larger companies worldwide. With sponsored funding from the federal and state government, he provides resources and support to startups in Arkansas. For larger companies, he helps them challenge the status quo through innovation exercises and assists in creating and implementing strategic growth plans. Standridge is dedicated to helping businesses of all sizes achieve their goals and drive success.

Key Takeaways

00:00 We serve startup and larger company markets.

03:42 Transformed insurance group achieved significant growth.

09:25 Team commitment, empowering communication, accountability, organizational agility.

13:26 Subscribe for podcast updates, transcripts, and resources.

Some free resources at https://jeffstandridge.com/free-resources

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Innovation Junkie, strategic growth, business operation, start up segment, larger companies, federal government, state government, revenue growth, profit growth, business growth, sustained growth, systematic approach, growth plan, strategic planning, cultural fit, accountability, leadership, organizational behavior, mergers and acquisitions, global operations, organizational success, corporate troubleshooting, organizational agility, business owners.

SPEAKERS

Jeff Standridge, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:22]:

Hi and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science 5 questions of a coffee. Get my hand into the camera properly so you can see the 5 questions. I'm Stuart Webb, the the host, and I'm here today with Jeff Standridge. Jeff is an Innovation Junkie. He's founder of Innovation Junkie. He's helping his customers to to be more innovative and to help them to produce innovation in their businesses. I'm really looking forward to this conversation. Welcome to, It's Not Rocket Science 5 of question 5 Questions Over Coffee.

Stuart Webb [00:00:54]:

Jeff, I hope you're there with a drink in front of you.

Jeff Standridge [00:00:56]:

Yes. Thank you so much, Stuart. It's great to be here today. I appreciate it.

Stuart Webb [00:01:00]:

No problem. So, Jeff, tell me a little bit about, the sort of customers you help and how you help them to be more innovative, but how you also help them to sort of, you know, standardize that as part of their business operation?

Jeff Standridge [00:01:13]:

Sure. So we we actually serve 2 different segments of of, customers. 1 is the start up segment, and and we do that in a specific geography, the state of Arkansas, within the United States because we have sponsored funding to be able to provide that, that types of resource to them, funded for federal government and the state government, to be able to provide that kinds of work. We work with larger companies, call it 5,000,000 to 500,000,000 independent of location all around the world, and we help them challenge the status quo through some very focused innovation exercises, but also to help them build out a a, strategic growth plan and implement a system around the actual execution of that plan.

Stuart Webb [00:01:59]:

Mhmm. Mhmm. And and what are the things that some of your customers I mean, let's let's look at those those people that you have to to challenge the standard, the the status quo at the moment, Jeff. What is it they tried before which which maybe hasn't worked and that you bring as a different way of thinking to them and make them, look at things in a different way?

Jeff Standridge [00:02:21]:

Well, generally, you know, everyone says they want to grow, and they either wanna grow their revenue or they wanna grow their profit or they wanna grow their cash flow. But many times, they don't have a system to actually execute on that growth. And and so that's one of the challenges is is they wanna generate sustained growth, but they don't they don't really know where to start.

Stuart Webb [00:02:43]:

Yeah. It's often a problem, isn't it? I do a a lot of that sort of work with customers as well, and, not only do they not know where to where to start, but but some of them have this belief that somehow it's it's it's magic. It just happens when it happens, and and, actually, it it it doesn't just happen when it happens. You have to be systematic about it, don't you?

Jeff Standridge [00:03:02]:

You you absolutely do have to be systematic, and and, you know, if if we're not planning for that growth, the likelihood that we're gonna be successful in spite of ourselves is not very great.

Stuart Webb [00:03:13]:

Yeah. Deliberate deliberate strategic action is is really important, isn't it?

Jeff Standridge [00:03:18]:

For sure. For sure.

Stuart Webb [00:03:20]:

And and sometimes that deliberate deliberate action is is very often sort of founded on people sort of maybe not knowing where they're going, but deciding they're gonna go somewhere anyway.

Jeff Standridge [00:03:33]:

That's right. I completely agree with you.

Stuart Webb [00:03:35]:

Can you can you give us an example of somebody you've helped to, who's been in that situation and how you've how you've helped to move them forward?

Jeff Standridge [00:03:42]:

Sure. So, worked with an insurance group, an insurance agency, and, independent agency representing multiple insurance carriers. I actually became an investor in this group. And, you know, the the organization had been in existence for over a decade, when we first started working with them, and, but they really haven't hadn't hadn't grown. They were really just paying the bills, paying the people, and continuing to kinda trade sideways, so to speak. We implemented a strategic growth system with them, and, they now have 3 locations. They're growing at double digits. They own the real estate under all three of those locations, and they also just over the course of the last, oh, I don't know, probably 2 years, they have been able to transform their employment environment such that they've got, multiple top talent in the industry coming to them saying, I wanna go to work for you.

Stuart Webb [00:04:38]:

Yeah. And that's a really important part of anybody's growth strategy, isn't it? It's having access to those people that are gonna help you to grow. They've got the behaviors that have got the got the the the the attitude. And I often think that's one of the things that as business owners, we fail to do often. We we hire for skill, whereas we should be hiring for attitude and behavior

Jeff Standridge [00:04:59]:

That's right.

Stuart Webb [00:05:00]:

And training and for skill because skill can be taught, but behaviors, attitudes can't be taught that easily.

Jeff Standridge [00:05:06]:

You know, it's interesting. Jack Welch, who who headed up GE a number of years ago, said that if you've got someone who is a cultural fit for the organization, but they're struggling to be successful, then you probably have the wrong combination of skills and job role. But if you've got someone who is successful in their job, but they're a cultural mismatch, you never should have hired them in the 1st place, and you're gonna have to get rid of them because they'll go bad at point, and they'll take a lot of people with them.

Stuart Webb [00:05:34]:

Yeah. Yeah. You're absolutely and and he was a he was a great he was a great thinker in that way. So, Jeff, I I know and I'm hoping that I've got this right. You've got some you've got some great resources that we can pull up on. So so talk to us a little bit about some of that free resource that we can get. And I'm gonna put the link here at the moment, and it's it's just simply your name, Jeff standridge.com/freehyphenresources. To to tell us a little bit about what we can Yeah.

Jeff Standridge [00:06:00]:

So we've

Stuart Webb [00:06:00]:

got a

Jeff Standridge [00:06:00]:

get there and how

Stuart Webb [00:06:01]:

to use that.

Jeff Standridge [00:06:02]:

We've got a description of our strategic growth system there, and, and they can download the the the strategic growth system that we use with clients, that to really take them from where they are to where they ultimately wanna go. It's not just a planning document. It's an actual implementation of a system. It systematizes the execution against that strategic growth. Be glad for them to pick that up.

Stuart Webb [00:06:24]:

Terrific. Jeff, there there must have been something in terms of a a course, or or something which started you down this journey. What was that what was that that that course or that journey that actually sort of made you realize that you could help companies become more strategic about their innovation and about their growth?

Jeff Standridge [00:06:45]:

You know, years ago, I read a book by Jim Collins called Good to Great.

Stuart Webb [00:06:49]:

Oh, great book.

Jeff Standridge [00:06:51]:

That book, Good to Great, and the the rigor of the research behind that book, was really impactful to me. So I, you know, I have an, a a doctorate in in leadership and organizational behavior, and and, and so I kinda come at things a little bit academically or I used to, not so much anymore. But the the the science behind his research really, really impressed me, and, and so, I began implementing some of those things in the in the work that I do. And, over the years, it kind of evolved. You know, 25 years of doing mergers and acquisitions and running global operations, for a publicly traded US technology company in the UK, across Europe, and Asia, the Middle East, etcetera. And, you know, just I decided about 8 years ago that I'd spent the first half of my life making a living. I wanted to spend the second half making a difference, and so I stepped out on my 50th birthday to do what I do today and have it looked back one day.

Stuart Webb [00:07:50]:

That's brilliant. I love I love that. And it really takes me to what I think is probably the best and last question that I can ask you, and that is, what's the question I've currently failed to ask you to now that mess must be the burning one that you think I just need to get this out of? So what is the question that I should have asked you? And, obviously, once I've asked you that question, you really do need to answer it.

Jeff Standridge [00:08:14]:

Sure. So, you know, what are the patterns that you see in organizations that do achieve sustained strategic growth? So that's the question that that, I would say that that we should have asked. And we talked a little bit about culture a few moments ago. And one of the things I've had the privilege of doing is working with with hundreds of companies over the years. And my my colleagues and I have identified 6 specific components that organizations that do achieve sustained strategic growth demonstrate, and those components really we've organized those into a framework we call the culture of excellence. You wanna hear about them?

Stuart Webb [00:08:51]:

I certainly do. I was hoping that you were gonna say that.

Jeff Standridge [00:08:54]:

Very good. Very good. You know, it starts with strong leadership. Strong leaders, a team of strong leaders who are committed to the direction of the company, who are committed to systematizing the actual strategic growth plan that they have, and who are committed to surrounding themselves with people who are also bought into that direction. Yeah. Number 2, they ensure clarity and focus in the organization. Yeah. They know precisely where they're going, who they are, where they're going, how they're going to get there, and they make sure that their employees also understand how they contribute to that direction.

Jeff Standridge [00:09:25]:

They surround themselves with engaged and committed teammates, and and number 4 is they engage in empowering communication. Empowering communication is communication that helps people become the word empower stronger and more confident in dealing with the circumstances they're facing. So they may have to have tough conversations, but they don't stop just at tough. After they have the tough conversation, they then try to convert that conversation into helping someone feel stronger and more confident in dealing with how to move forward. The 5th element is 100% accountability. In other in other words, everyone knows what they're responsible for, and they are 100% held accountable and submit themselves to being held accountable to deliver it. And then finally, the last item, really comes from a a, comment by the great management philosopher, Mike Tyson, who said everybody has a plan until I punch him in the mouth. Organizational agility is the 6th element of a culture of excellence where an organization can be knocked down, but they can get up more times than they've been knocked to the mat.

Stuart Webb [00:10:29]:

Jeff, those are some really powerful messages there. I mean, the those six things are I absolutely identify with those. The the number of organizations that I've come across who, you know, the the leadership might wanna sort of embed a culture of of excellence, but when it comes to the accountability, they shrink away. It just destroys everything unless you have all of those 6, and I think you're absolutely right. Although, I must admit, I use a different planning, a a plan which is no no plan survives for his contact with the enemy, which I guess is what Mike Tyson is telling us.

Jeff Standridge [00:11:03]:

That's exactly right.

Stuart Webb [00:11:05]:

But, you know, it's that accountability and clarity and communication. And those are the things that I've always thought are absolutely critical to every organization. And unless you get accountability, clarity, and communication, no plan is ever gonna work and nobody's ever gonna be agile because nobody's gonna tell you something's gone wrong, and you're gonna carry on working as if everything was okay. That's the secret to organizational success, isn't it?

Jeff Standridge [00:11:29]:

It really is. And and, a lot of leaders make a mistake of assuming that clarity exists in the organization.

Stuart Webb [00:11:36]:

Yeah. They do. They do. I spent a lot of time, like you in sort of corporate troubleshooting, and nearly every organization I walked into to try and understand where things have gone wrong, somebody somewhere hadn't been clear. Somebody somewhere hadn't told somebody else what was wrong. And as a result, somebody was either not being held accountable for something or being held accountable for something where the planner drastically changed and nobody could work out what was going on. And in every single case, all that needed to start the process was for somebody to actually start the well, can we be clear about what we're trying to do? And it's those conversations which eventually lead to great growth and great innovation, isn't it?

Jeff Standridge [00:12:19]:

Yeah. I've, you know, I've seen so many times where someone came up with a great idea in an organization, and and they rallied throngs of people around that idea to try to implement it. And no one took the no one took the step to say, what's the problem we're trying to solve here, or what's the opportunity we're trying to seize? And and and if they did answer that, they didn't really try to quantify it to see if it was going to be worth the effort.

Stuart Webb [00:12:43]:

Yeah. Absolutely. Oh, I love that. Jeff, we could and probably should spend many, many hours talking about this, but I have a feeling that, business owners need to actually just go back and reflect upon some of this. And then, obviously, they can go back to jeffstandridge.comhyphen sorry, slash free hyphen resource, resources and pull that information down to start doing that. And, obviously, we'd we'd welcome further conversations from anybody who's watching at the moment that wants to actually sort of get in and understand how that, that their organization can take advantage of some of those resources to grow. Jeff, thank you so much for spending just a few minutes with us talking us through that stuff. It's been brilliant.

Stuart Webb [00:13:26]:

I just wanna just point us towards one thing. If if you want to get on to the, the mailing list, which allows us to tell you about when we have such brilliant guests like Jeff coming up and to, to make sure that you can get the transcript that's gonna be coming out of this podcast, in the future, please go to this link, which is httpscolonforward/forward/link.thecompleteapproach.co.ukforward/newsletter. Get on to that. You will then get notification of when this comes out as a transcript. You can read some of the great stuff that Jeff's just given us. You can find out once again where that resource is and go to that resource and pull it down and read some of the great ideas that Jeff has got. Jeff, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Really appreciate you spending a few minutes today, and I sincerely hope that we've got a few people out there that have rethought what they're trying to do with their business because they haven't got clarity or they're not holding somebody accountable for something which has gone wrong in the organization.

Jeff Standridge [00:14:27]:

I appreciate it, Stuart. It's been a pleasure. And if any of them wanna reach out to me, I'm very active on LinkedIn as well. So thank you so much. It's been an honor.

Stuart Webb [00:14:35]:

I will make sure that we get that LinkedIn, that LinkedIn that the LinkedIn link. Yeah. I think that's a word. Yeah. That LinkedIn link in the in the show notes. Jeff, thank you very much.

Jeff Standridge [00:14:45]:

Yes, sir. Thank you.

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Who is Julie?

Julie Guegan has spent the last two decades dedicated to understanding and promoting sophisticated collaboration. She has observed the challenges and complexities that arise when genuine collaboration is required, and has worked to navigate and overcome them. With a deep understanding of human nature and culture, Julie has led the way in finding solutions for effective collaboration, drawing on her own experiences in marriage as an example of the difficulties that can arise when multiple individuals come together. Her expertise and dedication have made her a leading figure in the field of collaboration.

Key Takeaways

00:00 20 years consulting led to founding Global Collaboration Institute.

04:33 Embrace diversity for collaborative and impactful solutions.

09:35 Revelation of nature's strength prompts relearning behavior.

11:59 Encourage collaboration, step out of comfort zone.

14:54 Avoid doubts, pioneer, and create global collaboration.

20:02 Anna awakened me to societal inferiority complex.

22:20 Julie, pursuit of dream through listening, innovation.

28:06 Julie promotes positive cultural change and collaboration.

29:48 Follow Julie, subscribe to the newsletter. Exciting guests.Valuable Free Resource or Action

Some free resources at https://tinyurl.com/3p8pnpnz

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

global collaboration, books, citizen empowerment, participatory democracy, systems dynamic theory, Global Collaboration Institute, diverse perspectives, collaboration framework, innovation, diversity, storytelling techniques, well-being, empathy, change, nature, European dream, humility, curiosity, Alfred Adler, human behavior, inferiority complex, youth, COVID-19 pandemic, meta collaboration framework, social needs, humanistic values

SPEAKERS

Julie Geugan, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:19]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science 5 questions over coffee. This is my coffee which I have in front of me. I know Julie has a drink with her as well, and I'd like to welcome Julie Gegan who is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a recipient of 2 European Commission Awards and she's really passionate about citizen empowerment and participatory democracy and collaboration, and she's got work, which has been enriched by systems dynamic theory to do that. We're gonna have a really fascinating discussion about how she's doing this and things she's written about it. And, Julia, I'm really delighted to welcome to it's not rocket science, 5 questions over coffee. Thank you for making the time.

Julie Guegan [00:01:02]:

Thank you so much, Strat. And I will warn you that maybe my my dog will sparkle, with with Bobby during the conversation, but, you know, it's my dog. It's fine. And my cats my cat also may appear, so you know.

Stuart Webb [00:01:15]:

Okay. We we have had dogs. We have had cats. We have had many interruptions during these and they're always delightful. I'm always pleased to see them come in and say hello, so that's really wonderful. Judy, tell us a little bit more about, you know, the people you help in terms of the the collaborative processes and the and the the methodologies you use to to enable that.

Julie Guegan [00:01:35]:

Mhmm. Thank you so much. So over the past 20 years, I, I led the journey, to, understand the conditions for collaboration, but sophisticated collaboration. When faced with the need to collaborate, things get tricky. And we could see that over the past years when we face complex issues that require genuine collaboration. It's like we forget everything about human nature, culture, and how to navigate the complexity of collaboration. You know, just being married is difficult with 2 people. So imagine when you have more people around the table.

Julie Guegan [00:02:23]:

And so over the past 20 years, I had the great chance to contribute to the European project as a consultant and to identify, to learn from all my experience, the critical ingredients, what was needed to apply collaboration when collaboration is must needed. As an outcome of, of this, 20 years adventure, I created the Global Collaboration Institute a year ago. For this, I gathered experts from all over the globe in different disciplines, different areas, but also, ways of loving and thinking. So real diverse diversity in practice, people that don't necessarily think the same as me. And we started to, work on the basis of my findings and to elaborate a framework that can be applied in any system, any project to amplify its potential and to, make sure that the system in itself would, would be in calm, in well-being. And so having the condition to catalyze innovation. So that's the result of this work and that's the reason why I'm here today with you to explain you a little bit, what is this main outcome. It is in a book, in a vision, and I'm happy to to answer your questions, Charles, about

Stuart Webb [00:03:58]:

this. Julie, I think you said one thing there which is really critical, and that's something that I think a lot of the the people you work with have tried to do. They've tried to find ways to collaborate but as you said, sometimes you need to gather people around you who are different, who don't think the same as you and that's a critical and key aspect of of ensuring collaboration actually succeeds. What what what can you share us in terms of insights into into how that helps if people have tried collaborations or they've tried ways of sort of getting diversity, but they failed because they haven't recognized that as one of their key problems.

Julie Guegan [00:04:33]:

You you you have so many examples, you know, in our history where we embarked into main initiatives without taking the cultural diversity into account. Actually, in collaboration, diversity unites us. You don't do collaboration if you already have the answers to your question, if you already have the a position, if you prefer. So when you enter collaboration and when, in this case, we are talking about big dreams in a way. We are talking about solving the most impossible problems of our times because when collaboration is actually needed, it means that you cannot solve the problem yourself alone. So it means that the problem is too big for you. And so the dream is also too big. And that's why you have to take into account this diversity within the room because this diversity is the key to your solutions.

Julie Guegan [00:05:32]:

And what you need to, to do to embark people in this collaboration journey, taking account their different ways of thinking but also loving. Because the starting point is we all have a positive intention toward this world. We all have it. And following all my experience and my empirical research where I went as far as I could into the periphery, I started to listen attentively to our stakeholders. If we prefer if we are serious about achieving global collaboration that is empowering people all over the world to, to to to if you prefer to embrace the complex issues we face such as climate change or mobility, general, economy, any topic. You have to, equip them. You have to prepare them to the shock and the agony that diversity will represent.

Stuart Webb [00:06:38]:

I think that's a really interesting sec thing you said. It is a shock. It is not it is not easy. It's not comfortable.

Julie Guegan [00:06:47]:

It's absolutely not comfortable. But to solve our issues, I said it at the beginning, you need well-being. You need calm. Because to lead to harmony, people will need to feel calm. They will need to feel that they master. And this is why it's so important our role at the Global Collaboration Institute to equip people for sophisticated collaboration. So that in this collaboration, you won't burn out. You will feel well along the journey and you will master, and this is how you will make impossible possible.

Stuart Webb [00:07:27]:

Brilliant. Brilliant.

Julie Guegan [00:07:28]:

Because he will be like, oh, sorry. I could I told you I could talk during hours.

Stuart Webb [00:07:33]:

No. Please carry on. Please carry on.

Julie Guegan [00:07:37]:

It's just as part of my journey, I developed a number of tools and storytelling techniques and things like this, and it's very, easy for people to forget about, this diversity aspect and to get stuck when they are shocked, Right? When they are shocked by others' view on the world, and and they wait to love. It's it's it's the basis. You know? It's NLP. I I don't know if you know a little bit about NLP. Everyone is okay. That's how you start a collaboration journey. Everyone. What you need to understand is in I mean, when you need to develop is empathy.

Julie Guegan [00:08:22]:

Your ability to listen to what feels wrong. Yeah. And well, it's it's just that as part of the the storytelling techniques, I, I I I, for instance, feed people with narratives, like the narrative of the eagle. You know? The eagle that takes distance on the dream, that takes distance on the project. Because if you put too much pressure on yourself, you increase the risk of being shocked. Because the more you want a project to succeed, the more you want something impossible to become possible, the more you increase the pressure on the show on your shoulder and the less competent you will be to address it. So it's very important that people, you know, visualize themselves as animal, and I use the laws of nature because we need to complete to contemplate nature when nature shows us that it's far more complex than we thought it was because, you know, women beings, we have this inferiority complex toward nature. We always need to find the ways to control it.

Julie Guegan [00:09:35]:

And now that we are faced with this, terrible, you know, revelation that nature is stronger than us, we seem even more lost and and and it's like people lose their everything they learned. You know? They panic and, it's like we have to to relearn everything, you know, about what is a good behavior, what is wrong about our beliefs. We we are like turtles. You know, I mentioned the eagle that needs to take distance and has strategies to make sure the dream at the end of the day will work because there's no other choice. Not the change is happening. Anyway, the question is, do we want this change to be like the way we want it? Do we let this change, you know, happen without us? And I think we all have in our world the tools, the competencies, you know, everything we need to, to make the right, benevolent change happen for this world. So let's do it. You know? And that's why also when I started with my new European dream for a caring culture and innovation and and hope and faith because we've never needed more hope than today.

Julie Guegan [00:11:07]:

And this, you know, knowing that, yes, we can. Of course, we can. You know? We have everything. And and and when I started, you know, the only reason I could wake up every day with this huge dream of on my shoulder, you know, the turtle with this huge burden of this huge dream that, yes, we can do it. The only reason why I could keep going is because I knew there were people in this world like you. People in this world that have fantastic expertise, they can bring to the table so that we make happen what we thought was impossible. And so I'm I'm naming this force, if you prefer, the force for good.

Stuart Webb [00:11:59]:

Yes. Yes. Is there a is there a particular thing that you would like people to is there, you know, one piece of advice that you could leave? And I I'm gonna put up at this stage, your LinkedIn profile, which I will I will include in the in the show notes for the episode because I think it's important that people can follow what you're doing with with with your collaboration institute. But but is there one piece of advice? You talked a little bit about sort of storytelling techniques. You've talked about some of the techniques you've used to help people sort of understand how collaboration can help them move their business, their personal life forward. Is there one piece of advice that you would leave them with to enable them to sort of, today, start taking that approach, move their collaboration forward in a way which, yes, will make them uncomfortable, will help them, to to move out of their comfort zone, but will enable them to sort of move forward, that they don't need a lot of time to learn?

Julie Guegan [00:12:57]:

Mhmm. There are you have to know, I wrote, probably one article per day in, 3 years on my blog, which is now closed because it was mainly for my experience, the empirical research, to understand, as I said, the conditions for global collaboration. From there, we have this framework, structural and behavioral framework. The pillars, if you prefer, of collaboration contain 11 ingredients, and there is this behavioral framework that is the process, to move from impossible to mission possible. As part of all these these resources that that we created, I'm thinking about one very simple thing that people can do when they have so many years. So I'm thinking about 1 in particular, but There are 3 mistakes that people do when they have a big dream. The first one is, lack of humility. No.

Julie Guegan [00:14:10]:

Yep. It's, the second one is, lack of curiosity. So you say, you know, the being ignorant. You have to be like an unborn. You, when you enter collaboration, you have to forget everything you know, basically. Because if you really want to have the power of collaboration on the table, you have to forget where you come from or your beliefs or your bias or your assumptions because you need to be at the disposal of the crowd because collaboration is 1 plus 1 equals an infinite number of possibilities. But for this, you need to forget all about yourself. You need to be unborn.

Julie Guegan [00:14:54]:

The third mistake is to be overwhelmed by doubts Because along the journey, you will be like a scoot. It's a friend, Stefan Baigi, who taught me about this, that when you are pioneer and, of course, Global Collaboration Institute is pioneering a new well, it's like we open the door to next generation because we saw that the system was becoming absurd and change needed to happen whether we want it or not. And so we opened the door to make it familiar for all generations that there is a possibility that one day global collaboration will happen with a maximum of people around the globe ready, equipped to solve all the complex issues we face in all the areas because we see there is crisis after crisis The or in all the domain, in all the areas, we need to change the rules of the game. So we opened this door and we invented these frameworks. So, really, one resource I would say is to face these 3 mistakes. So lack of curiosity, lack of humility, and the the the feeling of, you know, of being overwhelmed by doubts. Contemplation contemplation, looking for the signs that you are doing the right things, Being as much as you can unborn unborn, it's it's really like the second life. You know? You when you prepared your first life, and you spend your first life preparing the second life.

Julie Guegan [00:16:45]:

So it's we need this civilization to prepare its second life. So we need to look at it like this. So far we have been quite individualistic. We have been quite self centered. You say comfort, over our comfort. We need to accept the stretching. We need to accept that we need to unlearn everything we learned because now we have a mission all together and it is to prepare a better world for the next generation.

Stuart Webb [00:17:23]:

Yes. Yes.

Julie Guegan [00:17:25]:

Does it make sense to you?

Stuart Webb [00:17:27]:

It does. It does. And and you're right that that that that often these these big initiatives don't yield results for many years, but that shouldn't put us off from actually looking for how to make that I mean, we talk about the sustainability that the world needs to adopt at the moment and there's no point in pertaining that sustainability is to benefit the people who implement the change now. It's to it's to benefit generations to come, and we need to have that ability to look long term instead of in quarters years to look in terms of decades so that people can see the approach beginning to take through in 5, 10, 15 years from now. Is there is there one, it was there one type one thing or a a series of things which brought you a a course book or experience that brought you to your understanding that these things need to be addressed and started your your thinking about this, this this this big vision about collaboration?

Julie Guegan [00:18:35]:

Yeah. Thank you for for asking this question because I I did an academic research, followed by empirical research. I mean, everything in the same time, actually. I read tons of books, because it's it's a very serious journey. You know? You don't come unequipped to a dream like this. Right? The the the key to me to the main door has been Alfred Adler. Alfred Adler was an Austrian philosopher who lived at the same time, as But, he was far less notorious. Adler.

Julie Guegan [00:19:19]:

Do you know Adler, Stuart? No. Well, you see, it's not very notorious. But when I read it and I read all his books, I got this shock because you know what he says basically, but it's awful to summarize the thoughts of someone like him. What he says is that human beings have a very deep inferiority complex toward nature. Mhmm. And this is translated by behaviors of superiority complex. We need to control nature. We don't like the unpredictability of nature, the uncertainty.

Julie Guegan [00:20:02]:

Right? And so Anna actually wake woke me up to a reality which I knew already that we had a problem with our inferiority complex that were initiated in number of behaviors inside our society. But he equips me on how to solve that main huge hurdle. It's a bit like I mean, I will I will make a parallel resume. You know, it's also when you when he tells you that the first thing you need to master is your dark side, it means you human beings, you are a bunch of monsters. So when you wake up in the morning instead of thinking that you are god, do your best to calm down the monster within you because when times become complicated, it should be your first task right in the morning. Master the devil within you because it's big and it's gonna be very big as times will gonna be tougher and tougher in particular for the western world because I think and that that's it's part of all the things I learned because because as you mentioned when you started journey with a dream like this, like Global Collaborations 3 years ago, I could not expect learning so much. Can you imagine the number of people I met from my little office at home? The conversation I had with people from all over the globe, living very different lives as me, having different dreams, etcetera, it's incredible. When when I just want everybody to join this journey now.

Stuart Webb [00:21:56]:

Yes. Yes. The passion is important. And and that leads me to my final question for you, Julie, and that is there must be one question that you think I haven't yet asked and that I should ask in order to better understand how collaboration is gonna help us all move forward. So what's the question I should have asked? And, obviously, once you've asked that question, you're the best person to answer it. So what is that question?

Julie Guegan [00:22:20]:

It's your dream, Julie. How is your dream going? You know? I shared a dream 3 years ago for it was a script I wrote for the European Commission. It was full of wisdom from coming from all my, conversation I had with people from all over the globe during 2 years, during the COVID. And, and, basically, I had to pursue the script on my own. And this is how I understood that we cannot change we cannot make the right change if we don't listen to the peripheries because it's at the center, that we find the comfort in our current system, in the status quo. So I had to go, as I say, far as far as I could in the peripheries to listen to people, to, because it is them who have the solutions to the problems that they face. You know, it it's a bit like the water crisis. You solve it with people that suffer from the water crisis and have to be innovative to find solutions, you know, to find water every day.

Stuart Webb [00:23:32]:

Yes.

Julie Guegan [00:23:34]:

And we don't do that. We don't really have this culture of going it's our end. We were saying that the solution, they lie in the periphery. We don't have this culture. So I had to do it myself. I I had to take all the risks if you prefer alone. But so how is my dream after 3 years? It's very promising. Now we are asked from leaders, worldwide leaders, to make presentation about the meta collaboration behavior and structural framework.

Julie Guegan [00:24:04]:

It's unbelievable that experts from around the globe seem to validate the framework. I mean, we spent a year focusing on, making labs, making experiments, showing the benefits of our framework in domains like education, health, activism, economy, etcetera. The the the outcomes we get surpass really surpass our expectations. Because as I said, at first, we thought we will ensure the well-being of each amplified by the collective. So we will invest in your potential to art with the meta collaboration framework, we'll add it to you and instead of having a cap on your head that makes it impossible for you to achieve a new dream, we we instead of the cap, we give you, you know, all the things you needed. The we we fill it, you know, with all the ingredients that you need to fill well, find harmony, and at the end of the day, co create. Got it. And so from there, we understood that actually that one of the benefit is to catalyze any innovation when you make a tea bag.

Julie Guegan [00:25:25]:

But you you tell me when I have to stop. But meta collaboration is basically a tea bag, and you respect the ceremony of the tea because it's very important. But you you put a tea bag in a in a in a cup of water and you see what it will happen what what will happen. You just follow. You observe. You are a researcher. You observe. And and we saw how bubbling people become.

Julie Guegan [00:25:50]:

They're they have a wall in front of them. It's impossible. We'll never get there. You put the key bag and it becomes like, how we could do that? And, yes, we were not doing that, and and it's, like, incredible. It's incredible to see. It's it's magic. Because nowadays, I think people are overwhelmed with negativity. They don't they don't have hope.

Julie Guegan [00:26:17]:

I mean and and why did I start also? Because I realized during the COVID times that the first victims to a global pandemic was our youth because we forgot, completely forgot about the social needs of our youth during this COVID time. You know? Because they don't vote. Yes. Yes. They don't vote. They they don't have a voice. And so we we we set up I mean, it's it's not as as clear as that, but I think those would what have privilege. And, this was very clear for me, during these COVID times.

Julie Guegan [00:26:55]:

And so, yes, the reason why I just couldn't hold myself, you know, and I had to open the door to my sons because we have the promise of a world that is worse. I can't accept this even one second. When I when I meet people in, my conversation in Iran, etcetera, when they tell me Europe is dead, I wanna tell them it's the opposite because it's our humanistic values. It's our humanistic values and it's, I I remember it's Emmanuel Dweiss. In one of my conversations in together, Hansan, during the COVID tag, she reminded me of this humanistic values of Europe. And and and never forget the the common values we have in Europe and and and why I think the the the promising future will come from Europe.

Stuart Webb [00:28:06]:

Julie, I think disturbing culture. Julie, we've gotta draw it on that because that I think it's a brilliant way to end this on a note which is positive, remembering that as humans, we can address these issues if we want to. So often we don't want to, so we need to we need to find ways of working with each other, supporting each other, and thinking for the future, not just for today, rather than thinking just about what we get from getting out of and we have difficulties we need to get through today, but we definitely need to get through to the future. We definitely need to collaborate in order to bring that bright future. Julie, thank you for spending a few minutes with us talking about this. It's it's a fascinating subject. I I I'm gonna I'm gonna draw it and and really encourage people, please go follow Julie at linkedin, dot com. She's Julie Guegan at 189-5a21.

Stuart Webb [00:29:03]:

You'll find her if you look for her. There's not many people out there with quite such a profile as Julie. Please follow her. Please look at some of the stuff that she's doing. She's doing some really interesting things. She has she has that blog that she's talked about. She has written a book, which

Julie Guegan [00:29:19]:

is Yeah. The blog is closed, but yeah. Sorry, Scott. I can, I can invite people to to read my book, the following one, which is the vision? It's called Europe, the Next Chapter, a story of collective innovation, and the second book is about, to get released. It's it's about all the experience we led, all over the globe with the meta collaboration framework, during the past year and what we learned about the framework.

Stuart Webb [00:29:48]:

Julie has some brilliant thoughts. Please follow her and and and look out for those books. And and and, you know, also following her, please subscribe to the newsletter so that you can get notification of when we have such fantastic hosts coming up on the podcast. If you go to, link.thecompleteapproach.co.ukforward/newsletter, that's a link Dot the complete approach dotco.ukforward/newsletter. That will take you to a form you fill in, and you will get notified every couple of weeks with who's coming up on the podcast so that you can join in and ask questions and listen to some of the wisdom that you get from such a really interesting guest like Julie. Julie, thank you so much, for spending just a few minutes with us, and I really appreciate you giving us such such wisdom, so much, so much to pack in and I I really look forward to, catching up when that second book is out, and we'll talk more about what that book is telling us about global collaboration.

Julie Guegan [00:30:49]:

Thank you so much, Strat.

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Who is Darren?

Darren Saul is a seasoned podcaster who has found his passion in the world of podcasting. With multiple successful podcasts under his belt, Darren has established himself as a prominent figure in the industry. His belief in the power of podcasting as a marketing tool has led him to create valuable content that not only builds brand awareness but also serves as a passive means of sharing his expertise with the world. Darren's dedication to podcasting has allowed him to create a platform for himself and his work, connecting with audiences in a unique and engaging way.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Maximizing podcast content for effective marketing.

07:00 Podcast resources, courses, and free webinar available.

09:04 Traditional advertising no longer effective, turned to podcasts.

12:03 Podcasting creates diverse, reusable marketing content opportunities.

17:03 Start a podcast with a video call.

18:11 Leverage other podcasts for marketing content.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Some free resources at https://tinyurl.com/3p8pnpnz

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Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

podcasting, podcasters, podcasting strategy, brand awareness, marketing content, podcast monetization, podcast guests, podcast preparation, podcast marketing, podcast production, podcast promotion, podcast value, podcasting courses, podcasting resources, podcasting webinar, podcasting content, podcasting journey, podcasting advice, podcasting strategy, podcasting coach, podcasting industry, podcasting impact, podcasting audience, podcasting success, podcasting commitment, podcasting imposter syndrome, podcasting start, podcasting consistency, podcasting confidence, podcasting opportunities

SPEAKERS

Darren Saul, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:24]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science 5 Questions Over Coffee. My name is Stuart Webb. I'm here with Darren Saul, who is, a podcaster, pretty pretty experienced at this podcast stuff. I'm fairly sure that he doesn't need any introduction from me on what we're doing. So, Darren, you're a you're a podcaster. You're a you're a strategist, trainer, coach, student of human, attention, you say. And you've started heavily utilizing the power of podcasting. So I'm really interested to hear how you're helping your clients to use podcasting and how it's making a difference in in their their business.

Stuart Webb [00:01:06]:

So welcome to It's Not Rocket Science, 5 questions and go for coffee. I hope you've got your coffee there in front of you. My coffee.

Darren Saul [00:01:13]:

I have to stay on brand with the show.

Stuart Webb [00:01:16]:

Good man. Good man. So, Darren, tell us, how is it that you help people, in their podcasting?

Darren Saul [00:01:23]:

You bet. So podcasting is something that's growing from strength to strength as we all know. I heard some ridiculous statistic the other day. I don't know if it's true or not. That there's more podcast than there are listeners. I don't know if that's true or not, but it's crazy. But it just goes to show you how many people are podcasting at the moment. But that's not to say that every podcast that people set up goes past episode 10.

Darren Saul [00:01:49]:

There's a lot of podcasters, but not many of them get past episode 20 or certainly not to 50 or a 100. So basically, I love podcasting, and I've just fallen in love with podcasting over the years. And so I podcast more and more. I've got 2 podcasts, but I think they're an incredible way to build brand awareness, to build, marketing material, to build content in all those different forms and to be a very indirect passive way to tell people what you do and where you work rather than a very aggressive push sales process, which is something that we all do more and more these days.

Stuart Webb [00:02:34]:

So so what is it that you see that people are doing wrong? And and and what is it that you think people are you're trying to help them to do with with the work you do, Darren?

Darren Saul [00:02:45]:

Yeah. Great. So really two things. I I tackle podcasting from both sides. So I work with podcasters to create a better podcast, deliver a better podcast, monetize their podcast, possibly if they're looking to do that, and just continue to get value and extract marketing content as well as brand awareness and business results from their podcast. But then I also work with guests to help them get podcast ready. Cause a lot of guests jump on a podcast. They're not prepared.

Darren Saul [00:03:20]:

They don't know what they're gonna be talking about. They haven't articulated their little 30 or 1 minute commercial. And then when they've done a podcast like this, they say, great, had a great show and they never do anything else. So for me, that's madness. If you do a show like this, you ask for the raw footage and then you actually start using that raw footage in your marketing material. So I'm really trying to work both sides of the podcasting equation so people can really start using podcasting as a medium, or I keep coming back to the same two things, brand awareness and marketing content. That is the power of podcasting. And then of course, all those things can continue from there.

Darren Saul [00:04:05]:

You can turn you can monetize them in so many different ways. You can, have fun. You can create new podcasts. You can get on other people's shows. You can build yourself up as a thought leader in your industry. You can get keynote speaking opportunities. I mean, you can get workshop opportunities, coaching opportunities. It goes on and on and on.

Darren Saul [00:04:26]:

But it's really those 2

Stuart Webb [00:04:28]:

things I love. And and I think it's I think you're absolutely right. Too many people do anything like this where they don't think about what their message is and and make it clear, and then they fail to I mean, most people know that you've got to repeat your message many times for people to hear it. I always worry about people who sort of sit back and wait for the results to sort of flow in rather than having a plan and following it through and actually you know, it's a it's a bit like any activity, isn't it? You've gotta know what your objective is and follow that plan rather than just sort of sitting back and going, well, why hasn't the world turned and faced towards me and sort of run at me?

Darren Saul [00:05:05]:

100%. 100%. And you brought a really good point. It's there's a lot of patience and consistency needed. If you really wanna run a good podcast, you have to just keep on pounding away with the episodes, marketing them well, and fill giving time for the audience to find you and building your your brand. You know? And people start to get used to you dropping an episode every Monday or every Tuesday or once a fortnight or once a month or whatever it is, and they'll start talking about your podcast, telling other people about it. All that stuff takes time. You can't expect to have podcast results in 2 months, and that's why a lot of people start and finish really quickly.

Stuart Webb [00:05:45]:

Brilliant. So, I'm now hopefully gonna ask you for the dead simple one, which is you must have a bunch of advice that you can give us and and and valuable, advice as well that you might wanna sort of pass on. And I know you've got a link on your website, which I'm gonna pull up here. It's it's at tinyurl.com3p8 pnpnzed, or for those of us in the US, that would be z. 3p8 p n p n zed. So, Darren, tell tell us some of the stuff that's at that link. What is it that you're trying to help people to do with that, man? Yeah.

Darren Saul [00:06:22]:

Sure. So there's a a great link there. There's lots of free resources on that link. So, for example, there's a great, PDF that you can download to help you build a podcast from a to zed. It's like my a to zed formula of podcasting. So if you're thinking about dipping your toe in the water, you're not quite sure, there's lots of information in there about the tech needed, the strategy, the little bit about the the preparation sorry, the, processing and the producing, because that's a little bit of a fine art in itself. Exactly. And then there's a lot of production and promotion, working there as well.

Darren Saul [00:07:00]:

I've got stuff for guests as well. If you a little PDF on how to be podcast ready, covering all sorts of different topics from your 32nd commercial or your your story to how to leverage your content, how to choose the right host, how to choose the right podcast, how to choose your target audience, how to choose your niche, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. And I've got a few other paid resources. If anybody is interested in jumping on and learning, there's a a recorded course and a few other opportunities. There's also another webinar, a free webinar that I'm doing next week on how to monetize your podcast. So there's a 1 hour free webinar you can jump on, and we're gonna talk about 15 different strategies to how you can start thinking about monetizing your podcast. And you don't have to have a lot of podcast episodes to monetize. You just have to think in a little bit of a creative way, and there's all sorts of stuff you could do, and you can have a lot of fun as well.

Darren Saul [00:07:56]:

So lots of great resources if anybody wants to dive into the podcasting world.

Stuart Webb [00:08:00]:

That's great stuff, Darren. Thank you very much. So I've I've got a I've got a a little link going up at the moment. If anybody has any questions, put them into the chat. But but, Darren, how did you get into Pasciani? What was it? What was there a book, a course, a program? What is it that sort of made you a podcast strategist? And and and if you don't mind me describing you, I think in the very best possible way, a podcast nerd, I actually think that's the highest compliment I can pay somebody, but all those disagree with me.

Darren Saul [00:08:28]:

I love it. I'll take it. I'll take it. I love being called a podcast nerd. I love to nerd out on podcasting stuff.

Stuart Webb [00:08:34]:

Yeah. Good for you.

Darren Saul [00:08:35]:

Love it. So, yeah, good story. So I do a number of different things. I've been working as a a corporate IT recruiter, for 25 years, nearly 25 years. I've been working as a photographer for about 10 years. And about 6 years ago, I realized that the tide had changed in terms of marketing and business development. The yellow pages or we have we have the yellow pages here. I don't know what you guys have

Stuart Webb [00:09:03]:

over here. Yeah. Yeah.

Darren Saul [00:09:04]:

Yellow pages where you can advertise locally and people can find you and all that stuff. That wasn't being looked at anymore. Letter drops were being thrown in the bin. Cold calling was getting harder and harder to get in past the gatekeepers. So I started thinking about there's gotta be a better way to start marketing my business. And I stumbled onto social media, digital media, podcasting, and I thought, wow, this is amazing. So I thought, you know what? What the hell? So I started 2 podcasts right off the bat, one for my recruitment business and one for my photography business. And the recruitment business is a little bit more esoteric where I interview people about job seeking and career development and building company culture and hiring and firing and all that kind of stuff.

Darren Saul [00:09:55]:

And then I have my other one, which is what I call my variety show. I've got about over 220 something episodes where I talk about all sorts of different things from real estate to health sciences to book launches to music to mindset, entrepreneurship, business, whatever. And that's my my passion project. And since that, the birth of that and the journey, I've started wanting to really just give as much information and coach and teach other people to get the same results out of podcasting because I think it's such a great tool. And there's a little bit of a backstory, but it's been a lot of fun, and I just who knows where it's gonna lead?

Stuart Webb [00:10:36]:

That's brilliant. I think it's absolutely fantastic. So so what is it about, about podcasting therefore then that you see as being the way of sort of driving that marketing? Because, you know, it's it is once again, it's one of those things where it is it is a bit passive. So so how do you how do you what what can you do to sort of make your podcast as successful as you can?

Darren Saul [00:10:56]:

Yeah. Good. Great question. Well, I mean, that's the beauty of it in itself because it's passive. Like, I always use this analogy. If you were to look through your social media, LinkedIn and Facebook in particular, turn off the sound, just scroll down the feed. All you see are people like, like this little if you imagine my little box is one little screen, all you see is people talking to the camera with this all this animation and energy trying to sell you something. Right? So it gets a little bit much after a while.

Darren Saul [00:11:30]:

And I love podcasting because it's the exact opposite. It's me, particularly when it's with a guest. So we've got 2 of us here. We're talking to each other. It really takes the pressure off. You know? We're not we're not trying to sell you anything. We're just we're more almost inviting you in for a conversation, you know, with our coffee, rather than pushing our agenda down your throat. So it's a very indirect, curious way of attracting people rather than really aggressively promoting whatever it is that we wanna promote.

Darren Saul [00:12:03]:

So that's really number 1. But the other thing that podcasting does, and people are really starting to realize this more and more these days, it is an incredible way to create content. So if you run a podcast system and you record in video and audio form, long form, you have so much video, audio, written, graphic content that you can utilize now for your marketing on social media, on your website, in your email newsletters, in your email signature. Maybe if you wanna do letter drops, whatever the hell do you wanna do, there is that many things you can do with that content. You'll never run out of it. And it's fresh and varied because you've got a different guest every week or every 2 weeks or whatever. Then you can start bringing mash up the greatest hits within a month or, I mean, send out newsletters with your, playlist of different topics. I mean, it goes on and on and on, But it's all about getting the content in the 1st place, and a podcast system just gives you that opportunity.

Stuart Webb [00:13:14]:

That's brilliant. Darren, you know, there must be one question you're currently thinking. He hasn't asked the critical question here, and he's he's he's missed the point of this stuff. So what's the critical question I should have asked you? What is it that you are burning to sort of tell me about something? And, you know, now I've given you the opportunity to ask that question. You'll obviously have to answer it because you're the only one that actually knows the answer.

Darren Saul [00:13:37]:

Yeah. That's a really good one. And the real the question would be, if I had to ask people, why are you not starting your podcast? Everybody always is fascinated by podcast. They do podcast courses. They come to podcast workshops. And then 6 months later have you started your podcast? Oh, we're about to start. We're just talking about this. We're just talking about that.

Darren Saul [00:14:00]:

We're just finalizing this. We're finalizing that a year later. They still haven't started their podcast or they've started and done 2 episodes. I'm like, what? What's going on? Why haven't you either started or continued? And the reason is it takes work. Yeah. It takes strategy.

Stuart Webb [00:14:18]:

Yeah.

Darren Saul [00:14:19]:

And it takes commitment. But if you do it and you do it well, it is in one of the best marketing tools available. And the other reason that people stop or they don't start is, you know, I hate that term imposter syndrome, but everybody's using it. So I'll just use it because everybody knows what it is. But a lot of people think, oh, I'm not worthy of sharing my voice with the world. I'm not worthy of sharing my message. What do I who am I to start a podcast? But you look around there every Tom, Dick, and Harry has started their own show. They're talking about what they love.

Darren Saul [00:14:55]:

They're talking about what they know about, and it's now the era of giving getting away with worrying about the gatekeepers. We don't have anybody to tell us what we can and can't do. We can all have our own show. We can all have our own production, and it's all about free to air. We wanna listen to what we wanna listen to. So why the hell not? You know, if you've got something that you're burning to share with the world, and even if you're not perfect from episode 1, you're gonna get better. When I go back to my episode 1 and rewatch my first show, it's terrible. Episode 10 is terrible.

Darren Saul [00:15:34]:

But as I've been doing more and more podcasts, I get more and more confident. And you just you start to enjoy it and you learn from other people, and it's we're all learning from each other. So all I can say is if you're on the fence about podcasting, jump in, have some fun, at least try it for a couple of episodes before you worry about not doing it. And if I can leave with one great title of a book that really sums this up beautifully, there's a book, I'm trying to think of the name of the the author, but it's called Ready, Fire, Aim.

Stuart Webb [00:16:09]:

Aim. Yeah.

Darren Saul [00:16:10]:

Is it Michael Masterson? I think it's Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:16:12]:

I think it is. It is. Yeah.

Darren Saul [00:16:13]:

Instead of ready aim fire, and that sums this concept up beautifully. Start the journey, get some feedback from the audience, get some feedback from whoever it is your your viewers and, and, listeners are and tweak as you go. You don't have to have it all sorted out before you begin. It never is that way. Just not and tweak and change and have fun along the way. It's a journey.

Stuart Webb [00:16:38]:

Yeah. Brilliant. Do you know I I just wanna I just wanna add one thing to what you said, Dan, because because I think it is important. I've spoken to a number of people and invited. I hope I hope you've had a good time, which just as you said, it's been 2 2 professionals just just talking. There's, you know, it's nothing more complicated. It's nothing more serious. Well, it is serious, but it's nothing more intimidating than that.

Stuart Webb [00:17:03]:

And the number of people I've spoken to and said, why don't you just go and be a guest on a podcast? And they'll say, I couldn't do that. And you go, well, you can appear on a video call. We all do them nowadays since 2020. We've spent 8 we spent we've re reinvented ourselves as people are able to do a video call. Why don't you just do a video call with somebody and record it? And that is the beginning of your podcast. And I mean Yep. It's nothing more than a video call. And people will turn around and say, well, yeah, I do a lot of those and I record them and I go, okay.

Stuart Webb [00:17:35]:

Terrific. So so that's your podcast. And their immediate response is, yeah, that wouldn't be very good. And I well, what? Who defines if it's good?

Darren Saul [00:17:44]:

That's

Stuart Webb [00:17:44]:

right. It's it's not a it's it's not about good, it's about doing, and it's not only about doing as you said and starting, but it's also about thinking to yourself there may be somebody out there, even one other person that this could help. Great. Help that one other person. Stop worrying about the the 99.999 percent of people that that don't want that. They don't want it, they'll turn away. But there might be 0.0001% of people that go, that was useful for me.

Darren Saul [00:18:11]:

Yeah. If you could have one person if I could have one person with this, I'm very happy. If I've got one person to start podcasting and you made a really, really good point. And this is something that I usually say, if you're not ready to jump in and set up your own podcast, get on other people's shows, at least do that. Get on other people's shows, ask for the content, pop it up, use it in your marketing. You're often away. You don't even have to have your own show if you don't wanna do the extra work and, you know, the extra cost and the resources and whatever else. Just book yourself into lots of different shows and you're up and running.

Darren Saul [00:18:45]:

And then maybe one day you might start your own.

Stuart Webb [00:18:49]:

Darren, I don't know if you've helped anybody else. I hope you have. You've helped me a lot, and I'm really enthusiastic about sort of doing more now. So thank you so much for coming on and spending a few minutes with us. I'm just gonna ask you all, if you could go to, this link, which is link dot the complete approach dotco.ukforward/newsletter. That gets you on to our newsletter website, mailing list, then you get to hear about when we're publishing really interesting articles from the sort of people that we're talking to like Darren. So that's link dot the complete approach dotco.ukforward/newsletter. Please subscribe to that.

Stuart Webb [00:19:27]:

Darren, if you've done nothing else, you've helped me today. Thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us.

Darren Saul [00:19:32]:

My pleasure.

Stuart Webb [00:19:33]:

Looking forward to sharing the content with you because that's what this is all about. I'm quite happy to do that, and I think it's a really good point you've made. People should ask for that footage, that that content, and use it as much as they can. So, Darren, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Looking forward to seeing what you do with this stuff.

Darren Saul [00:19:51]:

You bet. Thank you, Stuart, for having me, and thank you audience for listening and watching.

Stuart Webb [00:19:57]:

Bye bye.

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View Details

Who is Daniel?

Daniel Gbujie is a passionate advocate for sustainability and global cooperation. His experiences have inspired him to work towards creating a more sustainable and inclusive world. Through his work, he hopes to inspire young people to follow in the footsteps of those who have come before and make a positive impact.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Born in West Africa, evolved, overcame challenges.

05:18 Young Africans advocate for sustainable development globally.

06:51 Highlighting sustainability, leadership, and forward-thinking mindset.

11:52 Forming team Hakuna Matata to drive change.

16:36 Biosphere's balance, sustainability, and diversity importance.

18:07 Sustainability principles for inclusive and lasting systems.

21:39 Networking, expertise, and sustainability showcased through app.

26:37 Promoting sustainability through app and solar box.

29:29 Development requires inspiration, willpower and community.

32:26 Sustainability and resilience are crucial for culture.

36:13 Commitment to sustainability; grateful for support. Future involvement.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Follow Daniel on https://www.linkedin.com/in/chidubem-gbujie-961aa6130/

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It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

ESG consulting, social impact, brand value, customer relationships, workforce, global standards, social responsibility, social risks, reputational damage, legal issues, financial losses, stakeholders, business objectives, sustainability, UN courses, environment, governance, materiality assessments, data analytics, internal biases, graduate advice, GRI standards, labor practices, human rights, diversity and inclusion, community engagement, customer privacy, GDPR, pandemic, employee engagement, resistant to change, effective communication, social responsibility efforts, ESG consultants, social risk management, stakeholder engagement, data collection, analysis tools.

SPEAKERS

Daniel Gbujie, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:18]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science, 5 questions over coffee. I'm Stuart the Webb, the host of this thing, and I'm joined today by, a guest I'm truly honored to be, to be on the podcast with me. This is doctor Daniel Bougie. Doctor Daniel Bougie is a, is is a public health, expert, but has recently taken part in the 200 the Webb Sustainability World Cup. And I'm proud to be able to say, as a judge of that particular competition, he was voted and his team won, but he was voted the most impressive and valuable team leader of that competition. So, doctor Buge, thank you so much for spending a few minutes here with us today. I'm really honored that you've taken some time out of what I know is a very busy day for you to come and spend a few minutes with us. But please, just spend a few minutes.

Stuart Webb [00:01:22]:

Please introduce what it is you do because you have got a really very impressive CV.

Daniel Gbujie [00:01:30]:

Yes. Thank you very much, sir. And first of all, since after the completion, I've not had time to thank you. On behalf of the team, I wanna thank you for, you know, your imputes and your ability to crystallize why we should be sustainable on a global level, on a local level, on a subnational level. The game indeed has inspired us, and the game has been able to identify the uniqueness in all the regions as you know. And of of course, the game has also been able to inspire us young people knowing that the ones that have gone before us are really smart people. Yeah. So I am Daniel Buje Chidoben.

Daniel Gbujie [00:02:13]:

I was born in, in West Africa, Nigeria to be precise, in the southern part of of the country. And I am, a human being that has evolved over time. I say that with all honesty because if you don't evolve in light of the realities of the changing time, you will just become extinct just like the dinosaurs who felt who felt that they were the tallest, the most massive, amount of, species in the world, when others were running for for shelter and hiding on caves and evolving in the kinds of meals they can do and inventing, they felt they could muscle weight. And then where are they now? They are fossils. So the lesson is, I'm a child or an African child who has seen it all in the continent, who understand what it means to be poor, who understand what it feels like to see people being poor, who also knows that there's a better world for everyone if people tap into the better versions of themselves. I do have a health background, and that also helped me be able to articulate, you know, what I really want in life and how I could move forward. But, things got better for me when I got the opportunity to come to the United States on scholarship. I actually did come with the climate change background, the fellowship in climate change, and that really helped me.

Daniel Gbujie [00:03:50]:

The former vice president, his excellency, Al Gore, runs an environmental based program. Al Gore was once the vice president here in the United States. He he runs, an environmental based stuff. He was looking to expand, you know, and then he brought a lot of Africans, Asians to come to the US, you know, to come and learn more about the changing times. That also influenced me because at that time also, I was with the World Medical Association as a resident doctor then. There's a there's a junior doctor network within the World Medical Association, and they were looking into the environmental impact of health, you know, and I felt, wow, that will be nice. So about that same time, I got the opportunity to come to Colorado for some training, and boy was I introduced to sustainable development goals, climate questions, sustainable energy, renewable energy, clean energy, you know, all those beautiful terms, you know. And that really inspired me to know that, woah, there's a lot Africans need to do rather than just keep numb or keep paralyzed in the past while others evolve, you know, digitally, others use technology, others look for new ways to reinvent humanity.

Daniel Gbujie [00:05:18]:

We cannot keep being where we are, doing the same kind of things that have not changed anything. So I and many of the young Africans felt it would be wise to, you know, evolve and begin, you know, to to bring in this best sciences, evidence based sciences on how our environment, the policy we have, the way we do business, the way we articulate our views, the way we tell other members of the world, you know, the western world that we are an asset to be harnessed. But how do you know you're an asset to be harnessed if you don't know what it means to be harnessed? So, so over the years, I've evolved, like I said, but I'm proudly an African who understand where we should be and working with over Africans to bring about a better world for everyone Webb we all can see ourselves as, as brothers and sisters and as instruments of change for a better world. And that's the principle of sustainability. It's not about you. It's all also about those that are yet to come. However, the current people need to exist in time and space. Right? Why we do that? We do it in such a way that we do not disadvantage or we do not prevent those ones coming not to feel empowered, not to feel blessed with the natural resources that we have.

Daniel Gbujie [00:06:46]:

So so that's a little about, about about me. And,

Stuart Webb [00:06:51]:

That is that is if there is nothing else that you say today, Daniel, that shows well, 2 things. 1 of which is, you have a very, very impressive CV. You have got those honors that you've been brought in order to be able to bring that sustainability. From what you're learning back to where you went so that you can actually implement some of what you've learned, and we'll get on to how you're doing that. But also, Webb we I think we did at 1 stage on the sustainability world cup to talk about If there was 1 thing that we could teach everybody about sustainability, it would be to think not in quarters, not in years, but in decades because sustainability needs to needs to be thinking about not not not our children, but our children's children and the world we lead for the future because it is only by thinking in decades that we can actually start to see the sort of, the sort of effects Stuart we want. And I must admit, we we can get quite we can get quite distraught by some of what we see around us, but we have to realize that only a decade ago, this wasn't even a movement, and now it is embedded and people are Webb, and it is going to be different in another 10 years. So we need leaders like you in order to take people into that that new, that new thinking. So so that was a little bit about you and how you, you you you have become the person you are.

Stuart Webb [00:08:23]:

But how did you get involved in the Sustainability World Cup? What was it about it that you, that you that you that interested you, and how did you get involved? And and tell us a little bit more about the team that you're involved with.

Daniel Gbujie [00:08:35]:

Yes. Thank you. So I I feel it's just coincidence, and and I totally agree with your viewpoint that you must always be thinking futuristic, you must also be thinking of the actions you take now and how it has rippling effect in the future. And that's what really happened to me. So I did set up a nonprofit based organization here in the United States. Shortly after my training in Colorado at the Climate Reality Project, I, got to meet, a wonderful American lady. Her name is Renon Garriga, you know, and, we both got involved in the training, and we became mutual friends. And, over the years, we we we lost contact at some point.

Daniel Gbujie [00:09:23]:

But when she came back online, she saw that I had built a network of people across over a 100 questions, and I was really going into environmental climate actions, creating content, creating ideas, domesticating the knowledge of sustainability that involves vulnerable people, involves a better natural way we handle our natural resources to the benefit of people without creating poison, emissions, without, creating, distorting ecosystems. She liked the way that I was explaining, you know, the science behind climate change, the need for us to evolve, the need for us to be more smarter in our agricultural practice, cutting down trees indiscriminately to build shopping mall only for you to have flooding that kills thousands of people in less than 5 year. Doesn't make sense. So so so she loved all those concept. But somehow Webb lost contact. And then around March ending, you know, she reached out to me. Oh my goodness. You're doing a wonderful job.

Daniel Gbujie [00:10:27]:

I said, woah. Long time. What's going on? She says, there's this sustainability World Cup, and I know you are into sustainability development goals. They're all the same. It's just a process. It will be nice for you, you know, to gather your teams in team 54 project, you know, maybe 2 teams of 5 people, and let's see whether you can be in the final. I said, wow. That that would be nice.

Daniel Gbujie [00:10:51]:

I did not have any intention of joining. Mine was to push my team, push the movement, and bring them on board. And then somehow it now became a fact that we needed an African team, you know, and, I knew fully well that if the game is gonna be a simulation or an Internet based platform, it's gonna be hard because about the week, a week before the competition started, an undersea cable that runs through, West Africa got damaged. It had affected, you know, much of West Africa and some parts of the Central Africa. You could imagine. So already before now, the Internet penetrance was very poor. Now you now have a cable damage, so it's it only means it's gonna get worse. So I had to intervene, and and what what we did was we needed to now find, like, a team of people, you know, that has administrative background, marketing background.

Daniel Gbujie [00:11:52]:

I have a health background and a bit of sustainable development goal background. Having worked with the UN for some time, you know, and, I just decided that it would be nice to keep it within our team, you know, and, with her help and help of the organizers, we're able to form team Hakuna Matata. That's our AKA, you know, but we're team ambassador team. So it's, it's, it's providence, it's, hard work over the years, it's maintaining a steady relationship, it's also reaching out to my brothers within the continent and telling them that we cannot continue to remain where we are. If there's any opportunity to show the world how we think and articulate processes, It only adds value, you know, to the system. The world needs value, not not just the product, but a value based product. And the only way we can add value is to be part of the process, create, over own niche for ourselves, and get all these best sciences and domesticate it in the peculiarity of our region, in our social economic realities, so that our people know that we cannot remain where we are, and we cannot keep doing the same thing over and over again that has not given us a positive outcome, believing it will do the same thing. That's insanity.

Daniel Gbujie [00:13:25]:

So so the the the the opportunity that the sustainability woke up, you know, the little that I knew then created was something that I always five. I love a new challenge. I love innovation because I know innovation brings improvement. Improvement brings knowledge. Knowledge adds to culture change, the mentality, the mindset. So being a driven person, being a tech person, being someone who wants to showcase the continent as people that truly articulates knowledge, you know, I felt it was just, right to to, you know, represent the continent, and the game indeed created that platform well. You alongside the 8 judges and the organizers, professor Lila and Edmund, you know, created a wonderful game that is life changing. In short, I think it's the best content that we can ever have, you know, different from the kinds of game we always know, you know, the violent, the shooting, the slaying, and all this.

Daniel Gbujie [00:14:28]:

This is the content that can get you thinking. This is a content that does not create a monopolistic Stuart. No disrespect to monopoly, but the idea is that the sustainability principles are all immersed in this game. It's a tool that helps you think out of the box and helps you relay the concept of sustainability in a way that you have fun, build teamwork, you know, brainstorm with others, see the way people articulate thoughts, and then you know how to create the messaging. So so our our fusion in the game was just years of experience, years of building healthy relationship with environmental based people, and they're reaching out to us and say you're doing a good job. You can take this to another level, create content for the platform, inspire a new generation of people to better see what sustainability is from a gaming kind of point. So it was a match made in heaven, so to say.

Stuart Webb [00:15:29]:

So tell me, Daniel, what what advice would you give people? I'm going to just put the the the link now on the screen to show people where they can go and get some more information about what the Sustainability World Cup is. I mean, but what what advice would you have for people who might want to enter, next year and compete in the way that you have to and and achieve the sort of results, the sort of knowledge, the experience that you've got from, from entering for this year?

Daniel Gbujie [00:15:53]:

Yeah. So for for those wanting to enter for next year, I would just say have an open mind. You know? 1st, ask yourself, the world in which we're living in, are you very comfortable with the way things are going? Whether it's governance, whether it's your future, whether it's the future of the kids, is there a tool or an alternative way to press the reset button and start to have the mindset that respects the environment, respects people, and can still help you make your livelihood. You understand? In such a way that you are not a threat to not just yourself humans because humans think they're the only ones on the planet. No. No. No. No.

Daniel Gbujie [00:16:36]:

There are other non living things and living things that do not speak like us or go to school. But they are very important in creating the balance that we need. So there are lower animals, there are birds, there are animals, there are insects, There are bacterias. All of all these are part of the balancing act within a biosphere. So if you feel very passionate about being an agent of change and creating stability, sustainable development World Cup platform is a wonderful way to do that with a team, to do that, you know, enjoying yourself, you know, building that leadership trait, seeing how people articulate thoughts, listening to the judges, how they crystallize their opinions, you know, how they tell you that sustainability has many terms. Sustainability is a kind of improvement. Sustainability is a kind of social vehicle that creates change that we badly need in light of, you know, the growing, emission, in light of the the pollution, in light of the flooding, in light of climate crisis, if there's any way that we need to change our ways, we need to change the ways from where our pockets are. You know? Once we're able to control where we spend our money, we'll be able to be able to create a better definition of what wealth should be, a better definition that includes everyone, inclusivity, diversity.

Daniel Gbujie [00:18:07]:

These are terms that look so big, but these are the principles that sustainability, you know, drives on, that you cannot leave anyone behind. Anytime you develop or do anything, whether you you create a new financial market system, a new health system, a new educational system, a new fashion system that does not include the people, that does not include respect for the environment. Any system you build with no respect for the environment, for the people, for inclusion. It's not gonna be sustainable. It will not stand the taste of time. And when chaos begins to come, you will just fall like a pack of cat. However, if you absorb the sustainability principle that says that you can exist in time and space and create hope for the people coming and empower them as quick as possible, If you factor in environmental factors, you factor in social factors, you ensure that there are policies that protect our natural resources. You ensure that the decisions you make are all in the interest of the common good, not just America, UK, Europe, but also Africans.

Daniel Gbujie [00:19:20]:

Yes. These are some of the things that the game brings to you. And the game has its own calculations. The game teaches you how to really apply, you know, this is a financial game. So the corporate sustainability definition, how it connects with your everyday life, how you see the indices and the components that helps you grow and develop, you know, business and even your individual life. So I will encourage you five an open mind, be willing to learn, and then listen to the instructors, listen to what they say, follow those terms, ESG, environment, social, governance, framework, or indices. What it means is the corporate way that investors use to assess companies now to know whether they are viable for investment. You know, if you want to develop anything, your Stuart up ideas, if it doesn't have the elements of respecting natural resources, including people, targeting vulnerable community, meeting the needs of people, protecting environment.

Daniel Gbujie [00:20:27]:

It's not gonna stand the taste of time. It will just come and go.

Stuart Webb [00:20:31]:

Daniel, I mean, I think if anybody has any questions about why you were the, the the the the leader and voted the most, the the the best leader in this Sustainability World Cup. They've got a very good idea from what you've just said, how well you and you embrace Stuart, what you what you've what what you've learned from it. But what are you doing with your knowledge now? What are you doing in order to take this to the next level? How are you using those experiences? You've spoken a little bit about the nonprofit, but what are you now doing with those with those experiences in order to take you into the next, into the next phase of your, your journey?

Daniel Gbujie [00:21:08]:

Yes. Thank you. What we're now doing, what I am doing along with the team is creating awareness for the people back in the African continent. We are beginning to see a lot of people, you know, want to be in the next game. I know our friends in Ghana, I know friends in Ghana that want to set up 4, 5 teams, you know. I know people in South Sudan, they say they want to get involved in the team. And because, you know, the the the competition has a bit of benefits. Webb, it has a certificate that's given to you.

Daniel Gbujie [00:21:39]:

Secondly, it gives you visibility and exposure. Thirdly, you come into a community of people who are seasoned experts in corporate sustainability, and, and that's if you do your homework well, you can network well. Of course, while in the game, I develop an idea around an app called test. The app is to create a bit of awareness and see how sustainability can be done on an individual level. You know? So if you are a housewife and you have the app on your system and you want to see, okay, how can I be sustainable this week? You type in all the things you wanna do, and the app is able to give you, like, an idea. It's like a chat gpt of sustainability. You know, if you are a tomato seller, you want to sell tomatoes, you don't know how to be sustainable, it starts from the farm, right? Farm to the market. You know? So it tells you the farm to the market principles, areas where you can leverage on local sourcing, area where you can even have your own greenhouse stuff.

Daniel Gbujie [00:22:42]:

So those are kinds of the things that I've learned from the game. But most importantly is to raise awareness amongst my kind, The people in the continent, you know, explain sustainability in the language they understand. Swahili is the most spoken language in the central and the southern part of Africa. Hausa is 1 major language spoken in the entire Western African region and some parts of North Africa. In somewhere within the Southern Africa, we have Portuguese too. Angola, Mozambique, they speak Portuguese too. And of course, in most of West African, we have the Commonwealth of Nations that the English speaking part of it. So how to domesticate this knowledge of sustainability that every single person had to contribute towards that sustainability pool.

Daniel Gbujie [00:23:32]:

It is that critical mass of people that move the needle of progress. Just me and you doing things when 7 0.8000000000 people are not doing it will not work. Just United States and China believing that they are doing sustainability. It ain't gonna work. What truly works is when we have critical mass of people at the same time doing in their only 2 corner the sustainability. Got it. The sustainability principles. Now, doing that creates a culture.

Daniel Gbujie [00:24:04]:

Remember, a culture is formed when bulk sum of people over time. Aggregating their thoughts and are believing in a system that will drive them towards the promised land. It's not few people. We have to do this together, and we have to uplift those that are not in the current position to help themselves. And that's why I always want to use platform like yours that you are creating for us. Reach out to our leaders. You know? See young people in the continent, especially Gen Z's, especially people in the nineties and the eighties. We're tired of being, being told about the colonial time.

Daniel Gbujie [00:24:42]:

When we know the world has evolved, we just want to eat our fries. We just want to eat our fufu and Gary. We want to watch our Netflix. We want our kids to go to good schools. You know, trying to create an environment of toxicity won't work, especially now that young people know what's going on, is what's going on in in in Kenya. It's happening in Nigeria. It's happening everywhere. Young people, especially Africans, are tired, and they are showing their skills in music.

Daniel Gbujie [00:25:13]:

Almost every musician now sings African music. And go and check the age of all the African musicians that are topping the chart now all over the world. Bonaboye is in his thirties. Right? Davido is in his thirties. These are young people who are tired of how their, ecospace is not allowing them to evolve. When they see global best practices, they bring it on board and then they become celebrity. It's the same thing with the sustainability workers. So we're encouraging, Africans, young Africans, you know, partner with the sustainability world cup team, create a miniature version of your own, use that to identify young people that think critically out of the box, incentivize people, tell these young people whatever comes out of this will be to the development of your people.

Daniel Gbujie [00:26:02]:

You know? And all this will bring progress, development, and then investors will see that there's a critical mass of people who understand sustainability. Why not we go to invest? Because investors are also looking. Do we have resources? Human resources. It's not just about capital. Do we have human resources? Do we have the right environment? You know, to ensure development goes forward. Sustainable development or sustainability cannot work when there is conflict. It's simple. And the principle of sustainability defines itself that you have to be more inclusive, more transparent, more honest.

Daniel Gbujie [00:26:37]:

You have to respect the entire ecosystem. So domesticating this knowledge will be very central and that's what I intend to do with my app. Of course, working with you and many of, you know, many of the judges and many of our new partners that are relating to us. I truly believe we can have an app that can, you know, translate sustainability in all the major languages in Africa and remind people that sustainability can be on a personal level, on a subnational level, on a national level, and, of course, on a global level. But when all these connect together, that's only when we drive the sustainable development. You know? So these are some of the things we're doing. And then before I end, 1 of my teammates, sorry, 1 of my teammates is trying to build a cubicle, a cubicle that is called a solar box. He wants to build it at the center of a major market.

Daniel Gbujie [00:27:32]:

Now that solar box will have sockets all around about the 1, 000 sockets within the center so people can plug in their stuff, you know, you can barbecue, you can cook, you can trim hair, you know, you can refrigerate, you know, something like that. So these are some of the things we're trying to do, you know, eco smart practices, pilot projects in some of this stuff, you know, bringing in these principles we've learned within the and the things you've taught us within the game. So those are the few things.

Stuart Webb [00:28:03]:

Daniel, if there is anything I can do I mean, it it what you you you are you are you are an impressive an impressive leader. I think we can all agree that. And, I will once again I would just put up. This is, this is Daniel's, LinkedIn profile, which you'll find on LinkedIn, obviously. If you're not following somebody as impressive as doctor Daniel Bougie, then go follow him now because this man is gonna go a long way, really a long way. Daniel, IIII just wanna ask you 1 final questions, and the question obviously is, I haven't asked you 1 question that you must be burning for me to ask. What is the 1 question that you think I should five asked that I haven't yet?

Daniel Gbujie [00:28:47]:

Oh my goodness. Woah. That is so good. Okay. So 1 question I truly feel that you should have asked me is, what drives Africans to to to be much resilient, you know, in light of the things they see, in light of the things some of their leaders do. And why is it that when they move to clients or environments that are very, merit based, they always excel.

Stuart Webb [00:29:23]:

Mhmm.

Daniel Gbujie [00:29:24]:

So I I feel that that question will also go a long way.

Stuart Webb [00:29:27]:

What is the answer to the question?

Daniel Gbujie [00:29:29]:

And the answer is that the truth of the matter is that progress and development are a mixture of 2 walls. The those that do not have and those that have. Now the problem often is for those that don't have, if they're not inspired to want to have, it becomes difficult for them because they become paralyzed and they will not five, and the circle of poverty continues. But when you have experienced not having and you have the willpower, the I believe kind of mentality, the growth mindset, you know, when you observe best Webb you see evidence based science, when you seek knowledge and understanding, when you domesticate this knowledge and understand it with your African belief system. My African belief system tells me that we are community driven. There's a community based approach that brings about development. And that's the definition of sustainability. It's not a 1 person thing.

Daniel Gbujie [00:30:33]:

Now my African belief system tells me that, my brothers, my uncles, my mom, my dad, my nephews, my are all part of that eco space. And I must work hard to defend, you know, that community, that unionism, that common goal, that common agenda. Now all of those things build resilience. Remember, I'm a reflection of many things I have seen. Knowledges I've gotten in the US, experiences I've gotten in Africa, experience I've gotten in my marriage, experiences I five seen on TV. All of us are a reflection of that. However, we can turn that around. We can absorb those positive attributes and bring to light and inspire new generation of people that, yes, you see my skin like this, but I think differently.

Daniel Gbujie [00:31:21]:

I know that 4.03 parts per million is not good for the climate. I know the emphasis is to bring down carbon emission to pre industrial level. I know fully well that you may be concerned about your polar beer, but my brothers in Ethiopia are more concerned about their goods, their millet, their means. They are all needs that are different. However, it is the human needs that brings us together. And that if we work together in such a way that those that do not have and those that have can come together, we can build a better world where people that don't have now have hope and aspiration to learn because they know that their brothers that have are willing to help them pull them up the ladder of progress. So our resilience as an African, young man, young woman, or Africans you see are a reflection of our environment. But what has changed over the last 30 years is that young people do not want to get sucked up.

Daniel Gbujie [00:32:26]:

You know, we want to ensure that this resilient mindset which is also part of the definition of sustainability. Ability in the long run to sustain, you know, a culture that respects everything within the environment, respects the system established, respect regulatory laws that protects the natural resources in such a way that is beneficial for us that are currently alive and all. That's the textbook of resilient. And that's what I've known all my five. You know? So when I walk to school and don't have school bus, I know fully well I need to read harder than everybody in my class, you know, because I know that the knowledge I will get will articulate the way I think will help me be able to communicate to you who do not know my world very Webb, but you will now say, I can resonate with what Daniel is saying. He's he's dressed differently. He's definitely an African, but he's speaking a language that I can relate with. So it's what resilient does, it's what knowledge base does.

Daniel Gbujie [00:33:27]:

You're able to bring your experience as an African, relate it with those in the questions world, and create that bridge that is badly needed. Yes. It's the bridge that we're important. To develop ourselves.

Stuart Webb [00:33:39]:

Bridge is very important. Daniel, this has been a fascinating fascinating insight into the way you think, and it is an absolute demonstration of the reasons why you won that award as the leader of, of of note. You are you are obviously going a long way, and thank you so much for spending a few minutes talking to us. I really appreciate your insights On the message that we all need to learn to think about, as Daniel's just said, we might be worried about, whether or not we're we're emitting too much carbon. But today, in Africa, in Ethiopia, somebody's worried about whether or not their goats have got enough millet and remembering that we need to bring everybody together, I wanna thank you very much for spending some time with us. If you would like to get on to the newsletter, which will announce who we have coming up on future of these LinkedIn five and podcasts, please go to this link. That's link. Thecompleteapproach.co.ukforward/newsletter.

Stuart Webb [00:34:44]:

That's httpscolonforward/link.thecompleteapproach.co.ukforward/newsletter. Daniel, I can't thank you enough for spending a few minutes with us. I can't thank you enough for your contribution, and I can't do anything but wish you, that you take this learning these experiences and continue to drive them forward into what I know you're gonna make a huge success of how you take forward your sustainability goals. Thank you.

Daniel Gbujie [00:35:15]:

Thank you so much, Saf, for giving Africans like me the opportunity. This is what it means to be sustainable. This is what it means to be, your brother's keeper. This is how we build community. We use our platform to uplift others because in the long run, we are uplifting millions of more people. So I really am very appreciative. Again, I wanna thank you for all the comments for teaching the 50 of us who are participant, the 10 teams, you know, your contribution about improvement, advancement, you know, being realistic in real time, you know, all those things have taken them to heart, you know, and I'm looking forward to working with you, you know, learning more. It's a learning thing.

Daniel Gbujie [00:35:55]:

Nobody knows it all. You must continually evolve. Many people don't know that Facebook started as a campus, go to place. Now it's a marketplace. It's almost like a bank. You get paid on Facebook now. So what it means is that ideas evolve over time. It's never static.

Daniel Gbujie [00:36:13]:

And that's the same thing with sustainability. In the long run, you have to evolve but in such a way that you are very protective of the environment, the people, you bring everybody along in a transparent way. So I'm eternally grateful to Edmund and professor Lisa, and I'm commit completely committed to 2025. I hope to see more team participation, you know, in any way possible, you know, whether as a mentor, whether to advise people, whether as an emcee, you know, or whether even as a TV show because I see the sustainability World Cup 1 day becoming a TV show where you'll be a judge and then everybody will say, ah, that's the first judge in the show. So but the idea is that it's a wonderful opportunity. It's a good game that brings like minds together. When you leave the game, your life is never the same.

Stuart Webb [00:37:03]:

What more can I say? Daniel, thank you so much for spending some time with us. Thank you.

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Who is Lubna?

Lubna Samara is a seasoned healer and leadership coach who specializes in well-being coaching for people in the workplace. With a focus on supporting individuals at all levels of the organization, she helps senior leaders and lower-ranking employees navigate the challenges they face. She understands the toll that burnout and feelings of being marginalized can take on individuals in the professional world, and is dedicated to providing the support and guidance needed to thrive in the workplace. Through her work, Lubna seeks to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for all.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Healing, coaching, and support for workplace struggles.

06:10 Book focuses on holistic healing and psychology.

07:44 Unlocking superconscious mind for personal and workplace success.

12:32 Focus on the positive, nature heals tech burnout.

14:26 Book integrates psychology, coaching, meditation, and energy.

18:35 Thank you, check out newsletter and subscribe.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Download a workbook from www.higherwill.com with a copy of Lubna’s book “Beyond Potential”

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

healing, well-being, leadership, coaching, burnout, confidence, imposter syndrome, procrastination, work environment, imposter syndrome, meditation, energy healing, mindfulness, emotional intelligence, resilience, empathy, personal development, business, book Beyond Potential, values, purpose, intuition, energy fields, body-mind-spirit, team building, stress management, leadership coaching, energy exercises, empowerment, mindfulness exercises

SPEAKERS

Lubna Samara, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:22]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science five questions over coffee. I actually don't have a coffee in front of me right at the moment. This is a fruit tea, because I've had quite a lot of coffee already today, and therefore, I'm trying to reduce the amount of caffeine in my system. But I'm delighted to be joined by, Lubna Samara. Lubna is a an award winning leadership and well-being coach. She works with healing and she's a best selling author of a book called Beyond Potential. I'm sure we're gonna get into that in just a moment which is a number 1 in 7 categories, including business. So we're gonna talk a little bit how this applies to business.

Stuart Webb [00:01:05]:

So welcome to It's Not Rocket Science five Questions Over Coffee, Lubna.

Lubna Samara [00:01:10]:

Hello, Stuart. Hi. Good to be here.

Stuart Webb [00:01:12]:

Thank you. So so, Lubna, who who is who is it you're trying to help, particularly in in the work you do? And and I know it's not just about healing, but it's about leadership as well.

Lubna Samara [00:01:24]:

Yes. It is. I am a long standing healer, but I also do leadership coaching and well-being coaching. So I I specifically work for with people at work. And, my work basically, I try and help out anybody in the workplace who needs help, you know, whether you're senior leadership or whether you're kind of lower down the ranks and, you're really struggling. And a lot of people struggle with so many different, issues at work. Burnout tends to be a little bit higher up, you know, with with leadership because they tend to be just so overworked and professional and and perfectionist often Stuart, that kind of five, that character five. But a lot of people feel overlooked in the workplace And 1 of the very common things that we don't often hear about is somebody thinking their boss doesn't like them and they end up feeling marginalized at work because people know what's going on.

Lubna Samara [00:02:23]:

And when they turn to their colleagues, their colleagues kind of back off. They don't really want to get involved because that might put them in a bad place with their boss. So that is a very common problem, and, strangely enough, it actually works the other way. You know, leaders can be as phased by somebody in their team not being very nice to them as the other way around. And this, you know, these are problems that can be very easily worked with. Then you've got people who have lack of confidence. And without that lack without confidence, often people are scared to speak up. They won't put themselves up for projects.

Lubna Samara [00:03:01]:

They won't put their hands up. They won't put their input in. And they may have really valuable input, but they don't feel comfortable opening up and sharing because maybe they're scared of ridicule or for whatever reason. So these are, and of course the usual suspects like imposter syndrome is really a big 1 as well, especially with people who are working in a corporate environment and they may not have formal education. These people can have amazing personal resources and knowledge base and skill sets, but they kind of think that over people or their colleagues will not accept them or to the same level. And, they often suffer, you know, sometimes people can suffer from that, and and of course, you know, procrastination, all the usual things that people really suffer with in the workplace, I've dealt with, you know, that's

Stuart Webb [00:03:58]:

And what do you find people that you are dealing with have have tried in the past, Lubna, to sort of overcome these issues before before they sort of seek help from somebody like yourself?

Lubna Samara [00:04:07]:

Five mean, the reason why I was smiling is because just, a couple of my clients were very senior. And, 1 of the symptoms of burnout actually that, again, is very little spoken about, is anger management. Now this is 1 of the less appealing manifestations of stress. And, like, these guys have kind of smashed laptops down in meetings, coffee pots, and, and they end up getting blacklisted across the board, right, because of that kind of behavior. And typically, they come to me saying, you know, don't talk to me about my mother. And obviously, obviously, they've been sent to therapy before. You know? So III don't start off with that. We start with the behavioral aspects.

Lubna Samara [00:05:00]:

And as soon as they feel more in control, they kind of start thinking, well, I I need to look deeper. And then we do go back into that. So that is, 1 aspect, say, of burnout that can really that is more unusual. That is more unusual. But typically most people have tried working on themselves, they've tried personal development, they've tried, they're actually curious. A lot of people already have analyzed and worked out the whole situation and that's 1 of the problems in fact, Because jumping to conclusions can create even more problems and can keep you stuck in a loop.

Stuart Webb [00:05:45]:

That's amazing. We're gonna get to your to your book and I guess, I'll I'll I'll I'll put a a scroll up now about, your book which is which is Beyond Potential. Stuart to me a little bit about, thank you.

Lubna Samara [00:06:00]:

Talk to

Stuart Webb [00:06:01]:

me a little bit about about Beyond Potential and and and the sort of advice that you five, in the book.

Lubna Samara [00:06:10]:

The book deals with all these issues basically. And, more than that though, I mean, apart from it's the way we're working. I, again, as a healer, I'm very keen on raising awareness and so that people can become independent and catch their problems themselves, So we work holistically, body, heart, mind and spirit, and Webb work literally section by section. So in chapter 2, we're really looking at the more physiological kind of problems like triggering and anxiety triggering and jumping to conclusions. It's our expectations. I mean, these are all psychology theories that are very well established that show us how these can get us into into trouble and how to fix them. The the workarounds generally can be quite easy to manage. So the book tells you how to do that.

Lubna Samara [00:07:05]:

In chapter 3, we look at emotional intelligence and how to raise that. We look at emotional sovereignty and how to bring your awareness back and calm your heart down. It's when our hearts get engaged, our our we lose clarity. When we lose clarity, we we end up stuck. You know, this is really I'm very, very big on clarity and gaining clarity. Through calming the heart and the mind, we start gaining clarity. And, in chapter 3, we look at resilience and empathy. And then we move into chapter 4, which is more about the mind and how to get the mind to to get rid of all the fog in the mind.

Lubna Samara [00:07:44]:

But also as a healer, I work a lot with the superconscious mind, the higher mind, and coaches these days call this your genius. And accessing that part of our minds and each 1 of us has it, you know, you're born it's a facility you're born with. It's not a question of, you know, you've already got it and chances are almost everybody would have used it, would be using it at some level without really being aware of it. So bringing more awareness to that, developing that brings very tangible benefits to the workplace, five better communications, better focus and concentration, and and inspiring creativity. So and then in chapter 5 Webb then look for me what is the heart of the book is really the spirit aspect Webb we're going deeper into the self, we're looking at values, we're looking at purpose, we're looking at a deeper alignment, we're looking at connecting better to our work environment, to our family, to our community, and to be more authentic, and how to do all of that. So that's the book kind of takes you through all of these chapter by chapter pretty much and in the final chapter, in the beginning of the book, we start by looking at what your dreams were, what did you want to do when you were a child and how has Stuart, what aspects have you taken through into adulthood? And in the final chapter, we end up doing your journey of transformation. So we look at where you are today, what are the challenges that have held you back and taking you to the dreams that you've and your ambitions to and charting that path clearly. So that's basically the book.

Stuart Webb [00:09:25]:

Brilliant. Brilliant. You have a you have AAA Webb as well, higherwill.com. Are there are there any, pieces of advice, workbooks, and things like that on the on the website which can help people to understand better themselves what they're trying to do?

Lubna Samara [00:09:45]:

There are a lot of blogs actually on the website. So for instance, there is, 1 blog, to do with values and and and that gives, I give an exercise on team building in that. But the work there is a workbook that comes with the book Beyond Potential, which I've kept at a low price. I mean, it's 2 past 40 for the Kindle version. And, with that, at the end of chapter 1, you can download the workbook for free, which is a substantial document in its own right. It's it's a it's a 50 page document. At the moment, it's free with the book, and, that takes you chapter by chapter through all the exercises. Actually, I was talking to somebody a few days ago, and, he was telling me how he loved 1 of the meditations.

Lubna Samara [00:10:31]:

And actually it's an energy exercise, a very simple I give you very simple energy exercises in the book, in the workbook, because developing that is a really important aspect, but we'll come to that in a minute I think. But it's, yeah, so he was telling me how much he loved it and how it actually healed his neck, which he was struggling with for some days. And, yeah. So it's and and there are also meditations.

Stuart Webb [00:11:00]:

There there

Lubna Samara [00:11:01]:

are a lot of exercises, so that is free with the workbook. I'm sorry. That is free with the book. The workbook is free with the book. And, and also there are a lot of diagrams in the book. And, you also get with the book AAA PDF of all the diagrams in color because they make a lot more sense in color.

Stuart Webb [00:11:22]:

Tell me, you you you were you're sort of talking that a little bit about, about, these meditations. I mean, how did you how did you discover this? How did you get into it? What was the what was the the the the source of this, for you and and how is how is this helped the leaders that you that you're working with now?

Lubna Samara [00:11:41]:

Well, that's a good question. I got into it it's a long it's a long story. I was actually, a mathematician who worked in the petroleum industry, then I moved into banking, I did an MBA in finance, and I started seeing energy fields. And, I never really expected to be a healer. I I Webb along, and the first course I went to was in January 93. So it's a long time. And I really just did it to get an experience of what it was about. You know, I was doing a lot of Tai Chi and a lot of meditation which I developed myself and I went to a lot of classes and I kind of put together what I liked, which was about feeling the love cause I see it all around us and focusing on that.

Lubna Samara [00:12:32]:

It's really, you know, you can focus on all the negativity, which is gonna keep your thoughts over, you know. But if you focus on all the five, you can rise above pretty much anything. And it really is about, you know, the old Oscar Wilde adage, you know, we're all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the Stuart, right? So it's about that. And the meditations really developed out of that. And the guided meditations are part meditations and part energy work. So we start with grounding and grounding and connecting to earth is extremely important and that helps anybody. I mean, people with tech burnout five, in Japan, they send them, they they use forest bathing to to heal people with tech burnout because nature is such an important part and harmonizing our energy fields with nature is extremely important. We can do it through energy healing but you can do it just by going out for long walks in nature.

Lubna Samara [00:13:31]:

Your energy fields will harmonize and and and nature is a massive healer for us, you know, so everybody benefits from that. You know, this is 1 of the reasons why people go in teams to to to go hiking together and to it resets It sets us all on the same level. We're all equal where nature is concerned and it builds connectedness and it's over healing thing to do.

Stuart Webb [00:14:02]:

Lubna, we've been talking for a while now and and you've answered some questions very fully. There must be 1 that you're currently thinking. I I do wish you'd ask me about this because that's the real critical question. So tell me what's that question that you really want me to ask and obviously, as you've asked, you will have asked a brilliant questions. You better give us an answer to it. So what's that question you really do think I should have asked you?

Lubna Samara [00:14:26]:

I'm not sure it's a critical question, but it's a question I've been asked quite a lot since actually I gave the book to my beta readers from the beginning. In the book Webb work with 4 modalities: we work with psychology and coaching as 1 pillar. We work with meditation as a second pillar. Webb work with energy works, energy, the principles of energy healing, and we work with the quest, your questions in what it is in life. Right? Now I've been asked from the beginning, do you need to put the energy works in? What does it contribute? Because it's a bit weird and it might put people off who are who don't believe in it. And I would just say, first of all, there is a lot of research to show that energy healing does work. I mean, clinically, 1 of the largest, I'm with an organization called The Healing Trust and 1 of the largest clinical trials was actually done by 1 of the fellows of the Healing Trusts, Sandy Edwards with Birmingham City University. And the results of that trial were so, Webb so strong that the, doctor Michael Dixon, who's head of the Royal Medical Household and past head of the past chair of the NHS Alliance wrote a forward for the book recommending and I think, I hope I'm getting this right, but I think he recommends that the NHS should take it very seriously and start looking at bringing in healers into the NHS to cut costs.

Lubna Samara [00:16:01]:

So there's a lot of research, a lot of it is in the book, throughout the book is kind of peppered in. But for me, I really wanted to put it in because as somebody who myself was skeptical about it and I was kind of, when I was still working in banking and I started seeing energy fields and I started doing a lot of Tai Chi and meditation, somebody stopped me and said, you know, you've got very strong energy, you should do energy healing. And I was like, I don't do that. I'm a mathematician. And then I caught myself and I thought, oh God, I hate that kind of thinking, I'm gonna go. And so I did really, I went really as to find out a little bit more about it and how it works. And by the 3rd session I came out, you know, I was like, wow. You know, I was really I felt struck and I was thinking Webb use 5 to 7% of our cognitive processes.

Lubna Samara [00:16:58]:

This is some of the rest. And I realized I'm not using my usual kind of mind. So in a nutshell, energy healing, just developing the faculty. I don't teach in the book how to heal other people, but just to develop the faculty and to understand the basics, give you very basic exercises to heal yourself, but it you can't heal without empathy. Okay? It's really it's it's it's it so it really develops your empathy. It really develops your intuition because you're using your intuitive faculties. And I teach you how to do that in the book in order to connect more fully to your over senses. And you see people from Oprah Winfrey Stuart to to Jeff, gosh I've forgotten his name, the guy who started Amazon.

Stuart Webb [00:17:50]:

Bezos.

Lubna Samara [00:17:51]:

Thank you. All of them attribute their success to their intuition. And research even shows that of leaders over successful, very successful people over a 10 year period, all of them, most of them attribute their success to their intuition. So this is extremely important, faculty. And healing helps you to develop that awareness, but also it helps you to connect your higher mind. So we heal with that and, the practice of it, the discipline of it. If I had my way, I would get children to do that at school and get them to develop it very early on because the benefits are so powerful. And so that's really the 1 question that I would have asked you.

Stuart Webb [00:18:35]:

Lopne, thank you very much for for spending a few minutes with us and and talking about that. I'm I know you're a a busy person and so I'm gonna I'm gonna leave you to get on and and help others. I'm just gonna just gonna point out, as we come to the end, if you would like to, get on to the newsletter and find out when people like over, I'm a great guest. Coming on to this podcast to talk so that you can engage ask questions get on to the to the to this link, which is HTTPS colon forward slash forward slash link.thecompleteapproach.co.ukforward/newsletter. That's link dot the complete approach.co.uk forward slash newsletter and obviously like and subscribe to this podcast as well and tell all your friends about it because that way we get more people knowing about the great work that people like over are doing at the moment to help us all so love with all of that, said. Thank you so much for coming in and spending a few minutes with us really appreciate the time that you've spent and well get out there and help a few more people to overcome some of those stresses and, burnout that I know it is a major problem in businesses today.

Lubna Samara [00:19:50]:

And, Stuart, thank you very much for having this platform and hosting people like me and, I look forward to seeing more of your podcasts.

Stuart Webb [00:19:58]:

Thank you, Lorna.

Lubna Samara [00:20:00]:

Thank you.

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Who is Alex?

Alex Dumas is a passionate advocate for representation and diversity in the boardroom. Facing the fear of failure and the pressure of succeeding for future generations, Alex understands the importance of focusing on the generational impact while not sabotaging oneself. With a belief in regrouping and recovering from mistakes, Alex aims to break the stigma attached to people of color in the corporate world. Through their work, Alex is committed to creating a more inclusive and accepting environment for all professionals.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Challenges facing people of color in leadership.

04:37 Coaching changed perspectives, empowering questions lead forward.

07:00 Nonprofit leaders face burnout from overcommitment.

12:47 Free audio gift to improve leadership skills.

16:59 Early coaching was about impressing, now understanding matters.

20:26 Alex, thank you for the insightful chat.

22:02 Grateful for the opportunity to make a difference.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Download a FREE audio lesson https://www.alexdumascoaching.com/f/everybody-wins

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

world champion boxer, warm up, business leaders, mindset, fear, competition, inspirational, motivational speaker, teamwork, individual, team, potential, self-improvement, frequency of vibration, mindset, brain health, Samaritan, mental boxing, mental health, future, identity crisis, depression, bankruptcy, Landmark Forum, team support, positivity, newsletter, insights, life lessons, business owners

SPEAKERS

Alex Dumas, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:15]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science five questions over Coffee. My, well, my coffee is here in front of me. I'm here with Alex, my guest today. Alex, really pleased to have you on. Alex is a a keynote speaker and executive coach. He's a a a global movement leader, and he's the VP of the BIPOC Coach Collective and a partner of black leaders worldwide. Again, a man with a really impressive CV. So I'm really looking forward to the to the discussion we're gonna have today.

Stuart Webb [00:00:42]:

Alex, welcome to It's Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee.

Alex Dumas [00:00:48]:

Hey. Great morning, Stuart. Thank you for this invitation. Looking forward to this conversation.

Stuart Webb [00:00:53]:

Terrific. Well, look. Let's start with the the the the the reason that we're here, Alex. So who who are the people you're trying to help? You know, you've got an impressive CVU. You're working with some impressive people. Who who are those people that you're trying to help? What What's the the main problem they face in their business and personal lives?

Alex Dumas [00:01:11]:

Yeah. Great question. A lot of my work has been centered around black executive men, BIPOC leaders of color. So sometimes they're in the corporate spaces. Sometimes they're entrepreneurs, so they're coaches, consultants, things of that nature. And there's some specific challenges that they're having. Some of them look like this Webb leaders, in this case, can feel isolated. They can feel lonely because they may be the only one in the room that looks like them.

Alex Dumas [00:01:37]:

They may be going to boardrooms or having these conversations in c suite, and they're they're trying to crack over get in that room or if they're they're already in there, they're like, well, I'm the only one here. Maybe I'm not gonna be respected. Maybe I'm not gonna be, accepted, which is a big challenge. They have this fear of failure. Right? They're carrying this pressure of, I have to succeed so that generations down the line have opportunities too, and I'm a big proponent of that. I I really believe in making sure we focus on the generational impact, but not to the degree where it sabotages ourselves, where we harm ourselves to to be perfect, to get everything right because, Stuart, if you're like me, you make mistakes. You you flub, you you you mess up things, and then you regroup and recover. And, unfortunately, out here in America, there is that challenge of if you do mess up, if you're a person of color, then there's that stigma attached.

Alex Dumas [00:02:39]:

Like, oh, maybe he wasn't good enough. Maybe she wasn't smart enough, maybe we rushed her into this promotion, maybe he's not really built for this yet. And so there is that pressure to to perform, but at the same time, I look at helping them expand their dreams. Right? The dreams of this generational impact of breaking these generational curses of achieving these the financial freedom that is vital for our lives. So if someone says, hey. Money's not important. Like, let's just get back into reality for a second. Money is pretty important to support a lifestyle and and support different ventures that they five.

Alex Dumas [00:03:22]:

And and really the the the big dream is embracing their authenticity. Right? Just

Stuart Webb [00:03:30]:

Mhmm.

Alex Dumas [00:03:30]:

Being themselves, showing up, and feeling the weight release, feeling the feeling the pressure gone, and they know that they can do their best work without this this weight on them. So those are the type of things that I work on with clients and one on one are in groups, and these are the secret dreams, the secret fears that sometimes they don't wanna admit, but it's there. That's it's what gets in the way most times of really breaking through ascending to a neck to their next level of success.

Stuart Webb [00:04:01]:

Alex, tell me, you you've talked talked passionately there about, you know, getting away from some of those sort of barriers that that that inhibit. I know I know you must look at some of these leaders and think, well, you know, these are the things you're doing wrong, and I'll I'll get to that in a minute. But how did you overcome some of those, some of those problems yourself? How did you manage to break through from where you were into where you are now?

Alex Dumas [00:04:37]:

Yeah. Good question. There's a combination of things. 1, I would say coaching was one of the big maybe maybe the biggest influence of helping me just see life differently because I came from a background of middle middle class, you know, youngest of 4 children. So I'd like to say that my parents saved the best for last, But I grew up not feeling important, feeling invisible, being in different spaces where I didn't feel heard, I didn't feel seen. And what I saw is the differences, the quality of questions I would ask myself when I was younger, going into young adulthood, all these different things. I would ask myself questions five, why is life this way? Why can't I have this? Why isn't this meant for me or why can't I be here? Those aren't bad questions, but what I found was a space to ask myself empowering questions. Questions like, well, what do I wanna create from this? What do I wanna choose to do here? Who's available or what is available that can help me and that can serve me? How can I contribute? Right? That helps that's helped me move forward.

Alex Dumas [00:05:43]:

So coaching and and mentorship has been a big part and, obviously, the other big revelation or the the big influence in my life has been my wife. My wife, Sarah, we've been together now for 18 years, married for 14, and she is one of the first people outside of my family, you know, and and friends, but someone who really helped me anchor and ground myself and see possibility. And I like to say it like this, if I could see a possibility that I could be in the possibility. If I don't see an option, if I don't believe that there's an opportunity for me, then the obstacles are just gonna be all I see. That's gonna be in front of my face, and I won't be able to advance.

Stuart Webb [00:06:29]:

That's great news. That's great. Jules, just giving you a a big big big up big up there, Alex, with with Go Alex. So I'm pleased. Jules, thank you for watching in. So we we were talking a little bit about some of the the leaders you're trying to help. Tell me, you know, what is it they've done before they sort of turn to the sort of advice, coaching that you can bring to them and help them? How have they tried to effectively, how have they tried to solve their own problem?

Alex Dumas [00:07:00]:

Yeah. They they've gone down a road that I've gone down when I was in nonprofit leadership for for 10 years where, 1, I would say they would try too hard. Right? Just try to force, like I mentioned before, the the pressure, they might look like working long hours, less sleep, kinda getting on the grind, you know, 5 AM wake up, 2 2 AM, go to sleep. Right? And just having this unhealthy attachment and and really addiction to trying to be successful in sacrificing time with family, sacrificing their own health journey, sacrificing if they're a person of faith or spiritual practice. Right? Because they have to get it done. They have to achieve it. They have to make the thing happen. Another challenge that I see for them and and I laugh because this is this is my life for many years of not asking for help of I should know this already.

Alex Dumas [00:07:56]:

I'm in this position. If I ask, then someone's gonna know that I don't know the answer, and then I look Stuart, and then they don't trust me and right? All these things that we make up in our heads, and that's that breeds resentment. That breeds gossiping. And some workplace things are are real. You know, you might hear the term microaggressions. You might hear the term, you know, I can't think of the other words right now, but just stay Webb you on this. Right? The resentment, the gossiping, and that energy attaches itself to you. Right? If I'm thinking about this manager, I don't like her Webb don't like him.

Alex Dumas [00:08:37]:

He's always doing this to me. Right? We come back into this victim place. This is where Mhmm. The the men I've and and clients I've worked with, that's where they struggle the most when they're putting their attention on what this person's doing and what they're up to and how they affected them. And, really, let's not victim blame. Right? It's not shame, but they take responsibility. What am I doing? Who am I being? Where am I coming from when I'm in this process or in this scenario?

Stuart Webb [00:09:07]:

Yeah. Yeah. I it's true, isn't it? We we so often, and I I see this with with with business leaders. They're they're focusing on, you know, what is it they're doing and and and they they choose to respond in a negative way to something. And you sort of say, well, the the the choice was entirely yours. You can choose 1 of 2 paths, and you always seem to choose the one that's somehow destructive to yourself. It is about taking that choice and making that that decision to say no. You know, like you said, your wife helped you to see if there's a if there's a path that will take take you better.

Stuart Webb [00:09:46]:

Take the path that will take you better. Even if somebody else is doing something, don't worry about it. You have to choose that path.

Alex Dumas [00:09:53]:

Yeah. It doesn't diminish it. It doesn't I I say it like this from the stage. Just because you can do anything doesn't mean you have to do everything.

Stuart Webb [00:10:01]:

Yes. Agreed. Absolutely.

Alex Dumas [00:10:03]:

Watching, someone listening, I want you to really, like, put a finger in your ear so it doesn't go out and doesn't go in and go out the other. Right? You can do anything. Yeah. You're you're more than capable. You're highly qualified. You have track record of success, but recognize there's over people in those space who can serve you, that can help you, that can actually get you there faster than you can do on your own and with more ease and with grace. And at the end of the day, who doesn't wanna have more fun in the success process? Right? This in our on our destination. It doesn't have to be this, oh, goodness.

Alex Dumas [00:10:39]:

I gotta do it all myself, and I'm self made. Nobody that I've ever met has been self made. And if they are, then they won't admit it because they're probably in the self destructive mode, and they can't see it.

Stuart Webb [00:10:52]:

Yeah. I love that, Alex. I really do love that. And I I suppose, my own journey, I I was a scientist long before I started out in business and I worked out very early on that I, you know, I was standing on the shoulders of giants because they'd come before me and worked out principles that I was just gonna extend. And, you know, so I've never ever understood this belief that somehow to be successful, you have to be self made because as far as I can see, we're all standing we're all standing on somebody else's, successes and somebody else's movement. And even if you only add a a small amount to that, as long as you add in the right way, that takes you forward. It takes everybody forward. You can lift you can lift everybody out.

Stuart Webb [00:11:34]:

I I do find it disappointing that people don't see that they can actually sort of, take that take the take take the positives and and move things forward. Let let's just turn to to to one of the sorry. Go ahead.

Alex Dumas [00:11:50]:

No. I was gonna stow this analogy out where someone told this to me long time ago about this principle of of being self made and doing it all yourself. And they asked me, it was, how how many people does it take to make a peanut butter jelly sandwich? And my initial response is like, oh, it's me. I just take the bread and I'm so, like, well, did you eat the bread? Did you package it? Did you do all these things? Did how'd you did you, were you the blacksmith that that forged the knife, the butter knife? Right? So there's a lot more out there. There's a lot more people who are contributing to your success than you believe.

Stuart Webb [00:12:24]:

Absolutely brilliant. Love the analogy. Love the analogy. Have you got a a valuable piece of advice? And I'm sort of gonna put, that your your website here. Have you got a valuable piece of advice or something that you'd leave with people that you can you can direct them to that that would help them in their journey to to take on some of the stuff you talking about?

Alex Dumas [00:12:47]:

Yeah. One of the things I would share with them is, free audio that I've recorded. It's called everybody wins 3 mistakes that leaders make, and it kinda touches on some of the things we spoke about earlier where the the pressure to perform, the the loneliness, the the hiding, the not asking for help, these are the things that get in the way of making innovative change of what Five looked to call generational impact and and uplifting communities. And this is a free audio gift. It's something I give away when I talk, so another way that I can be of use is come book me to speak for your team, for your organization. WiTalk is the win win communicator. It's a new way for leaders to listen, and it's it's coming from a place of not necessarily the tools of, like, you gotta actively listen and make sure you I really look at it from the space of, like, your state of being. Who are you when you're listening to people? What are the biases that you're holding? What are the what's the chatter inside of you that is blocking you from connecting with somebody? And and one of my signature phrases that I love to say is build a bigger bubble, and this kinda goes into the the premise of doing you could do anything, but not you don't have to do everything.

Alex Dumas [00:13:59]:

So building a bigger bubble meaning expanding, having a dream, having a vision so big that your team, your your your family, anybody around you can see themselves inside of it, and they actually start to champion you. They start to advocate. They start to be your evangelist of, man, this is where we're going. This is what we're doing. Who doesn't love following somebody or being on a journey with somebody who's got who's up to something big. Right? Who's up to a a huge a huge bigger larger than life vision, and it might seem impossible, but it's only impossible till we do it.

Stuart Webb [00:14:34]:

Brilliant. I've put the the link, to to that, which is on your website. I'll just read it out for those people who are unable at the moment to to to write anything down, but this will be in the show notes, people. It's a h t t p s colon forward slash for effect, www. Alexander Dumas coaching. That's that's obviously Alexander Dumas. He he can probably work at.

Alex Dumas [00:14:55]:

But but I do Alex on. Like, I'm I'm after yeah. After the Alexander Dumas.

Stuart Webb [00:15:00]:

Yeah. Alexand dumascoaching.comforward/f/ everybody hyphen wins. So that's alexdumascoaching.com/f/everybodywins. That'll be in the the the the show notes. Go and download that that, that that that audio. It's a free piece of content Alex gives away. So, Alex, thank you for that. Alex, it was there a particular book or a program that, that that that that that that you would leave as a a valuable, valuable thought, that sort of started you thinking about this? You've mentioned your wife.

Stuart Webb [00:15:35]:

There are other things that must have sort of begun to sort of make you the man you are today.

Alex Dumas [00:15:42]:

Yes. Yeah. Thank you. One speech in particular comes to my mind is from Les Brown. It's his famous, you gotta be hungry. Right? Yeah. Because I think he was he was in the Georgia Dome. It was some sometime probably in, like, in the late eighties, maybe early nineties, and it's a speech that Five first watched probably 2014, maybe 2015, and it to me, in my opinion, is the best speech I've ever seen, ever written, like, I've, to this day.

Alex Dumas [00:16:13]:

Right? I still come to it, and I still find inspiration from it. I still find nuggets from it. So that as part of an audio and seeing myself, right, seeing that model then and having this vision, this dream for myself of maybe I could do that. What would it be five if I were in front of a stadium full of people? You know, MetLife Stadium. I'm from New York originally, so I think about Giant Stadium. Like, wow. What would it be like if I could be there or Madison Square Garden? So that's one piece of content. The other book that I would say has greatly influenced my work as coaches called The Prosperous Coach that's was written by Steve Chandler and Rich Lipman, and it helped me it it connected with me in a space that it helped me slow down and look at authentic connections with people.

Alex Dumas [00:16:59]:

Because a lot of my early work as a coach was kind of spray and pray, kinda hunt and try to kill and get attention, look at me, and and be impressive. And what I recognize is the distinction of me being impressed Stuart doesn't allow this other person to be expressive. And when the when I work with clients, when I work with people, the thing they really want the most to know is just, do you understand me? Do you get me? Do you see me? Do you understand where I'm coming from? And if I can do that and create a safety for themselves to, you know, just kind of share a little bit more and shed the skin and get the pretenses on them, really get down to who they are and what they're they're looking to do. Miracles occur. That's the best I can call. So Prosper's Coach and that Les Brown talk, you gotta be hungry have been 2 massively influential pieces of content that have shaped who I am.

Stuart Webb [00:17:51]:

Alex, thank you so much. Alex, thank you for spending a few minutes with us. And I guess at the moment, you must be thinking there's a question that he hasn't asked and you really should five asked it by now. So what's the question that I should have asked you? And, obviously, if you were gonna ask a really intelligent question like that, you better give us a really good answer to it. So what is the question that you would don't think that I have asked properly?

Alex Dumas [00:18:15]:

Now this point isn't your fault specifically, but I think a good question that right. I'm gonna put the blame game on. But, all jokes aside, I think the I think the valuable question here would be, how do we help black leaders, black and brown leaders, ascend? Right? I think that's a great question that could be asked, and lucky for you, I have an answer for that. And that specifically is a 1 on 1 container that I I I've created called Ascension. So play on words. You can be like, oh my goodness, Alex. You're cheeky. Yeah.

Alex Dumas [00:18:51]:

Alright. I'm clever. I love to do fun things like that. But Ascension is this it's a 12 week intimate conversation with somebody and looking at helping them advance in their career and helping them to develop themselves as leaders, helping them to build the best practices of building relationships and and networking and building their confidence and looking at their life's work. I don't necessarily subscribe to this thought of work five balance because here I am right now, I'm speaking with you, Stuart. That means I'm ignoring my family. I'm ignoring my kids, Not because I'm bad or I'm a, you know, mean dad, but because my attention is focused on you and my work and also for you, whoever's watching, whoever's listening. My impact right now, I'm focused on you.

Alex Dumas [00:19:38]:

And then when I'm done, I'll be complete, and I'll move on to my family. But the things we've spoken up beef about before about how do we make impact, how do we embrace ourselves authentically, how do we create financial freedom, these are pieces of what Ascension looks like, and it's gonna be this elite edge for black men in business. This opportunity for them to just have that that thing, that one thing that separates them. I don't wanna say the competition, but separates them from holding themselves back and and it's a a beautiful offering that I five to invite anyone listening to to experience for themselves and create major major awareness and breakthroughs for their life and their business. So that's how we can help people ascend.

Stuart Webb [00:20:26]:

Alex, I love I love I love the fact that you've been cheeky about that, and thank you for having a clever answer to a to a question that I didn't didn't ask properly. So, Alex, I really wanna thank you for spending a few minutes with us. I know now you can go and take your focus off talking to silly people like me, and you can go and concentrate on something important like your family and your kids. And, I know you've got 2 2 kids, I think, haven't you? So you can get out there and you can you can go and enjoy your time with them rather than be, rather than be focusing on us. But thank you for spending a few minutes with us and telling us a bit about how you have, overcome those thought processes and how you're helping others to do exactly the same thing to to plow that fat path. Listen, people. I'm gonna wrap up with Alex now because he's got other things to do. If you would like to hear from, from me every week with a with an update on who's coming on to the show next week.

Stuart Webb [00:21:21]:

I send out one every week. And if you wanna do that, if you can go to the HTTP thing, link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk. That's link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk forward slash newsletter. You can come on and, spend a few minutes, just listening to really inspiring talking points from people as inspiring as Alex. And, Alex, I wanna just thank you, for coming on and spending a few minutes. Really appreciate the effort you've taken, and, I wish you I wish you get out and spend some time with your kids because, they're as important as anything else you you're doing at the moment.

Alex Dumas [00:22:02]:

No. Much appreciated. And I'll say this, there's nothing been silly about this conversation. I love the questions. I love your energy, and thank you for inviting me onto this program and for my work. If this is influential, this is supporting, you know, at least over person. Alright? That that sounds like a cliche, but, really, if it helps moves one person, then I've done my job. I've I've served in a way that I know how to do best, and I'm gonna spend some time with the family then get back to doing what I do best, making a difference, and contributing.

Stuart Webb [00:22:33]:

I'm with you on that, Alex. If we can help one person, that's Webb person that we've, we've pushed a little bit further. And who knows? They will take the they they will take us on further. So thank you very much for spending 8 minutes with us.

Alex Dumas [00:22:45]:

You're welcome. Thank you.

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View Details

Who is Billy?

Billy Schwer is a renowned world champion boxer turned leadership coach. With his expertise in boxing, he helps individuals develop a winning mindset to succeed in their personal and professional lives. Despite facing his own health challenges, Billy remains dedicated to inspiring and motivating others through his speaking engagements and coaching services. His resilience and determination make him a powerful force in the world of leadership development.

Key Takeaways

00:00 World champion boxer teaches leadership through mindset.

05:28 Striving for natural wellness despite discomfort.

08:14 Important lesson: adapt energy and communication style.

11:55 Boxer breaks stereotypes, faces post-retirement challenges.

14:57 Early midlife crisis led to boxing retirement.

19:11 Love yourself, share the available life.

22:08 Focus on the future, let go of the past.

23:38 I want the world to hear about it.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Download a copy of Billy’s book FREE at www.billyschwer.com/book or an audio version at www.billyschwer.com/free-audio

A video version of this podcast is also at

https://youtube.com/live/IJxKjJitHj0?feature=share

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Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

SPEAKERS

Billy Schwer, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:19]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science. Five questions over. I've got a copy. Billy's got one. Billy, this is gonna be a brilliant conversation. I'm really looking forward to this man. Billy Stuart, he is a world champion boxer. As you can tell, he's doing his he's doing his warm up now.

Stuart Webb [00:00:35]:

I'm gonna be

Stuart Webb [00:00:36]:

in trouble. Up. I'm

Stuart Webb [00:00:38]:

ready. I'm gonna be in trouble with this one. Billy, world champion, but he's turned what he knows about boxing into helping you become a better leader because he can help you change your mindset to the mindset he had to have as a world champion boxer. If you can imagine not having the fear of being boxed out of a ring by your business and taking on your competition and taking them on in a way that you will not only believe is possible, but this man can take on the world. Billy, it is my absolute pleasure to have you here on it's not rocket science, 5 questions over coffee. I'm really looking forward to this because you are such an inspirational motivational speaker. Thank you for spending a few minutes with us, and I know we've had to sort of put this one back a bit because you weren't well. So I hope you're feeling really good.

Billy Schwer [00:01:28]:

I'm 10 out of 10 today for you right now. I am a 10 out of 10. And it's it's not rocket science. It is science. The sweet science as Boxed is well known. The noble art and the sweet science. Yes. It is

Stuart Webb [00:01:43]:

Listen. I am gonna have so much I five so much trouble keeping this man inside of this box. Listen, Billy, tell us. What is it? You you know, who is it you're trying to help with this? Because you I mean, you know, you've you've gone from boxing. You you you you know, you're now a really motivational, inspirational speaker. Who is it you're trying to help, or what is it you're trying to teach them?

Billy Schwer [00:02:05]:

Basically, it's business leaders and teams. So what I'm all about, inspiring and empowering leaders, teams, individuals to be able to punch above their weight, win more often, and experience more success in all that they do. So that's the context of what I'm all about. And the work that I do is such that it it allows for something else to show up within them. So we're all individuals, but we're all in a team as well because we all know without teamwork, the dream don't work. But we are an individual, so we that's the I focus on the individual within the team and the team as a whole. If everyone's aligned and everyone's boxing clever, moving towards a desired outcome as a as a unit, results can get caused. And it's starting from here, and it's being fully responsible for that.

Billy Schwer [00:03:04]:

And that's what I do. I get people to really look at themselves, and let's let's have a little look Stuart. I mean, the common question I ask people, where are you on a scale of 0 to 10? The listeners out there, where are you today on a scale of 0 to 10? 0 being bang knocked out on the canvas, 10 feeling like the champion of the world. So you'll you'll have a number. And, Stuart, you'll have a number. Yeah. Webb a number. So what my intention is is to really elevate whatever that number is.

Billy Schwer [00:03:37]:

Because a lot of people that I work with, there may be a 4, 5, 6. So if you're walking around operating at 50, 60% of your potential, that's what I like to do. I like to unravel what's in the way such that people can have this energy, this frequency of vibration, and operate in all areas of their life from a different frequency because things are gonna occur different if you got your if you raise your game. So my it's looking at what's in the way of people experiencing a 10 out of 10, an 8, a 9, a 10 out of 10. And that's the kind of work that I do as an individual, but as teams as well.

Stuart Webb [00:04:18]:

So, Billy, let's just, let me just just just ask. And and it sort of combined with my second question, which is sort of what people done before to try and get them out of this tent. We all know that some days you feel like a 10. Some days you feel like a 0. So how do you get up every single day and make yourself 10 out of 10? Because you can't get into a boxing ring and feel like you're a 0 because you will immediately get knocked out, won't you?

Billy Schwer [00:04:42]:

So what so I had a 138 fights in total as an amateur and a professional. So I had 45 professional fights. Winning the British, the Commonwealth, and eventually the world championships are my 4th attempt. So there were occasions where I stepped up into the ring, and I wasn't a 10 out of 10. So I've got a knack. I've trained myself Webb required to be able to generate the energy to go and do what I need to do. So I've that I'm conditioned to do that, but sometimes I don't always feel that way. So sometimes in life, we have to kinda step up and raise up and kind of generate ourselves to go and do the task ahead of us.

Billy Schwer [00:05:28]:

But what we want to try and do is to feel naturally more near a 10 out and just more naturally. And I don't wake up every day at 10 out of 10. Webb, I can generate a so I so my day to day, I've I've I've I've meditated, I've hydrated, I've been for a run, I've done some work. That's before Five I'm engaged in my conversation with you. So I've I know I didn't really wanna go for a run this morning because it hurts. It's hard. What makes you feel me? And I'm running and I'm thinking, Webb, I really wanna be out here running. And it's five, sometimes Webb just gotta we gotta wake up to the fact Webb gotta do things we don't always wanna do.

Billy Schwer [00:06:12]:

And that's the being responsible. As a fighter, stepping up into the ring, without teamwork the dream don't work. Without the without the team behind me, there was no way I could go and get into the ring. But when the bell goes, the team, they all step backwards out of the out of the ring, and we step forward. So there is no place to hide. You can run, but you can't hide. So we have to wake up to the fact of this is my life. This is it.

Billy Schwer [00:06:39]:

This is my challenge. This is my battle, and I can't I five to be fully responsible for it. I can't I'm not a victim. Don't be a victim. You gotta wake up to the fact of you are it. You are the one that you've been waiting for. The cavalry is not coming to save you. So then it's five, we have to surround ourselves with a supportive network of teams, and we have to look at ourselves, our mindset, lots of people neglect.

Billy Schwer [00:07:10]:

And it's the taking care of the mindset, our own brain health, what we feed ourselves, who we talk to, what we read, what we listen to, who are we, what we what we doing, what we up to. And that's kind of what I have to connect with. Yeah. Now I volunteer Yeah. I volunteer as a Samaritan. I know you know the Samaritan, Stuart.

Stuart Webb [00:07:31]:

Yeah. Yeah.

Billy Schwer [00:07:32]:

So Billy the boxer I have to leave Billy the boxer at the door. When I go and do a shift for the Samaritans, I have to tune in to a different Billy because Billy the boxer is is of no use to the callers. So it's being able to adapt and be aware of different parts of ourselves to tap into when required. And a lot of the time, I do rest. I recuperate. I'll go and have a lie down. I so, so important. Nourishment, food is so important for us to then be able to turn on when required because we can't be on all the time because that's stressful.

Stuart Webb [00:08:14]:

Billy, these are really important lessons because what you're talking about is how you bring that sort of energy, that sort of natural way of thinking to different situations in business. And and and business leaders are very poor at doing that, listening, if you like, to the environment, you know, like you were talking about the I mean, the Samaritan situation and I'm in the sales situation. They bring the same person. And what you've just really highlighted is important to bringing different bits of your energy, different bits of your personality, and making it adapt. I mean and I often say that the problem that we have is that we believe communication is about what we do, but it's not. Communication is what what the listener does, about what the person receiving the communication does. And if we end up speaking to them in the wrong tone, we end up speaking to them in the wrong way, it's a bit like one of your punches. One of your punches had to land in the right way, didn't it, in order to have any effect.

Stuart Webb [00:09:13]:

Pointless punching somebody in the wrong way because it doesn't actually do what it needs to do. It's just a waste of your energy. You five to tune it to exactly what you needed to do at the time. And you're right. Sorry to bring the boxing back in, but I thought it was important.

Billy Schwer [00:09:28]:

Stuart, you're so right. And it's the communication because we're we're communicating all the five, and it's not necessary language. It's body language. It's tone. It's how we're how we're presenting ourselves and how we're feeling. So the feeling from within so if your frequency is raised, you're gonna be just different. So if you're walking into sales environments, business meetings, an 8, 9, elevate itself, it's gonna be different. The communications, you're gonna be in tune.

Billy Schwer [00:09:59]:

And I meditate because what that allows to be it's like I have a heightened state. When I meditate and I do breath work, I energize my brain. And, honestly, it's like an intellectual upgrade that I have. I could experience it. My language is different. My articulation is different. It just raises myself up, and that's available for us all. If and I've been I've been playing about all of this stuff for over 20 years now, tweaking it, looking at it, what works, what doesn't work, wherever I come from.

Billy Schwer [00:10:34]:

And, obviously, I've got all that boxing experience, but there's all the life outside of boxing experience that I tap into as well. And it's relatable. Boxing's a great metaphor for business. It's not rocket science, but it's some kind of science, and it's it all kinda works, and it all kinda blends together, and it's all relatable.

Stuart Webb [00:10:54]:

Billy, this is just brilliant stuff. So I'm gonna move us on to threat question 3. Now I know that you've got a book, I can see it over there behind your shoulder. I know you give that book away free. Yeah. So tell me, how can somebody get hold of that book to understand what they're talk what

Billy Schwer [00:11:13]:

you're talking about now and start to apply it to their life? Yeah. So we're gonna have a link so you guys can go and you can have the book. You can download the book, or you can download the audio of the book if you prefer listening. I I listen to lots of book. So I'm in the process of writing another book because Man Up Man Up was created from my own experience of being a man down. So I don't wanna offend anyone with the name because Man Up can be misconstrued. It's words on a on a page which can trigger people. So I don't wanna offend anyone with man up because it's not what you think it is.

Billy Schwer [00:11:55]:

And I may be not who you think I am. So being a boxer, you may have a preconceived opinion of me, bashing people up, having all those fights, broken noses, and having that the ability to go into the ring prepared to die, kill or be killed. Now that would kind of paint a kind of a picture, but I'm hoping that just by listening to this conversation that you get to sell maybe there's there's more to a boxer. There's more to Billy than kind of meets the eye of what a professional boxer is. And so man, I because on my retirement from the professional boxing ring, I found that transition, Stuart, to be very difficult. I went through depression. I went through an identity crisis. I went had a mental breakdown.

Billy Schwer [00:12:43]:

I wrecked my marriage. I went through a divorce. I had my home repossessed. I went bankrupt. I lost everything. I crashed and burned. I I was suicidal. Hence, why I volunteer for the Samaritans because I know what it feels like to be in a crisis because I was there not so long ago.

Billy Schwer [00:13:05]:

And I've done the work. I've unraveled Billy the Over to be free from all the constraints that life was opposing on me, my self inflicted challenges. And that's when I put those words together, mental boxing because I was mentally having a mental boxing match with myself. And then the world that I've been doing over the last 20 years is all about transforming ourselves such that we can feel different. Because when I was in the depths of despair, I all I kept saying to myself, Stuart, was, I just wanna feel good. I just I just wanna feel good. I wanna feel good because I've I was knocked out. I was a 0 ad.

Stuart Webb [00:13:47]:

Yeah. Yeah. That's that's and and look, and this is this is such an inspirational Stuart, and I've I've got the the the the link on this. And I'm gonna go back to this. This will be in the transcript and the show notes for this. But if you need to get hold of this book, it's Billy Schwarr, that's www.billlyshwer.com slash book. Or if you want the audio book, it's the same thing, b I, double l, y s c h w e r dot com /freehyphenaudio. Both of those links will be on the the YouTube, the LinkedIn, and everything else.

Stuart Webb [00:14:25]:

But, Billy, that that's a really it's a really inspirational Stuart. And I think it does demonstrate how your your your thought process produces the results, doesn't it? It is all about how you approach a situation. And and and a lot of business people today, and I I I speak to a lot of business owners who are wanting to sell their business. And it leads them into depression because it's a loss of their identity.

Billy Schwer [00:14:52]:

Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:14:53]:

And and you went through it. You know how to get through that.

Billy Schwer [00:14:57]:

I I went through a a midlife crisis very early. As those as the guys that you mentioned about, they sell their business and we've become so attached to our past, and then we identify with that. And then once that's gone, as I went through, I'm no longer Billy the over. And it's when I was in the back of the ambulance on the way to hospital for the second five, that was that was when I realized that my life as I know it is over. And that was the moment that I made the toughest decision I've ever made to retire from boxing. Because I was in the back of the ambulance, and I was frightened because boxing professional boxing can be dangerous. I had a friend of mine killed in the ring. I know guys that have been permanently brain damaged.

Billy Schwer [00:15:43]:

And I'm in the back of the ambulance, and I'm uncertain of my future health. So it's that relationship with that part of ourselves and letting go of it I found so difficult. And you hear about that, like, you you you mentioned about business owners selling, exiting their business, and then they go through a similar thing. Lots of athletes, we all go with people at the services. They go through a similar thing, and it's supporting ourselves post whatever of the life that we've chosen. And then the the struggle for me was the reinvention, the recreation of myself. Because who am I? I was Billy the boxer. Now here I am.

Billy Schwer [00:16:24]:

I'm just Billy. Who's Billy? I don't know who Billy is. And that was the wake up. So I had to get conscious. I was unconscious. But then what happened with me was I I become a victim of my situation, of my circumstances, my divorce, my bankruptcy. I become a victim of it, which had me feel depressed, broke me. It broke me because I didn't have a future to live into.

Billy Schwer [00:16:52]:

There was boxing was no longer a future for me, and I didn't know what to do with myself. And that was the challenge. And I pursued lots of different things trying to find my thing and myself, and that was the challenge.

Stuart Webb [00:17:06]:

Billy, I'm really glad you found yourself. And, you know, it there must have been, you know, you've talked a bit about sort of the work you do with Samaritan. There must if was there a particular course or something which actually brought you from Billy the over to the person that we see in front of us today? What was the thing that moved you into that?

Billy Schwer [00:17:24]:

I've done a lot of work over the last 20 years. I've worked with masters in various different fields. And but, originally, what what really started this journey off was I did a program called the Landmark Forum. Now I did the Landmark Forum, I'll never forget it, of August 2003. I'm in a room. There's about a 150 people for 3 days. It was the first time Five experienced this kind of training. Now, you gotta remember, I've been a world champion.

Billy Schwer [00:17:55]:

I've had sports psychology. I've I've done all of that. I'm sitting in a room now, and I'm going through a tough five. And the conversation was over a weekend about what it is to be a human being. It's the ontology, ontological, the study of the art and science of being. So I which and I got to see who I was being in life. And let me tell you, Stuart, it wasn't pretty. Mhmm.

Billy Schwer [00:18:18]:

It wasn't pretty. What the traits that had me become a world champion had me winning the boxing ring. I was aggressive. I was domineering. I was selfish. I was inconsiderate. I was always right. Rah.

Billy Schwer [00:18:30]:

Rah. Those traits work perfectly well in the boxing arena, but it didn't work for me in my life.

Stuart Webb [00:18:38]:

Mhmm. Yeah.

Billy Schwer [00:18:39]:

Ask my ex wife. She'll tell you. It it didn't be anything else. I was that identity. But the Landmark forum, what it allowed for me was it started to just the future I didn't have a future. I started to the future started to occur different, and things started to just change for me. And the way that I was perceiving life and the future shifted and changed, and then things changed. And that's the journey that I've been on for the last over it's over 20 years I've been on that on that journey.

Billy Schwer [00:19:11]:

And what I've got for myself or what I've learned, I want other people to experience what I'm experiencing because it's available for each and every one of us. You don't have to it's it's it's available. If you're willing and you want to wake up and do the work, and it ain't easy because I didn't used to five myself. I'd never used to I didn't like myself because I was that those certain traits that I had, they weren't five, and they Webb they didn't work for me. And it was like so now I can I can honestly say that I love myself? I do love myself, and I love I love the life that I'm creating, the future that I'm living into, and that that's that's that's what I've got. And I've created it, and I am it, and it's available.

Stuart Webb [00:19:57]:

That is that that's so inspiring. And and, you know, I I so hope that that we can get this message to as many people as they possibly can because this is such a brilliant message. And I suppose it leads me to my last questions, and I'm gonna let you get on because you've got a life to lead. You've got other people to influence. And I wanna help you do it, but there must be one question that I haven't asked you that you want me to ask. And and so, therefore, what's that question I should five asked you? And, obviously, you've got to answer it because I don't know the question yet.

Billy Schwer [00:20:30]:

And I think we're kinda touching it, but if I may reiterate because

Stuart Webb [00:20:35]:

it's

Billy Schwer [00:20:36]:

so, so powerful is the question that you wanna ask me that I wish you would five asked me is is, Billy, how do you get to experience life as a tenant then?

Stuart Webb [00:20:46]:

That's a good question.

Billy Schwer [00:20:47]:

Yeah. So then so so that is we kind of touched on it in the last conversation, and it's it's I'm really clear this is so, so powerful. It's about focusing on the future, not the past. Because what I got stuck in was looking into the past. So the future will dictate for you how you feel in the present moment. Now when I retired boxing, the future that I was living into was dark. It was chaotic. It was painful.

Billy Schwer [00:21:18]:

So that kind of future, you can see that that would have an impact on how I feel. It kinda makes sense, doesn't it? To live it if somebody was living into chaotic, dark, painful futures, that's gonna have them feel a certain way. So the way forward is is to focus on the future, but really be responsible for designing, creating, causing, and generating that future. The dreams that we want, the futures that we wanna create, they sometimes feel a long way away, which I know what that's like. It took me 4 attempts to win the world title. Webb when I was getting bashed up in the ring, in the gym, time after time losing, I was trying my hardest, but I I was getting knocked back. And we all experience five. We get knocked back.

Billy Schwer [00:22:08]:

We don't always win, but we wanna win more often. It takes you gotta keep coming back, and it's and it's the focus in on that future, which is so, so powerful because we have to let the past go. Take the questions, learn the lessons, bring them into the future with you, but don't bring that past that you don't like or that you don't like about yourself. Don't bring that into the future because that's what we keep bumping into. We have to draw a line in the sand, create, design the dream future, which sounds a bit woo woo, but we are we are it. And we are the Webb are we are the one that we've been waiting for. So it's surrounding yourself with people who can support that for you. With that teamwork, the dream don't work, and that's so crucial.

Billy Schwer [00:22:59]:

Get the right team around you. And that's what's you experience life in some other way that you've got right now.

Stuart Webb [00:23:07]:

Billy, that is I mean, it's not only a lesson for life. It is a less, I mean, you know, Webb we've talked about how you can help business owners. Getting the team around you that can actually help you is the most crucial thing. You can't do everything on your own. You need the team, but you need to approach it with that positivity that you've just given up. You need to approach it by thinking about the right Billy, the right person to get in there. Billy, I can't I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am for the fact you've spent a few minutes with me. This has been a brilliant conversation.

Stuart Webb [00:23:38]:

I've really enjoyed it, and I just want the whole world to hear about it. So I'm gonna help this get out to the entire world. And listen, if anybody's listening that wants to be able to hear this sort of thing, we do these on a Tuesday. If you know people that wanna wanna hear about this, please get on to my newsletter list so that you can get to hear about brilliant people like Billy who come on and give up their time to talk about this sort of thing. To get onto the news, you go to this, which is link. Thecompleteapproach.co.ukforward/newsletter. That's link dot the complete approach.co.ukforward/newsletter. Get onto the newsletter list and and come on and and listen to the brilliance of people like Billy.

Stuart Webb [00:24:23]:

Billy, I can't thank you enough for just spending a few minutes with us. I know you're a really busy guy, and you've got so much experience that that, you know, coming on and doing this has been a has been 20 minutes out of your time that you could probably have used really well. But thank you for coming and spending this few minutes and giving up these these brilliant insights. And and listen, go on go on. Be another 10 today because you're the most inspiring guy I know.

Billy Schwer [00:24:51]:

Stuart, it's been an absolute pleasure to spend some time with you. It's always a pleasure to have a conversation with you. So thank you.

Stuart Webb [00:24:59]:

No problem. Thank you very much.

Billy Schwer [00:25:02]:

And thank you. Can I just

Stuart Webb [00:25:04]:

Go? I'm sorry. I nearly cut you off.

Billy Schwer [00:25:07]:

Yeah. You cut me off. I wanna say, Stuart, I want to the listeners out there, go and subscribe because Stuart is up to something. And you're you're sharing with us, you're bringing to us all these extraordinary people who've got amazing stories. So, Stuart, I wanna acknowledge you for the contribution that you are to us all. So thank you. Thank you.

Stuart Webb [00:25:33]:

Thank you, sir.

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Who is Ekua?

Ekua Cant is a passionate entrepreneur who loves helping others in their business journey through the use of LinkedIn. She enjoys working with entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and freelancers, whether they are just starting out or looking to scale their business and who might use LinkedIn better. Ekua is dedicated to guiding people through the challenges and excitement of building their business, and she is committed to helping established business owners stay on top of their game and grow their brand with LinkedIn. With her expertise and enthusiasm, Ekua is a valuable resource for anyone looking to succeed in the world of entrepreneurship.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Passionate about helping entrepreneurs and solopreneurs.

05:32 Custom links on LinkedIn help profile visibility.

09:07 Featured section should include linked story, testimonial, offer.

11:35 LinkedIn loves selfies and face photos. Celebrations too.

13:45 Confidence and clarity in offering services.

16:59 Caution against misrepresenting oneself when using AI.

21:10 Expressing gratitude for valuable insights and advice.

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

LinkedIn, social media, profile optimization, entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, freelancers, business, LinkedIn profile, mistakes, banner, open to work, custom link, headline, value, sales, AI, consistency, followers, engagement, newsletter, community building, branding, content, lead generation, networking, coaching, mentorship, strategy, optimization, customer journey, digital presence

SPEAKERS

Ekua Cant, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:21]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science, 5 Questions Over Coffee. I'm absolutely delighted today to be joined by Jackie Norton. Now they always say, if you want to improve, if you want to get better in your business, you should employ people who are better than you, and that's how I feel about my guest today. I am really delighted to be having a conversation with Jackie who has a far more impressive portfolio of of businesses and interests than I have met, and so I'm really, really delighted, Jacqui, you found time in your diary to come and join us for a few minutes. Jacqui is what they call the unretirement speaker. She revealed facts and the reality about retirement in the 2020s for the boomers and how to get to your 100 year lifespan. She mentors and supports entrepreneurs who need to pivot and grow, and if she hasn't got enough going on, she's also the MD of a business whose mission is to change the narrative around the 50 plus woman, to become the invisible increasingly disappear at that age, and she's there to change that. And and that therefore means that what is throughout all of her career, what throughout all of her passion is that of change, changing individuals, changing businesses.

Stuart Webb [00:01:36]:

The need for change, managing change, and working out what is required is absolutely one of the critical bits of business that we need in the world today. So, Jackie, delighted you've spent time to come and spend a few minutes with us. Thank you so much for for being on It's Not Rocket Science, 5 Questions, Over Coffee.

Jackie Naghten [00:01:52]:

Well, thank you very much, Stuart. I hope it isn't rocket science. I hope it's not complicated as that.

Stuart Webb [00:01:59]:

No. Nothing is complicated than that. Look, Jacqui, let's start. You talk about being an unretirement speaker. You talk about, leading them. Tell us, what is it? Who who is it that you're trying to help? I guess it's obvious, but what who is it you're trying to help to understand the these changes that you're bringing to the world?

Jackie Naghten [00:02:15]:

Well, I think like most things in life, when you have any, you know, successful people, across all sorts of businesses and disciplines, and they tell their life story. Usually things happen because of what's happened in their lives, isn't it? You know, so you tend to look at yourself and think, well, this has happened to me. You know, I'm sure it must be happening to other people. So in the case of unretirement, I'm in my sixties now. And as I've approached that time and it sort of comes upon you, you know, you're bumbling along in your forties and next thing great. So you're gonna retire now? And I'm like, no. I don't want to retire. You know, what am I gonna do? And so I started to investigate this whole idea about not retiring because when I really thought about it for myself, I thought, you know, because retirement sounds like giving up, finishing, stopping.

Jackie Naghten [00:03:05]:

It feels like the end of life and I didn't feel like that at all. And I think particularly for women Webb we've had, a lot of time caring responsibilities, you know, juggling careers, suddenly as you get to your sixties, you actually have the time that you've always wanted to do things. So I started to investigate this whole issue of unretirement, which I I came up with. And then I found that actually exists out there and people are talking about on retirement, which is really, it's actually been coined by people who are actually returning to the workforce. So they've retired and then they've spent a couple of years in retirement, had a couple of cruises, done an extension, and then they're bored and they've come back. Because the truth of the matter is that for we boomers, and let's be honest, the boomers, we've been a quite a pioneering generation. We are now this is a final frontier for us, pioneering this move into older age. And, typically, as boomers, we're knowing it like it.

Jackie Naghten [00:04:03]:

So we question it. We're having a different, approach to it. We five a different lived experience, in our lives. I mean, certainly from the female point of view, a lot of us have had careers and brought up families, which, you know, wasn't wasn't didn't happen, you know, 50, 100 years ago. So we're a pioneering generation, and it's all changing. And we can see the rock stars are still rocking. The screenwriters are still writing, the actors are still acting well into their eighties nineties. So it's all changing.

Jackie Naghten [00:04:29]:

And so it's against that backdrop that I speak about on retirement.

Stuart Webb [00:04:33]:

And I think that's a really interesting point, Jacqui, because one of the things you just sort of talked about there is it's the experience that you bring. The the the the the fact of matter is that the the people who five retire often know better than anybody coming through all those things that do work and don't work and how to make that change the most practical, the most effective, as they can be. And and it's often that experience that we lose when people just sort of go Webb go off and do the cruises and spend time at home.

Jackie Naghten [00:05:03]:

Some people are very happily retired. Since you were 16. You can't physically do the job, you know, be a roofer anymore or whatever. And some and some many people are very happy to retire and focus on family and different things. But there's an awful lot of us who don't want to do that, and there's an awful lot of people who can't do that because the retirement, the state pension age is going up. And let's be honest, not many of us can live on that state pension. It's sort of more of a, you know, it's about a £1,000 a month. If you've got 25 years to live in retirement, a £1,000 a month isn't going to give you a very, exciting stimulating life.

Jackie Naghten [00:05:48]:

So, you know, that's the facts of the matter. So we've seen it for some time that our pensioners are going back into the workforce to supplement their income. But places like B&Q, you know, have taken on older people with all their experience, etcetera. But it's actually a much bigger issue now, and we're going to have by, I think, Webb about 50, 50% of the workforce is going to be over 50. Mhmm. And so there's a couple of things going on. First of all, there's a thing for people personally, what they want to do in it the birth rate's dropping, and they're suddenly waking up to the fact they might need older people. But meanwhile, what we know is 50 plus people are finding it incredibly difficult to get back into the workforce because there is a generational, sexist, a generational ageism going on, which is the last frontier of sort of, equality in the workplace, which is something that we at noon, with my other hat on, are working on.

Jackie Naghten [00:06:44]:

So, you know, my unretirement interest and speaking about unretirement kind of has a very nice crossover with the the work I do at noon, which is all about the 50 plus women who are very keen to get back to work and think about what they're going to do as they pivot in the midlife.

Stuart Webb [00:07:00]:

And I'm so glad you brought noon in because I was about to ask, of course, what is what is noon? And so therefore, let's let's move on to sort of what it is therefore then that you've seen people who are trying to sort of cope with this on retirement. You've mentioned a couple of times people who've retired and it's not for them, so they've gone back to work. What is it that you you are trying to do to help them with that with that transition? How do you how do you help people to understand whether or not retirement is right for them?

Jackie Naghten [00:07:26]:

Well, I think, I think what we have to think about is very simple. It's what gets you out of bed in the middle? What gets you out of bed in the morning? And what doesn't get me out of bed in the morning is just thinking, oh, I'm going to see some friends for lunch and I'll maybe go to the gym later. I mean, I'm not saying that's not nice to do, but I I it's lacking a sort of purpose, a sort of satisfaction. That's what I found, you know, because I I did have a period of time when I had cancer and that enforced me to have a a year off. And I and and and while you're not very Webb, obviously, I was so frustrated because I couldn't do anything. You know, I hadn't got any point, you know, I couldn't work and all these things. And so I'm just somebody, and there's lots of us around who just like like working. I mean, lots of people work in volunteer positions because they just want to have a purpose.

Jackie Naghten [00:08:11]:

And what we know, I think it's Sigmund Freud who said, you know, there's 2 main things in life out of all of this is love and work, which is really purpose and human connection. And that, you know, that's what working can give you and that's what we as humans, you know, on the whole keeps us going. So, you know, when I say work, it doesn't necessarily have to be financially rewarding work. It could be all sorts of things, but it's finding purpose. And I think that's where people quite often need help. Because as we all know, when we try and write about ourself market, it's very difficult doing that yourself. It's much more helpful if you do it with somebody else who can interpret how you are. And that's where coaching or mentoring comes in because, I can work with people, and they they may be let's say they've been an accountant for 20, 30 years.

Jackie Naghten [00:09:00]:

All they can think about is, like, well, I'm very good with numbers. I can do accountancy, but I don't want to do it anymore. And it's very difficult for them to think, what are the other possibilities. So what I'm very good at is thinking creatively with people about the other skills and strengths that they might have that could take them in a different direction.

Stuart Webb [00:09:17]:

Takes us in so many directions actually. So I think you're absolutely right. The the meaningful connections is hugely important. I think biologists are now beginning to discuss or, you know, you you hear in the media that, loneliness can be the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day. And Having those meaningful connections can extend your lifespan.

Jackie Naghten [00:09:35]:

I mean, I have to say, I have looked into an article about that. It's a slightly typically, as as you can imagine, typically, a sort of convoluted piece of data when you, you know, get underneath it because it it's not that simple, but loneliness is is an epidemic, you know. And as we live longer I mean, I'm widowed myself. As we live longer, divorce a lot of people are getting divorced in their fifties and sixties because they're thinking, if they're living till they're five and they have a non satisfactory relationship, they're actually getting divorced in their sixties, which is another reason why people often need to work because the financial pots got smaller, etcetera, etcetera. And also for women who were divorced and on their own, typically men tend to find another partner, women perhaps not. They want to go to work or they might not have worked for 10, 15 years. And so, you know, and they have no idea. You know, jobs have changed.

Jackie Naghten [00:10:26]:

The workplace has changed tremendously. And and so it's a little bit scary for, people when they're older to go back into, but they're quite keen to have that connection and to have some purpose.

Stuart Webb [00:10:38]:

So so, Jackie, if we if we if we now look at what how people can get in contact with you, I think I think you've given us your LinkedIn, your LinkedIn, and and the the Noon, which is the organization. Are there are there things that they'll find there that could be helping them to understand this transition that you're talking to people about?

Jackie Naghten [00:11:05]:

Well, certainly at noon, we have a lot of resources on there. We cover divorce, bereavement, cancer, job searching, all of those sorts of things. And there's lots of uplifting stories about, you know, all this because what we learn from in life is stories and it's always interesting to hear somebody else's Stuart. Yeah. And particularly if you're going through a tough time in your life, so for myself, I've got a you know, my story was my husband was diagnosed with a very with a terminal illness when I was 42. And I had to pivot. I had to change everything in my life. My life literally went up in the air, and I had to reinvent myself.

Jackie Naghten [00:11:40]:

I had to give up my corporate job. I went out into the world and became a consultant just based on networking really, you know, without any plan or thought. And so I've learned to market myself. I learned that I had skills I didn't realize I had, and this is I think the point of coaching, etcetera, you know, where you can you've actually got skills you don't realize you have because you think all you can do is add up numbers if, you know, do a balance sheet in accountancy. But, actually, you've got loads of other skills as well. And, actually, these are leading, problem solving, these sorts of skills, which you can apply to all sorts of things. So, you know, if you go to Noon you can find out about the Midlife Women. If you just come to my LinkedIn and connect with me then, I'm more than happy to, you know, I get all sorts of people who I meet, day to day and for various speaking engagements approaching me saying, can you help with this? Can you help with that? Because I've also worked with a lot of entrepreneurs and it's, you know, whether it's a business or a person, quite often a business falters and stutters and it might need to be reinvented or might need to take a different turn.

Jackie Naghten [00:12:49]:

And again, when you're the founder and the owner, it's quite difficult working that out. You need someone from outside to help you work that through.

Stuart Webb [00:12:57]:

Yes. Jackie, is is there a is there a a book or or course that, that really sort of helped you to understand how the unretirement world is beginning to become the new the new retire the the new work?

Jackie Naghten [00:13:13]:

Well, there's a there's a couple of things. I mean, we are, we are shortly going to be running courses at noon, about this. We're working on those at the Moment. I've got a book here which I came across or designing and I came across this about 10 years ago. I mean, that's an old version there. And it was written by 2 guys in, I think it's Stanford University in America, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. And it absolutely fascinated me because I'm a brand person. And so because my background is retail and consumer brands.

Jackie Naghten [00:13:47]:

And, when you when you talk about brands, you're talking about brands have a sort of personality and they have values, etcetera. And what this book did, it actually looked to people as if they were brands. And so it really resonated with me. Because, actually, these days, people, you know, there's lots of chat about, you know, people talk about their personal brand. And your personal brand is just how you come how you present to the world and what your values are and what you can, you know, what you can how you can help people with. And so I would say designing your life, was all about looking at people that felt they were a square peg in a round hole, and how they could they thought just because they were interested, for example, one of the founders, the writers here. I mean, he was always as a little boy interested in marine biology. He became a marine biologist.

Jackie Naghten [00:14:37]:

So when he was about 35, he suddenly thought, I'm just not really that in this. I don't know why he's actually interested in something completely, something completely different. And quite honest, I mean, I when I was at school, I was good at languages. They said I should work in the foreign office. I would have absolutely useless as a civil servant because those are the sort of boxes, you know, we get put in boxes. And I still feel over today, the recruitment industry puts us in boxes whereas actually people have often have lots of other sides to them. So I would very much recommend that. And I would also recommend just, you know, going, if you're interested to pursue, reviewing your your your opportunities in life is to find a coach or a mentor.

Jackie Naghten [00:15:17]:

There's lots of, you know, TED Talks, for example, are an absolutely fantastic resource, which is all about telling stories about how people have embraced change and changed things. And they're very inspirational. You know? So, yeah, that would be what I would say, you know, go out. Main thing is go out into the world and connect with people. You know, I think you learn a lot by chatting to other people.

Stuart Webb [00:15:39]:

I I couldn't agree with you more. I couldn't agree with more. Look, Jackie, I kept you talking for about the last 15, 20 minutes, asking you all sorts of silly questions but there must be one question that you're thinking, well I wish you would get on to this subject. So this is my opportunity to get you to say what is the question that you would like me to have asked. Well, obviously, then when I've, got you to ask the question, you better answer it. So what's that question you would like me to have asked?

Jackie Naghten [00:16:09]:

I suppose, the question I would like you to have asked, or that I think is a good question to ask anybody, as Webb as what has been the biggest, what has made the biggest impact in your life, you know, to bring you to where you are today to to today?

Stuart Webb [00:16:25]:

That's a very good question. So so what has been that biggest impact?

Jackie Naghten [00:16:30]:

Well, I think the biggest impact is really goes back to that story I just told of when my husband was diagnosed with a with a with a illness, which is, that you never know what's around the corner. Mhmm. So, you know, I always say my big piece of advice to my well, to my kids and to anybody who gets in a bit of a twiddle and a twaddle with things is to say, have a plan, the plan can change. You know, because people get But what's a common thread through all of that? It's about change and pivoting. But what's a common thread through all of that? It's about change and pivoting. You know, either pivoting, responding to outside outside influences because something, you know, you've got divorced, you you've got cancer, whatever happened, you know, you've got a sick child, and you have to change and rethink what you're doing, or because you want to. You want something different. You want to be reenergized and do something different.

Jackie Naghten [00:17:26]:

So I think the most important thing is to realize that you, you know, you you can't that that life won't be as you plan. Have a plan, the plan can change and go out and connect, you know, people are the biggest resource that's free out there that you can connect with and just, you know, you might I mean, I'm an you know, we're probably Stuart Natural Connectors. We're doing this sort of stuff, you know, we are sort of probably I'm certainly myself an extrovert. It's not easy for everybody. Not everybody's like that, but certainly if you're not somebody and and a lot of people think, oh, networking, you know, oh, that's a load of old you know? But actually, whether you wanna call it connecting or meet networking, connecting, meeting people, for me your fellow humans are your biggest resort to make change. And, you know, you you you you can't do any any and it's free, you know, to a certain extent. You know, it might cost you a cup of coffee or some of your five. But I've never had a wasted meeting with anybody in my five.

Jackie Naghten [00:18:23]:

And you always learn something. So, you know, that's what I would really encourage people to do. I don't think people realize how, how much that can impact your life.

Stuart Webb [00:18:31]:

I think it was a brilliant thing to say and and certainly something that I'm passing on to a number of the I do some work with some students and I do with them, and I'd give them something very similar, which is, you know, if someone if someone suggests a meeting, take the meeting, you don't know what's gonna happen. You might look at it and think, well, that would be a waste of my time, but you have no idea where it's going, who they might meet,

Jackie Naghten [00:18:54]:

who they might introduce. You never know. Always learn something, and I've learned, you know, probably when I was younger, I was a bit more judgmental, you know, and I've really, really learned. And that's the one thing about older age, you get a bit more wisdom and, you have hindsight. And I would say, I don't think I've ever had a wasted meeting. Because even if you don't get the outcome from the meeting that you wanted, you people. And it's a 6 degrees of separation. You know, if all somebody you've got in common somewhere, I find it quite amazing.

Jackie Naghten [00:19:28]:

And having been on this planet now for such a long time, and recently gone back out into the world, the world of entrepreneurs and founders, I've just been talking to somebody who has a similar background to me in corp you know, I've done corporate finance and productivity. And of course, we have you know, there's all these people we have in common. It just never ceases to fascinate me. And I think your point you make about your students, obviously, the younger generation growing up in a different digital five. And I just worry for that generation sometimes. Do they realize because they do everything on technology, maybe even on Zoom, I still would rather I mean, this is lovely to do this, but it's it's wonderful to meet people in person. It is a different experience. And I think it's really important that young people understand the power of connection, not just on a WhatsApp and through, you know, all this.

Jackie Naghten [00:20:13]:

You know, my my my daughters won't even take phone calls. They don't like talking on the phone. You know, it's gotta be all this. So, you know, I I do worry for the younger generation. I would think it's really important that we make sure that they do understand the power of connection.

Stuart Webb [00:20:25]:

I wonder if we could have another 2 and a half hours on that subject. So I better close this down before we do because I know that's something that I worry a lot about working

Jackie Naghten [00:20:34]:

with you. I think all of us all of us boomers, I mean, if my daughters call me that's so boomer, you know, because I've got a I've got a desk covered in paper because I write notes with a pen, and they get all of that. Such a and then she took a picture of it and said, that's such a boomer desk because I've got paper and pens on it, you know, and they don't have anything. So I think our husbands are very worried about the the young you know, they're they're they're all doing fantastically well, but there were just certain aspects that you do worry. You know?

Stuart Webb [00:21:02]:

I am I am very concerned at the moment about a number of people I meet that don't do the don't when I say to them, have you chatted to them about that? They go, yes. Yes. And I go, well, what did they say? And they said, well, Webb didn't say anything because we did it over text. And my immediate response is never ever managed to resolve any dispute

Jackie Naghten [00:21:18]:

No.

Stuart Webb [00:21:19]:

Resolution, any negotiation over went well when you were doing emails and texts. They always needed something to

Jackie Naghten [00:21:25]:

put the coffee in the wrong place. It's completely a different statement. You know? I mean, how I mean, I have this with my best friend all the time. You know? She doesn't pay attention when she's reading, and you you can just so misinterpret the text. You know, it just doesn't and certainly not for business.

Stuart Webb [00:21:40]:

I'm gonna bring this to an end before we alienate half of the young people that Five persuaded to listen to this podcast because they need to. Jackie, it's been an absolute joy to spend time with you. I really appreciate you making a few minutes to speak with us. I'm just gonna put on the screen now the link to our newsletter. Now if you want to get on to the mailing list Webb you will get an email from me, which actually says who's coming up to talk to us on these, on these LinkedIn five and podcasts so that you get notification and you can actually think about whether or not you want to link with them or spend any time thinking about questions you'd like to put them. Go to this this URL, which is on the screen at the moment, httpscolonforward/forward/ link.thecompleteapproach.co.ukforward/newsletter. That's link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk forward slash newsletter. And, also, you will then get subscribed to the podcast when it gets released, as a second five of the cherry Webb you can listen to all of this again and rewind and listen to it as many times as you want because I think some of the stuff that Jackie has given us today are absolute nuggets of information.

Stuart Webb [00:22:53]:

They're really applicable to a number of, of the audience. Jackie, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Really appreciate you spending

Jackie Naghten [00:23:00]:

My pleasure. And just just and just, sort of just on the point about the younger generation, I do work with a lot of, because I have young children myself. I work with a lot of young people who are often stuck in their twenties as to what they're gonna do. So I'm more than happy to talk to anybody about, you know, any any young people out there who are who are stuck and not sure which way to go. More than happy to have conversation.

Stuart Webb [00:23:21]:

Jackie, I know so many people who would take you up on that. I'm gonna point you in your direction. Thank you so much for spending some time. I know how valuable your time is because when you just talked about as much as you're doing, you must must try and cram in as much as you can. So thank you for a few minutes of your time. Really appreciate you you being with us.

Jackie Naghten [00:23:39]:

Well, thanks for the invitation, Stuart. It's been a pleasure.

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View Details

Who is Jackie?

Jackie Naghten is a successful individual who has explored various businesses and disciplines throughout her life. As she approached her sixties, the idea of retirement loomed, but she was not ready to give up or stop. This led her to start investigating the concept of "unretirement" and how to continue living a fulfilling and purposeful life beyond traditional retirement age. Jackie's own experiences and insights have led her to believe that her journey can inspire and help others who may be facing similar questions about their own future.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Jacki Naghten: Unretirement speaker, change advocate, mentor.

05:48 Risieng number of older workers face discrimination.

07:26 Purpose brings satisfaction, drive to get up.

11:40 Left corporate job, became consultant, discovered skills.

16:30 Adapt to change and stay flexible.

17:26 Connecting with people is key to success.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Connect with Jackie at Linkedin

A video version of this podcast is also at

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

unretirement, retirement, business, portfolio, mentors, entrepreneurs, MD (Managing Director), narrative change, change, career, job searching, personal brand, pivot, reinvent, coaching, mentoring, purpose, human connection, networking, technology, students, boomers, generation gap, communication, newsletter, podcast, careers, workplace, relationships, personal development

SPEAKERS

Jackie Naghten, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:21]:

Stuart Webb [00:01:36]:

Jackie Naghten [00:01:52]:

Well, thank you very much, Stuart. I hope it isn't rocket science. I hope it's not complicated as that.

Stuart Webb [00:01:59]:

Jackie Naghten [00:02:15]:

Jackie Naghten [00:03:05]:

Jackie Naghten [00:04:03]:

Jackie Naghten [00:04:29]:

And so it's against that backdrop that I speak about on retirement.

Stuart Webb [00:04:33]:

Jackie Naghten [00:05:03]:

Jackie Naghten [00:05:48]:

Jackie Naghten [00:06:44]:

Stuart Webb [00:07:00]:

Jackie Naghten [00:07:26]:

Jackie Naghten [00:08:11]:

Jackie Naghten [00:09:00]:

Stuart Webb [00:09:17]:

Jackie Naghten [00:09:35]:

Jackie Naghten [00:10:26]:

The workplace has changed tremendously. And and so it's a little bit scary for, people when they're older to go back into, but they're quite keen to have that connection and to have some purpose.

Stuart Webb [00:10:38]:

Jackie Naghten [00:11:05]:

Jackie Naghten [00:11:40]:

Jackie Naghten [00:12:49]:

And again, when you're the founder and the owner, it's quite difficult working that out. You need someone from outside to help you work that through.

Stuart Webb [00:12:57]:

Yes. Jackie, is is there a is there a a book or or course that, that really sort of helped you to understand how the unretirement world is beginning to become the new the new retire the the new work?

Jackie Naghten [00:13:13]:

Jackie Naghten [00:13:47]:

Jackie Naghten [00:14:37]:

Jackie Naghten [00:15:17]:

Stuart Webb [00:15:39]:

Jackie Naghten [00:16:09]:

Stuart Webb [00:16:25]:

That's a very good question. So so what has been that biggest impact?

Jackie Naghten [00:16:30]:

Jackie Naghten [00:17:26]:

Jackie Naghten [00:18:23]:

And you always learn something. So, you know, that's what I would really encourage people to do. I don't think people realize how, how much that can impact your life.

Stuart Webb [00:18:31]:

Jackie Naghten [00:18:54]:

Jackie Naghten [00:19:28]:

Jackie Naghten [00:20:13]:

Stuart Webb [00:20:25]:

I wonder if we could have another 2 and a half hours on that subject. So I better close this down before we do because I know that's something that I worry a lot about working

Jackie Naghten [00:20:34]:

Stuart Webb [00:21:02]:

Jackie Naghten [00:21:18]:

No.

Stuart Webb [00:21:19]:

Resolution, any negotiation over went well when you were doing emails and texts. They always needed something to

Jackie Naghten [00:21:25]:

Stuart Webb [00:21:40]:

Stuart Webb [00:22:53]:

They're really applicable to a number of, of the audience. Jackie, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Really appreciate you spending

Jackie Naghten [00:23:00]:

Stuart Webb [00:23:21]:

Jackie Naghten [00:23:39]:

Well, thanks for the invitation, Stuart. It's been a pleasure.

Get full access to It's Not Rocket Science! at thecompleteapproach.substack.com/subscribe

View Details

Who is Karen?

Karen Green is a marketing expert who has a passion for helping people sell their ideas, products, and services. She firmly believes in the principles of virology theory and how they can be applied to any sales situation, whether it's an investor pitch, business presentation, or job interview. With a focus on niche marketing, Karen helps her clients achieve their goals and reach their target audience. Her expertise extends to a wide range of industries, making her a valuable asset to anyone looking to sell more effectively.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Broad sales principles apply to various situations.

04:54 Tailoring sales approach to individual buyer preferences.

09:29 In 30 seconds, tailoring emails makes difference.

11:57 Logic and biology in business development book.

14:47 Book by former FBI negotiator with storytelling.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Copy of Karen’s book by dropping her an email at karen@buyerology.co.uk

A video version of this podcast is also at

https://youtube.com/live/

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

buying mindset, sales director, buyer's mindset, pricing, corporate buyers, facts and figures, virology model, human interaction, selling, personality profiling, AI, communication, prospecting, negotiation, case studies, coaching, selling toothpaste, retail, sales growth, buyer's profile, business development, webinar, Jeff Walker, B2B sales strategies, human approach, Harvard Business Review, decision making, influencing, marketing, entrepreneurship

SPEAKERS

Karen Green, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:21]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science, 5 questions over coffee. This is a great opportunity for me to sit and chat, with somebody I'm really looking forward to a discussion with. And I do have a cup of coffee, so therefore, good opportunity for me to sit back, let her do the talking, and I'll do the coffee drinking. And today, I'm talking to Karen Green who was a buyer, with with Tesco. Five I got that right, Karen? Yes.

Stuart Webb [00:00:53]:

And then you moved into, the, the supply side where you were a sales director, and now you are an expert consultant and speaker helping us all understand the buyer's mindset and how to go about doing things like, well, pricing and buying and things like that. So, Karen, I'm really looking forward to the conversation. Welcome to it's not rocket science, 5 questions over coffee.

Karen Green [00:01:17]:

Thank you for having me. I'm looking forward to it.

Stuart Webb [00:01:20]:

Terrific. Webb, okay. I guess the first thing we have to sort of dive into is is who is what is who is the person you're trying to help? What is it that we're all misunderstanding about buying that you're trying to

Karen Green [00:01:31]:

help us to understand? So on a on a broader scale, because, you know, whenever you talk to marketers, they say you should niche it down, niche it down. But on a broader scale, anybody who is trying to sell something, and you could be selling an idea to somebody, you could be selling a product or a service, or selling your business. So if you're doing an investor pitch, or even if you're trying to sell yourself for an interview, the principles behind behind the virology theory work for for any of those. So, much as, you know, my target audience is obviously, for my clients is more narrow than that, but this can work for any anybody really who wants to to sell more and sell better.

Stuart Webb [00:02:23]:

And what is it those people have done before you try and help them that that have made Webb they've made mistakes in that? Is is it just is it just not understanding the process or is it more than that?

Karen Green [00:02:37]:

It's more than that. And I and I found this statistic, and I asked lots of people. So I'll ask you the the the the number. So according

Karen Green [00:02:49]:

According to Harvard Business Review, what percentage of business to business, because that's really what I work in, business to business, corporate buyers, make the decision based on fact?

Stuart Webb [00:03:03]:

Yeah. So I'm going to have to say according to Harvard Business Review, and and I haven't read this article, but I would imagine it is a very, very low percentage. And I would imagine most people going into a buying situation think that that person buying is basing on all of the facts. And I'd imagine it's basically on whether or not you smiled or did something to make them feel good or treated them like a human or something like that.

Karen Green [00:03:29]:

You're absolutely right. So they say about 5% of

Stuart Webb [00:03:33]:

decisions That doesn't surprise me, I'm afraid. Based

Karen Green [00:03:36]:

on fact. And and that's the biggest mistake that I think I probably was making from, from day 1 of being a salesperson because, my personality is is quite fact based. I'm quite interested in in sales growth and numbers. So I would do all my research, and I'd look at the company, and I'd look at, their values and their mission and their statistics and the market share, and I would know that relatively inside out. And if I didn't, I'd usually have somebody with me who did, like a category manager. And when I was sort of putting together the the basis for my model, the virology model, I actually realized that that's only 1 third of of the of the piece. The the main part of it is, as we say, that that buyers are human. And therefore, what you've got to do is spend more time researching the person you're selling to as a human being than actually the corporation.

Karen Green [00:04:42]:

And then the 3rd pillar, which I think is quite interesting, and it's harder to research, is what is that human's interaction with the company they're working for?

Karen Green [00:04:54]:

So for example, I do a lot of work with food and drink companies selling into UK retail because that's obviously my my background. And you might get a buyer who's been there a long time, seen it all before, doesn't really wanna rock the boat, and therefore, you know, you have to think about, well, they're not looking for promotion, they're gonna be looking just to keep going. They've seen it all before. Or you might have somebody actually who's who's super ambitious, wants to change the world, quite happy to go and do things differently, and that can make quite a difference between the way you, you tailor things. So that's where you kind of if you if you'd look at all three pillars, you will have a better chance. And it means that you can take your your basic sales message, whatever that is, and and tailor it according to the person. And that's and that's the skill, that's the basis for the book, and that's the basis for what I work with clients on to to make to make the difference.

Stuart Webb [00:06:10]:

That's that's interesting. I think it's it's very reminiscent. Of my experience when I was, first first out of, what I did and and and entered a world where I was being taught to be a manager briefly before I started sort of taking taking you know, doing doing things with my own companies. But the one thing that I can remember a a manager mentor of mine saying was when I sort of provided somebody with some feedback, I was doing it based upon my understanding of something, which was all about, as you said, numbers. And and this person looked at me and said, how did they take it? And I said, well, I didn't understand. You didn't seem to care about that. He said, no. You have to tailor your message to what they care about, not what you care about.

Stuart Webb [00:06:54]:

And it was such a I sat there and thought from, well, that sounds that sounds so so ridiculous. I mean, I was I was sort of, you know, late twenties. You know, I was I was one of those sort of, you know, sitting there knowing knowing everything and then thinking, well, why on earth is this person telling me something like that? Because that's clearly rubbish. And and it was absolutely the right advice because people don't wanna hear it based upon your understanding. They wanna hear it based upon their understanding, don't they? They're and and and as as communicators, the thing that we have to remember is that communication is what the listener does, not what we do. We can we can shout it from the rooftop, but if nobody's listening, we've communicated nothing.

Karen Green [00:07:35]:

It's true. And what's exciting, I think, now is the fact that the combination of having LinkedIn and having, AI, and there's there's a couple of AI, systems you can use. I use Humanix. There's also Crystal Knows, and there's a couple of others. You can go and analyze the buyer or the the person that you wanna sell to because it might not be a corporate buyer. It must might just be your boss, for example. And you can work out their personality based on and Humanix uses the the DISC profiling. So you can then say, well, actually, I mean, I'm a I'm a relatively strong red personality.

Karen Green [00:08:16]:

So, and I remember a bit like you when I was younger at at at Tesco, my boss sitting me down and saying, you know, you went and asked accounts for us. He said, talk me through. And I went, well, I took it up like you said, and I gave it to them. And I said, I need this. And he said, did you say good morning? And I went, might have done. Did you ask them how they were? And I'm like, well, why would I? Am I interested? I don't care. And he said, I think if you built the relationship a bit better, you might understand, you know, you might come better. And I was like, oh, okay.

Karen Green [00:08:48]:

Fine. But if you if you know your personality as well so I know that I'm high red. I'm gonna get to the point quite quickly. I'm it's not entirely true because I do have a bit of eye in me as well. So I am relatively interested in people, but I think that's probably come as I've got older. And if you know your shortcomings or your purse your chosen approach, and then you use something like Humanix, which really has changed the way I do, because I obviously work with a quite a large number of clients, so I do a lot of discovery calls. And I can go on to LinkedIn. I can profile them.

Karen Green [00:09:29]:

In 30 seconds, I've got fair idea what they're gonna be five, and it just it just gives it the edge. It really does make a huge difference, to to the way I approach things. I'm not as good as I should be, you know, in terms of tailoring my emails and tailoring this, that, and the other. And and I was, I was watching a, webinar last week actually by Humanex who were talking about how, you know, if you've got a mailing list, I use Hub Spot, and you've got, say, a 1000 people on it, you can segment it by, type and and and all that kind of thing. And and, yes, I probably would do better. And their their open click rates is amazing because they do tailor it specifically to to different types. But and I'm sure once AI gets a little bit better than it you just press a button and then it will do it for us. But at the moment, it's a little bit a little bit weird for me.

Karen Green [00:10:22]:

But

Stuart Webb [00:10:23]:

I'm I'm looking forward to the day that I, that that that on on on my behalf and AI buys everything I've already decided I want. Although at the moment, I've got a son that does that for me, and I just over things appearing, through the post because he just sits and orders stuff that he's decided that I want. Well, most of the stuff is for him is just my credit card. Anyway, so look. That takes me for the next to the next thing, and I think you've got a really brilliant free offer that, that we can we can all tap into to sort of learn some of this stuff. And and for this moment now, I'm going to show this ticket because I believe you have got a really valuable free offer, which I'm really excited about.

Karen Green [00:11:08]:

So so yes. I wrote, my this is my second book actually, Recipe for Success, which was aimed at at food companies. It's available on Amazon if if you are interested. But this is a broader book. This is around know your buyer, sell more, and and sell better. And the first third of the book does go into understanding the why. So, you know, understanding why why are people more likely to be human in a corporate decision making, situation than than driven by by facts and figures. And then it I get into the the disc profiling and different ways that you can actually work out who your who your customer is and and to think about the 3 3 pillars.

Karen Green [00:11:57]:

Because, you know, at the beginning, I was saying we tend to focus on that 3rd pillar about, well, the the logical bit. We still need the logic because if we don't have the logic, then the rest of it will will fall apart because we still you know, there there still needs to be that factual basis. And and then the final part of the book is thinking about, well, how do you go out and do all those different things to do within business development and sales, such as prospecting, sending the cold emails, having the meetings, closing the sale, getting repeats. All of that part is there, but but with the underpin of of how do you tailor it and how do you use biology to make difference. So that's that's the book. It is a it is available on Amazon, but, yes, if you drop me a line, I will arrange for and an address, actually. I'll need your address at the same

Stuart Webb [00:12:50]:

time.

Karen Green [00:12:51]:

So so

Stuart Webb [00:12:52]:

drop an drop a a request and an address to karen@buyerology, that's buyeroldoydot co.uk. And that will be winging its way to you, which is a fantastic free offer. I love it.

Karen Green [00:13:09]:

Yeah. Please please do. I'll get get the message out because I'm really I am genuinely very passionate about what I do, and I think, the more people can who who get that understanding. Yeah. And as I say, you don't have to be an entrepreneur or in business for it to be useful. I mean, you know, some of some of the I don't know whether when toddlers actually get their their, personality. In fact, I should look that up because I've never thought about that. I've always thought, you know, if you're gonna sell something to a toddler, then that's probably and succeed.

Karen Green [00:13:43]:

Selling an idea to a toddler is is probably the hardest thing you'll ever do.

Stuart Webb [00:13:47]:

Well, I think is it is it it's not it's it's an old truism that we're all selling all the time over if you're what you're trying to do is persuade your your significant other to go out to the cinema. There's a there's a there's a there's an interaction of selling and buying interaction going on there, and it's just it's continuous, and we all ought to be better at it, I guess.

Karen Green [00:14:08]:

Yeah. Absolutely. It's it's it's

Stuart Webb [00:14:10]:

Makes make would make for happier relationships, I suspect, if we did actually do some of that. So, was there a particular book or course that actually sort of started you to to to think about? Obviously, other than the 2 books that you've mentioned that you wrote, but was there a particular book, of course, that actually, started you in this journey about understanding how buying be is such an important part of five.

Karen Green [00:14:34]:

So I would say the the best book I've ever read on this is Never Split the Difference. Five I've forgotten who wrote it now. Oh, god.

Stuart Webb [00:14:46]:

I didn't know.

Karen Green [00:14:47]:

I was looking on my shelf to see if I had it, and I think it's it's packed away because I've been it'll come back to me in a minute. But it's written by, he was an FBI negotiator, so he's not he wasn't at the time a commercial person. I mean, he does do a lot of training now. But it's a brilliant book because he does it there's a lot of storytelling in it, and he does talk about negotiating with with hostage situations and things like that. So it is quite interesting, but then he does get into, you know, how to negotiate a a pay five or how to negotiate, with your with your significant other as you're describing. It is a really good book, and it will come to minimum as to who's written it. It's it's a major major major major bestseller.

Stuart Webb [00:15:37]:

But that's, that's interesting, isn't it? Because once again, that you know, it's I I think we're discovering, you know, not that all buying situations are hostage taking situations, but I can understand what the the the the, the the links between those 2 because, obviously, what we've got is 2 people who are trying to reach some sort of an agreement, and I I guess Stuart the normal agreement is the price or whatever over you're gonna pay.

Karen Green [00:16:01]:

It's Chris Fox, by the way. I've just looked it up. Okay. But yeah. And and the point of the book, Over Split the Difference, I think is is a really good one because it's it is a technique that I've seen when I I was, Yeah. When I was working with Tesco. So they'll say, well, we want 50% margin. And you think, well, actually, I was only going in for, like, 30.

Karen Green [00:16:26]:

So if they say, let's split the difference, that's 40. But, actually, your toppest, toppest might be 38. So for them to go, let's split the difference because they've set this ridiculously high target figure to start with is is really poor. And and I actually do use it that thought process a lot where someone moves if someone says to me let's split the difference, I always say no. Just

Stuart Webb [00:16:52]:

Just to see what happens?

Karen Green [00:16:54]:

Chris said. Chris said say no.

Stuart Webb [00:16:58]:

How fantastic.

Karen Green [00:16:59]:

That's funny.

Stuart Webb [00:17:00]:

Get out of that situation?

Karen Green [00:17:04]:

Well, it's you then have to look at the reasons why you wouldn't split the difference. It's quite hard actually because some people think it's think it they're being generous. They go, well, should we you know, if you're buying a car and they'll say, well, should we split the difference? Or I've had clients I have one recently where someone was saying, well, can we split the difference? I Webb, oh, no. No. Because because because you're asking a map. You were asking too much to start with. But you gotta be careful because then that seems a bit rude.

Stuart Webb [00:17:33]:

I love it. Oh, we could talk for this on our list, but we better not. We better not because I think, 1, it would it would eliminate any, any reason for anybody to to try and get your book, and they definitely should get your book. So I'm going to ask you the final question, which is obviously, Five been asking questions and you've obviously beautifully answered them, but there must be a question that you wish I had answered and I haven't yet. So, Karen, what's the question that I should have asked you? And, obviously, you know the answer better than anyone else, so you better answer it for us as well.

Karen Green [00:18:05]:

What's what's the evidence that biology works? I think is

Stuart Webb [00:18:11]:

the best. That's a lovely question. I think it's a lovely question. Is there a good case study that you can bring us?

Karen Green [00:18:18]:

There's there's there's lots there's lots of of case studies I can bring. Certainly, over the last 2 or 3 years, I've had clients come along to me, and they've they've they've said, oh, this is my business and this is it, and I will turn on. I can remember one in particular. And I said, you don't really enjoy right running this business, do you? Because you really don't like selling because you're actually a real nice people person. And she went, you've only spoken to me for 5 minutes. How do you know that? And she got quite but she was very impressed. And we did end up working together for a very long time. And I did obviously explain to her afterwards.

Karen Green [00:19:00]:

I said, well, I've just profiled you, and and you're definite a very green person, and you like getting on with people. And and and therefore, you you know, to to sit across a buyer is gonna be really hard. So what you need is someone like me to protect you and go in and do it for you. And that's what I do actually with with a number of my clients. So so that kind of is an example of of the beginning of of of how it works. But, certainly, at the moment, I'm doing a lot more selling than I would normally do, on behalf of clients. I normally just coach, but I've got a couple of people who came to me and said, well, would you do it for me who are not born sellers? And, yeah, I'm having a lot of fun with it actually Stuart adapt, to the different personalities, and we're I'm off to see, Boots actually on Thursday sitting on the other side of the desk selling toothpaste. So it's gonna be quite interesting.

Stuart Webb [00:19:59]:

Fantastic. Fantastic. Karen, I mean, my immediate response my immediate response is I can't I can't believe, that you won't get 1,000,000 and 1,000,000 of requests for that book because, Well, if I

Karen Green [00:20:11]:

get 1,000,000 and 1,000,000, then we'll have to put we'll have to put, like, no more than 50 p 50 will be given away because, we don't want the repeat of, was it? Right.

Stuart Webb [00:20:21]:

There that is that is your that is your your challenge, people watching at the moment. And And if you're watching on replay, you may already be too late. Get that email to karen@birology, b u y erology.co.uk immediately to get your free copy of that book because I think, Karen, that is a brilliant message. I love what you've been telling us. I love the way that you're helping to peep get people. And I really appreciate you spending a few minutes with us, today.

Karen Green [00:20:54]:

Thank you for having me. I've really enjoyed it. It's been great.

Stuart Webb [00:20:56]:

Lovely. Now look. If you would like to get, an email from me letting you know about the wonderful people that are coming up on this podcast so you can watch five and get in before the offers disappear, send, go to this link, which is link.thecompleteapproach.c0.ukforward/newsletter. That puts you onto our letter list. We will be sending you an email, which gives you information about the upcoming webinars, the upcoming LinkedIn lives Webb you will hear wonderful people like Karen speak. And, Karen, I just wanna thank you once again for coming on and, spending a few minutes, certainly educating me, and I really appreciate it.

Karen Green [00:21:37]:

Thank you very much. Thank you. You've been great.

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View Details

Who is Tracy?

Tracy Borreson has a background in corporate marketing but found that the industry lacked authenticity. Determined to change that, she left the corporate world and started TLB Coaching, a business centered around having real conversations and helping companies find their unique DNA. Tracy believes that the standard approach of giving easy instructions and expecting success doesn't work, and instead focuses on helping people figure out what they would do in any given situation. Whether it's through in-person networking events or marketing advisory services, Tracy's mission is to bring authenticity back to the marketing industry.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Marketing professional seeks authenticity and unique approach.

06:49 Choosing convenience over joy can diminish experiences.

10:30 "Need for communication and understanding client problems."

13:16 Target niche markets efficiently to save money.

16:41 Personal brand campfire: audio meditation experience.

18:23 Book recommendation: "The One Thing" - Focus

22:37 Trade show success is about creating experience.

26:46 Embrace failure, learn, nobody died, keep going.

29:15 Failure is necessary for learning and growth.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandsthatspeak/

A video version of this podcast is also at

https://youtube.com/live/nO8zKIPa2-E?feature=share

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Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Personal branding, Authenticity, Marketing strategies, Customer engagement, Business development, Digital space, Authentic insights, Customer needs, Education-based marketing, Targeted approach, Sustainable marketing, Meaningful relationships, Sales, Customer experience, DNA and actions, Authentic marketing, TLB coaching, Sales strategies, Meaningful activities, Personal brand campfire, Authentic expression, The One Thing, The Art of Gathering, Human connection, Community building, Productive day, Mentor advice, Asking the right questions, Business growth, Mistakes in marketing

SPEAKERS

Tracy Borreson, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:20]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science, 5 questions over coffee. I'm here at the moment. I've actually just finished my drink, but I should be getting another one very soon. I'm here with Tracy, who is obviously well caffeined up. Hi, Tracy. Really good to see you. Tracy is a, is is is really into the authenticity, particularly in the digital space, and, runs, TLB coaching, which I'm sure we'll get to, in the in the future. And she's really, all about trying to make your, your, brand, your your personal brand to become the leading way in which you engage with others.

Stuart Webb [00:01:01]:

So, Tracy, welcome to It's Not Rocket Science 5 questions, have a coffee. Looking forward to this conversation enormously.

Tracy Borreson [00:01:08]:

Me too, Stewart. I've for since the 1st time we chatted, one, I love the whole concept of it's not rocket science. So, hopefully, we don't make it too complicated for people to say.

Stuart Webb [00:01:17]:

Well, look. It's it's it's I always say to people, business is is so easy. Why do we overcomplicate things? And and for me, marketing is is simple as well. People people worry so much about, you know, the the terms and things like that. So talk to me a little bit about what it is you try and do to help people. What is it that you're trying to do with TLB coaching?

Tracy Borreson [00:01:37]:

So my background is marketing, and I was in the corporate marketing arena for a long time. And one of the things that I didn't experience very much of there was authenticity, which as defined by me is people doing and saying what they would do or say, when they would would want to do and say it. And so I kinda meandered around the marketing industry for a long time trying to find my place of where I could have this conversation, and I didn't find it. So I left corporate, started TLB coaching, and it's all about being in the conversation about what would you do. So I believe that every business has a unique DNA, and while the current environment that we live in is very much about one of ease and simplicity and let me just tell you what to do and you can do it and you'll be fine, The problem is is that doesn't work. It doesn't work the majority of the time. Sometimes you get lucky, but the majority of the time, it doesn't work. And so in everything we do at TLP Coaching, whether that is an in person networking event to actually, like, be a marketing advisory services we provide, It's all about helping people figure out what would you do.

Tracy Borreson [00:02:57]:

What would your business do? I did this post on LinkedIn yesterday that I was super annoyed about, because people have started using the, like, service request form on LinkedIn to pitch. And I was like, for real? I got 2 in the same day. So, like, clearly, someone is telling people this is what they should do. Right? This is a way to hack the new LinkedIn so you don't have to have a paid membership or whatever. But just like, would you do that? Would you? Or would you not? Because if you wouldn't do that, then you don't have to do it. And just helping people get back to honestly, I think it's a personal confidence thing or a business confidence thing. Personal confidence creates business confidence. Would you do that? And if you wouldn't do that, honestly, it doesn't even matter if everybody else in your industry is doing it because if you wouldn't do it, you're either going to, a, do it in a completely undedicated way that's not gonna work for you, or 2, you're gonna do something else which makes you stand out from the industry, and that's really what we're trying to do in marketing anyway.

Tracy Borreson [00:04:04]:

So Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:04:06]:

Yeah. I was, I was on a, a meeting with a a bunch of other company directors recently, and we were talking about the disconnect of marketing in organizations and talking about the fact that so often, you know, marketing is doing something which, you know, then can't be delivered by by by sales and can't be delivered by operations. And as a result, what you end up with is marketing fighting and saying to people, but we should be doing this. And the answer is, yeah, that might be what you want. But, unfortunately, the rest of the organization can't do it. You're just making yourselves look unauthentic as you say or end up in a situation where there's there's infighting, and it's not collaborative. And as a result, what do you end up with? You just you've somebody looks at the marketing and goes, great. I'd like that experience.

Stuart Webb [00:04:50]:

But when they get delivered that product or service, it doesn't match what they believed, and they will they will then just turn off. And that would that'll be that'll be the end of their their interaction with that that particular company. So being authentic is so important to the whole experience that you have, not only the marketing, but how it gets delivered, whether the salespeople can sort of live up to the promises. It has to be one thing that everybody can can can live to.

Tracy Borreson [00:05:13]:

Yeah. It's a it's a we exercise. And the we is marketing and sales and customer experience and operations and the delivery truck drivers and whoever else is involved in this company going to market. And it's also the we in the ideal customers and partners and vendors and, like, all of these things. This is a we exercise, and it's something that it's it's just very interesting. It it I'm not gonna say it's not complex because the more people you a thing, the more complex the interrelationships between humans become. But at the end of the day, this is about, okay, we are all here for one reason. There's a famous quote by a, janitor at NASA who was at like, what do you do here? And he is like, putting a man on the moon.

Tracy Borreson [00:06:10]:

Like, that's what we're doing here. And we all have our different roles in that, but when you have that kind of commitment from a we, then, like, it makes a huge difference and not that makes it huge difference internally, which then makes a huge difference externally.

Stuart Webb [00:06:27]:

And and we sort of strayed into it, Tracy, but, you know, at this stage, it's sort of you know, what is it you see people doing, which which, you know, we've sort of talked about it a little bit where where it is unauthentic, where people are not doing something which which is authentic to their to their marketing efforts and somehow makes it look as if they're liars?

Tracy Borreson [00:06:49]:

I mean, quite honestly, I think a lot of the times, it comes back to doing the easy thing. And if you're just listening, I used air quotes in there because it's sold to you as if it's the easy thing, as if you just do this. I have this ex like, personal example that I always reference, which is, like, I hand chop nuts almost every day to go in yogurt or granola or whatever. I I and I like to do it. It makes me feel like a top chef, and I am very far from a top chef. Let's put it that way. And my dad was at my house once, and he was observing me chopping these nuts, and he was like, you need a slap chop. And I was like, I mean, a slap chop would make this easier, and it would make it faster, but it would also take away all of the joy that I have in doing the activity.

Tracy Borreson [00:07:45]:

And so I have not got one. I told him not to buy me one because he's also the type of guy who would be helpful and just get you one. And it's like, no. I like to do I like to do this, and this is the thing where we're, like, so caught up in this ease of use conversation because we just everything want everything to be faster. We want everything to be more simple, and we miss that we're trading away what is meaningful for us to do those things, and then we have businesses who are in business using their marketing departments to just convince people that what you need is my easy thing. Right? You you don't have my easy thing. It fixes all your problems, except most people don't know enough why they have a problem to answer that question, to say, like, yeah. That actually fixes my problem because in my scenario, I don't have a problem.

Tracy Borreson [00:08:38]:

I don't have a problem with chopping nuts. Right? So now your slap chop is irrelevant to me because I don't have a problem with that activity and but the people in this scenario, the company, put yourself in my nut shopping shoes as a business, you don't know enough about what your problem is to say, I don't need your slap show. Right? Like, I don't need your website design services. I don't need your podcast production services. I don't need wherever. I I don't know what I need. So the answer is really in that, like, going back to basics and saying, like, what's the problem here? Because the problem is our problem isn't we'd need to chop nuts faster. That's not our problem.

Tracy Borreson [00:09:26]:

What's our problem? Okay. Let's go to market and see what's out there to fix that problem and let or from the flip side, if you're not looking at it from, like, marketing perspective, now you have really good clarity on the problem. You fix for people, and you tell the market it. Right? Yeah. No. I don't know how many slabchops have been sold. A lot of them. Right? There are lots of people out there who have problems chopping nuts.

Tracy Borreson [00:09:52]:

Sure. Get a Slack job. I don't have 1 though, so that's not the prob that's not a problem for me. There are problems I have, but it's not that problem.

Stuart Webb [00:10:02]:

Yeah. There are so many people that sort of you know, and I I come across this with people who are teaching lead generation. I'm I'm using air quotes as well now. So we're we're all into the lead generation, lead generation services on LinkedIn, which is, you know, the first thing you have to do is sort of, say hello. And then immediately, the message goes back where where you know, hello. And then do you want such and such? You know, I get I must get I don't know how many a day. I've sort of, you know we've seen your podcast. You must need podcast production services.

Stuart Webb [00:10:30]:

My answer is, hang on a minute. You haven't even asked me whether or not that's a problem. You don't know yet whether or not that's my problem. I have problems, but you haven't actually even bothered to reach out and find out whether or not. And I was talking to, you know, a client actually today who was who was actually sort of saying, you know, about their the the the they've they're trying to gen they're trying to write a course for a for a particular standard. And and I said said, well, you know, are are customers coming to you and asking for this course? And his answer was, well, they have they do once we've told them they need it. And I said, and why don't they need it? And he said, well, we're dealing with industrial places, and they're all using the domestic standard, and they don't know that there's an industrial standard. And so the first thing they come to us to say is, can you can you, can you implement this regulation? And they go, yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:11:23]:

We can, but, actually, you need this one. And they go, oh, why do we need that one? And then they start the education, and he said we it's only after they've we've engaged with them and started talking to them that they recognize that what they initially thought they wanted isn't what they want. And that some somehow and I sort of said, like, I love the way you're doing it, but the major problem you've got at the moment is that you haven't yet engaged with the number of people that actually have a problem and don't know they've got a problem. It's exactly what you were saying. Too many people are reaching out and sort of basically trying to thrust down the throat. You that'll solve your problem. You don't even know you got a problem yet, so they're trying to reeducate their educate their their market, which is proving to be the the the thing which is gonna cost them the most, but it's gonna be the most profitable in the end.

Tracy Borreson [00:12:08]:

Well and I think that's that is exactly the point. Right? And is that the thing that's gonna be all most profitable for everybody in the end? No. A lot of people go to market with this education component assuming that if I educate you, then you will buy what I need, but this is not then really education, right? This is persuasion, so let's call it what it is, and it's not that it, it's not that it can't work. Right? It can work. It has worked. It has worked on me, right, but is that what you can find yourself committed to doing for the long term? And these are the things about, like, like, the lead gen on LinkedIn is that, like, this strategy is based on I call spray and pray. And I spray my message everywhere, and I pray that it lands with somebody because there are people out there that have a problem, but I am not doing anything intentionally to find a person who has a problem. I'm just spraying the market with stuff.

Tracy Borreson [00:13:16]:

When you have a very small percentage of the market that has your problem, you're gonna spend a lot of money on that strategy before you find somebody, and if you're a business that doesn't have a lot of money, including the time you're paying somebody to do those activities to do that, then that's probably not the right strategy for you. Can it work? Sure. I'm more of a fan of the shoot the fish in the barrel analogy. You got all these fish in a barrel and, well, I'm not trying to shoot people, but, like, everything is sounds like I'm very into guns, and I'm Canadian, and I'm not, but it's like but these are the points. Right? Like, that's more of a me. I wanna, like, kinda wrap people in a community, and then I wanna see if there's something in there that is is is worth mining instead of, like, I wanna go out and, like, just and so the the secret there is in being able to say, I don't wanna do that. Somebody who tells you I had this guy once on LinkedIn, and I've, like, referenced him pretty much every conversation trying to convince me that if I don't do prerecorded video, I will never have a successful business. And I was like, I hate prerecorded video.

Tracy Borreson [00:14:32]:

I just don't believe what you're saying, and you should spend your energy somewhere else convincing someone else who is opening to listen to you because it's not gonna be me. You can try and peer pressure me all you want. I will never believe what you're saying and just move on, and, again, it's not that, like, video is bad. Right? It's just not something I'm ever gonna do because I'm totally uncomfortable with it. I waste a huge amount of time doing it. It's not for me. So being able to stand up for what's not for you, what is for you when someone else is telling you that that is bunk, and you're like, well, I've built an entire funnel based off them that works for me, and you have the confidence to say, this is my way of doing it, then we're into the realm where you can have a sustainable growth focused marketing program.

Stuart Webb [00:15:20]:

Brilliant. Tracy, there must be some stuff that you've got on, your websites and things like that. Is there a is there a one particular thing that you find that most people would be most interested in that that talk to them about, you know, some valuable advice that you could give. And I I put your LinkedIn profile on the screen, which is linkedin.com/in/brands that speak. Is it is it is it stuff that you you you we should know about that you give away and help people to understand how to do this sort of thing?

Tracy Borreson [00:15:52]:

So the first thing that I personally love is my LinkedIn live show, which is called the Crazy Stupid Marketing Show, which Stewart is gonna be on in the future. The show is based on helping people understand what they're doing from a marketing perspective that is crazy and stupid and not going to lead you in the direction you wanna go and opening the door to perhaps more empowering perspectives that can allow you to do things that are more meaningful and more sustainable for your business. So that is one of the things I love to do. It's on Tuesday afternoons, depending on where you are in the world. It's on. Actually, I have a guest from, Australia later today, and it's technically Wednesday morning for him. But, anyway, it's it's it's a show, and it's on LinkedIn. You can find it.

Tracy Borreson [00:16:41]:

You can also find it on YouTube. Crazy stupid marketing. The other thing that I really love to do, and I do this with, a lot of the workshops that I host, is something called I mean, I call it the personal brand campfire. You can do it equally from a business perspective too. It is an audio experience. It's available on my website, and what it does is it's it's kinda like a meditation that helps get you re centered on who you are and how you show up, and then using that as a foundation allows you to choose marketing strategies, sales strategies, narratives. What I mean, honestly, you could use it to start your day and have a productive conversation with your kids. It helps you get realigned to what would you do and what does it feel like to be in your most authentic expression of yourself and how can you start with that visualization and let it roll out into your day, into whatever you're going to do that day.

Tracy Borreson [00:17:46]:

It could be goal setting. It could be KPIs. It could be pretty much anything. It's about starting from you. So that is something that's available on my website. People can feel free to go and download that. I think it's like a 4 and a half minute thing, audio experience, and, yeah, give it a try. I have some clients who, like, do it every morning.

Stuart Webb [00:18:07]:

Brilliant. What was it that re initially got you, or or or or is there a valuable book or something that you recommend your clients read or that you read yourself that that sort of helps to to center people around authentic marketing?

Tracy Borreson [00:18:23]:

I have 2, and neither of them are actually marketing related books. So the first one is a book I recommend to pretty much everybody that I meet. Again, regardless of whether you are running your own business or you're just a human doing life, it's called The One Thing, and it's a book about focusing on what's important. So again, whether you're trying to do that from a business perspective or a life perspective, it's very empowering. The central question of the book is what is the one thing I can do right now that will make all other things easier or unnecessary? And as soon as I heard that, I was like, this is genius. This is going to be my life. Yeah. It's a great idea.

Tracy Borreson [00:19:06]:

And you will be surprised. Right? I'm like, you can look at what can you do in your, like, list of chores at home? What are the things that you can do with your kids? What are the things you can do in your business? What are the things you can do in your marketing? It is really, like, a very global question that is very, very empowering, allows you to get back to the simplicity of that. Secondly, a book called The Art of Gathering, and so

Stuart Webb [00:19:33]:

to me

Tracy Borreson [00:19:34]:

yeah. Okay. So I love it. I have it on repeat on my Audible. It is a book about people being together. And so for me, I believe that marketing is about creating a community of people, and so that is tied into the art of gathering. And whether you're hosting events or you're looking at this from a marketing perspective or you're having a birthday party or what have you, this book brings about so many interesting ideas of what it looks like for humans to connect with humans, and that is one of the things that I like the most about it.

Stuart Webb [00:20:12]:

I have made a note of the book of The Art of Gathering, and I love the idea behind that. That is one that we'll be getting, that will be getting into my, my bookshelves very soon. And on that one thing, you know, the what a mentor of mine said to me many years ago, they they they they sat me down, and they I'm you know? This was back in the days when I was, a a young young young, you know, research student.

Tracy Borreson [00:20:36]:

So yesterday?

Stuart Webb [00:20:37]:

Back yesterday. Yeah. And they turned around to me and they said, look. If you can get one thing done tomorrow morning before 11 o'clock, that means you've moved forward 1 step. The rest of the day, you can take off. And if you get 2 things done by doing it by 11 and then 1 after 11, you've almost brought yourself back a new day. And I sat there and I thought one thing by 11 o'clock, I can do that. I can do 1 thing by 11 o'clock, and it's become a habit.

Stuart Webb [00:21:08]:

You know, I sit down at the end of every evening. I sit down and I write the one thing that I'm gonna do tomorrow morning before I get onto my emails, before I do anything else, before I receive a telephone call or anything, I'm gonna do that one thing that moves the business forward. And then if I achieve it by 11 o'clock, the rest of the day is mine. I can take the rest of the day off if I like, or I can try and do a second thing. And it's such a simple idea, isn't it, to do one thing? Just one. But it's possible. Your brain can compute one thing.

Tracy Borreson [00:21:40]:

It's true. Although I will also say having be being a check a checklist person, there's a lot of things that we put on a list that we do that aren't meaningful.

Stuart Webb [00:21:54]:

Yeah.

Tracy Borreson [00:21:54]:

That aren't meaningful to the relationship we're building, that aren't meaningful to the businesses we're building. And I think that is probably the toughest arena to explore is that you could go from doing a 100 things that are not meaningful in one day to doing one meaningful thing.

Stuart Webb [00:22:14]:

Yeah. You're right. You're absolutely right. The seek one of the secrets I learned when I was doing 1 training course is I did a statistical thing, and I turned around and said, you mean the important thing is to ask the right question? And he went, yes. That's it. It's asked the right question. You can ask a 1000000 questions and get an answer. But unless you've asked the right question, every answer you've got is wrong.

Tracy Borreson [00:22:37]:

It's so true. I remember having this conversation with 1 of the ladies who is on my show, and she got this opportunity to, have a booth at a trade show, and so she had asked me. She's like, okay, I know you know about, like, what are what are the things someone would normally have at a trade show booth? And I was like, well, some of the things people would normally have at a trade show booth are a table and some chairs and some swag and a banner and a video with rotating video of your cup like, this is what people would typically have, but is that what you would have? And she was like, ugh. No. Okay. That's the point. Right? The the point is the question isn't what should I have. Right? Like, it's what what what would I create? Right? What experience do you want people to take away of you from this trade show? Do you want to just do what everybody else is doing, or do you want to look different? And, like, this is my people.

Tracy Borreson [00:23:37]:

We're talking about, so, obviously, she wants to look different, but, like, these are these are the things, and also this is why I believe it's so powerful to be surrounded by a community of people who are curious in that nature. What would you do? This is the thing I always think about. Even when it like I was young, I had nobody ask me that question. Right? I I went into the program. People told me what I should do. This is a good idea. I I did that for a very long time. Got to the point where I was like, well, that's not what I could do.

Tracy Borreson [00:24:07]:

Then had to figure out, what would I do? I'm still in the process of figuring out what I would do. I feel like this is a lifelong journey. But when you surround yourself with people asking you what you would do instead of surrounding yourself with people telling you what you should do, your experience from a personal and a business perspective changes, dress.

Stuart Webb [00:24:26]:

Yeah. Yeah. Brilliant. Look, Tracy, up until now, I've been doing all the work asking you all these questions, and there must be a question that you're thinking to yourself. Hey. He hasn't asked me about such and such. So what is that 1 question that I should be asking you? And, of course, once I've, you once you've asked that question, you're you're gonna need to answer it for

Tracy Borreson [00:24:46]:

us. You know, it's funny because I knew this question was coming, and then I feel like I kinda, like, answered my own questions the way along because that's how I do. But I think one of the most powerful things in this process is, like, how do you move? Like, how do you go from where you are today to having confidence in the way you would do things? So that's the question I will ask myself. My answer is practice. You have to practice. It's yeah. So I grew up playing competitive basketball. We're city champions when I was in high school, and so, I mean, it's cities.

Tracy Borreson [00:25:28]:

It's not like, woo, the biggest thing, but it was a championship basketball team And a lot of the times I look at what are the difference between a championship team and a not championship team? And almost always, it's because of practice. Mhmm. Yeah. And it's not also because of just, like, individual practice. A whole bunch of players can go out and practice alone and it doesn't mean that your team is going to jail. It was a we activity and we practiced. We practiced and we ran and we did stairs. We did sprints and we shot free throws and, like, I don't even know.

Tracy Borreson [00:26:02]:

I kinda wish I had counted how many free throws I have shot in my life so that I could get to the point where I can shoot 80% from a free throw line. Like, it doesn't happen the 1st time you shoot the ball. Right? It doesn't, and so many times in business and from a marketing perspective and from a personal development perspective, we think we get this idea. Right? Okay. I'm gonna be authentic. I'm gonna go and and and do it my way, and then we don't because we don't know how to do that.

Stuart Webb [00:26:32]:

Yeah.

Tracy Borreson [00:26:33]:

So you have to go idiot. To the basketball court and shoot. You have to shoot, and you have to miss. You have to get it wrong. There's no 100 percents here. So practice. You gotta practice.

Stuart Webb [00:26:46]:

And and fail. You know? Sometimes sometimes you have to allow yourself to fail because I I said this sorry. Once again, I said this to another client recently who turned around and said something along the lines of what happens if it doesn't work? And I said, do you know how a baby learns to walk? A baby learns to walk by getting up, falling on their backside, and thinking, well, I'm not gonna do that again. I'll do it different. And you don't learn and get it right by by just waiting and waiting and waiting until eventually it becomes right. You have to get out, do something, practice it, and if it goes wrong, well, okay. That's one way that you don't do it the next time. And even if it does go wrong, nobody died.

Tracy Borreson [00:27:28]:

Well and especially okay. I had a boss once working in marketing. He used to always say, we're not saving babies, which I 1, just resounded with me, 1, because my mom was a neonatal nurse, so it was actually her job to save babies. It has never been my job to save babies. Also, I can't handle the sight of blood, and my mom is a nurse. I don't know. Person. There's no problem, but, like, we're from a marketing perspective, folks, like, this is not if you are doing flyers and they don't go out till Tuesday when they were supposed to go out on Monday, doesn't matter.

Tracy Borreson [00:28:09]:

Right? Like, it just doesn't matter. And maybe maybe you learn like, okay. Yeah. They do need to go out on Monday to give people enough time to know because there's people like me who don't check their mailboxes for, like, 2 weeks, which is yeah. That's a thing I do. I have the worst checking my mail. Don't mail me something important, folks, unless you're gonna tell me it's coming. But, like, you learn from getting it wrong, and if you aren't, if you aren't, then you're just a baby who lies there.

Tracy Borreson [00:28:38]:

You're not even a baby who learned how to crawl. Right? Babies learned how to crawl. They learned how to walk. They learned how to ride a bike. They learned how to run. Right? Like, that's a that's a staged methodology, and if you don't experiment at the very first step, you are never going to get to running. So if you are hoping that there's some kind of magic that exists to take you from stage 0, lying there flat on your back like a baby in your marketing, all the way up to running and beating your competitors ahead of all your competitors in the market, it has to come from experimentation. You have to experiment and you have to get it wrong.

Tracy Borreson [00:29:15]:

You have to fall down. So if you also are looking for someone who's, like, going to promise you that this is going to work a 100% of the time and it's not a thing, guys, because you haven't done it before. That same that same methodology hasn't been tried on by your body type, so you don't know that it gets until you try it on, and then you're like, oh, no. This doesn't fit. Let's not do that. But I did kinda like that. Like, I like the color of that shirt, but I don't like the cut of that shirt. So I'm gonna look for more shirts that are that color, but not that same kind of This is how humans get learn how to walk.

Tracy Borreson [00:29:51]:

It's how we choose clothes. It's this is the same methodology for your marketing as well.

Stuart Webb [00:29:57]:

Tracy, yep. I I I love the ideas. I love that. We think we could go on for hours, but we better let you get back to doing something important, and meeting with your customers. Folks, I'm just gonna I'm just gonna wrap up. And and now if you wanna go to, this link, h t t p s, colon forward slash forward slash link .thecompleteapproach.co.ukforward/newsletter. That's link .thecompleteapproach.co.uk forward slash newsletter. Fill out the form there.

Stuart Webb [00:30:25]:

Get onto the newsletter list so that you can get an email from me with some of the brilliant people that we're gonna have on in the future, like Tracy. I'm gonna give you words of wisdom like this. You can't believe. Tracy, thank you so much for spending some time with us. You have such an infectious attitude and such an infectious spirit. I love what you're saying. I really believe if you can't get authentic with you, you can't get authentic with anybody. So thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us.

Stuart Webb [00:30:51]:

I look forward to hearing what people think about what you've said and, being authentic with it.

Tracy Borreson [00:30:58]:

Awesome. Thank you for the opportunity,

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Who is Ben?

Ben Dickie is the co-founder of Hivemind, a platform designed to provide flexible and dynamic access to expertise for executives and business leaders within enterprise organizations. With a focus on transformation and innovation, Hivemind connects these leaders with specialists in a meaningful way. Ben's vision for the platform is to enable executives to access the right consulting support at the right time, ultimately moving their businesses forward. Hivemind also serves as a networking environment for independent experts who have left industry to set up their own consulting businesses or work as independent contractors. Ben's goal is to create a space where these individuals can share and learn from one another, ultimately driving success for all involved.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Hivemind provides flexible consulting support for execs.

04:23 Clients are unique, need change management investment.

10:55 Hivemind offers diverse expertise and adaptable methods.

14:13 Helping organizations create their vision for success.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

https://assess.hivemindconsulting.com/transform1

A video version of this podcast is also at

https://youtube.com/live/H0p3Ex3SDaw?feature=share

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

business technology consultants, positive sustainable change, Hivemind Consulting Network, enterprise organizations, transformation specialist, innovation specialist, medium and large sized enterprises, independent expert, shared values, independent contractor, change management, investment in change management, transformation readiness, transformation programs, fractional role, communities of excellence, transformation and change, small independent consultants, traditional consultancies, shared learning, networks, expertise, transformation and change community, transformation and change framework, transformation and change literature, small groups working together, Be More Pirate book, pirate culture, future vision, FTSE 100 businesses

SPEAKERS

Ben Dickie, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:22]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science 5 questions over coffee. My coffee is here. It's nearly gone actually because it's, it's been it's been a lot to do this morning. I'm really grateful that we've got time from Ben Dickey This morning to talk to us. Ben is the chief revenue officer and cofounder of the Hind Hivemind Consulting Network, A global network of really business, technology consultants driven by a lot of shared values and a desire to make a Positive sustainable change in in business today. So, Ben, really grateful for you making a few minutes, for us today. Thank you for your contribution to It's Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee.

Ben Dickie [00:01:04]:

Delighted to be here, although my, my coffee sadly empty as well.

Stuart Webb [00:01:10]:

What can I say? Sometimes sometimes you have to actually stop drinking the coffee and do work, but, you know, we'll try to avoid that for the next few minutes. Listen. Just just tell us a little bit about sort of, you know, what you're trying to achieve with with Hivemind. Who are the who are the sort of people that you're attempting to to help overcome some of the problems they've got in a different way.

Ben Dickie [00:01:33]:

Sure. Yeah. So Webb founded Hivemind. It's our 10 10 year, anniversary or our 10th birthday this year. Yeah. Yeah. We've got 2 distinctly different, customers as as we see it. So our our focus, I think to answer your question is is primarily with medium and large sized enterprises.

Ben Dickie [00:01:57]:

So execs, Yeah. Executives and and business leaders within enterprise organizations who are Transforming and changing their their their business or or they're looking to innovate. And so With with that customer group in mind, we founded Hivemind really to provide a more flexible, and dynamic way For for execs in in those organizations to access expertise, so external consulting support At the right time and and for just the right amount of time. So enabling them to to interact with Transformation specialist or innovation specialist like yourself, Stuart, to To five, yeah, to to move their business forward in a in a in a really meaningful way. And, yeah, the the our over customer group It's, so it is is the independent, expert. So individuals who Yeah. For for for over variety of reasons, it's becoming more and more, more and more popular over more and more commonplace, decided to leave the, leave industry and set up their own, their own consulting business or strike out as an independent contractor. The network provides, an environment for them to share and learn with, with others.

Ben Dickie [00:03:24]:

It's a network of like minded, individuals with, as as you said, a shared a shared set of, of of principles or or values, but ultimately driven To do the work that they enjoy and and five, and, and to and to make an impact and a difference for, yeah, for for for for clients and and the the wider community.

Stuart Webb [00:03:49]:

And and and we could talk for hours about sort of, you know, the the value of of shared learning and shared networks. But but for for the purposes of this, because I'm I'm hoping that what we got are people who are who are watching us, who are, you know, that That target, customer that you're trying to help, you know, they they will have been working with traditional consultancies, Small independent, consultants themselves. What what is what is the problem that they really face that that you are addressing in a slightly different way of working.

Ben Dickie [00:04:23]:

Yeah. I think I mean, every client That we work with is is is unique. I think they have their own, you know, their their own culture and their own their own ways of working. The common threads that we see, are are specifically around change and and transformation Our, you know, change changing big organizations is really, really hard, and, It Stuart with with the exact leadership and and the vision for, for for for change and transformation. And, and and and I would say then, yeah, having having worked on more than a dozen, large transformation programs, I think most organizations underestimate the, the the impact an investment needed in in change management. So once they've set a vision and a course of direction, It's really all about the people in in the organization and and probably some of the more, yeah, some of the more challenging environments that we've, that we've worked in, are those where change management and the effort required there in investment required there has been, been been underestimated, And and what were successful, where we've where we've been working with them from the beginning is really rightsizing that, After understanding the impact of the the change that they want to make on the on the people in in the business, and, and then proactively managing that on an ongoing, on an ongoing basis.

Stuart Webb [00:06:06]:

So so so it so so the five mind is obviously better at Estimating some of those things. Where where does that where does that expertise come from?

Ben Dickie [00:06:14]:

It comes from the the the 2nd group of customers that I mentioned. So we we've we've now got over 2,000, leading independent Consultant and expert, really practitioners. So, you know, these are these are people who've been, successful and I had successful careers over, over the years that have have now decided to, yeah, decided to To set up their own business or or to become independent, and some of that's, I think being a, Having a fractional role or being able to support 1 or 2 or or more clients is is becoming more attractive to, to to people with expertise in, and Hivemind provides a, Hivemind provides an environment where All of our members are able to retain their own independence, so still free to go and win work outside of five mind and and continue supporting customers that they've worked with previously, but also have the opportunity then to work on, Projects and engagements as a as a collective where, where their their unique experience is, is valuable to One of our end clients, challenges and, and and issues. So we organize, yeah, we organize those experts In, yeah, in in communities of excellence, and, and then look to surface the, you know, the The the leading approaches and and also learn from, from from unsuccessful, unsuccessful interactions as well.

Stuart Webb [00:07:53]:

Yeah. It's those, it as, as as as I've often had to explain it to people when they turn around and ask, you know, so what What what is it that's different about somebody like you? And the answer is, you know, I've got the the the, the the story the war stories to tell, the scars that I can prove But that's not the way you do it. I've I've found a better way now.

Ben Dickie [00:08:13]:

Yeah. It's it's it's exactly that, Stuart. I think all of our, All of the practitioners in in in our communities have probably as many, as as many lessons learned from things that didn't quite go go to planning in their corporate career as as they have got, you know, awards and and stars for, For for for real successful, outcomes that they've achieved and and what we enable when we're taking our clients, The the end clients, the enterprise clients on a on a journey through, through change and transformation or over innovation Is, is is bringing to bear really all of that experience so that we can we can help them avoid, mistakes that that folks in our organization have have made in the past.

Stuart Webb [00:09:04]:

Yeah. Brilliant. Ben, I think you've got a, I'm just gonna pop it up now. I think there's a there's a there's a, a a valuable, piece of free advice or or Guidance, however you'd like to describe it, that I've just put on screen now, which is assess. Hivemindconsulting.com Forward slash transform. What do do you wanna just describe what that, that valuable offer is?

Ben Dickie [00:09:27]:

Sure. Yeah. It's I mean, it's it's Taking on the, yeah, taking the learnings and the insight from, our transformation and and change community. We we built a, sort of a short, maybe five 5 to 10 minute, online assessment that that looks at really looks at transformation readiness. So if you're either A bank to embark on a change in transformation program, or you're in the middle of 1, and it's not going as well as, as as well as it could. It's really just a, yeah, an an online diagnostic to get to, in in six Six core areas. What what might be the root cause of, the transformation program not going as smoothly as it could or or really just to make sure that you've got, You're considering the the core, yeah, the the core elements of transformation ahead of, ahead of getting started and making a big investment and and a big change in the business.

Stuart Webb [00:10:32]:

So so leading into that, is there a particular course or Book or or program or something which which which has led you to to understand how those elements are important to transformation and how to to Better do things as as you're advocating than than than more traditional consultancies might might make it.

Ben Dickie [00:10:55]:

It's a really it's a it's a really good question. The there's, there's huge amounts of, of literature On, on on transformation and change, and there's there's, yeah, lots of of frameworks and methods and and tools. And, I think probably one of the advantages that that Hivemind brings is that we, We we've got such a broad church of of, practitioners and specialists and experts, and so Webb we try not to make the clients fit the methodology and rather understand the client's environment and, and and look to leverage The right the right tools or, or or or methods. I I think the, you you you mentioned is there a is there a book or or a resource, and and One that we, one that we went through last year, actually, in there's there's a there's a book club for the practitioners in in in in your network. And one of the books that that was, that was in in the book club last year was Be More Pirate, Which, I don't know if you've if you've come across.

Stuart Webb [00:12:03]:

Come across that one. That's one to go on my list.

Ben Dickie [00:12:06]:

Really, really odd title, But, actually, a fascinating, a fascinating read and and kind of draws parallels between the, the the pirates of the, Well, the the famous pirates of the Caribbean and the Blackbeards and and how, they were really driving, and and there were there were, Yeah. Lasting impacts of, of of kind of pirate culture in, in in our society today. So, The the real strong message that comes out in in that in that book is how, yeah, smaller focused Groups of, of people working together can can five, you know, a a much can have a really significant impact, and and that's our, Yeah. On unwittingly or knowingly kind of call to how we work at Hivemind having having small groups of, of really dedicated and committed people Working together to achieve really big things.

Stuart Webb [00:13:06]:

And is it absolutely critical that every single one of those persons has a, pirate, a a a patch, And a a peg leg to go with it, Ben, or is now are those now optionals in the pirate world?

Ben Dickie [00:13:18]:

Yeah. It's a so totally optional. And No. No. Good to know.

Stuart Webb [00:13:22]:

Good to know.

Ben Dickie [00:13:23]:

No pirate nicknames are given out. It's a yeah. But yeah. So I Personally recommend having a, having a read of that if, if if you five, like

Stuart Webb [00:13:35]:

It's it's it's on the list. I will go and look at my, My hat and, and my hat and immediately see what I can do about it.

Ben Dickie [00:13:43]:

I mean,

Stuart Webb [00:13:43]:

we you we're kinda coming towards the end, Ben, so there must be 1 question that you're currently thinking, I wish he'd asked me about, such and such. And so this is the bit where I sit back and go, well, you can do the work for once in your life. So, What is the question that I should five asked you by now? And, obviously, once you have, given me what the question is, you will obviously need to answer it. So What's the question you want to, you want me to ask you? And then please give us the answer to it anyway.

Ben Dickie [00:14:13]:

Okay. I think for, yeah, for, I think for for me, The question on where we where we would be how you know, how how how can we how can people get started working with Highfines, and and what's the most what's part of the most valuable work that we do? And I'd say, really, it's it's helping organizations create their, their their future vision. So considering where they are and, and and really working working with an external organization on, On on, yeah, tapping into the knowledge and experience that they've got across their senior executives, Setting a, setting a really strong vision up for changing or transforming the organization is is is probably the most important, Activity to undertake to ensure ensure success, and and it's something that we've, you know, we've we've we've got Really, really strong practitioners. Lots of really great experience in in doing and achieving, and, from from midsize organizations right way through to, to FTSE 100, businesses. And I and I think very, very much along the the the theme of, of of the pirate book with a, you know, with a with a really small initial team and small initial investment, that's the that's the starting starting point to to to kicking off successful change and and transformation.

Stuart Webb [00:15:45]:

Ben, that's absolutely brilliant. Thank you so much for your time today. Just point people back to that, free assessment, which is, assess.hypemindconsulting.comforward/transformone. And and if you'd like to get on to the mailing list to hear over, brilliant speakers, I I send an email letting people know Who's coming up and and and and so that you can prepare and and get ready to ask questions on the on the live chat? Get on to that list by going to link dotthecompleteapproach.co.ukforward/newsletter. That's a link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk forward slash newsletter, and, and we'll see you at another one of these in a few days' time. Ben, I really appreciate, you spending a few minutes with us now. Thank you so much for spending some of your I know it's valuable time because you're a busy guy. I really appreciate you coming on and telling us a bit more about the hive mind.

Ben Dickie [00:16:42]:

No problem

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Who is Sneha?

Sneha Mandala started her career with high hopes and determination to succeed. She joined her first job with a mindset to give her all and perform at her best, aiming to see where it would take her in her career. However, as time passed, her enthusiasm and engagement dwindled, reflecting a common struggle many employees face. Sneha's story serves as a reminder of the importance of maintaining passion and drive in the workplace to avoid the negative impact on businesses.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Businesses struggle with workforce productivity and engagement.

06:19 Seek joy and flow at work, succeed.

10:28 We spend 100000 hours at work lifetime.

11:44 Praise for Sneha and invitation to join mailing list.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

https://www.linkedin.com/in/snehamandala/

A video version of this podcast is also at

https://youtube.com/live/xVziTz9lpB0

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Sneha Mandala, TEDx keynote speaker, coach, adviser, employee engagement, work culture, flow state, suboptimally, CEOs, workforce productivity, engagement levels, HR department, Band Aid fixes, happiness, satisfaction, engagement surveys, flow state, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Steven Kotler, peak performance, corporate setting, 5th question, work culture, work enjoyment, effortless work, mailing list, podcast, work culture transformation.

SPEAKERS

Sneha Mandala, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:22]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science five questions over coffee. I haven't actually got in front of me. This is a lemon tea. Sneha, I believe you've got something in front of you at the moment. So, Sneha, welcome to It's Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee.

Sneha Mandala [00:00:38]:

Thank you so much for the opportunity.

Stuart Webb [00:00:40]:

Sneha is a TEDx keynote speaker. She is A, coach and adviser on, employee engagement, work culture, and she, works with people to get them into a great flow state as part of their work. So, Sneha, welcome to the podcast. We're looking forward to hearing what you've got to say.

Sneha Mandala [00:01:01]:

Thank you so much, Stuart. I'm sure this is gonna be a fun conversation.

Stuart Webb [00:01:06]:

So so I I mentioned then the sort of The the sort of problems that people have getting into a sort of their state at work. What are the issues that you see with people when they are working, Suboptimally, and CEOs find that they don't have, optimal engagement from their from their people.

Sneha Mandala [00:01:25]:

Thank you. So think about this particular employee. Okay? Imagine an employee who who has just gotten started in their career. Now they're not signing up for that 1st job of the career thinking that they are doomed to fail. Right? They are thinking, I would love to give it my everything. I would like to give it my best. I would like to perform at my We can see where this is going to take me in my career. But, flash forward to a year or 2 in, You don't see the same amount of enthusiasm and engagement in that employee, and this is where businesses suffer.

Sneha Mandala [00:02:01]:

They think they're hiring great people for these jobs, and then a few months in or a year in, they see the productivity lacking. They see engagement levels dropping, and that's what a lot of business owners and CEOs are worried about. We thought we are we were hiring all stars, And now they are on the verge of leaving. And worse, if they're not leaving, they're just coasting here at work. Studies show that, The American workforce on average spends less than 4 hours productive being productive, during a workday, which is just astonishing. Yes. So those are the challenges that businesses are currently facing. You have on one side a leader that wants extraordinary results but is not getting them through the workforce.

Sneha Mandala [00:02:54]:

On the other hand, you have an employee who is feeling dull, exhausted, not very engaged at work. And everything I talk about is how do we make sure that these 2 things are occurring harmoniously at at work. Mhmm.

Stuart Webb [00:03:11]:

So so what are the things that CEOs are trying to do to get that back which are which are not working?

Sneha Mandala [00:03:19]:

Yes. So one of the things that CEOs typically tend to do is they go to their HR department and they say, hey. We would like to increase our engagement levels. We wanna keep our Employees happier, and more satisfied. And what the HR department, comes up with is, sure. Let's Have over Tuesdays and free pizza Fridays or five, ping pong tables in in, lunchrooms. And somehow they would think that, the dissatisfied and disengaged employees would magically become a 100% engaged at work. And the problem is They don't.

Sneha Mandala [00:03:54]:

These are simply Band Aid fixes that help in the short term, but not in the long term. So if I'm an employee and I'm dissatisfied, I see, you know, free pizza Friday, and that's gonna momentarily make me feel, oh, Okay. This place has its own perks, but the moment, a shiny new object passes by so in a another words, A recruiter with a better package, tries to post them, they are ready to jump ship like that. So I like to compare this, with relationships. So trying to keep your employees happy and satisfied using these Band Aid fixes is like dating. But what we are really looking for is not dating. We're looking to put a ring on the finger. We're looking to get them feel committed and engaged to the larger organizational No goals here.

Sneha Mandala [00:04:46]:

So when I work with CEOs, I clearly distinguish that, hey. We're not looking to make them happy and satisfied Because that's not going to, contribute to productivity. That's not going to contribute to create them being creative and innovative and, More, raising the bar at work. We are looking to get them feel more engaged and committed to, to understand what their personal goals are and how they connect to the larger organization picture. And that's when leaders are just five they stop Dead in their tracks, and they're like, what? Were we thinking about the wrong thing all this while? Were we measuring the wrong things all this time. So, for example, when they implement engagement surveys, they're really measuring happiness and satisfaction and not really engagement. So, that self awareness, I feel, is the 1st step to going down in the right direction towards building that higher performance and engagement and employees, And that's the moment for leaders.

Stuart Webb [00:05:48]:

And is there a one piece of advice or valuable offer you can give people to really sort of help them get message?

Sneha Mandala [00:05:56]:

Absolutely. And I have this message both for employees as well as leaders. So Think about this. If you are spending all of these hours, we spend more time at work than we spend with ourselves or with our loved ones. And those are all the hours that you could be smiling. You could be engaged. You could be passionate. You could be committed at work.

Sneha Mandala [00:06:19]:

And, Unfortunately, that's not the case for many employees and in many businesses. So the one piece of advice that I would love to give to leaders as well as employees is that, when you can feel alive at work, why not chase that feeling? When you can make your work Feel not like work. Make your work feel more effortless. Why not chase that? And that is where the whole concept of flow state comes into picture. A flow Stuart, as described by a positive psychologist, is A point in time where you are your mind and your body are performing at their optimal levels because you're so engrossed In what you're doing, your attention as it's is at its peak. Your performance and your creativity levels are at their peak. So this Stuart is the only time when an individual can perform in the highest possible manner While their stress levels are the lowest, isn't that what we all want, that work to be producing amazing results while not burning out. That's what employees want.

Sneha Mandala [00:07:31]:

That's what leaders want. So how do you create the conditions of flow at work? Work. Employees do things. Look for things that you five to do at work And try as much as possible, try to do them in the way you love to do them. Add more drive to your work. Do more of the things that you love to do and add more authenticity at work. Try to do them as much as you can in the way you love to do it in your most natural state. And that is the exact same advice that I would love to give leaders too.

Sneha Mandala [00:08:11]:

How well do you know your employees? How driven do they currently feel at work? How comfortable are they feeling in order to bring their whole selves, their authentic selves at work. And I'm not asking you to change jobs overnight. That's not what I'm asking you to do. But adding a little bit more and, more drive and authenticity to what people are already doing, that's gonna make a ton of difference. That's gonna help them get into that flow state more often, spend more time in it, and, hence, you get extraordinary business results and happy engaged employees.

Stuart Webb [00:08:46]:

Good advice. Is there a a book or a course that really sort of led you to understand, particularly, the this flow state that you're talking about?

Sneha Mandala [00:08:55]:

Absolutely. My, there are 2 gurus really that I follow in this space, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who's considered the grandfather of flow. So he has a book called Flow. Definitely, it has all the foundations and the, neuroscience behind the flow state. I would Love to recommend this to your audience. And Mhmm. The other prominent figure in this field that I highly follow the work of is Steven Kotler. He has done amazing research and really addresses individuals who want to peak their performance while decreasing that those stress and burnout levels.

Sneha Mandala [00:09:33]:

All that I'm doing is taking, all of their research and their work and bringing it into a more corporate setting to help leaders and employees' experiences in everyday, work, really.

Stuart Webb [00:09:47]:

Brilliant. Stuart, that Webb we're we're coming towards the end of my, my 5 questions to you. And and the 5th question is the one that I often use to sort of, as as I say, Get out of jail five, and it's my opportunity to say there must be a question that you wish I had asked you by now already, and I haven't asked it. So I'm gonna ask you, What is the question that I should five asked? And then, obviously, you have to answer it because you're the only one here who can answer that question.

Sneha Mandala [00:10:12]:

Absolutely. The question I would love to be asked any day in any conversation is, what do People care about at work.

Stuart Webb [00:10:24]:

And what do people care about at work?

Sneha Mandala [00:10:28]:

You might think maybe it's their paycheck. Maybe it's connection, community. There's all sorts of different answers that, you know, you could get from different guests on your podcast for this question, but I would argue that in the basic terms, we spend Close to a 100000 hours at work in our lifetime. If you do the math of 40 hours per week on average, Close to a 100000 hours at work in a lifetime. That's equivalent to 11 years of your five. And no person It's thinking that, oh, I wish I spent these 11 years making as much money as possible or have as many connections as possible. No. What they're looking for is, I would love to enjoy and have fun In these 11 years of my life, that's what it really comes down to.

Sneha Mandala [00:11:29]:

What they really care about at their core level is For work to not feel like work, to work to be feeling like play, to work to feel like effortless.

Stuart Webb [00:11:40]:

Yeah. Yeah.

Sneha Mandala [00:11:42]:

That's what people care about.

Stuart Webb [00:11:44]:

That's brilliant, and I love the way that you put it. That's brilliant. Sneha, thank you so much spending a few minutes with us and for talking us through this stuff. I love what you're saying. Listen, everyone, if you would like to get on to the mailing list And hear about the upcoming talks that we've got with people such as Neha, please go to this link. That's h t p https colonforward/forward/link.thecompleteapproach.co.ukforward/newsletter. That's just a simple form. You just put this email address in.

Stuart Webb [00:12:17]:

You'll get onto the newsletter list, subscribe you to the podcast. You will get to see brilliant talks like this coming up. And if you've liked this, please like and subscribe and recommend it to Your friends and family. Sneha, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Really appreciated the insights that you brought about how to get our work culture to be something more like that flow state that you so, advocate. Thank you so much.

Get full access to It's Not Rocket Science! at thecompleteapproach.substack.com/subscribe

View Details

Who is Edmund?

Edmund Bradford is a successful entrepreneur known for his expertise in online gaming and business consulting. With a degree from Warwick Business School, he has built a global client base, including prestigious universities and large corporations like Airbus. His work extends far beyond traditional business schools, as he conducts Middle East chat sessions and collaborates with diverse clients all over the world. Edmund's innovative approach and ability to work with complex international organizations have earned him a reputation as a highly sought-after consultant in the gaming and business industry.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Business schools and corporations face similar challenges.

05:28 Company teaches engineers profit through transformative game.

07:29 Deliberate practice crucial for learning; failure essential.

10:36 Misuse of strategy in business can mislead.

16:11 Debate on organization's values and stakeholder returns.

18:56 Ask about sustainability cup, involvement, and organizations.

21:30 Encouraging message about sustainability and business growth.

23:44 Announcing guest and expressing gratitude for event.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

www.market2Win.academy

A video version of this podcast is also at

https://youtube.com

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Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

sustainability, marketing, strategies, business schools, corporations, simulation games, university, competition, change management, leadership, consulting, SWOT analysis, deliberate practice, strategic planning, sustainable business, sustainability World Cup, education, training, workshops, postmortem analysis, leading change, force for good, innovation, adaptation, strategy execution, marketing plan, academic, corporate clients, economic strategy, profit generation, business sustainability

SPEAKERS

Edmund Bradford, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:21]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science 5 questions over coffee, which is what I have In front of me here, I hope my Edmund has got something similar. It's Edmund, well done. I'm delighted today to be joined by Edmund Bradford. Edmund is, a hugely experienced founder, owner, and managing director of Market two Win, which produces sales and marketing and sustainability games for university business schools and corporations. It's gonna be a fascinating conversation. Not only that, he's the author of Marketing Navigation, How to Keep Your Marketing Plan on Course To implementation success, which I think is gonna be brilliant. I'll put links to that in the show notes. He's a guest speaker at many universities, Teaching associate at Warwick University, great university in England, and a judge at the International Business Awards.

Stuart Webb [00:01:13]:

And I know he's gonna make mention of some other Judging and things that he's gonna be doing. So, Ed Edmund, welcome to It's Not Rocket Science five questions over coffee.

Edmund Bradford [00:01:24]:

Thank you, Stuart. It's a pleasure to be here with you.

Stuart Webb [00:01:27]:

I'm I'm really looking forward to this conversation. Edward, do you want to just start off by trying to Describe, you know, who it is that you're trying to reach with with not only the stuff you don't market to win, but also all of the the the the university and And business school stuff that you that you help students with.

Edmund Bradford [00:01:42]:

Yeah. Sure. It's, I'll I'll try and keep it quick because it's not easy, question to answer, actually. I just I should I should tell I should tell him an introduction. But I think we have 2 we have 2 broad, kind of ideal clients if you like. So, One is on the academic side, the education side. So those are those business schools that that you mentioned at the Stuart. University business schools, wherever they are around the world.

Edmund Bradford [00:02:05]:

So our games are online, so they don't have to be, you know, a brilliant business school Like Warwick, they could be anywhere in the world, and our clients are are all over the place. I'm doing a a Middle East chat, after you after you finish here. So, yeah, University Business School is one type of client. And then on the corporate side, yeah, I think sort of, you know, the the the big Corporations are also really good good client for us. Airbus is one of our clients as well. So that type of big, you know, complicated International organization is also a great a great client for us to to work with.

Stuart Webb [00:02:39]:

And and and the work you do with these, Challenges, these these these cups, they're they're they're ways of of helping people as well, aren't they? They're things that you you bring to To to to really sort of help challenge people to think more about what they're trying to do.

Edmund Bradford [00:02:55]:

Yeah. I think, the sort of challenges that they have, I think I think that it's interesting because the the the challenge is very similar. Whether you're a business school or a big corporation, you're both competing in a very, intense, marketplace. Business schools, even in the UK, business schools have lots of competition, especially, sort of master's level, especially MBA level. It it goes right down to to under undergraduate level as well, often competing on a on a global stage. And the same, of course, with with big corporations. We know we know they they live in highly competitive and and fast changing market. So The the kind of challenge they both share in a way is is, you know, how to get control of that and how to develop a kind of proactive strategy to to get through all that.

Edmund Bradford [00:03:44]:

So, and and my my work, if you like, whether it's, As, you know, doing the game stuff or or just standing up there and and doing a bit of training. It's often around helping them to get a a a growth strategy together That will help them. Well, they do it now if it's a corporation or help them do it in the future, if they're if they're a student at the at the university. So finding a way through that. Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:04:08]:

Yeah. And so so what is it that that others are doing which which, you know, you find these approaches particularly with with things like market When I just put your website on the, on the screen for people to see, which is which is going across market to win coffee. Well, what is it You're finding that others are doing Webb where market to win, it does differently. What what what is it they try other people have tried before with which you're trying to sort of help them to get through?

Edmund Bradford [00:04:34]:

Yeah. I think, I mean, it's a it's a very good question. The I mean, the market, even my market, you know, if if I'm talking about developing, you know, strategies, it's a very crowded market. You know, they've got the big consultancies in there as well as, you know, individuals. And actually I mean, I I started Market Twin, 18 years ago, because, one of my big corporate clients at the time, we were doing some some strategy work with them, And we're doing the usual stuff of of coming in there, running a 2 day workshop with lots of, you know, lots of engineers and and over functions in the room. We'd produce, in this case, a marketing plan on a flip chart, you know, and then the we'd walk off, and I I know damn well that they're not gonna look at it for another 12 Until we have the next workshop. So I was I was thinking this, you know, this isn't right. And we actually went into a, a 2 day session with that with that Client Webb they actually it wasn't my session.

Edmund Bradford [00:05:28]:

It was another session run by another company, and they were teaching the engineers, how to understand profit. And what really made a difference was the fact they had a game, a little a little over simple table game that was used to help them learn profit, it was really transformative. The whole experience was transformative. And so I thought about that, and it's 18 years ago, that that what we need what I needed to do if I was going to help, You know, my clients understand, you know, the importance of of getting a business strategy, particularly an external market strategy right, is that, we needed to experience it a bit. And so we Webb developed a game, about 18 years ago, and we we started to to to to play with that. And and now the idea it's obviously evolved over over many many years, and so now the idea is is that we have teams of people playing this online game Against each other in a sort of a a fictionalized world, always based on a real industry, but we kind of gained it. And they they learn, you know, all the issues that you have to deal with as a, you know, as a chief marketing officer or as a CEO in in developing a successful and competitive strategy. So I think, And I think in a nutshell, you know, what what Webb do that others don't, it's the it's the game, and it and it gives them the the the skill, Not just the knowledge from reading books or attending lectures or going to training, but because we're practicing it, it gives you the practice Of of actually applying some of those those really good ideas.

Stuart Webb [00:06:54]:

Yeah. Deliberate practice.

Edmund Bradford [00:06:55]:

Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. And it's all in little cycles. You know? It's not it's not let's Let's read a book for 3 months and then execute for 3 months. It's about let's do that, you know, over you know, ideally, it could be a 2 day workshop, it could be if it's a university running it over over, you know, several weeks, during a during a semester. So, yeah, that that you know, learn it, practice it, learn it, practice it continuously over different decision rounds. Hopefully, at the end of it, everybody comes out with a bit more, bit more, you know, a bit better competence in the area and and, You know, with a bit of, enjoyment of the actual process as well.

Stuart Webb [00:07:29]:

Yeah. No. I absolutely agree. I think the the the act of practice, deliberate practice, I mean, it's it's a huge element of of learning, isn't it? Too many people learn by doing, and we don't give them enough opportunity to learn in Safeway in a safe an environment where failure is actually part of the learning process. I mean, I I often say to people I work with, clients of mine, You know, babies don't learn to walk by standing there and going, right now, I need to Stuart running. They fall on their bottoms several times. And as you get up from that, you think, well, that's not the way to do it. You know, the great quote of Edison, you know, on one of his experiments, it's failed when, you know, he started scribbling notes.

Stuart Webb [00:08:08]:

His assistant said to him, well, why are you talking about that? It was a failure. He said, yes. But if I wanna do that again, I now know how to do it. And that's a great example Sort of learning by doing something and and not necessarily getting it right, but saying, well, now I know what not to do Webb I know what to do different next time. Learning by doing is a huge Yeah. And

Edmund Bradford [00:08:26]:

I I I totally agree, Stuart. And and and I I sometimes learn it. You know, even in my own experience, when from looking at others, you learn more from failures When you do few successes. And and I know I know the world is full of, you know, examples of successful companies. You know, Apple is is is always mentioned, you You know, in marketing courses. But but I find that the companies that have failed, you know, the of this world, you know, the the Something that's sort of gone from success to failure very quick. I find that very fascinating. And how did that how did that happen, and what went wrong? And we can we can learn more from that, like a postmortem.

Edmund Bradford [00:09:02]:

There's a there's a great article on the Harvard Business Review about doing a a postmortem on a on a project. And we learn more from that postmortem Than we do on actually just just, you know, exploring successful companies. Because often, you know, I come five Apple. It's got the budget. It's got the experience. It's got the skills already there that we don't five, so maybe we can learn learn from looking at looking at failures.

Stuart Webb [00:09:23]:

Yeah. I I I I love your your your your idea of the the postmortem, I often I often think that we don't spend nearly enough time looking at those postmortems and learning from them, though. Too too many times people find that sort of, you know, Do the postmortem. Stick it on the shelf in a report. Never look at it again in the same way they don't look at their strategy ever again. It's a document written. I I like sometimes sort of encouraging people to do the what I call the premortem

Edmund Bradford [00:09:47]:

Yes. Which is,

Stuart Webb [00:09:47]:

you know, think about what could possibly go wrong Yes. Right now to avoid doing that. Know? Yes. Let's let's do the postmortem upfront. This has all gone horribly wrong. Right? Now let's find a way of not doing any of that. Yes.

Edmund Bradford [00:09:57]:

That's right. And I think that was that was the the the point behind the article I mentioned, I think, as well. They did. I think they looked at I think they looked at NASA and what went wrong with the with the Challenger, shuttle. And, yeah, and and And as as you know from reading the article, the issue is often about the culture in the organization, and the fact that the culture does not allow Webb know this in the UK. We see it in the post office. We see it in the NHS. The The culture doesn't allow, you know, criticism, whistle blowing.

Edmund Bradford [00:10:23]:

Yeah? It's five, no. So that's not that's not right. You know? It doesn't fit doesn't fit our thinking. So, yeah, so often the pre mortem is that is that idea of saying, well, you know, let's assume assume things go Webb, alright, what that look five, and what would what would bad look five? Yeah?

Stuart Webb [00:10:36]:

Yeah.

Edmund Bradford [00:10:36]:

And and then and then putting that back into back into back into your thinking. So, yeah, I mean, you know, there there's lots of different corners and angles and Those are aspects of of strategy, and and and I find the thing I found and it it probably I it probably intrigued a few years ago for me, Stuart. Haven't been in the business about 30 years. It only took me a few years a few years ago that that the job with strategy is it is is it's the most misused word in business. You you can add the word strategy to anything and think you've done it. So so I can have a pricing by putting the word strategy on the end of it. I can have a promotion strategy. I can have a Facebook strategy.

Edmund Bradford [00:11:15]:

I can have a digital a social media strategy. You know? Can have anything, any Stuart, by putting the word at the end of it, and and, therefore, I think, therefore, that I'm strategic. But the, the research has shown, actually, that that, Particularly, you know, marketers are are actually not very good at this at being strategic. And and worse than that, they don't know they're not very good. That's that's the problem.

Stuart Webb [00:11:37]:

I'm not gonna comment on those of us that haven't yet managed to work out that we are not quite as good as we think we are or indeed we're actually so stupid that we can't work out How good we are or not good at something, we'll leave that to, to politicians. So so so, Edmund, is there a there is there a valuable free gift you can leave people? I mean, obviously, we can go to market to win and learn a little bit more about what you're up to. But is there anything there that you can sort Point us to, which would be a a a great way of getting value from this idea of of approaching things with with a learning head on and the practice to go with it.

Edmund Bradford [00:12:12]:

Yep. Sure. There's 2 there's 2 2 places you can go to. So first of all, yeah, the market to win .com website's really good, if I don't say so myself. Webb are we are starting well, we are starting. What's interesting there is that we are starting a new Competition, in sustainability, which we haven't really talked about yet, but in sustainability. And I think sustainability has got a fascinating impact on strategy. And and, if you wanna participate in that competition, it's called the Sustainability World Cup.

Edmund Bradford [00:12:45]:

Just go to the Market2win Webb, go to our simulations menu, and you'll see the Sustainability World Cup under the simulations menu there. So, so go there. Have a look at that. Get in contact with us if you're interested in participating because that's gonna be running, from April, over few weeks. It's a really good opportunity for for you to Learn some of these these ideas. So that's that's option number 1. And option number 2, we actually have an academy site, Webb we we we put, you know, lots of videos and tutorials, etcetera, on there. And there's a couple of good free ones on there.

Edmund Bradford [00:13:20]:

So if you if you go also to www.market to win.academy, okay, which is a different website, then you'll see some interesting, you know, videos that we've done, on on different aspects of of strategy as well. Okay? So if you sign you just sign in for five, and and some of those tools are really good. Five, for example, we've got a really good Video on on how to do a good SWOT analysis, you know, which is always done badly Webb I when I look at them. So here there's a good video there, You know, your next swatch should be a better swatch than your your last swatch after watching that that that particular video.

Stuart Webb [00:13:56]:

I've I've Stuart my link on On there, which is www.market to win.academy.

Edmund Bradford [00:14:02]:

That's it. Thank you.

Stuart Webb [00:14:03]:

And, thoroughly suggest you go and check some of that because I know I've gone and looked at that, See, looked at the Sustainability Cup, which I hope we might get an opportunity to talk about if I if I if I come to a question in a minute where I ask You sort of, ask a question I shouldn't have asked. There's an opportunity for you, Edmund. Anyway, let's not let's not leap ahead. Obviously, you've you you're an author yourself. You've written a book. Are there any other Books or courses or anything else you think, people should be using as their inspiration for practicing in a safe way their strategies before they put them

Edmund Bradford [00:14:37]:

Yeah. I think, I mean, I'll I'll recommend a few. I think on the, on the sort of marketing side, should we say, There's there's this one, alright, which is which is this sort of bible. Yeah. That's Mark The Marketing Plans book. Okay. So that's by Professor Malcolm McDonald And Hugh Wilson. Alright.

Edmund Bradford [00:14:56]:

So that's that's a really good book in terms of how to write a marketing plan, a strategic marketing plan. That's the one that we mentioned at the Stuart, my one, if I if I can plug it on the execution side. Yeah. So that's how to execute your plan. So those 2 books together, Yeah. It's all about, you know, how to how to think about strategy, write it in a good plan, and and execute it.

Stuart Webb [00:15:17]:

And then do it.

Edmund Bradford [00:15:18]:

And do it. Yeah. And then the final one I'm gonna I'm gonna mention in terms of sort of the strategy stuff, which is which is more on the sustainability side. And, this is one that that that you can tell because I've got lots of, Post it notes in there. So Webb well read. That one's brilliant. I mean, that's about, you know, it's called Reimagine Capitalism, How Business Can Save the World, And it's it's trying to get to that sweet spot, which which we do in the the new Sustain to Win Simulation, which is about, you know, how do we Have a company that that, yeah, generates profits for shareholders, but is also a force for good in the world. Yeah.

Edmund Bradford [00:15:57]:

Very good. Rebecca Rebecca Henderson, professor Henderson, She's done a really good job of of of of talking about how that that can can be done. So those you know, if you if you wanna you know, 3 recommendations there, That that's that's those are really good books.

Stuart Webb [00:16:11]:

Obviously, we could spend the the the next 20 years debating how to make your your your You your organization, both a force for good and yet still return value to stakeholders. But let's, let's gloss over that, Before we get too deep in it, because I think that is a fascinating subject. I know it's a subject of many MBA theses in the past, some of which I'm sure you've been subjected to unless you've, unless you've managed to find your way out of that. So let's let's get on to our 4th question before we we get too deep, and I'd five to Spend more time talking about that one. But but is there a is there a a a a a question I haven't yet asked you? Is there something I haven't yet Sort of come to you and sort of said this is this is the killer question. If I was to give you the opportunity to what ask what that killer question was it, what would it be? And then, obviously, once you've asked it, you will be the only person that we could possibly turn to to answer it for.

Edmund Bradford [00:17:04]:

Yeah. I think I think the the question is what's the what's the hidden skill that you need to be a great leader, I would say. Yeah? For anyone that wants to be a great leader or whatever age you are. And I and I would say and I've been through all this myself, And and I and I was just very, very lucky in my early career, but it's catch with me all all through my life is is change. Yeah? Mhmm. If you whatever function you're in, whether it's finance, Law, you know, whatever you're doing, basically. Alright? Marketing, sustainability, whatever it is. If you wanna be successful in life, you have to Drive through change.

Edmund Bradford [00:17:37]:

And that doesn't mean to say that you need to be, you know, somebody upfront, an Elon Musk or Steve Jobs, anything like that. You know, Richard Branson, a famous A famous face. You you can lead change, as we used to call it in in my old days. You can lead from behind. Yeah? So the quiet you'd be do it quietly. So that is a that's a whole science, Stuart, of of of change. And, whatever you're doing, I think, you know, There's you're never too late to start reading up on that on that particular subject. My final book, nothing to do with me.

Edmund Bradford [00:18:08]:

Final book, I would say, you know, a good place to start is that That man there, John P. Kotter. That I probably don't have his latest book. That's probably an older version. But Leading Change by there we go. Try to get it on the slide. Leading Change by, on the screen, by John P. Coffee.

Edmund Bradford [00:18:21]:

Just go to his website. Go look up Leading Change, John P. Cotter. I think it's, kotter.com or something? But, he's got some really good principles of how to how to lead change. And, You know, everything you do, whether it's in your business life, personal life, whether it's social life, whether you're working in a sports club, you know, Whatever you're doing, it's about it's about, you know, changing things, processes, people, behaviors, organizations. Yeah. And that That is, the that's something everybody needs to understand.

Stuart Webb [00:18:56]:

Edmund, we've we've reached the end of the 5 questions have a copy, but But one thing I'm burning to ask you about is so I'm gonna deviate from my from my normal 5 questions gonna ask you a 6th question. Can you please give us a little more detail on what the sustainability cup is? Just just once again, tell us Webb do we find details, what it is you're looking for in terms of, of people sort of getting involved in that, and then I'll I'll promise I'll let you go, before I start then down the the the the path of how do we make organizations, in this capitalist world be both a force for good and force for change.

Edmund Bradford [00:19:28]:

Yeah. And that's that that that subject, by the way, Stuart, is is is is one that is has a lot of research. More research is needed, and and, you know, there's a lot of discussion about it. Not that's not definitely a closed subject. Yeah. So the the Sustainability World Cup is a is a is a new competition that we're putting together. It uses our new Sustain two Win simulation. So it's game game based game based learning.

Edmund Bradford [00:19:53]:

And, what we're looking for is for teams just like the World Cup. We're looking for teams from around the world To participate in in the World Cup, we're gonna have some nice awards handed out at the end. We've got a five bunch of judges, Stuart lined up, I believe.

Stuart Webb [00:20:11]:

Good. I figured that's right. I figured some of them are excellent.

Edmund Bradford [00:20:14]:

Yeah. Some of them might some Some of their excellent judges. We've got a fantastic set of judges to to to to judge it, and it's it's really it's 2 thing. It's a course and a competition. So, it's it's about playing the game. And just like, you know, just like anyone that plays our games, they they they learn from playing the game, but also so that's a serious side. Alright. I was in that's that's the serious five.

Edmund Bradford [00:20:36]:

But the fun the fun bit is is that because it's a game, There's there's some nice nice awards at the end. And, you know, there's some some great you know, how good it would be, wouldn't it, if if if someone on this call Signed up to play the game and ended up being our sort of sustainability leader, sustainability champion of 2024. I mean, what what a great title to have on their their CV. So, yeah, so a chance to practice some of the ideas, you know, that that that we've been talking about today in a safe environment. Yeah. And to and to to get there, Yeah. Just go to the market2win.com Webb, www.marketwin.com. Not the academy one, so that's on the coffee one.

Edmund Bradford [00:21:13]:

And, look for the simulations menu along the top, and you you see on the drop down, it will say the Sustainability World Cup. Okay. And go there and, sign up or or just drop me a message, and we'll be delighted to send you more information.

Stuart Webb [00:21:30]:

Edwin, I'm looking forward enormously to seeing what comes out of that. I know there's gonna be a sort of a a bit of a social media push, over the next few, few weeks to really sort of launch this. I think it's great initiative. I mean, it's brilliant not only for people in universities, schoolchildren, but also, you know, those who are Currently starting out in business to start to get a team around them to think about these challenges and to really push forward with How do you make your business sustainable? Not only sustainable for an environmental and, a a positive impact upon the world, But how do you make it sustainable so that in years to come, it's not some, unchanged, unwill unwanted commercial organization, But it's something that learns to adapt, change, generate ideas, innovate, and and continue. I mean, the the The the the fact that we don't have enough organizations that have been surviving 3, 4, or 500 years because they have learned to adapt and change and be adaptable, sometimes sometimes surprises me because we we do tend to coffee too short term. So I really hope that people grasp hold of the Sustainability World Cup, Look at it as an opportunity to start rethinking how to make the organization both a force for good in their community, in with their stakeholders, as well as continue to be profitable for years to come. Edwin, I think it's been a brilliant conversation. Thank you so much for spending a few minutes.

Stuart Webb [00:22:58]:

I know you are so busy. You are gonna rush off now And be all over the rest of the world trying to do the same thing.

Edmund Bradford [00:23:04]:

Yeah. I'm putting into actually, yeah, putting into action, Stuart. Yeah. Putting into action with the classic I love that.

Stuart Webb [00:23:08]:

I love that.

Edmund Bradford [00:23:08]:

The classic dudes. Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:23:10]:

Thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. I I really appreciate it. And, listen, just 1 last comment. If you would like to join the newsletter Get information about some of the brilliant people we have. We had a comment about, about the book that Edmund represent suggested. So if you wanna get on, make comments, ask questions of the guest, go to this address, which is, link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk Forward slash newsletter. That's link .completes.co.ukforward/newsletter. You will get, an email from me.

Stuart Webb [00:23:44]:

Very simple. Just sort of announcing what's going on, who the guest is gonna be. So you get the opportunity to join, live on LinkedIn and show that, show that you get regrets like this. I'm just gonna show, Annie Dunning It's just coffee to you. It's always such an education to work with you, Ed, at the University of Portsmouth. So you're you're making your way all the way Warwick University to Portsmouth University in the blink of an eye. Brilliantly done, Ed. Thank you, Annie.

Edmund Bradford [00:24:10]:

That's very nice. Nice to meet you, Annie.

Stuart Webb [00:24:12]:

Coming coming on and letting us know that Ed is a a decent chap, to work with as he appears. And with that, Ed, I'm gonna let you go. Thank you so much spending a few minutes with us. I'm just gonna play the outro, and, I look forward to speaking to you again very soon.

Edmund Bradford [00:24:26]:

My pleasure.

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Who is Alfred?

Alfred Poor is a leading expert on the future of work and the impact of technology on business meetings. He is known for his research and insights on the increasing prevalence of online meetings, citing a report by the Gartner Group that predicted 75% of all business meetings would be held online. He emphasizes the convenience and accessibility of video meetings, particularly in the context of the pandemic. Alfred is dedicated to helping businesses adapt to these changes and thrive in the new work landscape.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Alfred Poor, health tech expert, discusses presentation capabilities.

04:16 Optimize camera angle and eye contact.

10:09 Project evolved to 75% solution for presentations.

12:00 Supporting new tech founders in pitching online.

14:35 Excited to be part of wonderful interviews.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

alfredpoor.com/video-meeting-blueprint

A video version of this podcast is also at

https://youtube.com/live/Np8ys9oIiRg?feature=share

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Alfred Poor, Health tech expert, Keynote speaker, 75% solution, Video meeting world, Technology, Presentation capabilities, Gartner Group, Online business meetings, Pandemic, Video meetings, Impressions, CEO, Executives, Zoom calls, Communication, Body language, Camera angle, Engaging, Intentional, Virtual events, Speaker skills, Presentations, Virtual presentations, Incremental improvements, Chief Technology Officers, Founders, Funding sources, Technology sectors, Startups, Passion.

SPEAKERS

Alfred Poor, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:22]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science, Five questions over coffee. I'm delighted to have a returning guest this afternoon, Alfred Port. Alfred is a health tech expert, a keynote speaker. He has So many talents. It's gonna be impossible to list them all today. So what we're gonna do is we're just going to allow him to explain His, his his his HealthBeat and his some his 75% solution, which is the solution he has got for those people who are currently Having to adapt to the video meeting world and how you can make best use of your technology to prove your presentation capabilities. So, Alfred, welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science five Questions Over Coffee.

Alfred Poor [00:01:07]:

Cheers to you. I'm so glad to be back.

Stuart Webb [00:01:11]:

I've got a I've got water in front of me at the moment because I probably have There's water

Alfred Poor [00:01:16]:

in here, but you can't tell.

Stuart Webb [00:01:19]:

Excellent. Alfred, I mean, you you I I introduced you there with the the 75 solution. Who who is the the solution aimed at? Who are you trying to help with this solution?

Alfred Poor [00:01:29]:

So the the the the key to that quest answer to that question is in the in the name. The 75% solution actually comes from a report by the Gartner Group. They came out with a report that predicted that for this year, 75% of all business meetings are going to be held online. That's internal and external. That's talking to investors, potential partners, customers, you know, staff, teams, management, whatever. And my whole point is that the pandemic gave us video meetings as a as a target of opportunity. It was easy to do. They're convenient, and and they don't take a lot of technical skill.

Alfred Poor [00:02:11]:

You just open up your laptop and have at it. My problem is that people aren't being intentional about how they present themselves in those settings. And if you're gonna be spending 75% of your meetings online, why wouldn't you want to make the most of that time? You're that's a huge investment of your time and money for your company. Why wouldn't you wanna maximize the benefit?

Stuart Webb [00:02:37]:

Brilliant question. And, you know, I look at so many people who are currently taking those. I I spoke to 1 executive who, Being being female had gone out and equipped herself with an entirely new wardrobe in order to make sure that she was presenting her best self on video, something which I have never considered myself. So, you know, what do you find in the people that are making those mistakes who who who don't try to maximize their their their best time and their best, best view when it comes to video meetings.

Alfred Poor [00:03:08]:

I I for me, the keyword is intention. Yeah. I don't think they're doing it intentionally, and that's the whole point. They're not intentional about the impression they make.

Stuart Webb [00:03:18]:

No. It's it's they're not talking

Alfred Poor [00:03:20]:

to people. Is We've all met CEOs and and executives and founders who you bring them into a boardroom for a presentation and they're just amazing. You put them up on stage and they just kill it. You know? Just audiences in their hand. You put them on a Zoom call, and it looks like they've joined witness protection. You know? They're just I don't think that they stop and think about whether or not what's coming through actually represents their brand, their company, Their their professional and personal image, and it's so easy to do it better. And Yeah. I would argue that when you do do it better, people notice.

Stuart Webb [00:04:02]:

Yeah. So it's that, It's that laptop on the desk with the view sort of strangely up the up the face, isn't it? It's the it's the poor, like yeah. That one. The that's the poor view.

Alfred Poor [00:04:16]:

I mean, you know, I I've yet to find anybody where the up and nose looking at the ceiling camera angle is is flattering. You know, when you look like this, it's more engaging. It's you know, people will be able to pay more attention to you and be making contact with him, you know, eye contact. There's a whole lot of pieces that go into it. But, you know, basically, You need to get your camera up so it's about eye level. You need to look at the camera, and you need to show more. You don't wanna just be this disembodied head because then you don't get the hand motions. You don't get the the body language.

Alfred Poor [00:04:54]:

You know, there's a whole lot missing in your communication, which which we count on.

Stuart Webb [00:04:59]:

Yeah. Absolutely. I'll find I and and and that's another great tip that you just sort of gave us there with the With old camera, isn't it? Because, you know, I'm now currently looking at you. The camera is actually above my screen. I have to consciously shift my gaze to a camera and not stare at the screen because otherwise, it looks as if I'm looking down. And it's a ridiculous it it just doesn't look right, does it? But If

Alfred Poor [00:05:24]:

somebody if you were in a conversation with somebody at an event or a meeting or whatever, and they were looking down like that and not at you, what would you think?

Stuart Webb [00:05:32]:

Yeah.

Alfred Poor [00:05:33]:

Yeah. Are they are they, you know, withdrawn or, you know, total paralyzed by by Introversion. I mean, you know, what what's going on with them? Why why aren't they looking at me? Now here's a if you want a quick, Almost no cost tip. To solve that, go to the your local store, gift shop, or whatever and get a pair of those little googly eyes that you can, you can stick onto anything, Stuart stick them up next to your camera. It'll give you eyes to look at and it'll make it much easier for you to to focus on the camera.

Stuart Webb [00:06:11]:

Great tip. I love it. Now I know you've got a you've got a valuable free offer it, I'm gonna just display this on the screen now. Tell us, what's on your valuable free offer? What is this thing that you can want Webb to do do with the with our video meetings?

Alfred Poor [00:06:24]:

So I tried to go through and create as comprehensive a list of the different factors that go into how to be more engaging, more influential, in your online meetings and presentations, and I laid them all out in what I call my video blueprint. So if you can go through and check all the boxes in that video blueprint, you're gonna end up having a much better presentation. You're gonna make a much better impression in in the course of it. This is this is my gift to your listeners.

Stuart Webb [00:06:56]:

So do you wanna just, read out what it says, on on the on the ticket going across the bottom of the screen so that you've got it for those people who are listening back and that haven't at the moment

Alfred Poor [00:07:07]:

See Alright. Just take us through

Stuart Webb [00:07:08]:

what we've got here. It's alphreypore.com

Alfred Poor [00:07:10]:

Yep.

Stuart Webb [00:07:11]:

Forward slash.

Alfred Poor [00:07:12]:

Alfred pore alphreypore.com/ video meeting blueprint. So it's video meeting.blueprint not dash blueprint. And alphore.com, nice and easy to remember that part.

Stuart Webb [00:07:27]:

Yeah. I I encourage you to go see that, and I will put this in the notes. It's alphore.com / video meeting blueprint. Dashes in between the the gaps where I pause there. So so go down go download. What what is this is just a series of tips and tricks that you can use that that ensures that you you get the very best out the 75% of the meetings you're currently gonna be having online

Alfred Poor [00:07:51]:

Right. I actually, I would say it's more A checklist for you to be intentional about.

Stuart Webb [00:07:59]:

Yeah. Okay.

Alfred Poor [00:07:59]:

You don't know what you don't know? So This gives you a list of things, oh, I never thought about. You know, should I be wearing stripes when I'm, you know, you know, finely striped clothes when I'm on camera? Probably not. But, you know, have you thought about what you're wearing? A lot of people just go on with what whatever they wear. When you well, first of all, this is my brand. So, but whenever you see me on on online on, you know, in a video setting, it's gonna be solid colors. It's gonna be In the blues and the grays for me, that's all by design. It's not it's not by accident. That's it's intentional.

Stuart Webb [00:08:38]:

I think that's a brilliant that's a great word you keep coming back to. That's the word intentional. You have to be intentional with these things, don't you? Barbara, was there a was it was was it this Gartner course, Gartner report, I mean, or anything else which really highlighted to you the importance of sort of Taking this step because I know that you're a you're a you're a really experienced speaker. Is is the world of speaking currently really being changed I I for this world.

Alfred Poor [00:09:04]:

Absolutely. I mean, this had its genesis years years ago. I've been doing virtual for probably 9 years now. I've done, you know, been a speaker at online conferences. I've produced my own online webinars and other events. I've produced, you know, online series of Presentations by other speakers. I actually produced a series of online trade shows about, for consumer electronics companies. So, and this was all pre pandemic, so, you know, I didn't jump to this because of the pandemic.

Alfred Poor [00:09:42]:

I already had these skills in my in in my kit bag, as you would. But so when the pandemic hit, I saw these other speakers saying, you know, all my on-site Gigs have been canceled. So I started doing workshops for them, showing them some of the key points about what you need to do to trans Trans transition between online, you know, on-site to online presentations.

Stuart Webb [00:10:08]:

Yep.

Alfred Poor [00:10:09]:

Yep. In doing that, it was very very well received, but in doing that, I realized I had a ton more than would fit in a 45 minute presentation. And So the project went through a number of different iterations and now exists as this 75% solution in which is intended to give found give executives and and teams the skills they need Starting wherever they they happen to be with whatever budget and skills and knowledge they have, what they can do to to make a better impression. I I follow what I call my, principle of the three i's for making improvements. Webb can make improvements, and this is beyond just presentations, but it Stuart that's how I came up with it, you want to make, improvements that are incremental. Don't try to do everything at once. Webb wanna make them intentional. There's the intentional again.

Alfred Poor [00:11:04]:

Don't just accept the default settings. And you wanna make them impactful. You wanna choose the ones that are gonna have the biggest impact. And so when I work with a client, I've helped them. It's not a course. It's not some series of things that they have to work through. I work with them custom and find the one thing that's gonna make the biggest difference for them, and we get that working. And then I find the next thing and the next thing and so forth.

Alfred Poor [00:11:29]:

And so it's continuous improvement and just gets better and better.

Stuart Webb [00:11:33]:

I love it. Alfred, I've I've asked you questions, and, you've answered them, but there must be 1 question that you're currently thinking. I wish you'd get around to asking because that's one that really sort of knows it. So what's the question that you're wishing I could ask? And, and then, obviously, asked the question you need to answer.

Alfred Poor [00:11:50]:

Well, I think it is, where's the passion come from for this project.

Stuart Webb [00:11:57]:

I like the question. I love the question.

Alfred Poor [00:12:00]:

And and for me, I've been working doing a lot of work with Stuart ups Because having worked with technology for as long as I have, I've been very excited to see the New companies coming along, the founders with their great ideas and how they wanna solve big problems with them. And the problem is that most of these founders are now having to make their pitches online, And this is life or death for their for their project. If they don't get the funding, and right now, funding is very tough for a lot of technology sectors. If they don't get the funding, that's you know, that could be the end of the dream. And so One of one of the motives behind the the 75% solution is to include founders in this, the ones who are just getting started. Help them think about the things that they hadn't thought about and so that they can be more effective when they're talking to funding sources because, you know, again, for them, it matters the most.

Stuart Webb [00:13:07]:

I love that. I love that. Alfred, as ever, it is brilliant to, to hear your views on things. You have some absolute gems of thoughts, And I love the fact that you bring passion to this, and you bring the the passion to help founders, people who who really have got to nail this and get it right in order to be able to get their company off the ground. I love I love the fact that you do that. I'm just gonna make an appeal at this point. If you are listening to this on replay or if you want Stuart, to To join the LinkedIn lines that we do on a regular basis, please, would you go to this, this link, which is a link .thecompleteapproach.co.uk forward slash newsletter. If you go to that URL, you will find a form that you can fill out.

Stuart Webb [00:13:55]:

Get you onto the newsletter list, and then we can keep you informed of who's coming up on these, weekly, Meetings and join and see the brilliant ideas that come through. There are so many brilliant ideas. Please come on. Please join that newsletter list and see brilliant people like Alfred Poor. And I encourage you, go to Alfred Poor's, website, afripoor.com forward slash video meeting blueprint. Download that blueprint, and make sure that you get a hold of his intentional things that you need to think about for your video meetings in the future. Alfred, I hope that was good, as good a summary as you're gonna get from anybody.

Alfred Poor [00:14:35]:

The best. The best. And I I just wanna underscore to to the audience that, you know, this is your Interviews are just great. You somehow managed to bring wonderful people and I'm actually honored to be part of that, and actually having to having get the opportunity to do it more than once. So, you know

Stuart Webb [00:14:56]:

You're very kind. You're very kind. I look forward to the next time we meet on a video call and, and and chat. But for now, everyone, thank you very much for joining us. I look forward to seeing you again next Time on, It's Not Rocket Science, 5 questions of a coffee. you.

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Who is Jacqueline?

Jacqeline Conway is a successful marketing strategist who understands the struggle of feeling stuck in a professional rut. After her own experience of hitting a plateau in her career, she decided to use her knowledge and expertise to help others in similar situations with Conway Consulting. Through seminars and events, they empower individuals to set new goals and find their direction again. Jacqeline's passion for guiding others through professional challenges has made her a trusted mentor in the business community.

Key Takeaways

00:00 University, career, plateau, need direction, success, stuck.

03:54 Many seek mentorship, achieve impressive business success.

09:37 Transitioned from marketer to coaching business while pregnant.

11:33 Key to success is exceptional service for clients.

14:55 Business success is about serving your customers.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

https://conway.consulting/manifestwithconway

A video version of this podcast is also at

https://youtube.com/live/dhacjffgiG4

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software (and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Conway Consulting, Jacqueline Conway, brand strategist, marketing, music marketing, fashion marketing, search signature marketing, mentorship company, coaching, consulting, entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants, real estate, finance, insurance, professional services, plateau, goallessness, seminars, events, inspiration, personal development, manifest, masterpiece, sprint goal, workbook, challenge, service, entrepreneurship, inverted energy, mentorships.

SPEAKERS

Jacqueline Conway, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:20]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science five questions Over coffee. I'm delighted today, not only to have my coffee in front of me with, my bears on them, which are my my favorite bears in the world, But also to have Jacqueline Conway with me who is a marketer and brand strategist with Conway Consulting. She has a root a background in music and fashion marketing and has been working with comp clients through Coffee with their one day one sale a day club, bringing clients through their search signature marketing framework called The Brand Project. So, Jacqueline, Absolutely delighted to be here with you, and, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us this morning.

Jacqeline Conway [00:01:06]:

Well, thank you. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to chat about, business and helping people and all the things. So it's Really? Great day to start chatting.

Stuart Webb [00:01:15]:

So, let's start with, let's start with what you do with with Conway. What what is what is who is it you're trying to help, and and and what's the problem they've got that you're trying to help them to overcome?

Jacqeline Conway [00:01:25]:

Sure. Sure. Well, do you mind if I set the table first and just explain what Conway is? Because I'm sure it's a little vague at this point for everyone. So Call Me Consulting is a elite mentorship company. It's, coaching, consulting, events. We do lots of different things, but Webb, support clients through helping them achieve their goals. And my husband, Dave, is the kind of I don't know. We call him the what do we call him? There's a really good slang that my team member calls him.

Jacqeline Conway [00:01:52]:

He's the show that makes the dough, so to speak. So he's the speaker. He's the coach. And then I, you know, help lead all the operations and marketing and product endeavors behind the scenes. So it's kinda like this, like, unification of us together. Like, both of us kinda bring our expertise, to the table to, you know, to create a really amazing experience for our clients.

Stuart Webb [00:02:13]:

And and who are those clients? What what what's the problem you're helping solve?

Jacqeline Conway [00:02:16]:

Sure. Sure. So our clients that we work with are typically already in business. So they're either entrepreneurs. They're potentially sometimes coaches or consultants. Lots of times, there's people working in the real estate real estate industry or finance or insurance, different kind of professional services like that. And the issue is that they're stuck. So typically, what will happen in life is, you know, you You go to high school.

Jacqeline Conway [00:02:40]:

You maybe go to university. You get a pro you get a job. You start working in your career, and it's almost like you start to plateau sometimes. It's like You need that goal or that, like, north star to direct you. And where people sometimes fall down is that they kinda knock down all these big goals and then they Start going and earning money income, have Stuart a family maybe, and then they suddenly Stuart of hit this roadblock where they're, like, not growing in the same way that they were before. And so I find when we run our seminars and our events, that's a common thread. It's something we hear a lot. It's like I've I've got some success under my belt, But I'm just stuck.

Jacqeline Conway [00:03:14]:

I'm not feeling inspired anymore. I've lost a bit of motivation. I need I need something to sort of, like, fuel my My mind and get me get me thinking differently, open up different ideas for myself. That's really common. So, the biggest challenge is really, Like, as we say, Coffee, goallessness. Because if we don't have this, like, really exciting, direction that we're moving toward, we don't We don't have that motivation and inspiration to keep going.

Stuart Webb [00:03:43]:

And and and what are the the the the the the clients you work with? What five they tried Before the hasn't quite worked Yeah. The decision about what you're doing with them in Conway.

Jacqeline Conway [00:03:54]:

Yep. Good question. I would say, Like, lots of them have done over programs or mentorships, like maybe they've done some mindsets, you know, work before. Maybe they've read a lot of books or they've gone to seminars. And so it's not that they're not trying to kind of solve this problem, to, like, really fall in love with a goal or to really get clear on their purpose and Some of the deeper understandings about life for themselves, they are doing these things, but sometimes it just the penny hasn't dropped yet. And suddenly they come into our ecosystem, into our sphere, and they hear information in a whole new way, and suddenly it starts to land. And Truly, you know, not to brag, we do get some really amazing results coming out of our client base. Five, we've seen people come in that are making, you know, maybe 8,000, $10,000 a month in their business.

Jacqeline Conway [00:04:35]:

And Today, they're over half $1,000,000 a month. That's one client that's been with us for about 3 years. We've got somebody that had our a successful finance, Webb management firm and started working with Dave and did a one day seminar and made over 350,000 in a single seminar. You know, we're seeing these, like, this explosive growth, and those results are are common. Like, there's many stories I could share about this transformation. And I think it's just The delivery mechanism of how we present the material. So if you are trying to, like, improve improve your life, improve your business, Coffee that sense of, like, ownership and growth in yourself and you're typically going after that. Coming into Conway seems to just sort of speed that up.

Stuart Webb [00:05:18]:

That's brilliant. That's absolutely brilliant. And I know, you have got a, an offer which would help people to understand a little bit about So which I'm gonna put on screen now. Webb, Stuart talk to us about what this is, in terms of, a quiz, I understand.

Jacqeline Conway [00:05:35]:

Well, it's a 21 day challenge, and it's called well, we have manifest with Conway. It's a 21 day manifestation challenge. And the whole thing is predicated around going after what I what we like to call like a sprint goal. So for the next 21 days, you set, you know, like a challenge for yourself, and it's over personal experience. You don't have to share it with anybody and you choose it yourself. It could be I wanna land, you know, 10 clients in the next 21 days. It could be I wanna, like, Reboot my personal brand in the next 21 days. I want to revolutionize my health.

Jacqeline Conway [00:06:04]:

I mean, you could you could do whatever you want with it. And, so you select that. There's a beautiful workbook that'll help you do that. It has prompts. It helps you work through what that goal is gonna be for yourself. And again, it's not daunting. It's just 21 days. That's it.

Jacqeline Conway [00:06:16]:

And then we'll email you every single day for those 21 days to keep you accountable, remind you to to do the, you know, the challenge work that's included in the workbook. And it's just our gift to help people start to to get that goal and start to feel maybe some of that inspiration that they might be missing right now.

Stuart Webb [00:06:32]:

Sounds, yeah, sounds like something we should avoid doing, actually, to be honest. And, maybe maybe we'll we'll try and encourage a few more people to get on to the to the to the website and, and pick up, that challenge to try and push push through through that. And it sounds like you get some really great results.

Jacqeline Conway [00:06:49]:

That's right. Great results with this challenge. Even, you know, people that send us, you know, their their wins. Someone said that they had, like, Dropped, like, weight. Some like, some people use it for weight loss. Someone was saying that they landed x number of clients, even internally in our team, we used it for a particular launch as a team. We were five, let's use the 21 day sprint model to, like, help us, like, do this launch and then we had, like, the best results we ever had. Because what it does is it just starts to focus your mind to and then To the exclusion of noise.

Jacqeline Conway [00:07:23]:

You know? It's just like, okay, I'm really gonna go all in on this 21 day sprint for myself. And I'm gonna ignore any other Ideas that Five that are trying to pull at me right now. Because as you know, like, we can get distracted. Our focus can get pulled around. Right? And so what this does is it really helps you what we like to say, it's like five extra focus. It's like it helps you just 0 in on this, like, one thing that you really wanna accomplish and achieve, And it just takes all this powerful energy in your mind and focuses it. So that's what it'll help people do.

Stuart Webb [00:07:52]:

Love it. I love it. I encourage people to get on to conway.consulting, forward slash manifest with Coffee, and have a look at that challenge. Is there is there a a a book or program that sort of began to spark your interest in how to help people do this? Was there something which the original, original thing that that got you to this, I think you'd like to share with the audience.

Jacqeline Conway [00:08:15]:

Yeah. Sure. Well, you know, Dave and I have an interesting story. So, like, I used to work in music marketing. Dave used to actually be a carpenter. So we had very different five, about 6 years ago. And Dave was has always been interested in personal development and Read a lot of, like, Napoleon Hill's work and Earl Nightingale's, and Bob Proctor was his, like, all time favorite. And he Said to me in 2017, he's like, you need to come to we need to go to the seminar Webb in LA with Bob.

Jacqeline Conway [00:08:43]:

And me being sort of five the burnt out, tired mom, I was just five, like, you can go to the seminar. I'll come with you, but I'm just gonna go to the beach. You enjoy it, and then, like, we'll hang out at night. He's like, no. No. No. No. That's not how this works.

Jacqeline Conway [00:08:55]:

Like, We go to this together. And I was like, okay. Because I've always, you know, I've always been supportive. So we went to the seminar together with Bob, and we kinda mark that Seminar is, like, really the the date when our life really transformed. So that was the date when Dave decided to become coach, And I remember leaving that event and being just sort of, like, observant of my life at that point. It was almost like I was like, yeah. Why am I doing the things I'm doing? Why am I why am I, thinking I've got everything figured out when I Clearly don't. You know? It it was a very humbling experience, and it was also just, this opportunity to zoom out and really look at my life.

Jacqeline Conway [00:09:37]:

So one day we had the decision to become a coach, I'm a bit an event marketer, and so I said, well, I'll help you. I'll help you with your business. And here I am, you know, years later kind of running the company, but, I was like, I'll help you run, you know, seminars and workshops and, you know, I know that world. You know, I've been in events marketing world for over. So I I'll help you with that. And, you know, he was still working as a carpenter, and then we ran the seminar together. It was actually This the last day of my my very last day of my previous job was the 1st day of was the day of our 1st seminar, which is kind of poetic in a way. And, it was because I was pregnant.

Jacqeline Conway [00:10:12]:

I was going on maternity leave. So that was, like, my last day of work and that was our 1st seminar. And remember Dave tells the story really funny, but he's like, I installed a kitchen that day as a carpenter and I made $400. And then that night, I went and did a personal development talk, And I made $20,000. And, like, we sold 4 clients for $5,000, and that was, like, our first event. And so it was kinda like, wow. You know, there's A real opportunity here not only to help and serve people, but to earn the income that we want and to, you know, put all these amazing skills we have to work as well. So that was our very first event, Webb.

Jacqeline Conway [00:10:47]:

And now flash forward to today and, you know, we work with hundreds of clients. We've served thousands of people. We produce mastermind events all over North America called freedom mastermind and vision maker, and we do these amazing events for people. And, it all started because somebody asked us to just dream, which is really, really cool. So that's why we tell people to do the same thing. Just Start to think, start to dream again because you can let yourself go free for a little while and suddenly, like, a lot of magic can start to pour in.

Stuart Webb [00:11:18]:

I love the story. There must be a question at the moment that you're wondering why I haven't asked you. So so my 5th question to you is is what's the question I should by now have asked you? And, obviously, once you worked out what that question is, you really I'd really love you to answer it for.

Jacqeline Conway [00:11:33]:

Sure. Sure. I would say the question, An important question that any person can ask themselves in business is, well, what's the key to my success? Ask them to themselves, like, who I coffee is the key to my success. And if I was to ask myself that question, what has been the key to our success thus far and what I think will continue to be the key to our success is service. Always focusing on the service of others, helping them gain the knowledge and understanding of, What's what's holding them back? Five, that when I mentioned goallessness being one of the main things that holds people back a lot of the time. And I know that when we lean into this idea of providing exceptional service, excellence in service, just everything falls into place because It's really not about me or the founder. It's always about the clients. It's all about the people.

Jacqeline Conway [00:12:23]:

So we just always keep top of mind What is the best thing for our clients? What's the best experience we can possibly create? How can we surprise and delight people all the time? How can we make them feel seen and heard and appreciated and just put as much energy and effort into into them as we can. So that's what I feel are key to success is, but I think everyone should ask themselves that question.

Stuart Webb [00:12:46]:

Hi. It's a brilliant question to ask. Actually, I really love the idea of asking that question. What is this? And and so many businesses, I think, fail To do that, I I I, I've I've worked with a with a couple of business owners recently, and the first question I asked is, so So what is it that you do which is which is different to others? Why are you in the business? And when they don't give you an answer, you know that Somehow, there's not gonna be the sort of legs to really drive through to some scale, is it? Because people, if they don't have that passion, if they're not keen, if they don't really recognize What they're gonna do to sort of change the five of other people and how they're there to serve them. They can never ever make a success of what they're trying to do.

Jacqeline Conway [00:13:27]:

That's right. Well, a lot of problem a big problem in entrepreneurship is what we like to describe as, like, inverted energy, where people worry too much about themselves And they don't just release their passion and their and their service into the market because if you're struggling with something, if you're having if you're if you're, Five doubting or if you're, like, feeling fearful about I'm not making enough money this month, I'm not serving or I'm not the money's not coming in or something like that. That just means that you're just thinking about yourself. And if you were to go out and just start to serve others and release energy out into the market, the money will come in. It's just just how it works. You deliver service. The money comes in. Is it always to the direct five that you serve in? Not always.

Jacqeline Conway [00:14:08]:

That's always been our experience. Sometimes, honestly, this is kinda nuts, but We'll do workshops for thousands of people, and not very many people will sign up for mentorships. And then suddenly, 5 clients will just come out of the woodwork, Hi, elite clients, and we're like, well, this is very interesting. I mean, that's kind of funny, isn't it? And so We always look at those situations and we always analyze them and we're like, well, how come this didn't necessarily attract the people, but they still came anyway? So you always have to just look at Are you releasing energy? Are you just in service of people? Are you are you, inverting your energy? Or, you know, anytime we have fear, doubt, worry, That just means we've just entered into a state of almost five selfishness. And it's like, well, no. Just get out there and help somebody, and suddenly the problem will likely just go away.

Stuart Webb [00:14:55]:

Well, you hear it heard it here. You know, if you're not in business, to help others, if you're not thinking of your clients first, If you're not thinking what it is you're there to do to serve your customer, you are burning out, and, you need To rethink why you're in business, and I love that message. Jacqueline, I really I really love the energy you've given off today and the way that you put that. I think it's it's fantastic. Thank you so much for just spending a few minutes with us today talking about that. I am just gonna invite people. If, if there is, If you wanna get an email from me on a Monday, it goes out on Monday telling you who's coming up on the podcast on Tuesday so that you can prepare to To watch these brilliant show and catch up with past issues, please go on to our newsletter. That's at link dotthecompleteapproach.co.ukforward/newsletter.

Stuart Webb [00:15:49]:

That's link.thecompleteapproach.co.ukforward/newsletter, And and get yourself on that list so you too can hear brilliant people like Jacqueline come here and tell us about the wonderful things they're doing Jacqueline, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us.

Jacqeline Conway [00:16:05]:

Webb We

Stuart Webb [00:16:06]:

really appreciate the time you spent.

Jacqeline Conway [00:16:07]:

Thank you very much.

Stuart Webb [00:16:09]:

And, look, we'll we'll we'll we we'll keep in touch. We'll see what other things you're up to at Conway Consulting.

Jacqeline Conway [00:16:16]:

Sounds good. I love it.

Stuart Webb [00:16:17]:

Speak to you very soon.

Jacqeline Conway [00:16:19]:

Take care.

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View Details

Who is Tiago?

Tiago Faria is a digital marketing expert who specializes in helping professionals in the help industry, such as coaches, mentors, and consultants, to achieve profound transformations and charge a premium for their services. His ideal clients are those who rely on passive word-of-mouth referrals and are seeking to expand their reach through digital marketing strategies. Tiago's mission is to alleviate the anxiety of starting fresh every month and help his clients establish a consistent online presence through daily content creation."

Key Takeaways

00:00 Ideal customers: help industry, focused on transformation, digital marketing.

05:38 Investing in ads without proven results problematic.

07:25 Focus on serving individuals to maximize satisfaction.

10:05 Marketing strategy focuses on leveraging existing assets.

15:30 Resolving issues and persevering with a mentor.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

https://tiagofaria.pt/calls

A video version of this podcast is also at

https://youtube.com/live/dhacjffgiG4

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

consultant, business mentor, coach, help industry, coaches, mentors, consultants, service providers, digital marketing, passive word-of-mouth referrals, consistency, marketing strategies, daily content, ad hoc freelancers, digital marketing courses, qualified leads, internet gurus, shiny objects, ideal customer, specific niche, proven offer, lifetime value, vision, outcome independent, accountability, focus, 80/20, distractions, networking, referral programs, proactive incentivizing, emotional words.

SPEAKERS

Tiago Faria, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:18]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science, 5 questions over coffee. I'm delighted today To be joined by Tiago Faria. I hope I pronounced that correctly, Tiago. I'm

Tiago Faria [00:00:29]:

sure you're correct here if

Stuart Webb [00:00:30]:

I'm wrong. We have in front of us our our drinks. Tiago, as you can see, is drinking a nice mug. Is it coffee, Tiago?

Tiago Faria [00:00:37]:

It's coffee. Yeah. It's coffee, In a in a nice Belarusian, mug.

Stuart Webb [00:00:41]:

Oh, oh, oh, wow. I am having, I'm having a very healthy, A cup of water with some lime in it. We're we're starting well. I've gotta keep my voice going out. I've, cold up a couple of days, but Delighted to be welcoming you, Tiago. You're a you're a business mentor, coach, helping people in the in the in the the results outcome Help community. So I'm delighted to to welcome you today to this and to talk about the work and the way in which you help people to achieve what they're trying to achieve. So welcome to It's Not Rocket Science, 5 questions over coffee.

Tiago Faria [00:01:14]:

Thank you, Stuart. It's a true pleasure to be here, and I'm looking forward to these 5 questions. They they look very fun.

Stuart Webb [00:01:20]:

Well, let's start with a nice easy one. So who is the customer that you are trying to help? What's the what's the problem that they've got that you're trying to help them to solve?

Tiago Faria [00:01:29]:

Yeah. So my ideal customer is so as you said, someone that works in the help industry as, some people call it, which is simply people that help others, Get some results, some specific results, or solve some specific problem like coaches, mentors, consultants, even service providers. But those are focused on, profound transformation so that they charge a premium for it. So high ticket, these people who are working that area. And, usually, the the people that I work with are, most of their business usually comes from passive word-of-mouth referrals, and they're kind of worried that Those might dry out at some point, and Mhmm. They're a bit tired of the anxiety of starting every month from 0. And then so they've been trying to resort into some kind of a Digital marketing, strategies. And, so they've been trying to publish daily content.

Tiago Faria [00:02:20]:

They hired some ad hoc freelancers, Bought some digital marketing courses, but somehow, nothing really seems to be bringing qualified leads in a consistent basis. And and, also, they've been been bombarded by the Internet gurus sending them very coffee, confusing strategies. And so they feel that that losing their time, they're getting exhausted and because lack of of consistent results. Just here and there, but nothing consistent. Mhmm. And the that's their biggest change.

Stuart Webb [00:02:48]:

Consistency is a problem because most of us in in these sort of fields find that we sort of go through these feats of famine, don't we? We have we have a period when we have a lot of work. We're very busy, but we then don't get around to doing the thinking about what we need to do for the next period, and then Suddenly, the work five up and you look around and think, well, where is where's all the work gonna come from now? So that consistency is a really important message, isn't it?

Tiago Faria [00:03:12]:

Yeah. Absolutely. It's, it's the the what keeps us going. Right? And and if we don't reach that specific level, it's, it's hard for for us to keep motivated, and then some people just, you know, just quit quit because, okay, she's not bringing exactly what I wanted. I tried so many things. Nothing works. And it's a very easy trap to go into this kind of Chasing the shiny objects. Like, this strategy seems more complex and a faster button.

Tiago Faria [00:03:34]:

Right? I'm gonna try this. Well, I didn't work immediately. I'm gonna try the complete different thing. And it's a trap that you get involved in, and, it's very hard to to get out of. And I was wondering if this is

Stuart Webb [00:03:45]:

So what is it that you, that you think that most these people that your help have done before you you you they they they they turn to to what you try to do to help them together. What what what are the mistakes they've made? What are the things they tried to do which which haven't necessarily worked for me.

Tiago Faria [00:04:01]:

Yeah. So the main thing that, I I was also guilty myself, and the most people I talk to still have this tendency is to to try to help everyone. They they questions themselves as, like, a coach or a, Consultants, and they are not very specific into in terms of who they actually help. And they just keep accepting anyone that just pays them money. Right? So that's they're my niche is whoever pays me. And this is is problematic because, number 1, if you're too generic, No one actually resonates with your message, so it's hard for you to to communicate and then to over to sell it. You're basically trying to I have a view here of of a over, Tagus River in Lisbon. It's like, you you like using a huge five net with huge holes to try to capture all the fish in in this river, But then all of them go through the nets.

Tiago Faria [00:04:50]:

Right? So you end up just catching 1 or 2, you know, by by chance, versus if you try to cap capture a, I forgot how to say, like, a a group of specific fish that, you know, that that share the same same species of five, and then you just use a shorter fishnet, and you capture all of them, Mike. And that's the difference of the approach because you actually know exactly who you're serving, and your message will resonate. They will feel attracted to you because you know them more than better than anyone else. And that that's the that's the the way to go. But, that's the main one of the main issues is trying to help everyone. And then because you try to help everyone, it creates a problem for yourself because you'll just accept anyone. And then most of the times, That persons might not be your ideal client. You might not be able to help them as much as you can, the best you can, or you attract people that you cannot actually helping them.

Tiago Faria [00:05:38]:

It's, it's a problem because, they pay you money. You you cannot generate results. You won't get testimonials. They'll be unhappy. And in in this industry, the results industry or Webb we are, it's it's a problematic, and it's not a place that you would like to to be on. And then so the the second mistake that I I feel that is a a trap we fall into Is is to invest in ads without having a proven offer, something that you already proven that works consistently, that you can generate results consistently, that people Resonate with the the the it's easy to sell, easy to over, and, and you also don't have a proven lifetime value of your clients, like, you don't have you you solve 1 problem, but then you have another solution for the new problem that you create. So you don't have the lifetime value of the client calculated, which is a problem for you too when investing ads Because you don't you don't know exactly how much you can spend on ads, you don't have a proven funnel that will make it all work. So when you when you're at the beginning stages, using ads is like pouring gas on a on a pile of sticks, like Miles Bekker says.

Tiago Faria [00:06:43]:

And you just get you get you just get a Wet five of 6. Right? Nothing will happen because there was no flame. There was no nothing to combust, and that flame is usually the The the proven coffee, an offer that works Yeah. That consistently works. So it's another trap that, many people make.

Stuart Webb [00:06:59]:

You You you're so right, Tioga, and I and I and I I love the way that you're putting it because, I've often said this with customers Webb I when I speak to to to major businesses. I work with some some some very, very big custom and and even the big businesses, when you turn around and say, who's your ideal customer, they'll often turn around and you what, we can serve anyone, and it's not true. You can't serve anyone. It's just not possible. And You can

Tiago Faria [00:07:23]:

serve anyone. I mean

Stuart Webb [00:07:25]:

It it's it's it's it's a way to And you're right that by trying to serve too many people, you don't end up with those hyper hyper happy, very satisfied customers who will then be prepared to go out, Become your your ambassadors who will preach to the rest of the world about just what a wonderful service you do. And if you can target individuals Over down to sort of the right person within, within an organization who will then become the most satisfied customer you can, They will end up being the best advert that you can and with that proven coffee, with a with a with a solution and Five often said this people. I was talking to somebody not so long ago, and I said they told me they hated selling, and I said, well, stop selling. Listen. Well, what do you mean? How will I get customers? And I said Stuart helping. If you have a proven offer, which is a solution to a problem, find the person with the problem, And don't say, can I help you sell it? Reach across to them and say, would you like help solving your problem? And if you've got the solution to their problem, they will ask to buy it from you.

Tiago Faria [00:08:26]:

And

Stuart Webb [00:08:26]:

so it becomes much easier to work with your customers if you've got something you know will solve their problem. You know they've got a problem, and then you just reach out and say, can I help? And they will buy from you if you have got the right solution. And so often people look at you as if to say, I don't even know how to find those people, but it starts with knowing what the problem is that you're solving and knowing that your solution is the solution for that problem.

Tiago Faria [00:08:53]:

Yeah. Absolutely. You really are only as good as as your clients will allow you to be. Right? Absolutely. If you don't generate results, You're in trouble.

Stuart Webb [00:09:02]:

It's Absolutely.

Tiago Faria [00:09:03]:

It's not a long term way to have a business. You really have to focus on bringing only the right people, the ones that you feel I can easily transform this person. She has all the motivation and the skills, the resources. That makes everyone's lives easier, and we rarely focus on that. Right? We are constantly focusing on new clients, cold audiences, selling, sell, sell, sell, sell Webb and disregard this part of okay. But what about the results? What about the Yeah. Congratulations and the testimonials and case studies and etcetera. It's a problem.

Tiago Faria [00:09:32]:

Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:09:32]:

What a what a great message. Thiago, I know you have, you have an offer, and that is a A free call, should anybody want to have a, Stuart to understand a little bit more about what you can to help with and and just tell me, I believe this is the, the Yes. URL they can reach in order to have that free call with you. Tiago, that's t I a g o f a r I a dot p t Slash call. Tell me what happens during that, that call? How long does it take, and what is it you're trying to help your your clients do when you speak to them?

Tiago Faria [00:10:05]:

Yeah. So it usually takes half an hour. I I five to first of all, I love to meet new people in this in this industry. It's just super interesting for me. And, of course, I'd like to have make a couple of questions just to understand the goals, the objectives, what what I've been trying to do before that didn't work. And I try to understand what what are the current assets because my my anti marketing method is based on, you don't need anything else other than what you already have in your current world, like your current contacts, audience, and network, to to have a over fun sustainable to grow a very fun and sustainable business. So we try to look at, okay, what are your current contacts, how many clients you've had before, what is the size of your audience, and then I can calculate, okay, I think we have here something to work on, because if we have past clients, if you have past leads that you've worked with, though, that's usually the starting point for my strategy. And it's actually something that I can share now that is, a valuable five act free, action that Yes.

Tiago Faria [00:11:01]:

The the audience could implement, which is So like we talked to you initially, choose a very specific niche. Right? The person, the problem you try to solve. And then you simply reach out to your current network of past clients, past leads, even your audience, network you have around you. And you simply interview people, 5 to 10 people that you feel are Very well suited for your niche. And you ask them questions, like, about their about their symptoms. What what are the main obstacles? What did he feel? What five you been trying to do that doesn't work? What what do they actually wish to achieve? Because simply by the fact that you're interviewing people in your niche, You will collect the emotional words, the, the actual feelings that people have that later you can use to create your offer. If you reflect exactly what the market wants and needs, it will be so much easier to sell, you know, to create something that they will actually want to buy now. Right? That's That's so key for us to to create offers, because we're so ingrained, and we usually stay in our head.

Tiago Faria [00:11:58]:

And Webb we think we create something, now people have to buy it, which and we should invert that process. And you'll find out very easy that everyone loves to give their opinion, their feedback. And if it's a short call, it's easy yes for them to for you to interview. And you you you get lots of wins out of this simple exercise. You you you craft an offer around that. You go back to them and you can say, hey. Just create this offer that solves the problem you told me you had. What do you think about it? You can actually start selling immediately there.

Tiago Faria [00:12:26]:

And then For people that say yes, you sell it to them. For people that don't want it or don't need it, you can also ask them, but you know anyone else would be interested in this? And so you create here a network of refers and, which is perfect. It's

Stuart Webb [00:12:40]:

Absolutely fantastic. Spot on advice, Tiago. Five I love the value you five there. It is so simple to to implement and and just, you you as you say, reaching out to somebody and just saying, can we spend 15 minutes just just so that I can understand your problem, so that I can I can work out ways you can even do a a networking event that you're attending Today, just, you know, the the when you're handing over your business card, just say to them, what's the major problem that you're facing at the moment in in growing your practice? And if somebody turns around five you just 2 or 3 sentences, use those sentences, use those words to sort of craft your coffee, and then you can put them into those ads that you were talking about, can't you, Tiago? If you're currently facing this problem, people will resonate with that because those are the words that they are themselves using. Once again, you've solved 222 problems with 1 with 1 conversation.

Tiago Faria [00:13:32]:

You became a popular writer. Yeah. It's amazing.

Stuart Webb [00:13:34]:

I think Tiago, what is it that, is it is it a book or a program, a course, something like that, which which brought you to the understanding of of your, and I love the words, the anti marketing method. What was it that that helped you form that?

Tiago Faria [00:13:50]:

Absolutely. I, I got it right here with me. It's a book by mister Jay Abraham, getting everything you can out of all you've got. And that's that's last sentence that inspired me. All you've got. So what do we have around us? Right? It talks a lot about this reaching out to past clients, so to your network, creating referral programs, proactive, and incentivizing people to refer you and become your sales team. It talks about lots of things that are super interesting, like, the basis of marketing and sales, five, the timeless strategies, five, the 3 ways to grow a business, the The lifetime value, creating an irresistible offer that is so crucial, with the help of of people around you, networking referrals. So This this book is really gold.

Tiago Faria [00:14:32]:

It's like, in the all his brain most of his brain is here. And it's a very, underrated book. Think I I haven't seen it that much. But, yeah, I definitely advise,

Stuart Webb [00:14:43]:

JJ. Such a good such a good author, such a such a of knowledge in this in this area, isn't it?

Tiago Faria [00:14:50]:

Absolutely. I really love them when they consume everything he he sends up.

Stuart Webb [00:14:54]:

Yeah. Absolutely. So, we've kind of reached the the 5th question of my five, and, this is my, this is my simple one because, up until now, I've had to be thinking of the questions and now what I want to do is is suggest that perhaps there's a question that I haven't thought of that you would like me to ask you and obviously Once you've given me the question that you want me to ask, you'll have to answer it. So this is where I sit back and sort of relax a bit whilst you're doing all the work. So What's that question that I should've asked that you, that you've that you've not been given so far? And and and what is that answer, Tiago?

Tiago Faria [00:15:30]:

Yes, Stuart. It's a amazing question. I was thinking about it. We we sent it before, and, it's something I I would love to that someone Told me before when I was starting out, it would save me a ton of headaches is which is a questions that almost nobody ask who's which is, how to how to go how to go on when Nothing is working. Like, when when things go wrong, when when clients are upset, when, you do some some tail some some tests and it doesn't work, a campaign doesn't work, Five, how do you do how do you how do you go by and, how do you not quit suddenly and then start doing crazy things and reactive and go to? That's not, like, a super important question. And I and I thought here about a simple process that we could think about. But at least I add I did it for myself and probably it will work with someone else, Which is, first of all, with my mentor I worked with my mentor, and he told me, okay. Let's create a vision.

Tiago Faria [00:16:20]:

A vision is so important to have something something clear in your mind Webb you're going, why you're doing what you're doing, How would your life be like after the storm? Right? So know exactly where you're going. It it's it keeps you immune to distractions, to, to accidents, to I don't know. It just keeps you going. It's it's super important. And then getting the skills of, Actually, I I've learned I've learned with, Jim Braun to you should work harder on yourself than on your business. So that's that's something to keep in mind all the time. So I I I I I practiced to myself to to start becoming outcome independent. So no matter what happens, I'm gonna keep doing what I five planned.

Tiago Faria [00:16:59]:

If it doesn't work immediately, it's fine. Just keep going. Just keep going. And also how to how to remain calm. This is also super important too Because things will hap crap will happen for sure in the business, in entrepreneurship. It always does. So if you if you train yourself to become calm and not Reactive all the five. If something bad happens, things become much easier.

Tiago Faria [00:17:22]:

And how do you do that to be to remain calm is to so we have a vision. We should also have a plan of a simple plan, a very simple plan five the strategy I I use here and something that you do daily no matter what. Very simple steps. Like, 3 things you do in a day. 1 for marketing, 1 for sales, 1 for, you know, delivery of your services or whatever. And if you if you stick to it, a simple plan that you know that you can do, that you don't stretch yourself too too thin and you're consistent no matter what happens, Usually, things things things Stuart working and the the, the compound effect effect takes takes takes place, and, You will reach your goals faster than you expected.

Stuart Webb [00:18:02]:

I've just put on screen, Thiago, a question that's come in from from LinkedIn, which is Paul Burton who Said, isn't a consultant just someone who borrows your watch to tell you the time? And I think I think you were addressing some of what, Paul is talking about with, That, that last coffee. And it's true that very often, we as coaches, consultants, mentors, End up telling somebody, what they already know. They know they should have a simple structured plan to their day, that they should spend x amount of time working on their marketing. They should be spending time doing those things. The problem is that very often, despite the fact they've got the watch, they're not looking at it because there's so much going on around them. So The advantage of the outside help that somebody comes in from outside to sit beside that that business owner, that coach, And just remind them of what they're supposed to be doing. It takes away the it takes away their busyness, it takes away their focus from The the the the day to day struggle that they have and reminds them that they've got the watch on their wrist, they need to look at their watch. I object to the to the consultants who take the watch away.

Stuart Webb [00:19:17]:

I prefer to leave the watch very definitely with the business owner, But just remind them to look at it and spend time thinking. I think too many consultants have in the past removed the the the agency from the business owner and said, I'll do that for you. But in actual fact, our job is to help them to do it themselves. I don't know what you think.

Tiago Faria [00:19:39]:

Yeah. I think the key word here for coaches, consultants, etcetera, is your You're, remain your clients accountable. I think that's all we need. Because all information is already available. You can just YouTube, Google everything. There's nothing new that you can create nowadays. It's mostly the the fact that you keep the person accountable. You You unlock when she has some issue.

Tiago Faria [00:20:01]:

You keep her focused, like you said. Like, focused on the 3 things you should do today or whatever is the 80/20, that actually brings results and keep them from all the distractions that that come about the the day. And it's actually that. We're just, accountability coaches, basically.

Stuart Webb [00:20:17]:

Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. Tiago, this I think it's been a fascinating discussion. I thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. I would just just now direct people excuse me. A bit of a frog. I send out a newsletter each week telling you about the The person that's gonna come on and talk to us on, on this call each week.

Stuart Webb [00:20:38]:

And if you'd like to get from me, an email, which Just points out who's gonna be on so that you could join the the call five Paul, and just ask questions that you would like to. The link to do that is on screen now, it's httpscolonforward/forward/link.thecompleteapproach.co.ukforward/ Newsletter. That's link.thecompleteapproach.co.ukforward/newsletter. Get on there. Join the newsletter list, and then it's available, you'll get notification each week about who's coming on to the call and how to join. Tiago, thank you so much for spending a few minutes With us today, I will just remind you if you've got questions, don't hesitate to post it in the chat at the end of this. Thiago and I can then, come on and answer those questions. And if you need to speak to Thiago, obviously, he's available.

Stuart Webb [00:21:32]:

Thiago, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Really appreciate it. I wish you the very best in what you're doing. I think you've said some really interesting things, And I look forward to catching up with you again soon.

Tiago Faria [00:21:42]:

Thank you so much, Stuart. It was a true pleasure, and I hope someone takes something out of this conversation today.

Stuart Webb [00:21:46]:

I surely will. Thank you.

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View Details

Who is Larry?

Larry Goddard is a man of confidence and determination. He believes in facing fears head-on and taking on any challenge with a can-do attitude. His multifaceted nature comes from a decision to pursue his passions wholeheartedly and not be held back by self-doubt. He is motivated by a desire to work with people who share his confidence and belief that they can achieve anything they set their minds to.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Interview with Larry, a talented, visionary leader.

05:35 Active on LinkedIn and YouTube, sharing progress.

10:08 Believe in self, pursue passions, mentor others.

13:48 Paul promotes his book on test automation.

16:17 Excitement for book, follow on LinkedIn, subscribe.

17:49 Thank you, Larry. Talk soon.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

https://www.packtpub.com/product/enhanced-test-automation-with-webdriverio/9781837630189

A video version of this podcast is also at

https://youtube.com/live/ra2bB6d6Plc?feature=share

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Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Stuart Webb, Joshua Berry, It's Not Rocket Science, Five Questions over coffee, author, Dare to be NIEV, CEO, Econic, conversation, workplace, broken, humane, people positive, leaders, strategy, innovation, growth, human resources, new practices, agile, DevOps, lean start up, HR standpoint, remote work, return to work, curiosity, trust, experimental, collaboration, leadership mindset, creativity, purpose of work.

SPEAKERS

Larry Goddard, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:23]:

Welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science, Five questions over coffee. I'm gonna admit that right at the moment in my mug isn't actually coffee. It's, raspberry tea. I don't know what Larry's got in front of him, but Yeah.

Larry Goddard [00:00:35]:

I have hot chocolate.

Stuart Webb [00:00:36]:

I have hot chocolate. So that's brilliant. So, Larry, welcome to in rocket science over over Five questions I've got. Delighted to invite you to spend a few minutes with us today. Our guest today is Larry Goddard. Larry is an incredible, Polymath. I mean, the man that has so many talents, it's almost impossible to understand exactly where we're gonna go with this, but he's a he's a visionary leader, An award winning test architect, an interim CTO, and a a mentor to, the Black Girls in Tech and, the Black Voices and the founder Founders Institute, he is, He's been an expert witness for for international law firm and a technical adviser to a fashion house. Now This is this is more than we could possibly get into at this stage, Larry.

Stuart Webb [00:01:26]:

So I'm just gonna start with saying, talk to us a little bit about the sort of people you're trying to help and the problems they've got.

Larry Goddard [00:01:35]:

Yeah. I I I think, from from my point of view, I think I don't wanna look at the people who, They wanna do things, but, have this fear that, oh, if I do this, this is going to happen or it's gonna fall apart. I'm I think I I think I would use the word confidence. I don't think I'll be I wanna deal with people, you know, that want that confidence in themselves that I could do anything. Because although my I have to say, I'm multifaceted. And and it all comes from, you know, just deciding, you know, I wanna do this. I'm going all day, and I'm I'm doing that. So

Stuart Webb [00:02:11]:

And and talk to us about some of the some of the people you've helped. Some of those, of the you know, you're obviously working with with people who are starting businesses, and you're doing a lot of public speaking. Tell us about some of the sort of advice you give to those people. Especially,

Larry Goddard [00:02:27]:

I could say especially with the mentoring side of things where, you know, I help them deal with all these people. And I do it a lot from the, Fungus Institute. And those are people who actually looking to open some business. They are funded. They're to get funding for the business only. And one thing I tell them, I tell them is, you know, don't be afraid to take that step. That's the first thing. And 2, the other thing is once you have an idea, you need to put your idea somewhere.

Larry Goddard [00:02:56]:

If you just keep it in your head, Things just things just doesn't match up over that period. You need to document it. You need to relook at it again. And in short, yes. This is what I wanna do, and these are the steps that I want to take. And then you We really do again, you come to people like myself and others. You know, we would tell you, guide you hold your hand and guide you along the way It took your part, not from our vision, but your part.

Stuart Webb [00:03:29]:

Yeah. Absolutely. I love that idea. Be did if, You know, I've I've often said, you know, that, a a bad message out in the world It's far better than a perfect message still inside your head. You know? The the keeping something inside yourself and just waiting for the perfect moment is is always wrong, and I'm just trying to remember who it was that once said it. You know? The best time to start was 20 years ago, but the 2nd best time is now.

Larry Goddard [00:03:56]:

Exactly. Because what's up in your head? It's just you are all annoyed. If you put it on paper, yes, it's still your idea, and you are all annoyed. But now you now have Something visual that you could look at, and you could say, oh, you know, I think I shouldn't go here. I should do this before I do that. But once it's just in your head and it goes around, You spend years waiting for and and and as I always tell people, there is nothing ever called the perfect moment. The perfect moment is right now.

Stuart Webb [00:04:24]:

Yeah.

Larry Goddard [00:04:24]:

Yeah. You know? That's the perfect moment. People tend to we are fine a lot too. People tend to try and Bill is perfect. And I'll just use the word product for the conversation. I want the bill is perfect product before They put it out to the market. No. You need to bill a product, put it out to the market, get some feedback, and improve on the product.

Stuart Webb [00:04:46]:

Yeah. Yeah. That that, that's so often the the the the fault that people have, isn't it? It's it's Trying to make sure something's absolutely perfect before the put it put it out, and it will never be perfect because, you know, first of all, you you have not I got had every single idea you're ever gonna have, but your customers, if they love it, will tell you what they like, what they don't, and what they want to see improved.

Larry Goddard [00:05:11]:

Exactly.

Stuart Webb [00:05:13]:

So, Larry, I mean sorry. Go ahead.

Larry Goddard [00:05:15]:

No. No. No. You you go ahead. Sorry. Now

Stuart Webb [00:05:19]:

so so tell me, what what are you you're also developing new software tools as well at the moment. What where are you where are you gonna be telling us all about this in the future? Where can we continue to watch what you're what you're up to and and your best ideas coming forward?

Larry Goddard [00:05:35]:

Well, like, I think I have my my LinkedIn profile, and then I have my YouTube channel. You You know? So that's where I put everything. So as time goes by and I improve on things or I build things, I put it out on the on the YouTube channel. I talk about it on on my LinkedIn profile. So if you're following me, you know, there you would see you're gonna see everything as it progress And go forward, and you'll get to see all the little bits and pieces that I get myself involved in. You know? So that that's where you'll find me. So I'm I'm on LinkedIn. I'm on YouTube.

Larry Goddard [00:06:08]:

And I'm on Twitter. Sorry. X.

Stuart Webb [00:06:11]:

X. Of course. Yeah. And I I've just put, Larry's, LinkedIn profile now at the bottom of the page, which is, linkedin.com.in. Larry g. So that's Larry G. Follow Larry on LinkedIn. He does do some really interesting stuff.

Stuart Webb [00:06:28]:

I'd say it's he's really got some very interesting things going on. And, yeah, he is an interesting character. So where did you get some of the inspiration? What book or course or, what was it that that really inspired you down your path, Larry?

Larry Goddard [00:06:46]:

Well, I have I have a thing. I mean, I'm one of the old school guys. It had nothing to do with A book or anything is just back in the day. You know, and computers, especially, have now come out because a a a novelty in the day. And just something that interested me, and I started to take my interest in it from since then. And so over the years, I have, you know, looked into it and always do something with it. Mind, I've not always I've never always been in tech. I'm a mechanical engineer by trade.

Larry Goddard [00:07:15]:

So It's it's after I moved from, I'm from Trinidad Tobago, by the way. So after I moved from Trinidad Tobago and came to the UK to live, Then I realized I I had a rude awakening that the call and mechanic don't mix. So So and and that is where my journey is to and that is when I changed my I took my my my hobby. I made it into my career. So a lot of it 90% of what I know is self taught. I thought literally taught myself, I got the software, Back in the day, and I got copies of a lot of things. It wasn't until now. I got a copy of the software.

Larry Goddard [00:07:54]:

I bought some computers. I, you know, I build them up. I start. And and and that's and that's going on and on. And as the technology change, I continue to follow it. And then, you know, the world opened up to open source. So then I started to delve into that, and Then I got to see what people are doing, and we got to use what people were using. And and and think and that's where Classy GS comes up comes about.

Larry Goddard [00:08:16]:

You know, I was tasked with, getting a a job done for Cambridge University at the time back then, And it was it was one of them surreal moments. I realized, oh, I know I I know what I should do. And I decided I started building this framework. Well, the rest is history, as you said. You're quite happy about it from that rough draft and being used to now it's a a node module. You could just, You know, just install as a known module in their place. That's one of the things I do. Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:08:47]:

So so the the the the current The current set of things you're doing, they've just they've just been something you've never been trained for any of this stuff. This is just something that you just know, you just wanna do. What's the what's the 1 piece of advice that you that you that you sort of took from somebody? What was it that sort of made you think, well, I'm just gonna give it a go? You you you there's nothing that's held you back. So it must have been something that somebody did or said or or at some stage pointed out to you that made you think, I could give it a go. Is it something from your parents?

Larry Goddard [00:09:21]:

It it it's one of the things my mom actually used used to say to us, you know, growing up. She see all you say, you know, don't matter what you're doing. Always try to be the best there is. You might never make it, But you will get very, very good at it. You know? And I and I took that I took that through. And then I started and that is where I was, like, about 10 years old or or something and down to the end of the street that I was living on growing up in Lebanon, that guy used fixing cars down there. Now I was trying out, you know, oh, that's really good stuff. Imagine a 10 year old back then, you know, in the early seventies, turns out, oh, that looks good.

Larry Goddard [00:09:56]:

And I just briefly walk into the and say, can you teach me how to do that? And he look at me and say capitalist. Yeah. He actually look at me and say, Son, go home. Why are you down here?

Stuart Webb [00:10:07]:

And yeah.

Larry Goddard [00:10:08]:

But when I I kept going. And then one day, you're saying, okay. You know what? Watch that for me. At the beginning of it, I, yeah, at the beginning, I started washing parts and, you know, and and and following and then the thought that he taught me. And and I think one of the things from that is I think everybody should understand is if you want to do something, no matter what it is, You for yourself have to have a bad belief in you that you could do it. And following my online normal advice, either that's how I think. And I thought I think now, like you rightfully see, I I'm into a lot of stuff. And especially now with the whole AI and the whole framework and building things in it, You know, I'm mentoring people.

Larry Goddard [00:10:48]:

I'm thinking it's all about I could do this. I'm not going to do this. I want to be the best there is. You know, like, somebody said to me once, This is how I just think. I just think like this. If I am a mechanic, I want to open the dictionary. And when I type a new mechanic, I must see a picture of myself there. No.

Larry Goddard [00:11:06]:

I yeah. I got resonate with me. Not really resonate. That means it it simply means what you're going to do always put your best foot forward. And and there's nothing as a stupid question. The only stupid question I have is the one it did not ask. You know? And and it's and it's true that and I follow that all the way through. So as new technologies come out, I I pick up on it.

Larry Goddard [00:11:30]:

I I I do some research. I, you know, I look at the white papers. Yeah. I get involved in in it in a lot of different ways. Going to, expose and and things like that. So that as well keeps, You know, keeps my head in the game with with everything that I'm doing.

Stuart Webb [00:11:47]:

Brilliant.

Larry Goddard [00:11:47]:

And and as you see that and I and as you see that, I think I might just mention this one time, and it's true that, I've written a book, so I don't actually have a book on the market. And it's all you know, talking about, again, automation and and doing other bits and pieces. And from that as well, you know, somebody asked me, hey. Could you and I thought about it. And then, in my head, I say, Why why think about it? Here, you have an opportunity to to write a book. Just go for it. And then why did I just say, yes. I'll do it, and this is the end result.

Stuart Webb [00:12:19]:

And when are we seeing that?

Larry Goddard [00:12:21]:

It's it's out now. I mean, I could see if you look at my my LinkedIn profile. I mean, I can I I could I could even share the the cover, the book you? I'm not sure where I can do that. Great.

Stuart Webb [00:12:30]:

Yeah. Please do.

Larry Goddard [00:12:32]:

I mean, I will send it come up for you in a email or call. I don't think I could drop it in this chat yet. Hello, Blake. And, yeah, I'm. So it's the book is live. It's on, Amazon. It's, it's on Pat Pat Publishing for the publishers. And and yeah.

Larry Goddard [00:12:47]:

So it's there. It's called it's called, enhanced test automation with WebDriver IO. That's in that's in the name of the book. If you look at Amazon right now, you could just you could find it with that.

Stuart Webb [00:13:00]:

If I I if I could find it in the moment, I'd show it, but there we go. We're not gonna be able to do it. Had 1 comment in as we've been talking. Paul has commented and said, it's so true. Test in test automation, it is never too Soon to start. And, yeah, what can I say? The number of, of live software projects that I have been involved in where We started testing far too late, and we tested with the wrong people, and it all ended up in complete disaster. But that's another story for another day, And I won't bore you with it bore bore you with an hour range.

Larry Goddard [00:13:33]:

Guys have I don't think I that just you randomly choose that, but that is my co author, by the way.

Stuart Webb [00:13:40]:

That's a good one then.

Larry Goddard [00:13:42]:

Yeah. That's that's my call. You both know that.

Stuart Webb [00:13:46]:

I'm so glad

Larry Goddard [00:13:47]:

reach out there.

Stuart Webb [00:13:48]:

I'm so glad that Paul's listening in. Paul, he's also said to us at this very moment, enhance test automation. Okay. That's the name of the book. It's enhance Test automation with WebDriverIO unlock the superpowers of hybrid testing frameworks. Paul, Larry, I'll make sure that goes into The show notes so that people can get a copy of that if they want to. Look, I've, I've asked you a series of questions at the moment, Larry, and I'm sure there's probably one that you're thinking I haven't asked, and when's he gonna get around to asking it? So this is my way of saying, Here's your opportunity to to tell me the question you would have liked me to have asked, and then, obviously, you have to answer it for us. So what's that question?

Larry Goddard [00:14:32]:

I think I think that question should, you know, should be, what are you working on now, and where do you see yourself going with it?

Stuart Webb [00:14:39]:

Okay. So what what are you working on now? Where do you see yourself going with it, Larry?

Larry Goddard [00:14:44]:

Yeah. At at the moment At the moment, I'm working on a project called Classy GS. It's it's out there. What it does is our test automation framework. By the way, it's using WebDriverIO and and things like that. And where where, where I'm going with it is, Because, you know, AI is the whole new talk at the time, the new kid on the block. Yes. I'm heavily involved in in in in AI as well.

Larry Goddard [00:15:11]:

So right now, going forward, I'm going to remove some of the existing parts from it and replace it with AI powered technology and and make it, you know, up to scratch and activate the, you know, for the future going forward. And in in doing that, it will also It will also gives me the opportunity to improve on what is there and see, you know, what's new coming out. And as you can see, we're in the AI space. So A lot of new text. You know? You have. You have the you have the Microsofts. You have the the the the Chrome, the Googles. I know everybody bringing out their own copilots and and things like that.

Larry Goddard [00:15:47]:

So going forward and for the future, it's about locking into those products and seeing how best we could use it to, You know, to to help the testing community. So I would spend a lot of time, you know, going forward doing that for for the for the community. And it's and it's all open source. So not like I'm building something that people have to pay for it in a day. I'm building it, and I'm giving them that just as part of me. That is me saying thank you for all the knowledge I got from you guys over the years, and This is my contribution back to the community.

Stuart Webb [00:16:17]:

I love that. I love that. I look forward to seeing that in the in the world. Larry, it's been fascinating sort of having you on for a few minutes. I really do hope people check out that book, and follow you on LinkedIn because you've got some fascinating insights into the world. I'm just gonna mention at this point, if, if you would like to get onto our mailing list so that every A week, pretty much, I put out an email which just says who's coming up on the, on the podcast so that you can be prepared to follow them, To ask questions as Paul was here to sort of interact with the guest on Tuesdays, please go to this link, which is link.thecompleteapproachdot c0.ukforward/newsletter. That's link.thecompleteapproach.c0.ukforward/newsletter. Get on to the list.

Stuart Webb [00:17:04]:

Allow me to send to you our upcoming, live interviews with interesting characters just like Larry, and then you too can be here to, to interact with people like that. Larry, thank you so much for being with us today. Really appreciate you taking out a few minutes of your day. You're a busy guy, so I guess, I guess we better let you get back to changing the world, changing the lives of some of those mentors that you're working with. And thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us.

Larry Goddard [00:17:34]:

Yeah. The pleasure is all mine, Stuart. And, you know, like I said, it was a pleasure to to to do this, and, I and I will continue doing so, and I will follow I myself will follow your newsletter and, you know, jump in and see what some of the other guests come and have to say as well. Another thank

Stuart Webb [00:17:49]:

thank you very much, Larry. Speak to you again soon.

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View Details

Who is Joshua?

Joshua Berry is a visionary leader who is determined to fix the broken state of the workplace. With a strong belief in creating a more humane and people-positive work environment, he is committed to revolutionizing the world of work. Joshua understands that true change starts from within organizations and often seeks out leaders in strategy, innovation, growth, and human resources who share his passion for transforming the how and why of business operations. Through his book and various initiatives, Joshua aims to support these individuals in their mission to bring about positive change within their organizations.

Key Takeaways

02:10 Exploring new practices, adapting without supporting people.

04:13 Innovation hub hindered by division manager.

07:22 Daring to be naive for progress and joy.

10:26 Allow employees freedom, reap the rewards.

14:01 Impact of intangibles on bottom line ignored.

17:54 Promote and grow by building trust.

20:43 Books, openness, curiosity, inner work, progress.

23:58 Work: a space to grow people, organizations.

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

SPEAKERS

Joshua Berry, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:20]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science. Five Questions over coffee. I'm delighted to be joined this afternoon by Joshua Berry. Joshua is the author of Dare to be NIEV, which is a really interesting book, and the CEO of Econic. I'm really looking forward to this conversation. Joshua, welcome to It's Not Rocket Science 5 questions over coffee.

Joshua Berry [00:00:39]:

Thank you, Stuart. Got my coffee, and we are ready

Stuart Webb [00:00:41]:

to rock. Yep. Yep. Yep. We are it's 2 o'clock in the afternoon for me. This is probably not what I should be drinking. I won't sleep, For the rest of the afternoon, which is normally what we like to propose. Anyway, Joshua, yeah, now welcome to, to to the podcast.

Stuart Webb [00:00:55]:

Good luck to have you here. Just, just for just for clarity, kind of, what is it that you're trying to do with Dare To Be Naive and and your work at Econic? Who who are the who are the customers you're trying to help them out? What problems do they have? What is, what is what is the sort of problem that you're helping them solve?

Joshua Berry [00:01:11]:

Sure. You know, I believe in a lot of ways, the workplace, is broken. Right? We can go long strides in making, the world of work Even more humane and more people positive. And a lot of the times, the people that we work with are leaders in strategy or innovation or growth Or human resources, I think some of those leaders who are most also passionate about shifting the how and why of their businesses. And, you know, that's that's routinely where we meet them. And a lot of what, as you mentioned with the book, that we're trying to do is to help more of those People as they are trying to shift those ways of being within their organizations.

Stuart Webb [00:01:53]:

And and, You know, come a lot of these these people would have tried things before they get around to reaching out to you. What what Things do you see them doing? What problems do you see them getting into before you're able to help them overcome those problems?

Joshua Berry [00:02:10]:

Good question, Stuart. I think there's there's a lot of people who are out there who know they need to do something different, And so you they rightly are looking at new practices for their organization. Maybe they are, Looking into using agile or or DevOps, or they're looking at lean start up or or new ways to do innovation in the organizations. Maybe from an HR standpoint, they're looking at remote work is a big example right now and return to work. They are experimenting with new ways of trying to shift how they do business. But I'd say one of the biggest Challenges, and sometimes the mistakes that they run into is not well, 2 of them, I guess, we can get into. The first one is That they realize that while they're trying to adapt to these new practices, they're not actually taking the opportunity to help those people adapt as they're trying to practice Those new things. Right? Like, the the whole idea of, you know, if if you dig into some of those practices, they're saying, We want our people to be more curious.

Joshua Berry [00:03:15]:

We want them to be more trusting. We want to be more experimental. We want a bit greater collaboration. And yet if you just pursue adopting one of those new says and just push it down to people and use a traditional approach to it, you're missing out on this amazing opportunity to also involve people in practicing those behaviors, Which you're actually hoping to get from some of those practices. So that's that's a big piece of it. I think the second one is, not also taking the opportunity to Do shifts in leadership mindset behavior. A great example is in the innovation space, trying to get people to be more creative or experimental or even spinning up innovation labs, But not investing equally in helping shift the mindset of leaders because they also need to work on those things that help create a safer space for people to innovate or, become more iterative in their decision making or or a number of those things. So they they try to get people to do new practices without starting to adapt and adopt new practices themselves.

Stuart Webb [00:04:13]:

I particularly love that last majority. I was involved some years ago in helping to set up, an innovation hub in the business and, You know, the people that I was working with incredibly enthusiastic, but there was a there was a division manager who would, Who would insist that everything that came through this innovation hub had to come through him for vetting before he was prepared to green light it to go forward for commercialisation And this attitude was basically, this is going to somehow destroy either part of my revenue stream or Something else that I that I hold is a pet project so I will just stop everything. So the Innovation Hub came up with, I think in the 3 months that we sort of started trialing this, a 106 Innovations of which one was given the green light, and it was one of those moments where I had to go to the chief executive and go, it's a brilliant idea, this innovation hub, but there is a problem. And he looked at me and said, do you know where the problem is? And I said, yes. I know where the problem is. He said, where is it? I said, it's in that office. He looked at me and went, I don't know how to solve that problem. And I went, and that's nothing I can do to help you.

Stuart Webb [00:05:20]:

You're absolutely right. The mindset is so critical, You know, the the number of chief executives would go, well, if we can just make it work, it will be fine, but I don't really wanna disturb anything that's going on around here because It will make other things problematic for me.

Joshua Berry [00:05:35]:

You you nailed it there, Stuart. We are in the middle of a fundamental Shift that is happening in the world of work and how work is done. And and what you're seeing is we've had things that worked for many decades that relied more on a command and control sort of approach. Right? Our ability to streamline and predict and forecast. And now we have tension, right, between, our ability to even predict the future or need things. And so Rightly so, the best leaders are saying, I need people to be more adaptable and agile and nimble, and, hence, they do all those practices that I was saying before. But it runs into this clash as you just said with people who are still trying to hold on to some of those vestiges of what got us to to where we are right now. And so we're in this interesting liminal space, and and I think you have to acknowledge that there are some of those beliefs about what maybe assessors for that person, maybe there's even internal things that that your former leader needs to work through to be able to get to a spot to make it okay for some of these new practices that that I think most employees and people want to bring into the world.

Stuart Webb [00:06:41]:

And and I guess this is the sort of the thrust of the book, dare to be naive, that that That you've you've recently got around to giving to the world and there's going to be a a link where people can go look at this and have a a look at, the book, which is here, at joshuaberry.com/ dare to b hyphen naive. I'll put that in the show notes for those people who didn't manage to catch you at this stage, but talk to us a little bit about, you know, the sort of advice and that you talk about in that book. And maybe give us some an insight of something we can go away and do, with that advice today to help move on some of these mindset shifts we need to do.

Joshua Berry [00:07:22]:

Yep. The idea of of daring to be naive is really about letting go of I already know everything. Right? And it's also about tapping into those things that represent not just what's reasonable, but also what feels intuitively Correct to look at, right? So back to the example that you used before of your leader, there's There's a lot of things that go into protecting ourselves and making us try to feel safe and smart and right and perfect and all of those things. And What we challenge in the book is a lot of times the beliefs that have led us to where we're at today, some of them have become limiting beliefs To what is possible for the future, and it's only until you have a shift into saying, you know what? I might be wrong, or you know what? There might be another way. And sometimes even things that might not have been thought before, that we're truly going to have progress. And so the book is about All those times where we probably self limit ourselves, we screen ourselves to present only those things that seem acceptable to the rest of the world, and how we might continue to move through that. Through some of the research and interviews that I've seen, a lot of people Fear being seen or labeled as naive, and yet that fear of being seen as naive actually prevents you from having a greater impact and greater joy in your life. Back to your question about maybe prompting for a free tool.

Joshua Berry [00:08:56]:

One of the things that we practice in the book, and you can find it on that dare to be naive.com or the or the link that you shared, is When we look at our practices, similar to the things that we talked about before, too often, we're not digging into what the beliefs are that power those practices. Right? And so there's a simple 2 by 2 matrix that we use to to help people, and and you can find it there, or you can email me afterwards if you can't find it. And, the tool is basically, what is the current practice? Let's take, for instance, work from home right now. It then challenges you to say, what are the beliefs, either known or maybe just observed or accepted, that are powering that practice. Right? And then it challenges people to talk about and reflect on what is shifting in those beliefs. Right? So so maybe it's maybe the practice is work from home, and the beliefs are a mixture. Oh, people can't be productive, or maybe they can be productive, or whatever it might be. You then create conversation either for the leader or for the team to be able to talk about how are those beliefs shifting or evolving, and then from those evolved beliefs, what are new that we can begin to experiment with.

Joshua Berry [00:10:10]:

And so being intentional about understanding how our beliefs inform our practices and having a simple process to To kind of dissect those and dig into those is, one of the things that we explore in the book through a myriad of different examples and ideas.

Stuart Webb [00:10:26]:

Brilliant. Joshua, I'm I'm I think you've you've you've really highlighted one of the things with you is pretty critical In the workplace today, which is the the the mindset should've shift. We talk about a lot about servant leadership and things like that, but, you know, leaders still have got to get their heads around Allowing people to to to to become themselves at work, can't they? One of my, one of the people I've Spent some time looking and and and talking to is a guy called John Timpson who runs A series of shops around the UK that are about shoe shops and he has only 2 rules for the people that work for him and that is Show up and look the part and put the money in the till. And that's it. You know, pretty much after that, his managers, the people that are on the front line, got Free reign to do a whole load of things, to really adapt their business practice and process in order to sort of truly serve the customer. As a result, He's grown enormously, and he has people working for him who worked for years and will never work anywhere else. Because they turn around and say, When it comes to spending money, he gives me free rein to do what I want. And, you know, so long as so long as they make a profit, and so long as he can sort of see they're making a profit, he gets out of their way as a As a a chairman of a large company, he just gets out of their way and leaves them to it.

Stuart Webb [00:11:47]:

That's a that's an attitude very few leaders have managed to grasp and put put put on in their organization. I think it's it's inspiring when I hear people like you sort of talk about some of this stuff and how to make that happen.

Joshua Berry [00:11:59]:

Yeah. You hit upon it there, Stuart. And one of the stories that I cover in the book, talks about a manufacturing facility, actually in France, that The CEO took it over, and it was a traditional manufacturing facility, right, where, time clock cards and you get penalized if you show up late. All of the materials and supplies are locked up in the closet, and you gotta go take your coupon to be able to get new supplies and materials. And, when Jean Francois showed up at that factory, he started to say, why did we design an organization that assumes Humans are wrong or bad or trying to be lazy or trying to get away with things. What would happen if we designed An organization from the opposite that assumes humankind was good, And they stripped away the controls. They stripped away a number of those things, and you know what? People started to show up earlier. They started to care about what they were doing.

Joshua Berry [00:13:02]:

Quality went up. Engagement went up. Their market share went up. There was amazing impact and a great return on that investment. And so we cover in the book that, like, it it isn't 1 or the other. We we we talked about it as 2 ROIs. You can get ripples of impact and a return on investment. And similar to what your leader, that you're just highlighting there, with the cashiers, It isn't, oh, I'm only going to do it as long as I'm gonna get these results.

Joshua Berry [00:13:33]:

We're not telling you to ignore those sorts of things, but it's amazing How many stories are out there of when you do choose to prioritize treating people as human, treating people as wanting to give something, and honoring people, that a lot of times a decent ROI also comes on the backside of that. And sometimes it's hard to have the faith or the optimism or the hope to be able push through some of that, that's the dare to be naive. Right?

Stuart Webb [00:14:01]:

It's a it's a great message, Shashank. I I I love the fact that I think One of the things that you're sort of highlighting there is that the return on investment is so often in things that are difficult to measure or or almost in those intangibles. You know, If you can reduce churn, if you can keep somebody working for your organization longer, you know, you reduce recruitment costs, you recruit Retention costs you recruit, you you reduce your your retraining costs. You get people who are better attuned to your customers, your ethos. Although it's something difficult things to measure it that people just therefore just don't measure and as a result they go, okay, well if we can't measure it, we'll ignore it And yet it has huge impact upon the bottom line. If you are constantly having to recruit team members and they're just they're there for a month or 2 and then go because they've been treated horribly, We don't measure that, but what we don't what we don't as a result, we miss out on is the is the impact that that has on the bottom line. People just turn around and go, I can't understand why it Costs us so much and yet, you know, going back to sort of a simple retail store, if if if those costs are built in, they raise the price And yet people will look around and go, I don't know what's don't know what happens, but down the road, that warehouse, everything's much cheaper. And everybody always seems to be the same.

Stuart Webb [00:15:17]:

I don't know what's going on. That's something that just is so often not measured even by HR departments who are trying to sort of find these things and work out what they are.

Joshua Berry [00:15:26]:

I think you're right, Stuart. There is definitely a concrete ROI that you can see from those good actions from retention and loyalty and Productivity, etcetera. I will throw out there, and this is probably maybe a little controversial for at least for me, 8 o'clock coffee. I wonder if sometimes even our thought of retention is maybe the wrong term. Right? Because it it sets up an organization and an employee as some as a person to be retained. Right? Stewart, I don't know your relationship status, and we don't need to get into this. But Imagine with my spouse if I went into thinking about what is my retention of my spouse. Right? Like that's From an unconditional love standpoint, like, that's probably not something that I'm going to go for.

Joshua Berry [00:16:13]:

And yet we I know it's not a perfect analogy here, but When we start to think about the act of care and concern for the people who are serving us in this organization, employees, And the consumers and people that we're serving, what would happen if we started from another standpoint instead of saying, I need to retain this person, and we said, what would I need to do to make this person want to be here? And I would be okay if they didn't. We work with a great leader of HR who said before, this this individual works in a community, has several Fortune 500 companies. She said, the future belongs to a place where I might have someone who works Down there at Union Pacific, down there at Mutual of Omaha, and some of their time over here with me. If I understand that that's how the community is going to be or even shortsighted, understand that I'm helping prepare people who go out into the community that I want to live in, why wouldn't I prioritize the growth and the deference, right, that we're able to do it? So, it's, it's it's it's a challenge that's out there. It's baked into a friend yesterday was telling me, you know, it's baked into the word the war on talent. Right? It it implies that there has to be this this tension or this otherness that happens to it. And and I think More and more successful leaders are testing the ideas that there can be a different relationship there.

Stuart Webb [00:17:39]:

Yeah. And I think we just had that comment come in that the retention is a word Jesus control. And you're right. It's it's a it's about it's about, that introduction of a lack of trust and falling back on our beliefs. And and I'll I'm Sorry, Greg. I'm sorry. I don't know who the user is. It's just doing that on mobile.

Stuart Webb [00:17:54]:

I'll find out as we get back out of this. But but, you know, I can remember In some of the companies that I've been working with, I have had words with managers when I say to them that one of the ways that I measure them as a success is if there are people that come through and get promoted and they go out into bigger roles because as far as I'm concerned, their job as a manager is to ensure that the people that They are working with their coach to go on and do better and and, you know, actually, the manager looks at you as if to say, but but I don't measure on people leaving and I go, Yeah. This this what I'm trying to do is turn around and say if that person leaves, they leave to a different part of the Company or they go and do something else. You've you've they they got a a a somebody who will be grateful to you forever for what you've done for them, And you will always be able to speak to them and go, do you have a young person that's ready for the next I'll take them. I'll move them on in exactly the way that you've been moved on, And they'll be throwing people your way and you'll get the best talent in your department because there will be people who trust you and it's back to trust. It is it is largely around getting them to trust that you really do have their best in at heart and their best interests and that Grows the entire operation, grows the organization as a whole.

Joshua Berry [00:19:09]:

That sounds like an amazing legacy, right, to be able to leave behind 100%.

Stuart Webb [00:19:14]:

So, Joshua, there must be some, book course or or program or or something which really started you down the path of of starting to think like Share that with us so that we can all go on the same journey that you've gone on.

Joshua Berry [00:19:30]:

And

Stuart Webb [00:19:30]:

with this, I'm gonna take a sip of coffee. This is gonna I'm gonna need you to call for You know,

Joshua Berry [00:19:35]:

if if any if any of my family is listening or friends who know me too much, they know I have a book problem. And So, there there is quite a bit, quite quite a number, so I I will try my best. More recent ones that have influenced some of this belief, One is, there's a couple authors. Diana Chapman is the main one that comes to mind of the book called 15 Commitments to Conscious Leadership, is is a great book that has helped me think through some of those shifts. I would say There's been a lot of inner work, that I've gone through because you do have to yourself. And so there's a number of programs whether it's been through the Purpose Guide Institute or, or other coaches, or or people that I've worked with who have really helped me start to understand What are the stories that are in my head that prevent me from entertaining so many other ideas that might be out there? So, For instance, you know, I needed to there's no such thing as a book problem. Thank you, Melissa. Melissa is ahead of me on reading books this Sure.

Joshua Berry [00:20:43]:

Anyway, so I can't claim I have a book problem, I guess. When I think about, specifically, though, the Ability to be able to, like, recommend books, I think there's so many. And I think just the act of people being open and curious And learning and wanting to try and dig into something different, I think that is what's helpful. And then as I mentioned, any programs that focus on inner work and what the stories are that you're telling yourself. You know, in our organization, we experimented with increased not only our financials, but even pay over the last couple of years. If I hadn't done some of my own inner work To understand what are my hesitations to share that as as as the owner and CEO of the company. Like, there's no way we're going to move beyond that. And so Yeah.

Joshua Berry [00:21:32]:

Any leaders who are starting to say, like, if this feels like a thing I wanna do, but all the rest of the world and everything is saying no, Spend a little bit of time doing some inner work just to truly understand what are the things you gain and what you lose by holding on to some of those beliefs that may actually be Time to sunset.

Stuart Webb [00:21:50]:

I think you're absolutely right, Jeff. In terms of in terms of that, one of the things that I did, with a guy that the company that we grew from, Well, initially, about 3 of us through to about 60 people. I basically took the entire company and I said, right. I'm gonna teach you how to read the company accounts. And, once a month on a Friday, I'm gonna stand up and talk about what's going on in the business, and you can ask me any questions you like. And I was astounded. First of all, that that I thought that the you know, I had a couple of people who turn around me go, What what what if they ask about so and so? And I go, well, I'm gonna be honest. I mean, you know, there's a problem.

Stuart Webb [00:22:28]:

They might as well know about it because they might know how to solve it. And that was exactly the attitude I got. There were people who were standing up and going, well, why are we doing that? Why are we spending money on that? We could do that. You go, okay. Fine. We can we can cut that or I've got an idea of how we could sell this and I'd go, terrific. Yeah. Let's get together and talk about exactly what we do do to turn that into a prop.

Stuart Webb [00:22:49]:

People who you would you'd imagine would never never be interested in doing such things, but, wow, the opportunity is is just, It's just it's just fantastic to take people on that journey.

Joshua Berry [00:23:02]:

I I I love that. You know, the the purpose of Econic, is truly to create the space for people to practice the behaviors that grow themselves and the organization. And you just nailed it right there. Like, I I believe that my community, for sure, my family, I know will be even greater if they get an opportunity to build their financial acumen, their business acumen, as you Jared. Right? And if we continually see that what we're doing you know, if if there was a question that I would hope you'd ask me, Stewart, it'd be, what is the purpose of work? And that was the question

Stuart Webb [00:23:36]:

I was about to get here, to get to you. We're gonna leave in now.

Joshua Berry [00:23:40]:

Swooping the tables. Swooping the tables on you, Stuart.

Stuart Webb [00:23:44]:

Leap in now because the last question I was gonna ask you, Joshua, is a is a question that I haven't yet asked you. What is it? And now you need to answer it. So No. I'm glad we got to that stage. We're not be needing to do anything more any more work.

Joshua Berry [00:23:58]:

Well, okay. What of the purpose of work? And I I truly believe in in today's world where where I think there's fewer and fewer institutions that bring people together for that growth. I think work can Begin and and continue to be a place for people to practice, right, those opportunities to grow themselves, right, and that work. Whether it's whether it's social experiences, whether it's collaboration, whether it's trust, whether it is creativity, curiosity, whether it's finding meaning. Right? There's there's really few places that we spend more time than work, and if we take the opportunity to say, You know what? All of our work, all of our projects, all the things that we're working on are not only a space to be able to grow the organization, but maybe first and foremost To help grow the people who are working through that, again, I think growth becomes an outcome of that and you have all the other great ripples of impact that happen that are beyond that. So, yeah, I I think that's that ties back to the mission, that that I'm definitely working on and, I'm excited to be able to share with everybody today, Stuart. So thank you.

Stuart Webb [00:25:13]:

Listen, Joshua. This has been a really fascinating discussion. I'm gonna I'm just gonna point out once again. You need to go check out Joshua's book, which is at joshuaberry.com/uh, dare to be naive. There with hyphens in between each of those words. Otherwise, it would just run into 1. Very You

Joshua Berry [00:25:32]:

you can also just go to dare to be naive .com. There is a

Stuart Webb [00:25:35]:

Or dare to be my e.com. So, please, go go check out Joshua's book. And, my thanks to you, Joshua, for coming and spending a few, minutes with us here. Listen. I'm just gonna just gonna wrap this up by saying if you would like to get a pre notification, we send we do one of these pretty much every Tuesday. If you'd like to get notification before the event so that you can join on the live and ask questions as you've seen, we've had comments and questions coming in during this discussion. Why don't you go to this link which is, httpscolon/linkthecompleteapproach.co.uk / news lecture. That gets you onto the mailing list.

Stuart Webb [00:26:13]:

You come out once every week with a little bit of a a blurb from me just telling you who's coming up And you can be on the LinkedIn live and watch out for that, each week and then obviously you can obviously also subscribe to the podcast and hear these when they get Issued as a podcast. Joshua, thank you so much, for your time. I'm just gonna leave the link back up. It's been a fascinating discussion. I love what you're doing with Econic, and the the book. Please, keep us informed. Let us know what's going on, and we look forward to watching the progress, in the future.

Joshua Berry [00:26:47]:

Thank you, Stuart. This has been fun. And if I had to leave you with one last thing, do you know the secret to taking good coffee on the go?

Stuart Webb [00:26:56]:

That's secret now.

Joshua Berry [00:26:57]:

It's it's not where you're going. It's where you've been.

Stuart Webb [00:27:03]:

Thank you, Joshua. Goodbye. Please take your jokes with you. I gotta I gotta get us out with a quick quick wrap up for you.

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Who is Adrienne?

Adrienne Bellehumeur is a seasoned professional based in Calgary, Alberta, known as "Texas North" due to its association with the oil and gas industry. With expertise in working with clients in various industries, Adrienne primarily focuses on assisting oil and gas companies, including those in the process of going public in Canada or listed on the US exchange. Her main area of expertise lies in running compliance and internal control operations, as well as handling financial process work. Additionally, Adrienne excels in using her skills in documentation to solve a wide range of problems faced by her clients. While her clientele spans across different sectors, her current work heavily revolves around the oil and gas industry.

Key Takeaways

[00:02:18] Doing more with less: a universal problem.

[00:04:04] Knowledge lost; document lessons, automate, avoid stagnation.

[00:07:27] Wasted money on known problem; lack of communication.

[00:10:35] "Documentation is a problem-solving tool for career success."

[00:14:43] Book summarizes career best practices for all.

[00:18:13] Poor cash flow due to delayed sales.

[00:20:39] Subscribe to link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/newsletter for updates and free downloads.

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www.bellehumeurco.com/6steps

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_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

documentation, grow your business, 24 hour rule, mass market, advice, guidance, compliance, internal control, financial process, oil and gas, scalability, employee engagement, headcount, systems, knowledge, inflation, interest rates, business owners, high interest rates, high inflation, people's heads, do more with less, lessons learned, automate, minimal effort, sale price, knee-jerk reaction, fancy systems, knowledge management programs, consistent habits, routine.

SPEAKERS

Adrienne Bellehumeur, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:21]:

Hi. And welcome back to It's not rocket science. I've gotta get that in the middle of the frame. Five questions over coffee. I'm here today with Adrian Bellhuma. Adrian is an expert on documentation and how to best use that documentation to help grow your business. And she's the author of the 24 hour rule, which is the 1st real mass market, book, which gives advice and guidance on the best use and best of documentation to grow your business. So I'm really pleased to have Adrienne here with me on the podcast.

Stuart Webb [00:00:54]:

Adrienne, welcome to It's Not Rocket Science 5 questions over coffee.

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:00:58]:

Thanks so much, Stuart, for having me. This is great.

Stuart Webb [00:01:01]:

Well, it's terrific to have you. Adrian, let's, let's start by sort of understanding a little bit about the The sort of audience that you you that you help the the the people that have got pros problems that you are trying to help them solve those problems.

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:01:16]:

The clients I work with are well, I'm I'm in Calgary, Alberta, so we are considered Texas North, that's our nickname. So I work with a lot of oil and gas clients here, of but and Of companies of all sizes, to be honest, whether it's company that is just in the process of Going public in Canada or large, companies US to on the US exchange. The bulk of my business is actually running Compliance, internal control, financial process work, but I do a lot of other, types of using using the skill of documentation to solve to solve problems. So but it's it's a range of, it's a range of clients, but we we have a heavy focus on oil and gas right now.

Stuart Webb [00:02:03]:

So tell me, what are the sort of problems that those clients have had, and and what have they tried to do to solve the problem that that that they've not necessarily been that successful with before you get involved with them.

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:02:18]:

Yeah. Well, it's I mean, it's very topical right now, and I hate give a buzzword, cop cop out response, but doing more with less is a huge theme right now. And I'd say it's a it's Almost a universal problem with inflation, interest rates, really changing the game and how, companies make decisions. So, Again, it's talked about a lot right now, but I don't think it's just just a buzzword. I would say it's the the biggest problem that Clients right now are are struggling with is how to do more with their their staff, first of all. I mean, we Employee engagement is at a all time low right now. People are not looking we are in an age where people are not looking to increase their headcount. In fact, we're looking to decrease headcount pretty much everywhere and just operate with a leaner, structure.

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:03:11]:

I have other clients that are that are in a maybe in a different category than a more mature business. They are looking To scale or leverage what they're doing, but still not not really looking they don't we're not in a environment of spending a ton of money, so I this This do more with less theme, is massive whether it's, an existing business scaling kinda scaling back, Using their people better, using systems better, using knowledge in people's heads better. It just seems like a universal and even even Business owners that are looking to scale, right now with high high interest rates, high inflation, It's a more it's a people wanna do it right without just spending a ton of money throwing throwing, you know, Throwing money at at the problem, which is really not what I'd advise to do either.

Stuart Webb [00:04:04]:

And re and really one of the great problems that that, That we we've we've we've we've found ourselves locked into for a lot of years, isn't it? It's the fact that we don't often document All of the lessons learned and things that have happened in the past and how we do things well enough so that when you do get that Turnover of engagement or when you do need to downsize and you do need to automate things through systems, it's not possible to do that because the knowledge is lost. So the knowledge is is lost because it's locked in people's heads, and it's only by sensibly and by, Well, I'd like to say with minimal effort, but that's what it is. With minimal effort getting into a document which is easy to understand, keep refreshed, Keep people sort of, up to speed that a business owner is able to do that. And it and it it's critical to to not only growth, but When it comes to that stage of when you need to, as a business owner, start thinking about exit, if it's all locked away in people's heads, you cannot possibly move the business forward.

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:05:03]:

Yeah. It certainly can hurt your sale price as well, in the event of a of a even even informal documentation can be used to increase your sale price as well. So that's that's a great point. I mean, any, tier audience that's often looking to leverage their business, I mean, Doc, just getting things on paper is that's a huge part big part of my business too is actually

Stuart Webb [00:05:27]:

business

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:05:28]:

point of leverage. Even even myself, if I'm looking to bring someone new in our team or, Using an administrator, all of a sudden, the stuff that I've done from my own head has to be transferred. I mean, it's it's very interesting how Important documentation becomes oh, even when you expand to just 2 people doing doing something. I mean, my my advice, I guess, Stuart, what I see in and and why I'm so motivated in this area is that most most businesses have really knee jerk reaction to these projects Where it's kind of, oh, let's just go doc run and spend a fortune either documenting or fancy systems or almost overkilling, the problem as opposed to just consistent habits, that is less costly. So that's Part of my soapbox I'm getting on and the motivation for my work, I know you wanna ask about why we're what companies Could do better. Yeah. The knee jerk reaction of rushing out and spending a fortune either documenting or systems or these Fancy knowledge management programs. And then what happens is, of course, they just get cut.

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:06:40]:

This is cut when, when the Buzzword changes. So I've I've my whole math my entire methodology is about Consistent habits that are actually quite an Habits. Quite routine.

Stuart Webb [00:06:55]:

Habits are really important with this, aren't they? If it becomes what it as you say, it's it's one of those things where if somebody turns around and says, We need to make we need to get our documentation up to date, and everybody rushes around and starts doing it. Yep. And then it you know, the the fatigue flags and and everybody gets fed up Doing it, and then you get to the point where somebody leaves and it's okay. Well, we'll you know, let's not worry about that. We'll get on with what we got on with, and then we'll just 2, 3 years later, somebody says, All our documentation's out of date. Let's get all our documentation out of the day. It it it just is a cycle. I've seen it 3 or 4 times of businesses I've been involved with there.

Stuart Webb [00:07:27]:

We we we we we haven't got this. Yeah. Learning, learning and a a a habit with, you know, Making it just part of whatever is going on, you just keep a note of of the latest thing and record record it. A a great example of this, I was working with a business recently, and there was a huge amount of effort to get a particular problem solved. And then somebody sort of was looking through the Wiki, and they came across an entry which was essentially, I guess the best thing could be described as, oh, this is a bit of a known problem. We ought to solve it and think about solving it at some stage. And I asked the question, Well, when did that get written? Well, the date stamp is this date, and I went, so let's get this right. We've just spent Nearly a quarter of $1,000,000 trying to solve a problem that was known about.

Stuart Webb [00:08:22]:

Yeah. But we'd all forgotten about it. And I went, didn't anybody think of Checking the Wiki before we started down this path, and they went, no. We kind of don't really bother too much about it. We just look at it when we're really, really stuck. It was one of those moments when I thought the habit of constantly sort of doing documentation has been lost in this organization, And it would have saved a good quarter of a 1000000. Yeah. We would have we would have been 4 weeks ahead of schedule had we not spent 4 weeks Forgetting that there was some documentation and not even bothering to look at it.

Stuart Webb [00:08:55]:

A horrible experience.

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:08:56]:

It's it's, it's very Basic, basic skill in some ways. I mean, we're we and we assume, our workforce knows how to do it correctly. My Experience as a business owner and consultant, is is actually it's the contrary. It's very few people that really understand mechanics are doing it well, and that's actually why I do so much have so much effort writing and training others and, promoting best practices and habits around because my experience is that it's it's not as well done or understood as a skill, and it and it does take work. It's not something like breathing. Not every you're not gonna just hire experienced people, and they necessarily are great at it.

Stuart Webb [00:09:43]:

I'm just making a note of, of things that I need to remember in the future, Adrianne, to Check. Come back to. Listen. You must have some valuable free advice that you, that you you could give to the audience listening at the moment. What what would that be? And I I think there is A an interesting, download that I can refer to now, which I'll show on screen.

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:10:03]:

Sure. There's a download here. So my book, I'm gonna I'm gonna do,

Stuart Webb [00:10:09]:

this to James.

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:10:10]:

Oh, I'm just going the wrong way.

Stuart Webb [00:10:11]:

I went right

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:10:15]:

for smarter organizations. So it's actually don't I I don't wanna freak out your audience that it's a book on documentation. It's actually a fun read. It's much more, aligned with solving business problems. That's actually how I view documentation. It's not just a exercise you put on the shelf. It's it's really about solving problem. That's what I That's what I do for a client.

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:10:35]:

Whether a client is going public or it is or you're stuck in a vortex of meetings or you have, Peter is retiring, and he built your systems from scratch 15 years ago. I mean, there's so many different scenarios which you apply documentation to, and I Truly believe that it's just a tool for problem solving, also a set of skills that you carry your entire career, and and in your life as well. So my book is structured along these 6 steps, of of capture, structure, Present, which is about writing and and visualization, communicate, store and leverage, and lead and innovate, and, I give Tips, and skills along each of these things. So my download will give your audience a bit of a flavor for some of these techniques, and if you're interested more, certainly check them out in the book. I mean, I would say if if I could leave your audience with One very simple technique in documentation, that is no technology required, no fancy education, and they will get their money's worth from, joining your, this this podcast today, is the 24 hour rule, and that is a very simple it's actually I believe the golden rule of documentation is that you have To process, you have to do something with information within 24 hours of either hearing it or even have it it can be applied to ideas as well. The 20 the 24 hour rule, is is the again, golden rule documentation, also a great productivity tip. One of the worst losses of of good of knowledge, momentum on projects, opportunity comes within 24 hours. We don't we are really good at processing information in 24 hours.

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:12:32]:

But if you really wait past that window, Your short term memory and your your energetic connection to that information starts dropping. So I'm sure, Stuart, you've been to meetings. Everyone Came out with brilliant ideas and, all this they solved the world, and then they they just head out for the weekend and really forget to action anything. Those are Very classic examples of how good information opportunity momentum gets lost because we don't We don't process it effectively. And in my experience is a lot of great information is lost within That that 24 hour window. Certainly, meetings is a great example, but you can apply it to business I mean, sales. It's usually when you don't When you don't follow-up on a sales opportunity or even process it or connect with someone you met at a conference, you are your likelihood of doing that diminishes actually quite rapidly in 24 hours. So it's a very different take on how documentation is usually so Formal and, so, corporate, but this is a this is a new take, of driving better habits will change Change your documentation across the board in so many different areas of your business.

Stuart Webb [00:13:48]:

I like it very much. I agree. I really do. I really do. Was there a particular, book or experience or course or something which really sort of got you into understanding the the the value of commendation in in a in an organization?

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:14:05]:

I I actually wrote the book because I thought there was A hole in the market. I've again, I I as a I'm a I'm a CPA. I started, your it's and it's a very documentation, patient, intensive career, actually. You do need to loan your auditor, or you you have to you have to know the document. And, usually, you're plunked. And I my experience is you're plunked into, into the work world. People expect to do how to do it. And I actually remember it really drowning, When I worked for I worked for a lot of banks and all the just sea of documentation.

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:14:43]:

I I remember not actually having a good grasp on it, So I was very motivated to write a book that I think would be helpful, but it it it would be helpful for people new in their career, but also really all levels. I've I mean, certainly, it it's it's almost, a it it's levels the playing field, really. It's not everyone Almost it doesn't matter if you're a senior executive or, just starting your career. We could all benefit from some of these best practices. The the book actually draws from the worlds of information management, organizational design, which is effectively better process, and And productivity, personal productivity, is kind of a smooshing together of these 3 disciplines, and, actually, that's why That intersection is really where this world, I call it dynamic documentation, is defined. I I would say I mean, one big influence is David Allen's getting things done. It is, and he's influenced a lot of people. He he really that productivity component, he's the one who Really kicked it off.

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:15:45]:

There's been a lot of great productivity books since then, personal productivity, but I would his is still This is still kind of the the kickoff about just over 20 years ago of that new discipline, which is so needed in today's work world. We do we do need Teach people how to be more productive.

Stuart Webb [00:16:04]:

Absolutely great. Look. We're reaching towards the end of the, for the interview. Adrian, I really thank you for spending some time with us, but But there must be 1 question that's currently, currently keeping you, keeping on the edge of your seat thinking, why hasn't he asked me about? And so, therefore, I'm gonna ask you now, What's the question I should have asked you, which I I haven't yet? And then, obviously, you have to answer it because otherwise, we'll all be going away wondering why it is we didn't get a good answer to that question. So What is that 1 question that I haven't yet asked that you'd like me to?

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:16:34]:

The oh, wow. That's a hard question, Stuart. You can ask me to

Stuart Webb [00:16:37]:

I like to I like to leave the hard questions for other people to, to ask as well as answer, Adrian. That's, that's that's my that's my secret of my success.

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:16:45]:

You can ask me, What's the simp my favorite simple framework for document I know it's a very question, and I'll I'll I'll, I I have lots of

Stuart Webb [00:16:55]:

people

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:16:55]:

to ask me, but yes.

Stuart Webb [00:16:57]:

Please give us that description.

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:16:59]:

Alright. I'll give another simple this is also very helpful for your audience, and I use it extensively in my training is that documentation has been traditionally viewed as big d documentation. That means, like, Policies, records, formal, big systems, transform big big initiatives like that. Documentation is equally about little d, everyday disciplines and habits that we talked about, including the 24 hour rule, How we take notes, how we store things regularly, how we can write, how we communicate. To have great documentation, you need to balance Big d and little d. You can you can implement the fanciest sales system in the world, but if your sales team doesn't have the habit of recording sales prospects, it's not gonna fly. I vote so I'm a huge believer. My very simple framework is that you keep you Basically have to keep the 2 in balance, big d and little d, to have very successful initiatives, projects, and organizations as well.

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:18:07]:

So I'll just leave with that last little framework easy framework for your audience.

Stuart Webb [00:18:13]:

Adrian, I happen to love that, and it reminds me. Just gonna give a very real example. I led, I led 1 business that was currently in undergoing a huge amount of, trouble. The, the the problems were were myriad, but one of the major problems I had to solve was the fact that their cash flow was poor. And the the the one of the keys to solving their cash flow was to discover that these salespeople Captured most of their sales on bits of paper and then uploaded them to the computer system when they got back into the office. And they were traveling, So they would have what I call what I eventually came to call briefcase time. That was orders that were ready that customers wanted to pay for In a brief case for 1, 2, or possibly even 3 weeks, by which time the customer had even forgotten they'd made the order And then we cancel it when they saw it come through on an email because they thought it was no longer an order or it was a duplicate. And that was one of the major problems that that business had, and all we had to do was get them to upload it on a slightly more regular basis than leave it in their briefcase for 3 weeks.

Stuart Webb [00:19:23]:

And the 24 hour rule became an absolutely critical rule for us. All orders from paper into system Improper documentation so that we actually understood what the order was within 24 hours. You're absolutely right. Big d and little d, Absolutely critical to every organization. I love that. I'm gonna be starting to I'll steal that from you if that's okay with you. Okay. Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:19:43]:

Absolutely. Big d and little d or

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:19:45]:

You can talk

Stuart Webb [00:19:46]:

day long.

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:19:46]:

Big d, little c, you can use it you can use it in different capacities, but they do always have to be in balance. And we talk a lot about big d, so I'm Bringing a lot more attention to those little d habits, skills, and

Stuart Webb [00:19:58]:

different ones. Brilliant. Adrian, look. This has been a really fascinating discussion, And I think you've brought documentation to life, which I know is not something which I expected people to be hearing from me because documentation is not something that most businesses find themselves thinking It's a good use of their time. It's a critical use of their time if they wanna grow, critical use of their time if they wanna avoid some of the problems you've been saying. Look. We're we're reaching the end, but if you would like to get on to our newsletter list so that you get to hear about brilliant interviews With people like Adrian so that you can participate by asking questions when we're live or by being aware of the recordings when they come out on podcast form on Apple Spotify. Here's the link you go to.

Stuart Webb [00:20:39]:

You go to httpscolonforward/forward/link.thecompleteapproach. That's thecompleteapproach word.co.ukforward/newsletter. That's link.thecompleteapproach.co.ukforward/newsletter. Get on that newsletter list, get to hear about great people like Adrian who are coming up, and about the brilliant sort of things that you'll hear When you see Adrian's, notes coming out, because I'll link to that book and I'll link to her 6 steps, a free download. Adrian, this has been absolutely fantastic. Thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Really appreciate you coming to us all the way from, from Calgary. I guess it's still nice and warm there at the moment.

Stuart Webb [00:21:19]:

I've been to Calgary, and I know it could get a little cold. But I guess for

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:21:23]:

a moment,

Stuart Webb [00:21:24]:

it's still up.

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:21:26]:

Adrianne, thanks.

Stuart Webb [00:21:28]:

Thank you so much. You're gonna play us out, and then, we'll Speak to you again soon.

Adrienne Bellehumeur [00:21:33]:

Thank you.

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View Details

Who is Sophie?

Sophie Dearden is a professional who specializes in helping businesses with their hiring and recruitment needs. From small solo printer setups to larger companies, Sophie understands the struggles they face when it comes to bringing in the right talent. She assists smaller businesses that lack experience or HR departments by providing alternative methods of hiring. Additionally, Sophie aids larger companies, particularly those in industries like engineering, construction, and recruitment, where there is a significant skills gap or shortage. In the UK, she has successfully placed gas engineers and electrical engineers in companies facing these challenges. Sophie has extensive knowledge of the employee market and understands the difficulties companies face in offering competitive salaries to attract skilled professionals. With her expertise, she not only helps businesses with recruiting skilled individuals but also assists in staff retention strategies.

Key Takeaways

[00:03:17] Companies struggle to fill gaps in their workforce, leading to burnout, low morale, and high turnover. Traditional hiring methods are expensive and time-consuming. Hence, many companies turn to recruitment companies after failed attempts to fill the gap themselves.

[00:05:17] Big rebrand, hiring remote professionals, task delegation.

[00:11:24] University in England, ski instructing in New Zealand, art degree, gym failure, successful sales company, sacrificing relationships, shutting down company, working with virtual assistants, learning from past experiences, Tim Ferris's book, starting Resource Worldwide.

[00:15:45] Flexibility and cost-effectiveness of hiring remote professionals

Valuable Free Resource or Action

www.resourceworldwide.com

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

struggling small businesses, right skills, talented individuals, technical or skill, hiring individuals, solo printers, home office, physical location, budget, alternative method of hiring, skills gaps, skill shortages, engineering companies, construction companies, recruitment companies, gas engineers, electrical engineers, employee's market, candidate driven market, salary requirements, HR department, retention of staff, organic growth, add more responsibilities, burnout, morale, team, infrastructure, competitors, gap, hiring, recruiting, recruitment company, expensive mistakes, rebrand, current website, tips for hiring, remote professionals, Philippines, cost-effective option, local area, upfront fees, sliding scale, A player, career progression opportunity, culture of the company, vision of the company, sense of purpose, poor retention, timely, expensive.

SPEAKERS

Sophie Dearden, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:22]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's not rocket science 5 questionnaire with Profiolo today. I'm having just some nice lemon water because I've got a bit of a sore throat of that. And I'm delighted to welcome Sophie Deird and Sophie is the co founder of resource worldwide there are businesses on a mission to really help, struggling small businesses find the right skills and talented individuals no matter her technical or skill they need to be. And so she's gonna talk to us a little bit about some of those problems. So welcome to it's not rocket science. Five questions over coffee.

Sophie Dearden [00:00:56]:

Thank you so much. It's great to be here. I'm super excited to talk to you and, hopefully share some new information and insights to anyone that's watching.

Stuart Webb [00:01:05]:

Brilliant. So, Sophie, tell me what is the sort of problem that you are currently trying to solve? What's the What's the problem that your customers have that you really help them to to to solve?

Sophie Dearden [00:01:17]:

So we work with a fairly sizable range different businesses. So anything from solo printers right through to kind of multiple 7 or 8 figure companies. And the one consistency across the companies that we work with is essentially they are struggling to hire individuals into their businesses. And it can be for a range of different reasons. Obviously, smaller businesses sometimes they don't necessarily have one any experience or a HR department to help them with recruiting. They may not necessarily have an office. A lot of solo printers in 2023 are able to start a amazing businesses, run amazing businesses even from their home office, for example. So they may not have a physical location. They may not have a budget to bring somebody in full time. So we'll come in and we'll help those business owners with hiring in our way, which is an alternative method of hiring. Or with the larger companies that we work with, we find that there's real skills gaps and skill shortages. So we work a lot with engineering companies, construction companies, recruitment companies, for example. Let's talk about engineering We have recently been placing gas engineers, electrical engineers into companies here in the UK because there's just a real skill shortage of that specific, niche. Alternatively, the skills are available in the UK, but the cost, but it's very much an employee's market or a candidate driven market, the cost of which the salary requirements are is so high, the companies just can't afford to pay them. that's the type of company that we start to work with, people who have got problems with recruiting skilled professionals, recruiting at all, and also retention of their staff as well.

Stuart Webb [00:03:03]:

So what's the sort of thing that you find business owners have tried to do or failed before you sort of help them? Where have they where they've been putting their efforts, which have not resulted in the right higher or getting the right sort of skill in their business?

Sophie Dearden [00:03:17]:

a lot of companies, and again, if we're talking about kind of our more established businesses here. A lot of companies grow organically. So they may have somebody in their business who's been there for a long time and they've kind of started to build up a team And what happens is they just add more and more responsibilities onto their existing team members. who might not actually be the right skill set for those responsibilities, their assistant team members come in and start to get burnout, for example, the morale of the team can drop. The retention then can drop. People might start moving looking for different positions. So when a company will step back and look at their infrastructure and go, okay. Actually, we've got a gap here that we need to fill, or it may be that their competitors are offering service there, not yet, sir, they're not offering. So for whatever reason, there'll be a gap that becomes available in the company where they need to hire. Traditionally, they'll look at either hiring themselves, but like we kind of touched on already, a lot of companies don't have HR departments. that ensure how to hire. they may look at using recruitment companies. Both of these different ways of hiring traditional recruitment companies I'm talking about, they can be really expensive and also timely. So if you try to hire yourself or you hire for recruitment company, the recruitment company gets it wrong, It can take a really long time to find the right person, and it can be really, really expensive mistakes to be making along the line. So the the biggest reason that we find that people come to us is because they've tried one of those 2 methods to fill this gap already. and they've failed in their attempts to do it themselves?

Stuart Webb [00:04:52]:

No. I know you're currently going through something a bit of a rebrand, so I'm sure I'm about to show your current current website down below where people can get more information about what resource worldwide do. But are there any tips that you can offer that that might help somebody who's currently in the process of trying to hire somebody with the right skills that you might give them to sort of really help them sort think through some of the issues they need to solve.

Sophie Dearden [00:05:17]:

Yeah. We are going through a big rebrand at the moment. So, hopefully, if you if you check this website out right now, not gonna be that relevant to what I'm talking about because that we've changed direction so much because of the demand for our service in the last 12 months. We've grown significantly. and we started the business working with solar printers and placing virtual assistants into solar panel businesses. And now we've really evolved and we're placing remote professionals into much bigger organizations. the the best tips that I can or the first tip can share is just to be really open minded about how you're hiring. So what we do is we hire remote professionals in four companies from the Philippines. so as long as the role can be done remotely, we can find someone with the skill set to do it. And the reason that we use the Philippines is because there's such huge supply of skill sets for the roles that we're looking to fill. And also it's a super cost effective option for clients because over in the Philippines cost of living significantly less than it is here in the UK. So the first thing I would say is if you've been trying to do the same thing and you've been trying to higher in either your local area and you're not getting the right applicants through or you're getting the right applicants through, but the amount there expecting to be paid is significantly more than your business can afford. There is another solution, and that's where we come in. Secondly, you can use the recruitment companies and they charge big upfront fees and they haven't necessarily delivered the best candidates. Again, that's something we hear a lot from our clients. Then again, the alternative method that we have, there are no upfront fees. and also if it's the wrong fit, we replace them for free for free. There's no kind of sliding scale on it. So be open minded to how you're recruiting Secondly, be really, really clear on what you're actually recruiting for. So have identify the skills that you need, but also identify the type person that you want to attract and what you can offer them. So very often in recruitment, people will just go, oh, I need this person to fill this gap. But actually, you've got to look, if you're trying to attract an a player into your business, what is it that you're gonna offer them? And I'm not talking about pay package and benefits. I'm talking about career progression opportunity. I'm talking about the culture of the company, the vision of the company. How can you help give them a sense of purpose? This is something that when we're recruiting for our clients, we talk about all the time because we wanna make sure when we present the opportunity to the candidates, we're a the very best quality and the very best talent that we can because we're providing them with a real career opportunity. Again, when you're looking to place someone into your business, whether a physical staff member, a remote staff member. If you can attract someone who's gonna be there long term, who's gonna grow into the role, who's gonna grow with the company, it's a much better situation to be in because like I keep saying, if you are recruiting someone, you have poor retention, it's very timely and it's very expensive. So just really thinking about that whole package that you can be offering when you're recruiting your team members. And involve, if you've got staff, involve all of your team or at least all of the department within this, really spend some time having a look at how your staff are spending their time. Because in our experience, if people are doing jobs that they're not either qualified to do or they don't really want to be doing, slightly their productivity is gonna drop. So an exercise that we often will get people to do is we will either get them if they're a solo owner or we'll get the the team that they're looking to fill the gap in to spend some time writing down all of the tasks that each one of them is doing. If they can spend, say, 3 to 5 days writing down all of the tasks that they're doing and then just eliminate first any task that they don't need to do, anything that's not helping reach the company goal or company vision. Sometimes it's tasks that they were doing 5 years ago that were relevant. They're not relevant now, but they're still doing them. So eliminate them first. Is there any tasks there that can be automated? So anything that AI can look after or anything technology. There's so many amazing programs, so many amazing ways to automate your business out. So is there any of those tasks that can be automated? And lastly, is there any of those tasks that can be outsourced in the way that we always make that last decision? or can be handed to someone else is we get people to highlight the things that only they can do and that only they want to do, and it's gonna give them energy and make them more productive again, a thing that we see in larger departments, and we see this as solopreneurs as well. If anyone listening is a solopreneur, you'll know what I'm talking about. I've been there myself, and you feel like you're head is in the weeds. And you're just there and the business is churning, but you're not really growing and the revenue is not really growing. It's probably because you're not doing revenue generating tasks because you haven't got enough time. That continues as the company grows in size. So anything that your team members are doing, that isn't revenue generating or isn't specialist to their skills, but they've just picked up along the way. Those are things that should start to get delegated to a never team member. And that's again, where remote professionals come in. They're very flexible. So it can be part time. It can be full time. it can work on your time zone or any time zone, essentially, So if there is that flexibility element of it, but it's definitely something that most companies haven't done for a long time is actually reviewed what tasks everyone is doing and how productive they're being in doing those tasks.

Stuart Webb [00:10:32]:

Do you know that I I did speak a lot of us lower language, you'll have to hear about automating and delegating those things because there's too many people spend too much of their time doing stuff that I either shouldn't do, or, you know, don't or cling on to something. I often say that too many business owners, even in very large businesses choose the path of least assistance because they're quite determined. Nobody else could do this as well as me. And in actual fact, many people can do it as well if not better than them, and they should be concentrating on, as you say, the revenue generation rather than admin or something else that they think is important, but in actual fact, it's just not really what that a business needs them to be focused on. And there must be something, a book, of course, some some some moan in your life that sort of brought you to the realization that you could help businesses like this. Is is there anything you could point us to that would would help us to understand?

Sophie Dearden [00:11:24]:

Well, for me, I'll give you my kind of short inversion of my longer story. but I went to university in England. So I moved to New Zealand when I was sixteen for 4 years and did ski instructing and had lots of fun. My parents wanted me to go to university. I said I'll go to university, but I want to do a course that I want to do. And that was art. And I did get a 1st class in an art specializing in painting in the renaissance period. but it's not really a career. I mean, I could have had a career as an artist, but opted looked at the financial possibility of success there and opted not to. so I finished my degree and I was kind of left wondering what I was supposed to do with my time. And I set up a gym anyone that's ever worked in the gym bit of personal training space or know that you work insanely hard for very little money. It's moved now. Online coaching, you can make a lot of money in that space, but online coaching wasn't a thing 15, 16 years ago when when I had my gym. so 6 months in, the gym went bump and I was kind of a graduate and in, I think, I was about £31,000 worth of debt from the gym. So I started to work in sales and very quickly, found that I had a real natural ability and ended up setting up my own sales company. So In my twenties, I spent 8 years working 80 to a 120 hours a week, skiing is my favorite thing to do. I didn't go skiing for that 8 years. I made money. I made good money. I had a great lifestyle. Lots of nice handbags, nice fancy cars. lots of VIP parties, but I've lost relationships with friends and family. I missed my parents' 25th wedding anniversary, for example, And my belief at the time was if I work really, really hard now, you know, work hard for 10 years and then the rest of your life, your have all these things that no one else is ever gonna have because they didn't work as hard as you worked. And it's a very old fashioned. It still gets thrown around a lot on social media. you notice the whole, like, you the harder you work, the more that you get, but actually the harder I work, the the more that I seem to lose. And meeting my husband through that company, made me realize. So a year after I met my husband, I actually shut that company down. And that whole experience made me commit that when I set up another company, and it took me a few years before I set up another company, but it made me commit to doing it in a way that, yes, there was going to be great financial a reward, but would never sacrifice my time again. So I had that mentality in place when I set up my next company. And that's what got me looking at working with virtual assistants very early on. I just had a newborn baby. I'd set up a new commerce company, on my maternity leave. and that pattern started to play out again, you know, I put the baby to bed and I'd be working till 1 o'clock in the morning and my husband would get back from his job and I'd say, Hey, I need you to help me pack these orders up. So the pattern was coming back and I thought, I'm I'm gonna learn from my previous company. I'm not gonna do that. So that's why I started working with commercial assistance very quickly outsource and make sure I was using my energy and my time only in the tasks that could generate the revenue. So It was that experience was really, really key. And then secondly, the book that I read around the time that I'd started to think about winding that company down, was Tim Ferris's 4 hour work week. I couldn't imagine it to be true. there's lots of bits in it, which I think are slightly outdated and slightly exaggerated now anyway. But just the concept that you could build company and still have that freedom and flexibility to spend your time traveling having experiences now for me with my family and my children, I thought, well, if if they can, if he can do it, then surely I can do it as well. So I did in my own business, and it was so impactful and so powerful. I got really passionate helping other business owners do the same thing, and that's when resource worldwide was born.

Stuart Webb [00:15:24]:

Brilliant story. I love it. I love it. I love the book. so if there is a question that I'm sure you are currently thinking he still hasn't asked me about. And so, therefore, I'm not gonna give you the opportunity to ask the question that I should have asked. And of course, once you've asked that question, you really do need to answer it for us. So what's the question I should have asked you, which I haven't yet?

Sophie Dearden [00:15:45]:

I think it's more a question, that people would think about themselves before deciding to hire remote professional from outside of the UK. and the question would be, well, why would I hire someone from outside of the UK? when there's, you know, lots of people in the UK that I could hire instead. and again, I'm not necessarily speaking to the solar printer here who's looking to make their 1st hire. I think most entrepreneurs looking to make that 1st hire, it makes sense on every single level to probably invest in a remote professional as opposed to hiring someone because it gives you the flexibility. It's so much more cost effective, all of the things that we talked about. But in answer to that question, we don't believe that you should hire a remote professional over someone in your home country. work a lot. We actually have probably about 70% of our clients in the States. We are just starting to develop our UK market further, at home territory, but just because we've built everything from word-of-mouth, to now, hence, why the marketing piece is coming into play. Most of our clients ended up being from the States. and it's the same it's the same there. It's not that we don't think you should hire in the UK or higher mistakes. And there's massive, massive value in hiring locally. But with the changing landscape, of recruitment and the way people work, there's a huge opportunity to tap into this massive network of talent and skill. that's just a bit further afield, literally, you know, the click of a button, the the cert, the the push of an email. And that's working with remote professionals. And where I really see this and how I see and I'm actually on a podcast next next week, which is where we're talking about the changing landscape of recruitment and retention. in the States, specifically in the construction and real estate industry. the way that I see this and we've seen, we've been running for 3 years, right, and the way that we're seeing this space change and develop sped up because of COVID, of course, everyone's understanding of how accessible actually it is to work remotely, is that if you balance having in house team members who also can work hybrid days or or local team members, but you also have remote professionals. you can build a much stronger company, and you can have a little edge on your competition. So let's say again, back to the skills, let's say that you are a digital marketing agency and we just did a place traditionalizing agency who specifically wanted an expert in Shopify Plus And WordPress. They're based down in Surrey. They've been trying to hire for this role themselves for the last 8 months. locally through recruitment agencies, and they just haven't been able to fill it because of, like I mentioned, the demands of the costs, Sorry, demands of the salaries. the candidates were being offered a position with them and then being coached by another company afterwards because it was so competitive. and then the candidates, 2 of candidates they did start just weren't actually up to scratch at all. So they came to us. We placed a team member in with them 3 months ago. It's they've took him from part time to full time within a month. So it's gone really, really well, but they also have all of their in house team So they've used him to fill a skills gap. They now come to us to fill another skills gap. But what it means is it means there's going to be more money in the company because it is more cost perspective to hire from the Philippines. So that's gonna go towards team bonuses. It's gonna go towards team days. It's gonna go towards more, marketing so that they can expand clients. The services that our guys are able to give them means they're able to expand their services. So again, they're able to build the business out. So it's more looking at how can I use this form of recruitment as a way to deliver better service to my clients, how can I use this form of recruitment as a way to enable the staff currently work with me to have a better experience of working with me, and how can I use this this remote recruitment to actually build my business and achieve my business goals in a more efficient way than I've been doing. So I think the 2 should work together, and we do the same thing. We've got CMO here in K. We're about to hire, operations manager again here in the UK. And by the end of next year, we'll have 4 or 5 key senior team members in the UK. but we also have a team of 12 out in the Philippines. So I think that working together is what's gonna give you the edge. as opposed to it's one or the other.

Stuart Webb [00:20:11]:

Brilliant. Brilliant. So if you thank you so much for bringing that to our attention, I really hope that we get see a lot more of what you're doing and really changing the way in which we're operating as teams. I think it's great. just very quickly before we end. if you would like to get notification of when we do these, chats and if you want to get on the mailing list and you get a copy of this when it comes out or local and Apple Podcasts and places like that. You can go to httpscolonforward/voltash link dot the complete approach. dotco.ukforward/newsletter. That is httpscolonforward/forward/ link dot the complete approach dotco.ukforward/ newsletter. Get on there, let me know about you would like some, some notification and I will send you the email and I'll send you notification of when we do these calls with really interesting people like Sophie, and you can get notification when it comes out on our podcast So if you thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us, I really appreciate you taking us through all of that. I hope when we get to see the website, it will be really spot on, and sort of speak to what you're trying to do, but we'll come back and we'll check-in with you later.

Sophie Dearden [00:21:21]:

Amazing. Thanks so much for having me to do it. Really enjoyed it.

Stuart Webb [00:21:24]:

Really appreciate it. Thank you, Sophie.

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Who is Jo?

Jo Cowper is a business strategist who specializes in helping entrepreneurs and business owners achieve their goals. With a focus on those who have big ideas and dreams but feel stuck in their current situation, Jo provides structured guidance and a proven system to help them overcome obstacles and make significant progress. By helping her clients navigate the challenging journey from where they are to where they want to be, Jo empowers them to take the next steps and reach their true potential. With Jo's expertise, business owners no longer have to dwell on "if only" and can instead turn their aspirations into reality.

Key Takeaways

[00:02:39] Two common challenges when pursuing ideas.

[00:05:01] "Workbook for success: find encouragement and clarity."

[00:09:10] Three steps to turn big vision into reality: clarity, mindset, community support.

[00:13:09] Sign up for the email newsletter at thecompleteapproach.co.uk

[00:14:20] Joe discusses clarity and show link. Good luck!

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

big vision, turning vision into reality, clarity, writing it down, mindset, conviction, goals, trusted individuals, encouragement, support, supportive community, significant difference, big vision workbook, exercises, finding energy, messages, encouragement, clarity, printing out workbook, generating ideas, free workbook, own pace, backward planning, end goal, necessary steps, series of questions, smaller goals, creating a clear path, strategy, accountability

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Jo Cowper

Stuart Webb [00:00:24]:

Hello again, and welcome to It's Not Rocket Science five Questions Over Coffee. I'm delighted to be here with both my coffee, which I probably should be stopping drinking.

This is about the 6th one so far today. Joe, I believe you've got something more like tea in front of you, by the looks of things, which is excellent news. So welcome to the podcast, Joe. Joe is a vision coach. She helps people to take the business they have and transform it to the business they really wanted to have, which I think is a wonderful subject for discussion. Joe, I'm really looking forward to this conversation. Welcome to the podcast. I hope you're going to enjoy it and please tell us what it is you do. Let's start with my first question. Who do you help and and how do you help them?

Jo Cowper [00:01:12]:

Thanks, Stuart. Well, thank you very much for having me. It's great to be here today. I help business owners, founders, people who have got small businesses and big ideas, people who have really got a big picture of what they'd like to achieve in their business. But perhaps they've had this vision for years, perhaps for a long time, they've been thinking, I could do more than I'm doing right now. I wish I could just take this next step, I wish I could be just serving these slightly different customers. I wish I could be doing these slightly different things. But these ideas haven't yet come to anything because it's hard. There's a long way to go from where they are to where they want to be. There are lots of what, unforeseen stumbling blocks along the way. There's lots of distraction. You're running a business, you're already working flat out and somehow this stuff never comes to fruition. And I help people make that jump in a way that is structured and to follow a system that means that you can actually get where you want to be from where you are to where you want to be, rather than staying stuck where you were in the first place for an endless amount of time thinking, if only. I wish.

Stuart Webb [00:02:16]:

I love it. I love it. Tell me, you often must come across people that have been trying to do this for years. You said that people are stuck because they can't quite make the lead. You've come across those people that are somehow not quite getting there. What is it that you find that they've done that tries to get them out of that position and move forward, which you can help them to overcome?

Jo Cowper [00:02:39]:

Sure. There are two things that can really often happen when you try and do this yourself. And I know I've experienced these two things myself. It's totally normal. One of them is that you just keep on having ideas after ideas after ideas, but you don't actually make the time and space that it's going to take to transform those ideas into anything more solid than that. And so you have all of the excitement. You've got all the vision, you've got this really clear sense, I could definitely do this. But you don't actually ever take that step. Or you start trying to take some step, but then real life comes in, work takes over, you don't get there. And then a couple of years down the line, nothing has happened. That's the first common thing that can happen. And then the second common thing that can happen is you think, yes, I've got this brilliant, great idea, I'm going to do it straight away. And you set off. But you haven't actually done the thinking that needs to be done along the way and so you're throwing yourself a million miles now into this thing and for whatever reason, perhaps you haven't thought it all through fully. Perhaps it doesn't really quite stack up. Perhaps once you get it out of your head and put it into reality it doesn't quite make sense. I mean, I think there's something that you'll find. One thing that I'll do with my clients all the time is get them to really write down stuff about their vision, about their customers, about where they are now, ask them to really tough questions and these are often things that you think you already knew. It's easy to tell yourself when you're doing all in the privacy of your own head, I know this, this is easy, I can answer this question. When you come to actually try to make sense of it, you say there's a gaps in here. Actually it doesn't make quite as much sense as I thought it did. And so what I'll do is pose these questions in the right order and insist on filling the gaps so that instead of wasting off 1000 miles an hour, you can actually tackle it in a way that's systematic and that you can see is turning your big vision into a real reality.

Stuart Webb [00:04:26]:

I love it. I absolutely love it. Joe, I hope I've got this right. You've got some great ideas, I think, on your website that can help people with this sort of visioning. What can you tell us about how you can help them? And I'm going to put up the link that you showed us or you told me about before we started. So I hope that I've got the right link and you're about to tell us about what you can get from your website which can help people with this first steppers as they start this journey.

Jo Cowper [00:04:55]:

Good, I hope it's the right link too.

Stuart Webb [00:04:56]:

I believe it is technology, Joe. We'll get there, we'll get there.

Jo Cowper [00:05:01]:

Well look, there's something there, right there. There's an incentive. Go there and see what you find. Now what I've created actually is what I've called a big vision workbook and this is about giving yourself a support kit for success because having the big idea isn't hard. Anybody can have a big idea, right? We've all had dozens of big ideas, I'm sure. But the tricky bit is going through the tough moments that come between having the great idea and feeling totally discouraged after guardian know, this is too hard, I can't do this. I don't know why do they ever think I could in the first place? I feel so alone, all of this stuff. So I've created this workbook so that you can, from where you are right now, prepare your own toolkit for success, the stuff that's going to support you when it gets hard. And so in this workbook, you're going to work through seven different exercises, all about finding the energy, the messages, the encouragement and clarity that's going to keep you going all the way towards that vision and starting to put in place an action plan that will help you to get from where you are to where you want to be. It's totally free. It's something you can do in your own time. Totally recommend that you print it out because that goes back to what I was speaking about before. That when you actually put pen to paper and you write stuff down. I'm looking around myself with all the paper where I've written stuff down, the ideas will flow more freely.

Stuart Webb [00:06:18]:

I tell you the other point about what you've just said about writing it down, and that is when you've got those ideas, I find it really helpful to stick them on the walls around me because they're very visual reminders. You cannot have things just put away in a drawer. They have to be out around you so that you can see it. So having something written down so that once you've written it, you sort of put it on a wall or put it on your desk or whatever, it's so much more useful to you than just leaving it in a drawer and going, well, that's great, I've done all that. I can get back on with the day job now. You've got to have these things in front of you, haven't you Joe?

Jo Cowper [00:06:51]:

I couldn't agree more. Yeah, I really couldn't agree more. And that's actually in my full program. That the paid for program as opposed to the freebie. That's one of the important things that you get to at the end. That you'll literally have a one pager of all the stuff that you know that you need to commit to and do. So that whenever the next opportunity, the next distraction comes along, you've got this one pager which printed out, you stick it on your wall. No, that's where I'm going. Okay, that's why I'm going there. So important.

Stuart Webb [00:07:18]:

I love it. Was there a particular book or course or time in your life which helped you to sort of make the realization that you have to have these visions and you have to sort of move towards these things on the journey that you've just spoken about?

Jo Cowper [00:07:36]:

Well, the system that for me has been transformational in this is a system called backward planning and I learned about this on Gosh, I think on a border way day several jobs ago and it really stuck with me. And it's this idea that you start with the end in sight. You don't start by thinking, right, kind of going roughly over there what should we do now? Now you get really clear on the destination and then you work back. I can't get another image sorted out to get my hand in the screen but you work back and so you ask yourself a series of questions to always frame this. In order to do this I will need first to have achieved blah. In order to achieve that I will need first to have achieved blah. And what you do that is you reliably come back to an action that you can take, you follow it down to its conclusion, you'll come to an action that you can take right now or a goal that's small enough for you to work towards today. Today like now. Now that you know is leading you all the way to where you want to go and then you just keep on following that. You've retrofitted your path and you follow it brilliant.

Stuart Webb [00:08:37]:

Love it. Love it. Joe, I've spent the last ten minutes sort of asking you a bunch of questions and there must be one, I suspect that you're thinking when's he ever going to get to the really important question? So here is my opening to you. There must be a question I haven't asked. There must be a way that you are wanting to express something but I haven't yet asked it. Please tell me what is the question that I should have asked you by now? And obviously once you've told me the question you have to answer it because I don't know the answer. What is the question I should have asked you? What is the answer to that question?

Jo Cowper [00:09:10]:

Okay, so I think that the kind of burning question is what does it take to go from being somebody who's got a big vision? We've all got a big vision. What do I have to do? What can I do right now? If I really want to turn that into something real and I want to do it this year. I want not to be sitting here in twelve months time still thinking I've got all these great ideas, I've got these great ideas. What can I do straight away without having to pay anything to anybody, without having to buy any service, without having to take a massive leap and change my website, change my direction? What can I do easily now? What could anybody do? And the answer to that yes. Well, there are three things that anybody, anybody could do right now. First one is get really clear on that vision. So write it down and the work I've spoken to about will help with that. The second thing is your mindset. It's also well, jumping into this is what I'll have to do, this is the strategy I'll have to enact and I have to say for years in my career and in my business, I honestly fell into this trap of thinking, strategy is enough, I know what to do, I'm going to do it. It's not without that mindset, things will get hard. You really need to work on this conviction. What's going to keep you going? What do you really believe in? What is it to you? So mindset. The third thing that you can put in place for yourself right now, that will be a game changer, is tell people who you trust, people who will encourage you about what you're trying to do, because they will encourage you. They will get your back. They will give you a kick when you need it and say, look, hey, didn't you say that you were going to do this thing? Didn't you convince me of that last week when didn't believe you? Didn't you just tell me it was going to be great? So come on. And so having the clarity, the mindset and the people, the community around you is what will make the difference between you still sitting in the same place in a year's time thinking, wouldn't it be great, wouldn't it be great if I was working differently, living differently, helping different people make it happen?

Stuart Webb [00:11:10]:

Brilliant. I do absolutely buy in. And you're absolutely right, strategy is great, but implementation is better and accountability is the key to making those things happen. Because if you keep it in your head, once again we go back to the sort of it's in your head, nobody is going to turn around and go, whatever happened. And then you feel that, oh yeah, I should go on with it, shouldn't I? Having somebody who's just going to hold you to account is so valuable. It doesn't need to be anything more than just a two minute sort of reminder that that's where you were supposed to be going to kick you back into action. It's the most valuable thing in the world, isn't it? Everybody needs to have some form of accountability to make sure that they're delivering on the promise that they set themselves.

Jo Cowper [00:11:56]:

I think so. And having people who get it, they understand that you want to do this crazy thing, so why don't you just go and get yourself a job like everybody else? They understand that you've got a drive, you've got a vision, you really want to make a difference, get people around you like that and you'll support each other. It doesn't have to be a lonely business.

Stuart Webb [00:12:17]:

Love it. Love it. Joe, it's been an absolute delight having you here listening to this because I think what you're talking about is the thing that just about every business owner needs to have in their life. They need that vision. They need the transformation from where they are into what they really actually set out and wanted. So thank you for coming on and describing it. Thank you for giving us this free tip and for telling us about how you can help them get there.

Jo Cowper [00:12:46]:

Thank you, Stuart, for having me. It's been an absolute pleasure. It's my first ever LinkedIn life experience as well, so I'm excited to go back and see what I've done to my LinkedIn feast.

Stuart Webb [00:12:56]:

And you got through without actually sort of collapsing and the whole world ending as you expected, didn't it?

Jo Cowper [00:13:03]:

Yeah, and I didn't even touch my tea, so I feel should have made a coffee, shouldn't I?

Stuart Webb [00:13:09]:

So, listen, everybody, thank you so much. If you would like to get onto our email list so that you receive an email pretty much every week which says who's going to be on the podcast. Sort of interesting people that are going to be coming on so that you too can get brilliant advice like Joe has been giving us today, go to this link, which is link thecompleetproach Co UK. That's link thecompleetproach Co UK newsletter. That's link the completeaproach Co UK newsletter. That will take you to the newsletter sign up page. You just get a simple email from me, basically saying who's on what they're going to be talking about. Please come and ask whatever questions you want. Joe, thank you so much for coming on and allowing us to listen to your wonderful vision stuff. I do encourage people to go back to Joe's website, six Degrees East Co UK home hashtag vision. That's home hashtag vision. That's where you'll find that free booklet, seven Steps, seven pages, something like that.

Jo Cowper [00:14:16]:

Joe seven Steps.

Stuart Webb [00:14:20]:

Getting your clarity. That link will be in the show notes as well. So thank you, Joe, so much for coming along and talking to us, really appreciate it and good luck with the rest of the afternoon.

Jo Cowper [00:14:32]:

Thank you, Stuart. Been a real pleasure. Thank you much for having me. Have a great afternoon. Please.

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Who is Emma?

Emma Westley is a marketing expert who understands the challenges that startups face, especially during uncertain economic times. With her expertise, she helps companies do more with less by coming up with creative solutions that allow them to market their products efficiently within limited budgets. Emma firmly believes in the importance of providing value to customers and helps businesses develop marketing strategies that resonate with their target market, ultimately adding value to the company and its customers.

Key Takeaways

[00:03:01] Reducing budgets and unrealistic expectations thwart success.

[00:05:11] Part-time senior freelance work gaining traction.

[00:07:59] Flexible work schedule for multiple companies.

[00:14:50] Fractional work attracts people with many interests.

[00:17:12] Emma discusses fractional senior management, subscribe.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

www.missing-piece.uk

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Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

fractional work, self-development, time management, flexibility, leadership, teamwork, communication, urgent matters, problem-solving, Talk Like Ted, marketing, startups, "rule of three", Apple, internal presentations, It's Not Rocket Science Five Questions over Coffee, technical difficulties, Emma Wesley, Emerge IO, chief marketing officer, part-time work, job market, budget constraints, productization, positioning, marketing unicorns, senior management, podcast, newsletter subscription, growing businesses.

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Emma Westley

Speaker A [00:00:21]:

Hello and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science five Questions over coffee in front of me. I have a good strong cup of coffee because I need it right at the moment because there was a slight technical failure before this started which I had to fix. Always love it when a plan comes together. But I'm here today with Emma, emma Wesley, who runs Emerge, Emerge IO, a small business marketing company. She is a fractional chief marketing officer. She works for small businesses as their marketing officer and I hope we can have a really great session talking about that today. Emma, welcome to the podcast.

Speaker B [00:00:58]:

Thank you Stuart, nice to be on. And I unfortunately don't have coffee because I don't drink coffee, but I have tea. So I hope that's acceptable tea is.

Speaker A [00:01:06]:

Tea is as acceptable as anything else is. I would suggest that glasses of wine whilst you're doing this are probably a bit one stage too far, but that's how you so Emma, tell us about the sort of people you help with their business growth.

Speaker B [00:01:24]:

Sure. So I predominantly focus on b to B companies. I've done a 20 plus year stint working with B to B companies. So that is my lane, I will stick in it. But I mainly help startups, tech startups and early stage AI startups for example. And then additionally service based companies, professional services or other service based businesses, small businesses and maybe creeping up into the medium sized as well.

Speaker A [00:01:58]:

What's the problem they've got that you help them to solve?

Speaker B [00:02:03]:

So I think at the moment especially the biggest problem is doing more with less. That's something that probably a lot of startups will know anyway for years. But especially at the moment, with continued uncertain economic times, limited budgets, maybe not getting the funding that they need. All of those factors are sort of coming together at the moment. And what quite often happens in these sorts of situations is marketing is hit with budget cuts. And it is this whole, like, doing more with less money, less resource. But those companies still knowing that they've got a viable, a good solution with platform or a service that they know will add value to the customers that they're trying to sell into.

Speaker A [00:02:54]:

And what have they done to try and overcome those problems that you help them to sort of fix with your services?

Speaker B [00:03:01]:

So very often when I get into a company start working with them, what I see is they've tried sort of doing everything but just scaling budgets back. So if for example, they're doing paid, some sort of paid marketing, all they've done is just reduce the budget on that marketing and hope for the same results. Or the other big danger is on the resource side and this has been going on for years, but it's happening more and more at the moment is companies trying to find these marketing unicorns so they'll think, okay, we need someone in to help and what does that person look like. And so they start listing out all the sorts of responsibilities that that person will have. And when it comes to marketing, it'll be SEO, content marketing, paid marketing, lead gen, demand gen, and the list goes on. And what they end up getting is maybe a candidate. Although a lot of them struggle trying to find the right people. But they'll get someone in who's who's not right for the business and has not got the right skill set and they're just expecting too much of this. Person because one person can't always cover all of those different areas and yeah, they just end up either handholding them or not achieving the goals and especially the, the business goals, because with that process, they'll often find that their marketing stuff is not aligned with their business goals as well.

Speaker A [00:04:39]:

And that's where you come in with your service and what you do to help.

Speaker B [00:04:46]:

So mainly in terms of the amount of time I spend as a company, so I'm fractional, and this term fractional is gaining a lot of grind at the moment.

Speaker A [00:05:00]:

And I just wanted to make sure everybody understands fractional, because that is a bit of a new term. So I think we need to define it, tell us what fractional means. And it doesn't mean that you're only half a person, I presume, or maybe.

Speaker B [00:05:11]:

Even a quarter, I don't know, maybe soon, maybe that'll be part of the AI cloning revolution, will be cutting myself in half or something. So there's a few different definitions at the moment because it's such a new term and I think companies and people like myself are sort of trying to work out what that term actually means. I've been doing it for about five years now, and it certainly wasn't called fractional a couple of years ago. So it is sort of a term that people are getting used to, but essentially it's being part time at a company, usually at a more senior level. So at a leadership level, or at least director level, but not being a part time employee, so you're still a freelance resource, so the company isn't having to pay benefits or overhead associated with even a part time employee. So you're still a freelance, self employed or whatever. And yes, you're working on a part time basis, but at a more senior level. And what I find with the companies that I've worked with is I'm definitely embedded in those companies. I feel like I'm a part of the team. When I work for a company, I'm really focused on it. I'm committed to their goals. I wear the T shirts, as would often be described, but maybe that afternoon I'm doing the same thing for another company. Or on a Tuesday I do it for one company, on a Thursday I do it for another. Something like that. So it's a difficult concept to get your head around and it certainly only works for certain types of companies, very often remote companies that are used to asynchronous working, that sort of thing. And certainly something that's gaining traction at the moment, partly because of the market, the way the job market is changing currently as well.

Speaker A [00:07:24]:

This is a balancing app for you. You know that you have to switch mindsets, you have to switch focus and you're as present and you are as involved in company A as you are in company B and you don't allow any distractions from one. But how does the business owner manage their involvement with you? Because on a Wednesday a need might crop up and you're not technically working for them on a Wednesday. So how do they manage that aspect of their lives?

Speaker B [00:07:59]:

So I find the best way is actually being more flexible for companies. So rather than doing it on set days, I work set days for set companies is just saying you've got X amount of time or X amount of my sort of resource. But I will be flexible with that throughout the week. So I will still commit to going to their meetings on their schedules. If they've got specific leadership meetings or team meetings that need to happen, I will attend those. And it does take a little bit of as a fractional, it takes a little bit of juggling, a lot of sort of different calendars and different ways of working for different companies. But once you get used to it and you find the right balance for yourself as well, then it works. And from a company perspective, they can just call on me if they need support, if it's urgent or whatever, and as long as I can do something relatively soon, then that's fine. So just as a quick example, regardless of how many sort of companies I'm working for at any one time, I will have all of their email clients open at the same time. So if something urgent pops up, I can jump on it or I can assess it, at least I can look at it and go, okay, that doesn't need to be fixed immediately. And then obviously communication is key. So if somebody does try and get in touch with me, what I can do is at least ping them and say give me five minutes and I'll call you. Or at least that sort of regular communication so that people know where I am and if I am or I'm not available. And then finally I think there are for companies as well, it helps them focus, so it helps them sort of understand actually is that important, is it urgent? A bit like going back to the whole urgent priority matrix. It makes them think a little bit more about actually is it important, does it really need to be fixed at the moment or can it wait? And very often what happens is in that waiting, the issue is fixed or a solution will come up. Jumping on things straight away is not always the best approach.

Speaker A [00:10:30]:

I know that you've got a valuable free offer for people, and this is a sort of 30 minutes session free with you in order to sort of get people clear on some of the things they want to sort of sort out in their business. So do you want to tell us about the 30 minutes session?

Speaker B [00:10:50]:

Yeah, so I've called it a pick your brain session, which a lot of people will obviously recognize and sure, lots of other people get asked about, you know, can I pick your brain? And it's a 30 minutes session either for companies that want to explore what fractional is, you know, is it right for them, would it work for them, especially if it's in the marketing area? Maybe it's for startups that are feeling a bit constrained, a bit pinched at the moment with budgets and thinking, I know I need to do that, but I don't have enough money for it. So what are the other options resource wise that I can pull in or I can leverage? And then on the flip side, I also do these sessions for other fractionals. So people looking to get into fractional work, maybe if they've just been made redundant or they're thinking about actually a slightly different way of working, I can sort of share some of the things that I did certainly did wrong along the fractional journey. Any other sort of tips and advice for how to get started and things like productizing services or packages, positioning, all that sort of stuff.

Speaker A [00:12:08]:

Brilliant. So there must have been some book or course which started your journey into sort of learning this. So what was the spark? What was the thing which started you in this journey towards both marketing and fractional? Marketing Officer.

Speaker B [00:12:26]:

I don't think there was any one book that sort of got me into fractional, but there is one book that I always come back to in terms of how I work and how I do my marketing, especially with startups. And it's a book called Talk Like Ted by Carmine Gallio. It'll seem completely random, but basically this guy, Carmen Gallio, he's been through lots and lots of Ted talks and he's analyzed which are the good ones, which get engagement, how do people pitch their talks. It's fascinating insights into the world of Ted, I suppose, as well. But the thing that I really grasped onto and love is he talks about this rid of three and how the brain is primed to think in threes. There's some sort of mathematical side to it in terms of pattern recognition, but also it's a good number for people to grasp as it's not too few, but not too many, basically. And so I just use it for everything. When I'm actually doing my marketing work, positioning statements or trying to come up with marketing plans, I use the rill of three. If I'm doing my own sort of thinking through concepts, I always try and sort of bucket into three concepts. I think in the book he also mentions that it's something that Apple use quite a lot and especially their leadership follow this rule, especially when they're doing sort of internal presentations. And it's so simple, but it really works. It's brilliant. It's really good for remembering things as well.

Speaker A [00:14:21]:

Yeah, it is a good concept. Emma, we've been chatting for a little while and there must be a question that's burning in your head that I haven't yet asked you. So rather than me sort of trying to guess what that is, I'm just going to ask you to tell us what the question is you would like us to have discussed, and then obviously you've then got the job of answering it as well. So I haven't got any work to do in the next few minutes. So over to you. What is the question I should have asked and then would you please answer it?

Speaker B [00:14:50]:

Yeah. So going back to the whole fractional thing, I think one of the interesting questions at the moment is why so many people are attracted to fractional as a way of work. And I've been having quite a lot of conversations recently with people either getting into fractional for getting started or have been doing it maybe a few years or a longer time. And I think I'm coming up with this sort of common personality thread of people who are drawn to fractional are people who like to juggle many balls, but it's not that they want to go part time or they want to sort of necessarily reduce the amount that they're working. It's that they just want to do work differently. And they want to also have time for self development, learning, being able to just having that head space to go right. I saw this tool the other day that someone recommended. I'm going to go and actually dig into it and learn a little bit about it. And ironically, that sort of self development actually then helps the clients that fractionals are working on because you're getting it for free as a company because you're not having to pay for that development time. But I see that as a really common thread with people like myself, that I just want a little bit of space for myself, but I'm not going to go off and just go to the pub or something in that time. I'm actually going to do something that's useful for the clients and for the business.

Speaker A [00:16:32]:

They get a lot of value from that.

Speaker B [00:16:34]:

Yes, definitely. Without realizing.

Speaker A [00:16:39]:

And I guess they got access to a fairly senior, well experienced person for a fraction of the price they pay because otherwise they can only afford 20% of the budget for a senior person, they'd end up with a very junior person. And so they're getting a huge amount of experience for a lot less capital outlet.

Speaker B [00:17:00]:

Yes, definitely. That's the first and foremost thing of fractional, is getting that senior experience, but at a fraction of the cost. Yeah, absolutely brilliant.

Speaker A [00:17:12]:

Emma, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us and opening our eyes to the new world of this fractional senior manager. I'm just going to invite people, if you would like, to get onto our newsletter list so that you get to hear about what we're doing and who's going to be coming up in the next week or so, please go to the link on the screen. At the moment, it is https link thecompletroach co uknewsletter that is link. Thecompletroach Co UK newsletter. Join the newsletter. You'll get an email about once a week which just sort of explains who's coming up, what they've got to talk about and how you can get more detail about who they are. And obviously, at some stage you'll also hear about when this gets released, not only live like it is now, but when it comes out on the podcast. And I would really ask you, please subscribe to the podcast and tell all your friends about it because that helps us to get even better guests. More information out to you about how you can grow your business. Emma, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Really appreciate you spending the time and I hope that the fractional work continues to go well.

Speaker B [00:18:27]:

Yes, fingers crossed. I think it's definitely a gaining movement, so hopefully more companies will pick up on it. And thank you, Stuart, for having me on.

Speaker A [00:18:37]:

No problem at all. Thank you very much.

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View Details

Who is Sean?

Sean Courtney is a creative problem solver who believes in bespoke solutions for individuals and businesses. As a dyslexic, Sean struggled with call center scripts and created a guided call guide that helped him flow through calls smoothly. This innovation helped him pass his audits and grow his potential in the business, leading to many promotions. Sean's focus is on creating bespoke solutions to help unlock the superpowers within the neurodiverse community.

Key Takeaways

[00:02:34] Improved call guide reduces anxiety, improves performance.

[00:05:50] Diversity advocates, unmasked, ADHD book, Dyslexia fonts.

[00:09:32] Simple and cost-effective solutions for inclusivity.

[00:11:26] Subscribe to our newsletter and podcast.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

www.missing-piece.uk

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

https://youtube.com/live/qfYZRdZxgVU?feature=share

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Inclusion, diversity, neurodiverse employees, keynote speeches, team leaders, social anxiety, structured environment, call centers, newsletter, podcast, Sean, positive feedback, bespoke solutions, dyslexia, call guide, superpowers, self-esteem, outside the box, cost-effective solutions, simple solutions, coaching course, productivity, longevity, missing peace, coffee, inclusivity, diversity within websites, fonts, colors, tools, empowering, unlocking potential.

SPEAKERS

Sean Courtney, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:22]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science. My questions over coffee. I have my coffee muki in front of me which has got coffee in it. I need that coffee mind at the moment. And I'm here with Sean Courtney. Sean is neurodiverse. He is really trying to help drive the inclusivity and options for people who have got diversity. Sean, I'm really grateful to have you on the podcast. I love the fact that you're empowering diversity and unlocking potential. So welcome to it's not rocket science. Five questions over coffee.

Sean Courtney [00:00:56]:

Amazing. Thank you very much for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.

Stuart Webb [00:00:59]:

Brilliant stuff. Look, sure. Talk to us a little bit about how you do help those customers of yours and unlock that wonderful potential.

Sean Courtney [00:01:09]:

Yeah, perfectly. So, I mean, the first thing I started to realize is that one size doesn't fit all. So what I do is I create bespoke creative solutions for the individual or within a team based solution if it is working within a business. One of the things I've created was known as a guided call guide. The Dyslexic myself, I struggled when I was working in call centers to follow the standard script that they give you. So I created a guided call guide which allowed me to understand when I needed to pause, when I needed to allow the customer to speak. And after a while, that call guide allowed me to flow through the call really well and signed. But I start to pass my audits, which made my potential within the business grow, making it more possible for me to be promoted within the business. So, yeah, just bespoke solutions that really like to release the superpowers, I call it, within the neurodiverse community.

Stuart Webb [00:02:12]:

I absolutely love that. I love the fact that you were able to do that and I know there must be a bunch of people who struggle with that. So do you find you now find yourself in situations where you are able to get in front of those sort of customers and help them to do exactly that? What things have they done that you're able to sort of spot and help them with?

Sean Courtney [00:02:34]:

Yeah. So there's a couple of examples there. So one of the things that I've done is I've worked with a young lad that's working in the call center at the moment, struggling to sort of pass his audits. They got to go through the same sort of disciplinary action as anybody else would need to. Reached out, had a look at his call guide, and by making the call guide more of a structure, so it's a more of a flow guide, if you will, in order to follow it made it easier for him to understand what he was doing. There was a section that is just literally introduction and it takes all the way through to the end of the call in the sense of the call guide itself. It's also color coded. So rather than having to remember where he is in the particular call guide, if somebody was to say, I'm sorry, what was that? He said, you only have to remember the color, which makes it easier for him to pick up where they left off and it doesn't send them into sort of a panic situation and start to cause things like telephone anxiety and kicking off anxiety. That makes it very difficult for them to continue the call, so it makes it more controlled and puts the power back in their hands in order to be able to do their job more effectively.

Stuart Webb [00:03:46]:

Sean, I absolutely love that. I think that's brilliant. And if we can't find more call centers out there that needs advice from people like you, I don't know what we're all doing wrong. Sean, listen, tell me you've got a great website. What advice do you put on your website? And I'm going to put the website now for people to have a look, which is missingpeace. UK, what sort of advice do you have on that website which you think would be valuable for the audience to know about?

Sean Courtney [00:04:18]:

I think the thing to take from the website is the website is a bit of more of a journey, so it introduces what it is that I do, and the idea is to increase self esteem. The idea is to take that self doubt and stick it in a box and put it away. As a neurodiverse person myself, I'm literally sort of wired to think outside the box and that is exactly what my website is promoting. I've been in many corporate meetings with many managers who said, look, we need some solutions and we need you to think outside the box. The neurodiverse community do that without even thinking. That is exactly what they're wired to do. So some of the creative solutions that I come up with are based on the fact that I am neurodiverse and I think that's what my website promotes. There's some great information on how to get in contact with me so we can have a chat. And I think it's a nice, simple, to the point, straightforward, structured website for you to have a look at and see what it is that I do, how I promote my business and what is on offer should you need my help.

Stuart Webb [00:05:21]:

Brilliant stuff. Brilliant. Sean, you've given us a short history there of your own journey, but there must be other courses or books or other things that you would like us to be able to know about in order to help explain both diversity and your own journey. So what would you advise for people to sort of understand or read or get to know better?

Sean Courtney [00:05:50]:

There's many different people out there that are really sort of flying the flag for diversity. Some of the people that are on sort of LinkedIn and Facebook include Ellie Middleton. She has amazing little unmasked. It's called Unmasked and they send you a little leaflet out where you can read about what it is that she does. A little PDF, a book that I helped, that helped my colleague who's ADHD was a book from Leanne Mascara called ADHD A to Z. What an amazing book that was. I got that on Audible just purely because of how my Dyslexia works. Sometimes one of the things I would research are Dyslexic fonts. Some people don't realize that there is an open Dyslexia font which is easier for people like myself to read because the letters are weighted at the bottom and they're slightly moved apart. That's not the only font that will help you with Dyslexia, obviously. There's comic stands as well. All these fonts are available but never really used. And sometimes it can make the difference between having to take somebody to one side and explain what it is that you want them to do when you're giving out a form at work or literally giving them the update. Or the sheet that you want them to understand and allowing them to just pick it up and ask the same questions anybody else would.

Stuart Webb [00:07:15]:

I think that's really valuable advice, actually, Sean, I must admit, I've seen now there are some people who are beginning to think about diversity within their websites in terms of changing fonts, changing colors, allowing people to sort of use rulers and things like that in order to sort of allow them to focus on one line or one section at a time without being distracted by a lot of things around on the website. So people are becoming aware of this, but you're right, there's not nearly enough known, not enough thought, not enough consideration for how to make these things more widely available so that everybody's included. And I know that inclusion is one of the important things that you think about in the way that you're doing work within the Missing Piece.

Sean Courtney [00:08:00]:

Absolutely, yeah. Inclusion is key. I mean, that's the thing that Missing Piece is setting up to change. I want the inclusion to be the main message. We're going into businesses and starting to do keynote speeches is something I'm bringing Missing Piece into. So I'm hoping to go into as many businesses as I can and do some talks on diversity and inclusiveness because once it starts at the top and works your way down, it doesn't become such an awkward subject. It's nice and simple to kind of teach the team leaders and teach the team and understand that okay, you may have somebody in the industry that you're working with that may be neurodiverse. It just means that they do things. A little simpler example would be maybe start 15 minutes early to avoid any social anxiety. Finish 15 minutes early to avoid the same thing. Give them a set place to sit in order to allow them to have that structure in place. And that sort of works really well for them. But unfortunately, sometimes that's missed when you have call centers, that hot seat.

Stuart Webb [00:09:10]:

Brilliant stuff, Sean. Look, I spent the last few minutes asking you questions and you're probably wondering when I'm going to get to the important one that I haven't asked. So I'm now going to give you that opportunity to tell me the question that I should have asked you and then obviously you get the pleasure of answering the question that I should have asked you. So what's that important question that I should have asked that I haven't yet?

Sean Courtney [00:09:32]:

I guess the most important question that you haven't asked yet is what is a simple solution and what is cost effective? There's a lot of things that are cost effective within this simple changes. What missing piece is trying to promote is that businesses don't have to break the budget in order to make sure that they're being inclusive. The chances are they're already doing it. That just needs tweaking. It's just making sure that if we work together that we are creating changes that are going to be implemented. It's a little bit like anything, you go and do a coaching course and you take all that information. If you don't implement it, nothing's going to change. Phil M. Jones once said that knowledge isn't power. The implementation of that knowledge is power and that's what makes the difference. You can have all the knowledge in the world. So when we go out and we do keynote speeches and we talk about how things can change and what you need to do, it's important that people implement those changes because they're going to make the world of the difference. Not just for your business, because you're going to increase the productivity of these individuals within the industry, but also for the longevity of the staff within the business.

Stuart Webb [00:11:01]:

Brilliant stuff, Sean. Thank you so much for being here for just a few minutes and talking about that. I think it's such an important object and I think you're doing a great job to promote it. I'm hoping that we're going to get you a lot more people following you because of your appearance here on It's Not Rocket Science Five Questions Over Coffee. So thank you for spending a few.

Sean Courtney [00:11:19]:

Minutes with us and thanks for having me. It's been an absolute pleasure and no problem. Thank you again. Thank you so much.

Stuart Webb [00:11:26]:

Look, everybody, I'd just like you to subscribe to our newsletter because that's how we can get to tell you about some of the great guests that we've got coming up on this podcast. So go on to the link that you can see on the bottom of the stage that's link thecompletroach Co UK newsletter and of course, like and subscribe to the podcast and tell all your friends about how you get to hear about great people. I know, I know lots of comments from people about some of the great guests we've had, like Sean who are bringing you really interesting comments and discussion points that business owners need to know about today. So get onto the website, link thecomplete Approach Co UK newsletter. Subscribe to the newsletter, you'll get an email from me about once a week just telling you who's coming up, what they're going to be talking about, and you get on and help to promote their businesses and connect with them on LinkedIn. Sean, thank you so much for being with us. Really appreciate you spending a few minutes. I know you've got a great topic to talk about here, so let's hope that we hear more businesses who are listening to what you've got to say about it.

Sean Courtney [00:12:28]:

Amazing. Thank you so much.

Stuart Webb [00:12:29]:

No problem.

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View Details

Who is Sonny?

Sonny Kurmi is a professional who helps clients bridge the gap between where they are and where they want to be. He is an expert in creating plans and strategies that help individuals move closer to achieving their goals. With his experience and knowledge, he helps clients to better understand their future and create a path towards achieving their aspirations. Sonny Kurmi is a true professional who takes pride in his ability to help others achieve their dreams.

Key Takeaways

[00:02:29] Helping clients bridge gap between goals & reality.

[00:03:28] Speak to financial professionals or read books.

[00:07:46] Teen job offer leads to career magic.

[00:10:20] Interview with "Sonny" from Sonny, appreciated.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

https://youtube.com/live/z7TrGSsBuVw

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Lloyd's TSB, accountancy, finance, financial advice, financial advisor, goals, budgeting, client conversations, family background, networker, business advice, LinkedIn, unqualified help, problem-solving, Google, Netflix, financial triangle, Money Explained.

SPEAKERS

Sonny Kurmi, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:21]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science five Questions Over Coffee. Are Am here with my coffee mug. I'm here with Sonny. Sonny Comey is sonny is a great networker and a financial charter planner and he has got some great advice for businesses. And so Sonny, we're going to spend 5 minutes now talking to you about your business and about how you help businesses. So welcome to it's not rocket science. Five questions over coffee. Sunny.

Sonny Kurmi [00:00:47]:

Well, thank you. Good morning. Thank you for opportunity, Stuart. Appreciate it. Of course. Nervous as well, which is always good, isn't it?

Stuart Webb [00:00:58]:

It's just the internet. Tell me, what are the things that you help your customers do?

Sonny Kurmi [00:01:06]:

Ultimately, I think literally in a sentence it would be be less scared and in more control of their financial future. In a nutshell, that's exactly what I do in one sentence.

Stuart Webb [00:01:22]:

Okay, and what are the problems that the businesses you help have made? What have they tried to do without getting the help that you provide them with?

Sonny Kurmi [00:01:35]:

I think the problem that they make probably would probably more so be speaking to unqualified family members, relatives, friends, or using the likes of Google to try and understand what their problem is. Two, how to resolve it with things like Google or whatever it may be. It will only answer the question that you've asked. But if you don't know what question that you need answering, how are you going to get the answer? Does that make sense?

Stuart Webb [00:02:17]:

Yeah, the problem is that the answer is very much dependent upon the right sort of question, isn't it? And you need somebody with experience like you to ask the right question, don't you?

Sonny Kurmi [00:02:29]:

That's exactly it, isn't it? It's about having that conversation, because sometimes for the clients themselves, you've got to sit down with them and actually get them to start thinking about what is it that they want to achieve and then understand where they are today and then kind of bridge that gap or at least create the plans to at least move them one step closer. But I'd say, yeah, most individuals probably don't know what they want to be doing in 10, 20, 30 years down the line. And that's kind of like where I come in and other furniture devices as well. It's by helping them understand the future where we are today. And then we're obviously in between the planning approach.

Stuart Webb [00:03:11]:

Okay, I get it sonny, there must be something, some valuable piece of advice, something you can give people now that will help them to understand that without sort of get them started on that journey of understanding how they do that and build their wealth portfolio.

Sonny Kurmi [00:03:28]:

Yeah, no, of course. Ultimately I would always be an advocate of speaking to professionals. Now one thing that I think is quite important to mention here is there are a number of different types of financial advisors. They all get paid in different ways but ultimately having a conversation with someone is free. There will be people that your friends know, your family know, pick up the call and just say, look, ultimately I wanted to get more control over my finances or start saving for the future, whatever it may be. But I don't know where to start a conversation with someone that's a qualified professional will always be able to assist in regards to getting the ball moving. But if someone wants to do it off their own back, there's a number of different books that one can read. There's a lot of information and resources. You see the word I used, there was information and resources that are out there and that might give you a great understanding of exactly what is planning, what is finance, what is debt, what is budgeting, what is savings, what's investments. You can get bombarded. But it all comes down to time. It all comes down to what you're trying to achieve. Why is it important for you today? And how much time have you got to allocate it to that time?

Stuart Webb [00:04:54]:

Brilliant. Look, there must be a book or a course or something that you took or read which really sort of started you to understand your journey. What is that thing that you can recommend to the audience that might help them to understand how they should be putting their financial future ahead of whatever else they're doing at the moment?

Sonny Kurmi [00:05:13]:

Yeah, no, one of the concepts is a quite good one, actually. It always stays with me and it is fairly textbook, but it's still quite relevant in today's world that we live in. It's the financial triangle. That's something that people can just quickly research and it will show you the hierarchy as the pyramid gets to the top. What you should be thinking about later down life, what you should have, ie. Your foundations. That's a great concept to potentially follow here. I say it ultimately to be the right thing for the right person. But something that I've watched, which was I find quite interesting, especially for people that want to just get a quick overview of certain areas or finance is a program called Money Explained Netflix. They've got three different series and that is quite fascinating, I have to admit. That was quite good because it's 20 minutes per clip and it gives you just a little bit of an understanding of that one topic and the world that we live in today. So those two things I would say go and see, go and view. I think it will definitely add value to who you are.

Stuart Webb [00:06:40]:

That's the first time anybody's mentioned Netflix on it's. Not rocket science. Five questions of coffee. So well done to you, Sonny, for bringing us something new on that one, Sonny. But in terms of other things, there must be one other question that you're thinking at the moment I should be asking you that I haven't. So what's the question and please answer it for us.

Sonny Kurmi [00:06:58]:

What's the question? And please answer it for us. I'd probably say, how did I get into what I did today? And why do I do what I do? It's probably the question that I think you haven't asked me, but I think it could be of value. So the first part of me answering my own question here is how did I get into the industry? Or how did I get into what I do today? The simple answer is family. My family background is finance. I actually started in the financial services industry at the age of 16.

Stuart Webb [00:07:39]:

Wow.

Sonny Kurmi [00:07:40]:

I actually do my work experience at the age of 15.

Stuart Webb [00:07:43]:

And you're only 21 now, of course.

Sonny Kurmi [00:07:46]:

You're so kind, but no. Yeah, no. I did my work experience at the age of 15 at Lloyd's TSB in halfship. And I got on quite well with the local regional director. And he offered me a job near enough, the day I turned 16. Day after, shall I say. And that's exactly what I did. I worked for Louis CSB, my first ever job, at the age of 16, the day after my 16th birth, should I say. And that's how I got into the industry. I studied. I did account and finance at university. Hated the accountancy side, but loved the finance side, which is great. I've ended up in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, my first job after university. And again, that was doing financial advice. And that's how I got into what I do today in terms of the job that I do today. So I was quite lucky. At the age of 20, I knew what I didn't want to do. I e accountancy and go down that route. And I did know what I did want to do for a lifetime and was to become a financial advisor. Why do I do it? I'm able to change people's lives. And that feeling so that feeling of being able to assist people either move one step closer to their goals or achieve their future goals, that feeling is just I don't think there's no words that can explain that. It's like magic. That's the way I can explain it. I can do magic in some senses. I can help people by achieving their goals or move one step closer, giving them information that's simple and easy to understand and changing their lives. But that's quite cool.

Stuart Webb [00:09:31]:

I like that. I like that a lot. Sonny, where can people find you to find out more information? And there must be a LinkedIn profile or something that people can follow your activities. And actually, I've got to admit, I love following your activities. You have a great daily three things I did doing today or did yesterday that you post every day, which I think is just a great thing to follow. So where can people find you?

Sonny Kurmi [00:09:55]:

Yeah, like you said, I am on social media. i.e. LinkedIn. I'm on LinkedIn. I have a website. I'm on Google. My business google? Yeah. I mean, there's a number of different ways that people could find me, but I'd say, yeah, LinkedIn website, google either my company name or my name and I should pop up.

Stuart Webb [00:10:20]:

So that's Sonny. Sonny Kurmi Sonny. Brilliant stuff. Thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. I'm just going to pop up now. Look, if you would like to hear about more of what we're sort of doing here on It's Not Rocket Science Five Questions. Have a copy, get onto the newsletter. It's as https link the complete approach Co UK newsletter. Follow everything we do. We'll have more great guests like Sonny in a week or so time. Sonny, thank you so much for spending some time with us. Really appreciate it. Lovely.

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Who is Bri?

Bri Smith is a financial coach who helps parents manage their finances. She specializes in helping people understand their finances and set financial goals. Many parents come to her with the misconception that they have bad credit, but Bri teaches them that the real issue is not knowing how to manage their money. She helps her clients make a plan for their finances and teaches them how to achieve their financial goals. Bri believes that wishful thinking doesn't make anything happen, and with the right plan, anyone can achieve financial success.

Key Takeaways

[00:01:43] "Social Media's Get Rich Quick Scheme Pitfalls"

[00:06:01] "Unleashing Financial Success with Cash Flow Quadrants"

[00:09:11] "Subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive content!"

Valuable Free Resource or Action

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

https://youtube.com/live/d6G5lnviv2s

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

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Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Warren Buffett, budgeting, saving, credit management, financial planning, goal setting, get-rich-quick schemes, investing, education, personal finance, Robert Kayosaki, Cash Flow Quadrants, financial success, client consultation, one-on-one program, group setting, financial breakthrough calls, budget creation, money management, generational wealth, newsletter subscription, upcoming guests, podcast rating.

SPEAKERS

Bri Smith, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:18]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's not Rocket science. Five questions have got me. I've got a slight hoarse voice today, so I'm sucking on lemon and honey water. Brie, I know you've got a lipton tea in front of you, so we're both not quite coffeeed up, but we're both ready to talk to you today about this five questions of a coffee. Brie is a wealth strategist who works with parents to really build generational wealth in their families. That's a brilliant thing to talk about. BRI. Welcome to it's not rocket science. Five questions over coffee.

Bri Smith [00:00:51]:

Thank you for having me. I love being here.

Stuart Webb [00:00:54]:

Thank you. So let's start with the sort of people you help to work with. What are the problems they have? What is it that you're trying to help them to overcome?

Bri Smith [00:01:04]:

So, a lot of parents that come to me, their main problem is that they think that they have bad credit, so that's usually what they see as their main issue. But usually it's just that they don't know how to manage their money. They don't know where their money is going, they have no plan for the future. So they have a lot of goals and they feel like they're unachievable because they stay in the same place year after year because they're getting no closer there. Just because they don't have a plan to get there. And wishful thinking doesn't make anything happen.

Stuart Webb [00:01:33]:

Yeah, I know that feeling. So what are the things they've tried to do to overcome these issues on their own without sort of resorting to help that you can give them?

Bri Smith [00:01:43]:

I think a lot of them try and find stuff on Instagram or Facebook. They get into, like this forex trading or crypto trading or whatever it is, that they think is this get rich quick scheme that's going to give them $10,000 tomorrow. Right? And so they try these things out and then they find out that, yeah, maybe initially you get $500 so that then they can steal 5000 from you. But then they find out that they're really upset because they were getting into something that they don't even understand. And when it comes to investing, you're just gambling if you don't understand what you're getting into. Gambling are two different things.

Stuart Webb [00:02:26]:

The thing that worries me so much about these get rich quick schemes is about the gold rush down in San Francisco. Back in the day, the people that got rich were the people that sold the shovels and not the people that were digging for the gold. It is easy to see the people that you're working with getting rich, but somehow it never happens to you, does it?

Bri Smith [00:02:47]:

Exactly, and I love that analogy because that's exactly what is happening. The people that are selling the shovels, the people that are selling the methods, so to speak, are the ones that are getting rich from it. And it also just messes up the whole financial space because it's unregulated. So a lot of people are just really getting scammed and don't know who to trust anymore.

Stuart Webb [00:03:09]:

Love it. Brilliant. I'm glad you're there trying to help them through it. Tell me, is there a valuable piece of free advice or something valuable? And I think there is something because we talked about it before. Something valuable you can do to help people to sort of overcome this. And I think this might have something to do with it.

Bri Smith [00:03:27]:

So, yes, people can book a free financial breakthrough call with me, and basically what I go over there is like, what are your goals? What is it that you're really trying to achieve? And can we create a custom plan for you to reach that? So instead of me trying to sell different financial products and say, this is what's going to fix your problem, I really like to get into the root of it with my clients and fix their poor money habits and also teach them about money because they never learned about it at school or at home. And they just need a plan to get to where they want to go.

Stuart Webb [00:04:00]:

Now, it sounds like a lot to cover in one call. So is that a long call? Is that a short call? Do you try and cover everything or do you just try and work with people with what you can do to help them at that point?

Bri Smith [00:04:10]:

So during that call, we're really just getting very clear on what their goals are. So what are your goals and what is your current situation? So basically, where are you? Where do you want to go? And can I give you a plan that will help you get there? This is what I have to offer to help you get there. And do you think that's a good fit for working with me? Because working with me is going to be much longer. I have an eight week course, and then I have three month program where people work with me one on one if they don't like the group setting.

Stuart Webb [00:04:42]:

Wow, okay, good. All right, thank you for that explanation. So, Brie, there must be a book or a course or something which brought you to this position in your life where you started to understand finances. What was that book or course or whatever that you really sort of embraced in order to get to the stage where you took this on for yourself.

Bri Smith [00:05:02]:

So there was not a book or course. That was the problem. I'm a CPA, so I'm a certified public accountant. I went to school. I double majored in accounting and finance, concentrated on personal financial planning. That gave me a lot of my base. But then there was also so much more that school didn't teach me. So I listened to a ton, like hundreds of hours of different podcasts from the NPR station or just wherever I can get information. I've read a ton of different books. So it wasn't like one that was like, oh my God, this is the best one ever. It really answered all my questions. It was really a bunch of them that kind of helped me piece together the different parts that I needed for my financial plan to work.

Stuart Webb [00:05:45]:

Is there something you can recommend that people I mean, other than working with you, Tara? Is there something out there that you think would be useful for people to start to at least understand, so when they come to you and talk to you, they've got the basic questions out of the way so that they can actually sort of have a conversation.

Bri Smith [00:06:01]:

They don't have to start with anything. But I would recommend Rich dad, poor dad by Robert Kayosaki. Everyone reads that. It's a great book. But also the one that slept on is Cash Flow Quadrants by Robert Kayosaki. So when I read that one, it was recommended to me by a client. I was doing their taxes, and in 2020, they made one hundred K. And then in 2021, when I was doing their tax return, they had made over $500,000. And I said, how did you go from being a school teacher making like $50,000, combined with your husband making $100,000, to you both now bringing in over a half a million dollars a year? That's a big jump. And she said that the big difference. For her. What changed her life was cash flow. Quadrants by Robert Kayasaki. She also had a very wealthy dad and brother who she's investing with and things like that. So not to say that we can all go from just five X our money in one year like that. She did have help, but nonetheless, it's still possible. If one person can do it, we all can do it.

Stuart Webb [00:07:08]:

Brilliant. I love the story. I love the story. So, look, we've had a couple of couple of minutes now where we've just talked about these sort of things, but there must be one question you're thinking that I haven't yet asked you, which you would like me to have asked. So what's the question that I should have asked you that I haven't? And please, once you've asked the question, would you please give us the answer?

Bri Smith [00:07:32]:

So the main thing is, what is the biggest thing that's holding people back from reaching their financial goals? And I will say that is just like starting with a budget. That is one thing that anyone can start. That is the one thing that I want everyone to take away, whether you work with me or not. Please do a budget so that you understand your money, you know where it's going, and you can start telling it where to go. Because if you don't tell it where to, it will find places to go for you. And that is just not ideal.

Stuart Webb [00:08:00]:

Yeah, I think it was. I can't remember if it was Warren Buffett that said you should spend what you've got left after you've saved, not the other way around. So, simple budget that enables you to work out exactly, make sure that you put this amount about it, money about aside and saved it, and then once you put that aside, that's the rest you've got to live on and manage within that budget is the way to sort of get richer and richer every year. Warren Buffett seems to have done okay.

Bri Smith [00:08:29]:

I love Warren Buffett. I have read his autobiography or his biography and he has a lot of great wisdom to give to everyone.

Stuart Webb [00:08:38]:

Yeah, well, he still lives in the same house that he's lived in for a long time. So it's another great story. To make yourself better, more wealthy, is not spend your money on large, expensive houses, isn't it?

Bri Smith [00:08:54]:

Well, I don't know. I'm going to get a large, expensive house and he could get a lot of large, expensive houses if he wants to, but I think it's just his preference. But, yeah, I'm going to get a large, expensive house. I don't know about Warren, but I know about BRI.

Stuart Webb [00:09:11]:

Been great chatting to you for a few minutes. Thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us talking about this stuff. You have a good day. And I would really encourage anybody who's currently not listening and subscribing to this, would you join our newsletter. That way you get onto the mailing list which tells you about when we have great people like Brie coming up and giving you advice. And that is if you go to https link the completeapproach Co UK that's link thecompletroach Co UK newsletter that gets you onto the newsletter. You can get to know about people like Brie. And you'll hear Brie on the podcast in a couple of weeks time when it's published on Apple podcasts. Please go and like and subscribe there and give us a nice rating as well. Brie, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. I really appreciate you coming on and talking about this. Look forward to seeing more of the stuff you're doing online and more of the stuff you're doing to help people increase that generational wealth.

Bri Smith [00:10:10]:

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

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Who is Ann?

Ann Hobbs is an experienced writer who has mastered the art of writing books that speak directly to her reader's needs. Before putting pen to paper, she takes the time to understand her audience's problems and comes up with solutions that will make their lives easier. This strategy ensures that her writing is structured to address specific issues and provides a clear path to resolution. Ann's books are easy to follow, engaging, and packed with practical advice that is delivered in an enjoyable and relatable way. If you're seeking a guide that will help you transform your life, Ann Hobbs is the author you should seek out.

Key Takeaways

[00:01:40] Writer has good language skills, but lacks book structuring abilities.

[00:02:22] Know your audience when writing a book.

[00:03:44] Identifying the reader is crucial in successful writing.

[00:04:27] Before starting to write a manuscript, identify the reader, their problems, and how to solve them to make writing easier and help you structure the book.

[00:06:46] Publishing a book has a powerful impact on selling business programs.

[00:07:44] Writing a book takes effort, money, and help; many people want to write a book but don't follow through, admiring those who do.

[00:08:31] Author shares three steps to master ghostwriting, emphasizes importance of understanding reader and their problems in writing process. Also mentions writing a book in five weeks while ill.

[00:09:37] Editor cuts 30,000 words from a manuscript with multiple target readers, causing reluctance due to the author's effort.

[00:10:41] Writing is not just about grammar, it's about having a voice.

[00:11:55] Motivation comes from helping others and changing lives through sharing information in a book.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

https://mailchi.mp/f31a5f07b6af/3-steps-to-master-your-writing-booklet

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

https://www.youtube.com/live/nIBMoc1LV44?feature=share

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

audience, problems, desire to help, effort, writing a book, power of publishing, credibility, authority, program, motivation, scare, life-changing, valuable information, save time, social media, growth programs, proposal, knowing the reader, problem-solving, manuscript, English language skills, voice, podcast, advice, simple steps, target audience, persona, manuscript editor, cutting words, mastering writing, ghost writer, understanding reader's needs.

SPEAKERS

Ann Hobbs, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:22]:

Hi, and welcome back to It Not Rocket Science five Questions Over Coffee. I have my coffee mug in front of me. I'm here with Anne from Forward Thinking Publishing. I think Ann is going to give us some great insights into how we as business owners can go about letting people know about our experiences, our expertise by publishing. So, Anne, welcome to it's not coffee. Five it's not rocket science. Five questions over coffee.

Ann Hobbs [00:00:52]:

Yeah, thank you for having me. I've got my coffee mug, too.

Stuart Webb [00:00:55]:

Excellent. Tell me about the sort of people that you help with your business. What is it you're helping them to do?

Ann Hobbs [00:01:04]:

So, mainly I work with business owners that really want to kind of promote their business by writing a book, and that has to be done in a specific way. So one of the problems that they know what they do and they're expert at what they do, they just don't know how to write a book. So that's where I come in.

Stuart Webb [00:01:26]:

And tell me, what sort of things do they find themselves doing to try and get out of getting things written down that don't help them? What is it you help them to sort of straighten out in their heads?

Ann Hobbs [00:01:40]:

Yeah, I think they know how to write. It's not a question of the writing. As an editor, I never correct the language or the writing. That's always quite perfect. It's how they kind of structure the book. They just don't know how to write a book. And that's a lot different to I don't know how to write, because they obviously do. They just don't know how to write it in a book and how to get it into kind of a book.

Stuart Webb [00:02:12]:

And what do you see as some of the main problems with people actually therefore writing a book? What are some of the things that you see that go wrong?

Ann Hobbs [00:02:22]:

Yeah, so one of the main issues that I see when I have a manuscript is that people don't think about who the reader is. Then they try to solve so much of their expertise in one book, they're not speaking to anybody. Like, kind of marketing. If you're not speaking to anybody, you can't market it. And this is the same kind of with the book I know within two sentences of a manuscript who the reader is that I know they don't know who they are.

Stuart Webb [00:02:59]:

Yes.

Ann Hobbs [00:03:00]:

Amazing.

Stuart Webb [00:03:02]:

I know. I was taught many years ago when it comes to starting any piece of writing, in order to really get it clear in my head exactly who it was that I was writing to, that I had to sort of get a picture of them, give them a name, and then start any writing with Dear Ann or Dear Fiona. So that whenever I was writing it, I was writing it very specifically to a person, even if that person was a fictitious person or an Avatar or a persona, whatever. But by having that clear picture and writing Dear so and so at the beginning of my writing, that enabled me to be absolutely clear about writing something very specific to a specific person.

Ann Hobbs [00:03:44]:

Yeah. And people don't want to do it because they don't want to unleash. They think by speaking to one person, they're only speaking to one person. But I can write a book in four weeks because I know the subject, I know who the reader is. And it's very simple, kind of with the writing. So, yeah, the number one problem that I see is that they don't know who the reader is.

Stuart Webb [00:04:07]:

Yeah. Brilliant. Well, I know you've got some valuable free advice to give to people who have got that sort of problem. And I've got the link on the screen at the moment. Do you want to talk us through what is on that particular booklet that you've got? The Three Steps to Master Your Writing Booklet.

Ann Hobbs [00:04:27]:

Yes. So it takes you through kind of and know your reader, what is their problem and how you're going to solve it. So these are the questions that before you stuart a manuscript, you should be looking at before you even start kind of the writing process, Ann. Think about who they are, what their problems are, how you're going to solve it, which will make the writing so much easier in a couple of weeks when your know these questions. So that will really help you to figure out how you're going to get the book all structured. So that will tell you how to do it all from the structure.

Stuart Webb [00:05:10]:

Do you know something, Ann? It is the same story for so many things, isn't it? I was only talking to somebody on one of my growth programs yesterday, and they're trying to pull the growth lever at the moment of getting their proposals accepted. We were talking about the key things to put into a proposal, Ann. The three key things that I said that they had to do was know exactly who the person was that was going to be going to be reading the proposal. What was their problem that they had and what was the solution that they were looking for, how you were going to provide that solution. It's really the key to business, isn't it? Know the problem you solve and demonstrate that you can actually understand that problem and demonstrate that you've got the solution to it. It is the key to everything.

Ann Hobbs [00:06:02]:

Yeah, it is the key to everything. But when you write a book, people seem to forget that. But if you get it all right at the beginning, then your marketing becomes very clear. Then you can sell that book. So that's what we do. We produce a great looking book, but we also help your with the marketing by getting it set up in the correct way.

Stuart Webb [00:06:31]:

Great. Brilliant. Was there a particular course or program that brought you into publish that really sort of helped you to understand exactly how you could do this?

Ann Hobbs [00:06:46]:

Not really. I understood the power of a book when I published one because kind of like all my clients, they want to kind of get their advice out there to help people, which I did. But then when I went to networking events, I didn't understand the power of it. Selling became very easy for me. I sold like a 2000 pound program in like ten minutes with my book. They didn't even want to read the book, which was I was really upset they didn't want to pay ten pounds for my book, but they paid two grand for a program. So it's the power that that book gives you as a business owner that you don't realize until you've published one.

Stuart Webb [00:07:32]:

It's the credibility builder, isn't it? It's the thing which actually really builds your credibility to have a book or something like that behind you, which allows you to sort of say, I really am an expert. I know. Because I've written a book about it.

Ann Hobbs [00:07:44]:

Yeah, because it takes effort, it takes kind of your money as well. So people really see that. But there's a lot of people that want to write a book, but they just don't. So they really admire those people that have taken the time, worked it out, got the help they've needed, and they've got kind of something to how for it, which not a lot of people will want to do well, they want to do, but they don't do.

Stuart Webb [00:08:14]:

You mentioned at the end it's possible you said you can write a book in 30 days, which I know is possible because I've done something similar. Do you have techniques, tips that you give people on how to sort of be able to crank out a book in such a short space of time?

Ann Hobbs [00:08:31]:

Yeah. It's all in my three steps to master. And I did it because I was a ghost writer for someone which I knew the subject, but I didn't know all of the subjects and so I had to put all of those like who is the reader? What is the problem? What am I going to solve? I had to do all of that and I wrote that in actually five weeks because I got ill after four weeks. But I mean, I did that in five weeks. But it's going back to those basics. Who is the reader? What's their problem? So I have to put all that into practice to get that book all written brilliant.

Stuart Webb [00:09:11]:

I love it.

Ann Hobbs [00:09:12]:

Quite eye opening because I stood there because when I first got the proposal, I like, how am I going to write this? So I have all the same questions all my clients have and I just thought, no, back to the reader.

Stuart Webb [00:09:28]:

Absolutely love it. I think you're absolutely right. It is so critical we get that focus on the person that you are speaking to isn't it?

Ann Hobbs [00:09:37]:

Yeah and especially when I see a manuscript I had one and it was 90,000 words. I asked him who the reader was and it was like five different people so I'm like that's not going to sell anyway. But then I had to cut out the words. I had to cut out like 30,000 words. And it pains me because it took him so much time to write these words, but they just didn't. Once you worked out who the reader is that reader was they didn't actually but I had to take out so many words, they didn't kind of belong there anymore. So that what pains me is that I'm having to cut a lot of words out once your realize who the reader is.

Stuart Webb [00:10:20]:

Yeah, I love it. We're coming towards the end of our interview and I've only got sort of the one question left for you really which is there must be one question that I haven't asked which you would quite like me to have asked at this stage. What would you have liked me to have asked you? Which I haven't so far.

Ann Hobbs [00:10:41]:

I think a lot of the time people say can I write it? Am I really good at English? Am I good at this? I wasn't really good at school. So these are the blocks people come to me with. And I say, it isn't about where the comma is or if you've kind of used the Capital Letter. It's about having a voice. And if your voice shines through that kind of your manuscript, then that's where the power is. And no one's going to be upset if the comma is in the wrong place. But if your voice doesn't shine through, I think that is really important. Other than the English language.

Stuart Webb [00:11:25]:

I think it comes back to that thing that you started with, isn't it? It's knowing who you're trying to reach. If your know who you're trying to reach, if you know what their problem is and you really want to help, then all you have to do then is put the effort behind that. And then a book comes from that because you are reaching out to help somebody, even if that is with money intention. But because you're looking at ways of helping them, it becomes easier to put that across, doesn't it?

Ann Hobbs [00:11:55]:

Yeah and it helps you with the motivation, it always does. If I'm thinking about that one person ann, I'm like I've got the information that they need, if I don't write it, then I'm not doing them any favors. So that always kind of motivates me into getting it out there because it is scary. It is scary putting your stuff out in a book and I understand that but I'm looking about that person if I can change someone's lives, even if you know how to do social media and you tell them it's going to save them so much time so why not get it in a book.

Stuart Webb [00:12:36]:

Yeah, brilliant. I love it. I love it and that's great. I love what you've been telling us. I love what you're speaking about. I think it's brilliant. Everybody, if you're watching this and thinking, I'd love to know about who's coming on so I can get on and ask questions of these people and really catch up with some of the great advice you're getting, go to this link, which is https link thecompleetaproach co UK that's link thecompleetaproachnewsletter that gets you onto our newsletter list. You will get an email every week which lets you know about who's coming onto the podcast, what great advice they're going to be giving you so that you can get your questions into the people that you need to speak to. Really would encourage you to do that. And I'd love to thank Ann this day for coming and spending just a few minutes with us about how we can go about very easily creating a book. And it's so simple, with just three simple steps. Anne, thank you for that advice.

Ann Hobbs [00:13:36]:

Thank you for having me, Ann. Stewart.

Stuart Webb [00:13:38]:

That's absolutely no problem at all. Speak to you again soon.

Ann Hobbs [00:13:41]:

Okay, bye.

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View Details

Who is Suzanne?

Suzanne Jabour is a grief integration specialist who helps organizations create supportive cultures around emotions, particularly grief. She believes that grief is not something we can ignore or suppress, but something that needs to be integrated into our lives. Suzanne works with companies to address their culture around emotion and protocols for supporting grieving employees. She provides a menu of support options to choose from and encourages conversations about grief. By doing so, she helps create a culture of support and wholeness in the workplace, which not only benefits grieving employees but also improves customer service. Suzanne's ultimate goal is to help individuals integrate their grief, so it becomes a part of them and their lives moving forward.

Key Takeaways

Addressing Grief in the Workplace: "We want to integrate our grief. It becomes a part of us and a part of our life as we carry forward...None of that really works with grief...One to three days is nowhere near as long as it takes. It doesn't even take that year that sometimes we're given grace through. It takes much longer than that for many of us, especially if you've had a really catastrophic loss." - This quote emphasizes the importance of understanding that grief cannot be compartmentalized and ignored, and that it takes much longer than a few days or even a year to process. It also highlights the need for workplaces to have protocols in place to support employees going through grief, as well as a culture that embraces emotions and offers support without the burden falling solely on the grieving person to ask for help.

— Suzanne Jabour [00:02:07 → 00:08:46]

Grieving in the Workplace: "We need some scaffolding to be able to be successful at work."

— Suzanne Jabour [00:09:27 → 00:11:21]

Supporting Your Team Through Grief: "We're all experiencing grief and let's brainstorm. Let's talk about some of the ways we could support each other when we're having those difficult moments or those difficult days."

— Suzanne Jabour [00:11:21 → 00:12:23]

Supporting Grieving Employees: "I'm all about it, own it. Go to them and say, oh my gosh, I listened to this podcast and I realized I totally didn't support you the way you needed. What can we do now? What support do you need now? Right? There's always time to say, oh my gosh, I didn't know any better."

— Suzanne Jabour [00:13:46 → 00:15:25]

Grief at Work: "The biggest thing for business owners, I think, that impacts people at work, is the brain fog."

— Suzanne Jabour [00:17:02 → 00:18:29]

Grief Resources: "One of the people's work that helped me really get through those early, early days is Megan Devine, and her book is It's Okay That You're Not okay."

— Suzanne Jabour [00:19:00 → 00:21:07]

The Importance of Grief in the Workplace: "So it matters because grief gives us an in to talk about some really complicated things that are actually really important for all of us."

— Suzanne Jabour [00:21:55 → 00:24:19]

Valuable Free Resource or Action

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6013019a02a2d7779026a55e/t/64092e6c2df4700a16d5dadd/1678323312188/e+book+final%3F.pdf

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

grief, Grief at Work, ebook, brain fog, practical support, program, business owners, Suzanne Jabor, grief education, lack of support, long-term support, consult, newsletter, processing grief, vulnerability, emotions at work, team members, loyalty, bereavement leave policies, culture, menu of support options, disengaged employees, anticipatory grieving, team-building, business leaders, follow-up, cycles, returning to normality, nonfiction comprehension, Facebook, Instagram, Megan Devine, David Kessler, post traumatic growth, meaning in grief.

SPEAKERS

Suzanne Jabour, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:22]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science five Questions Over Coffee. I'm really delighted to be welcoming Suzanne Jabor today from a lived experience. Now, Suzanne is somebody who's passionate about helping people to understand and overcome grief, and she's a grief education. I think it's going to be a really fascinating discussion because it's something that we so rarely deal with, and as business owners, it is the thing that we need to deal with, because if it's not somebody within our organization, it could well be us that's having to go through something like this. And we just often want to put this away in a shed and hope that it just goes away. And that's not really the right way of dealing with some of these feelings. It really doesn't help the organization. It doesn't help you. So I think it's going to be a really fascinating discussion that Suzanne really want to welcome you to it's Not Rocket Science five Questions of Copy. And thank you for spending the time with us.

Suzanne Jabour [00:01:17]:

Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate, especially people whose work is focused on business, taking the time to talk about this topic because it's so important, it has such a huge impact.

Stuart Webb [00:01:27]:

Yeah. Well, I will tell you that when my father died, it was a problem for my business for a short while until I eventually learned to overcome it. So I know how it can affect people who are trying to run businesses, who are also trying to, as I said, compartmentalize this thing and just ignore it and hope it just goes away, which is just if that's happening within your organization, it's happening with one of your employees. It's the wrong way of dealing with it. So, Suzanne, you've seen this. You've helped people talk to us about the sort of things that people are doing and how you're trying to help them, to educate them on their grief and the way to deal with it.

Suzanne Jabour [00:02:07]:

Yeah. So the thing that's the most important for me is exactly what you're talking about. This kind of whole idea we have that we can put grief in a box, we can just kind of ignore it, we can pretend it's not there and it will eventually go away, is unfortunately not how it works. Really the only way to get to I talk about integration being the goal. We want to integrate our grief. It becomes a part of us and a part of our life as we carry forward, which is, I'm sure, what you've done with your dad, right? You haven't left him behind. You haven't moved on or gotten through anything. You've learned how to live with the loss, to carry that grief with you and carry him with you. And what happens at work often is work many places is a place where we're not encouraged, really, to have emotions anyway. Employers want us to kind of show up and get the job done and figure out what the problem is, make a plan, solve the problem, move forward. None of that really works with grief. And so if that's your office culture, it can be really challenging for grievers. And if your office culture is more accepting of emotions than that, even then the really big emotions that happen in grief, which are mostly, to be honest, the ones on that negative or bad side of the list if you think about that weird paradigm we have of positive and good emotions and negative and bad emotions? The ones that we've been taught from our childhoods for most of us to ignore and not express and tamp down are the ones that are coming at you in a tsunami when you're in early, especially those early days and those acute days of grief. And for most places, certainly in North America, and I'd love to hear about what it's like for you in the UK. There's kind of a standard one to three days off, and then you're expected to just show up and be your normal self and get your job done. And one to three days is nowhere near as long as it takes. It doesn't even take that year that sometimes we're given grace through. It takes much longer than that for many of us, especially if you've had a really catastrophic loss. And so that sort of sense that you should be able to show up and do your job really does a disservice to everyone because you're then as the griever, feeling all these expectations that you can't meet, which is then more grief and loss, right? Because you're already mourning the person you lost. And then if it's someone who the loss of them changed your identity, which is what happened to me, you're mourning yourself, your loss of yourself, and now you're mourning that you don't have these capacities at work that you used to have, but you're supposed like, it just gets so complicated. So if instead we can have talked about it ahead of time, we can have protocols, we can have developed the skills and mindsets that allow us to at least witness all of those emotions that are coming up and at least have an open forum where people could talk about them, maybe a quiet place where they could go when they feel overwhelmed. Preferably not the bathroom, right? There's many of us that have cried massive tears in a bathroom stall. It's not all that dignified, right, somewhere quiet to go when you're an overwhelmed. That's not the bathroom. I love to think about it as like a menu of things you could choose from that you might need support with, and we can talk about details of that if that's interesting. But what I do with companies is just come in and look at what the culture is around emotion because that's where we need to start. And I know that's scary and I know we don't really want to, but it makes us better humans. It makes us better business leaders. It makes us better employers and customer service providers. And then once we've got to that point where we can maybe have a conversation about grief without feeling like we're terrified and we want to turn and run away, then we can look at what are the practical things we can do. A lot of companies come to me because they have someone who's important to their team who's had a significant loss and they realize they want to do something more than like the referral to the Employee assistance program, right, that referral to sort of the three free counseling sessions. They know that's not going to be enough, but they don't know what else to do. So that's where I can step in and really go, okay, great, let's look at your culture. Let's look at this. If it's based on an individual, let's start there and then from there we can make some really robust protocols that people know they can hook into. So the other thing that happens that's really hard for grievers is if there's no conversation that's ever been had in your workplace, there's no protocols in place. You're having to go in the hardest moments of your life to try and advocate for what you need. And that's really a big burden for people. So they tend to not do it because they're in full on survival mode. They can't also go and say they can't even necessarily identify what's happening to them. So they can't go and say, well, I'm really having significant brain fog and I'm struggling with keeping track of my calendar. Could we set up a shared calendar? Like they can't even articulate any of that because they're in survival mode. But if you as the boss, the supervisor, the business owner could say, hey, I know you're grieving. Here's our grief protocol. What of those things would really help you this week? Let's put those into place. And it's an offer that's made as opposed to someone coming to have to ask. That's really powerful. And the ripple of that is that it shows all your other employees who aren't grieving that you care about them, that their whole self is welcome at the office. And if they're struggling with a loss, big or small or just struggling with something else, they know there's an ability to come and get support. So it creates that whole culture of support and wholeness that I really think is a big part of that sort of quiet quitting epidemic and people showing up and just being barely engaged. If people feel seen and heard, then we also want to show up in a really robust way as best as our capacities are that day. And we know the vast majority of people are doing the best they can in any given day with the skills and capacities they have. So if we're working from that assumption, then we can really make real shifts around how we support both our staff and we have customers who are grieving too. So if you have customer facing folks, if that's your business, even if it's business to business, the way that you interact with people who have experienced a loss I just was talking with a friend the other day who'd experienced a significant loss. And honestly, we're all sharing notes. So I know which companies I will not go to because they didn't have capacity to help him when he needed it, and I know which ones I will. So if you think that grief is not impacting your business, I'm here to tell you you are wrong. Because especially right now, coming out of the last three years, we've all experienced we all have grief for something. Whether we've lost people or multiple people or all the other things we lost, we all have it. So we need to be talking about it.

Stuart Webb [00:08:46]:

Suzanne, it's really interesting, and it's exciting to hear you say, I guess the question that follows on from that we could turn this into 200 questions of a coffee. We're not going to. I could probably but we were so you mentioned it at the end there. What are the things that people are doing wrong? Because you've already sort of said there are things that people are trying to do to sort of overcome this. And it's often a business owner sort of doing something and you think that they have just missed the point, or they've just misunderstood, or they're trying valiantly to do something, but it's misguided. What are some of the things you've seen that have sort of made you stop and go, no, I really think you need to stop and turn around and go somewhere else?

Suzanne Jabour [00:09:27]:

Yeah, I mean, I think the biggest one that I hear from grievers is that there's just no support at all. So they get the sort of I'm sorry, they might get sent flowers, maybe not. They might get a card, maybe not. All of those things are great, and we need support. Beyond that, we need practical support. We need some scaffolding to be able to be successful at work. So that's the biggest one, right? Is that the same fear that we feel in our real lives when we're faced with someone who's grieving and we don't know what to do, we don't know what to say, we don't know how to respond? That happens in the workplace. So that's one end of the scale. One end of the scale is they get no support at all. That's a big problem. The other end of the scale is they get support, but it's not what they need. So it's not kind of griever centered. It's happened without a conversation. Perhaps someone has said, oh, you must be overwhelmed, so let's take this task from you. Well, if you're taking the task that they really like, then now they're left with, not the things that they really enjoy at work or the companies that are trying that want to help and want to give support that offer, and they take things away, or they provide scaffolding. There's no follow up plan put in place. So I actually was talking with one woman who ended up quitting her job and going somewhere else because she had lost a child, so she'd lost a son. And they provided all kinds of support, really robust support at the beginning, but no follow up plan to then take that scaffolding down so she could step back into the fullness of her role. So she ended up leaving because she became that woman who'd lost a child who everyone had to help, and she didn't want that to be her identity either. Right. So it's kind of like, from both ends of the spectrum, we kind of go wrong. And really the key, key thing, if you can hear anything, is do it all in consultation with the griever. Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:11:21]:

Brilliant.

Suzanne Jabour [00:11:21]:

And understand that they may not have the capacity, especially in those really acute early days, to articulate or even comprehend what they need. So that's why if you've talked about it ahead of time, I mean, think about what a powerful team building exercise that would be if you had a team meeting where the conversation was, we're all experiencing grief and let's brainstorm. Let's talk about some of the ways we could support each other when we're having those difficult moments or those difficult days. And if you don't have the skills to do that, then you can bring in someone like me who can easily facilitate that conversation and just get the ball rolling. Right. Because then we're sending all kinds of messages. Like, it's also, as we know, as business leaders, right. It's not just about what you say. It's about the messages you're sending. It's about that idea that we value your whole person and your whole experience. Whatever's going on for you is, okay, you're a valued part of this business, and we need you, and we need you at the best of your capacity, whatever that is. Right. So there's kind of, you know, there's pitfalls both ends of the scale.

Stuart Webb [00:12:23]:

Yeah. You said something really valuable there that I think which is doing these things in advance, isn't it? Because doing it too late and having that conversation before I think it's absolutely brilliant that you stress that, because I think that is one of the things that I think, once again, I don't want to get into too. Much personal stuff. But there was a situation with me where somebody who was in the process of they had a terminal condition and they were starting the grieving process before the grieving before the person has left. And essentially, I sort of eventually realized this person was grieving the healthy situation. They were sort of anticipating and sitting, going, well, the healthy what I had before has gone and everything was rosy. Now I know it's not going to be rosy. And they were grieving that, and then there was going to be a second grief after the death. And so it was one of those, this is going to be a long term thing. And the follow up has to be very critical because they will go through several cycles of feeling good and feeling bad and things will change and then it becomes, well, how much longer do we do this and what do we do in order to sort of return to normality? Which is the critical step on that path, isn't it?

Suzanne Jabour [00:13:46]:

Yeah, absolutely. And that can take a really long time. Like for me, I came to this work after the death of my son, which now is two and a half years ago, which is not all that long in the grand scheme of things, but in our sense of how grief works. I should be back to normal, right? I should be totally fine. Well, of course that's not the case. I still have capacities that I go, wait, I used to be able to do that and I can't. So that's okay. I can do lots of other things, but that sort of sense of and in a situation you describe where it's complicated, right? You're having to support someone through anticipatory grief, and then they're going to have the grief when the person finally dies. That person is going to need support for a long time. And you don't want to lose them, right. They're a valued part of your team. So you want to do what you can. And I just want to riff off to something. You were saying that there's a point where it's kind of too late. I don't actually think that's true. I think you can do a lot of really good mitigating of what you might not have done brilliantly, because we all are doing the best we can as we learn new things. So if you're coming out of this conversation today of listening to us and thinking, oh my gosh, I totally blew it with my person who lost someone fairly recently, I'm all about it, own it. Go to them and say, oh my gosh, I listened to this podcast and I realized I totally didn't support you the way you needed. What can we do now? What support do you need now? Right? There's always time to say, oh my gosh, I didn't know any better. Now I have this inkling I might not have stepped up the way I would have wanted to. Where do we go from here? Right? And that's that vulnerability piece, that honesty piece about we don't know what we don't know, until someone says, hey, you don't know that. And then we need to recover. And that's okay.

Stuart Webb [00:15:25]:

I absolutely love that, Suzanne. Thank you. I've just put a message up on the screen for people to see if the questions and I'm just going to throw this open. I hope you don't mind, Suzanne, but even after this recording is finished, if they've got questions, they can easily post them to you by contacting you on LinkedIn, where you're obviously tagged on this particular episode. Or if they need me to contact me, I will then pass them on to Suzanne so that you can actually get those questions answered. So please don't suffer in silence, as it were. Ask the questions. And I love the advice you've just given Suzanne, which is, it's never too late to just turn around and own that situation.

Suzanne Jabour [00:16:04]:

Absolutely.

Stuart Webb [00:16:06]:

Now, I'm just going to hide that question for a minute. I'm hoping that you've got some valuable free resources that you can talk to us about. It's on your website, which is on screen now, which is a lived experience. So that's a lived experience. And I hope I've spelled that right. It's difficult for me to be absolutely sure.

Suzanne Jabour [00:16:26]:

I've got I know I realized I picked a really complicated to spell thing. It's all those letters that you don't usually type. I'm sorry.

Stuart Webb [00:16:36]:

It's easy to say, but difficult to get right when you're typing. What have you got on there that could help us sort of understand a little bit better some of the things that we could be doing as business owners, business small business owners and people who are working together with clients and customers and also within organizations so that we can be better grief supporters.

Suzanne Jabour [00:17:02]:

Yeah. So the most important thing that your listeners will find there is a very short, I promise. It's about six pages, a little quick ebook, and it's called Grief at Work. So you just look for the Grief at Work ebook. It's in the top banner. Click there. It's about six pages of really distilled a starting place. Right. So I talk a lot there about some of the symptoms people might be experiencing, really practical ways that you can support them. The biggest thing for business owners, I think, that impacts people at work, is the brain fog. And if you haven't ever experienced and no one's ever told you about it, it's a thing. And it's a really big thing for a lot of grievers that sense that just your brain is foggy and you can't remember things. And it's of course, linked to sleep deprivation and all our issues with sleeping and eating and all the things that keep us healthy and whole that we don't do very well in early grief. So that would be the thing to really click on there. And then there's another page that's called Grief at Work that just gives a little brief outline of what I offer as my program. So what I would come into your company and offer you. So that would be the two things. And then if you want to keep digging, my blog posts are all there so you can learn more about how grief worked for me. And now when I'm doing a blog post, I try and include a section on the bottom with some suggestions and ideas for someone who's grieving, for someone who's supporting them, and then for a business owner. So there's some really rich information there, but I would start with the Grief at Work ebook. That's the place to start. Brilliant.

Stuart Webb [00:18:29]:

Thank you, Suzanne, so much. You talked a little bit about how you sort of go into this, and I don't want you to expose too much of that because I think that's a thing which probably is personal to you. But is there a particular book or course which you think helped you when you were starting your grief journey that you would recommend other people to start using to get through the grief process and help them to understand what they should be doing?

Suzanne Jabour [00:19:00]:

Yeah, that's such an interesting question for me in those early days of grief. And one of the things I still struggle with is nonfiction comprehension. Like remembering what I've read, is still really hard with nonfiction. So I relied really on Facebook and Instagram posts because they're short and chunky and you don't have to read very long. So one of the people's work that helped me really get through those early, early days is Megan Devine, and her book is It's Okay That You're Not okay. And she's on Facebook and Instagram. She has a website, email, podcast, all the things she's really great for those early days. And the other person that has helped me really the most on my grief journey is David Kessler. And that's actually who I did my grief educator course with. I knew that from my own experience, which is how my company ended up with the name it had. I knew my lived experience was going to be enough for me to be able to help people. And I also wanted to have a foundation in understanding grief in a broader sense and what other people's experiences might be. So I sought out a grief educator course, and I did that with David Kessler, who's written I think he's written six books now about grief. His latest book, which is really fabulous once you're out of that kind of survival mode, is called Finding Meaning. And it's all about sort of that sense of post traumatic growth that we know is possible if we choose it and if we have the capacity for that. So his most recent book is about sort of how do you integrate that person, how do you find meaning from this experience, from this loss? And that's really helped me a lot, sort of after that first year and a half, two years, when I started to really well. I mean, I looked for meaning right from the beginning because that was going to be my path, my way with grief. But for a lot of people, they don't make that choice then, because they're so in survival mode and they just need to get through every day. But once you're ready to kind of look at the broader impacts of that loss in your life, that's a really helpful resource. And he also is present on Facebook and Instagram has a great website, courses, an amazing online support community. So both of those people really helped me a lot.

Stuart Webb [00:21:07]:

And Susanna, I hope we'll find your website and your pages to do exactly the same thing, because I think you're bringing us some real valuable insights here and I don't want to diminish those in any way. But look, we've covered some interesting ground, but I always finish these interviews with my fifth and I often admit, a get out of jail free question, which means I don't have to do any work here. This is about you, and I want this to be about you. So there is a question that you must be thinking, he hasn't yet asked me, and so now is the opportunity for you to say, the question you really should have been asking me is this. But then, of course, you obviously have to answer it because otherwise we won't know the answer. So what is that question you would have liked me to have asked, which I've so far failed to do?

Suzanne Jabour [00:21:55]:

I think the question that is the most important to me that we've touched on a little bit is why does it matter? Because I think with this topic that we so are sort of conditioned and enculturated to kind of Turntail and run away. We're all so scared, we feel so much fear around it. It's really easy for us to think, well, but that doesn't really matter. Why does that matter? Why do I need to do this? It's uncomfortable. I don't like it. She's talking about emotions at work. I'm out. Like, I don't want to do this. Why it matters is that these people who are grieving are valuable parts of your team and they're valued customers and they are important to your business's success. So everything that I'm talking about, we all want to do because we're most of us on a path of trying to become a better human. The other reason it matters is because this impacts your bottom line. When you look at the cost of having to do recruitment and interviewing and training and all that stuff and getting someone up to speed as opposed to retention. It is much cheaper if we're only going to look at it from the bottom line, right? From a business financial perspective, it is much cheaper to offer short term, medium term, long term scaffolding and support to existing valuable team members than it is to find somebody new. And especially in this climate where it feels easier for people to leave and find something else that feels like it's shifting a little bit now here anyway. But it's been an employees market for a long time these last few years, so people seem to feel more able to go. You know what? I've had a shift in my perspective and a shift in what I'm prepared to do at work and what I'm prepared to put up with. And I'm not prepared to put up with this anymore. So it matters because grief gives us an in to talk about some really complicated things that are actually really important for all of us. And the ripple effect that you create, this system of having scaffolding, this system of supports for people who are struggling, a culture where it's expected that sometimes we will struggle and we have all these things in place for when you are. That's a huge shift in culture. And when we shift that culture to having a business where people feel seen and heard and valued, then we're increasing loyalty for our staff and our customers. And ultimately that's what we all want. So that's why it matters.

Stuart Webb [00:24:19]:

Love it. Suzanne, that's been what a way to finish this particular episode. Suzanne, you have educated me. Thank you so much for spending a few minutes on this call with me today. I really appreciate the effort that you've gone to to talk to us about this. I will just now be very quick and just say, look, if you would like to join the newsletter list and get notification each week of just some of the most brilliant guests that we get on this, so that you can ask them questions during their interview or connect with them afterwards, get onto the website, which is link thecompletroach Co Uknewsletter simple form. Fill it out. You get onto the newsletter list, I send you an email once a week which says, who's coming on this week? You get access to be able to talk to some of the most brilliant people I've found on the planet. Suzanne, thank you so much for coming on and spending a few minutes with us. We really do appreciate all the time you spent with us and for some of that really educational advice.

Suzanne Jabour [00:25:24]:

Thank you so much for having me. You're so welcome.

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View Details

On this episode of Five Questions Over Coffee, our guest speaker, an ESG consultant focused on social impact, emphasizes the importance of managing social risks and creating long-term value. They discuss how companies need to align social impact with business objectives, examine the key areas of people, purpose, community, and supply chain, and navigate practical challenges in implementing ESG priorities. They also explore the lack of effective communication and the importance of seeking guidance from experienced ESG consultants. Our guest shares their expertise on ESG consulting, specialization, materiality assessments, and data analytics while providing a comprehensive, globally recognized framework for responsible business conduct. The speaker offers advice and insights into understanding sustainability, ensuring social impact aligns with business objectives, and the biggest challenge of effectively integrating ESG considerations into employee engagement. Join our host and guest to hear more about managing social risks and achieving long-term value through ESG consulting.

Who is Therese?

Therese Baptiste is an ESG consultant who specializes in managing social risks and opportunities for her clients' products, processes, and services. She believes that a company's brand value heavily relies on its customer relationships and workforce, making it vital to manage social risks effectively. However, with no globally accepted benchmarks for social topics, it is hard to ensure consistency and comparability across ESG as a whole. Hence, companies face increasing pressure from stakeholders to display social responsibility by addressing issues related to human rights, labor practices, diversity and inclusion, community development, and customer privacy. As a consultant, Therese works with her clients to identify, prioritize, and manage social risk and opportunities aligned with their business objectives. She guides them by understanding their perspectives and developing strategies and programs to provide long-term value for multiple stakeholders, not just shareholders.

Key Takeaways

Topics covered in the episode:

Overview of ESG consulting and social impact
Lack of globally accepted standards and consensus across ESG
Pressure on companies to demonstrate social responsibility
Role of ESG consultants in identifying, prioritizing, and managing social risks and opportunities aligned with business objectives
Challenges in ensuring social impact aligns with business objectives and provides long-term value for all stakeholders
Specializing in a specific area of ESG consulting and the need for materiality assessments, targets and metrics, and data analytics
Different skillsets required for analyzing the E and G aspects vs. social impact
Importance of seeking guidance or checking progress
The impact of UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
Key areas for a company to examine, considering people, purpose, community, and supply chain
Challenges in implementing ESG priorities, including lack of clarity, difficulty in measuring and reporting ESG performance, and limited resources
Need for employee engagement and effective communication
Importance of managing social risk and creating long-term value
Failure to align social impact with business objectives and narrow, short-sighted views
Insufficient data collection and analysis tools

Bullets under each topic have been provided in the main text.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Connect with Therese - https://www.linkedin.com/in/therese-baptiste-cornelis/

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

https://youtube.com/live/6gP28ro_axA

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Keywords

Therese Baptiste [00:00:21]:

Hello.

Stuart Webb [00:00:23]:

It's not rocket science questions over coffee. I cannot tell you how much I'm looking forward to today's conversation. Tariff is an ESG consultant. She has got a really interesting history. Really love her history of what she's been doing. But we're not going to sort of get her to give all of her history today, her career history. But she has had some really interesting roles in Path. But she's got a really great understanding of the sustainability aspects of ESG consulting. And I really am looking forward to her describing in more detail some of that sustainability. Therese, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us and taking your time today. I'm really looking forward to this conversation.

Therese Baptiste [00:01:13]:

Okay, thank you for having me.

Stuart Webb [00:01:16]:

And I hope you've got your coffee ready. I've got my favorite bear mug in front of me at the moment.

Therese Baptiste [00:01:22]:

Fresh brewed coffee served here, but it's cooked zero inside of it.

Stuart Webb [00:01:27]:

I love it. Listen, Deris, you help people with their ESG journey, particularly as we sort of talked about that sustainability. So who are the sort of businesses you're currently trying to help? And I know you've got some really interesting stories to tell you.

Therese Baptiste [00:01:42]:

Well, the thing is, for me, I really look at clients because, like I said, I do ESG consulting, but it's more of the S, the social impact. So I'm looking my clients are those who want to manage the social risk and opportunities of their product or their processes or services. And the value of most, if not all brands, I say, sits heavily in the S focused area, and that is customer relationships and your workforce. So it's easy to see how this can be getting the wrong side and can destroy a corporation's value. And what has happened is that there is yet no globally accepted. I know everyone knows about the Task Force for Climate Financial Disclosures, but there's none for social topics. And to add to this lack of comparability and consistency, the lack of the global consensus across ESG as a whole is causing a lot of problems. So what I find, companies are facing increasing pressure from stakeholders to demonstrate their social responsibility and to address issues related to what we say human rights to labor, to practices diversity and inclusion. Everyone is like, oh, we practice diversity. It's on everyone's front page of their website. To community development, truly recognizing your role in the community and customer privacy, because failure to manage these social risks effectively can lead to a reputational damage, legal and regulatory issues, and even financial losses. Okay, so again, my role would be to help my client identify, prioritize, and manage their social risk and opportunities. And there's a way I do it. And as a consultant, I will provide the guidance and the support necessary for them to achieve these goals by understanding their perspectives. So I go in, I speak to them, develop strategies and programs that align them with the company's overall business strategies. And therefore, the biggest challenge is to ensure that their social impact actually aligns with their business objectives and that they're able to manage their social risk and opportunities effectively to give long term value for all stakeholders, not just shareholders. Stakeholders?

Stuart Webb [00:03:52]:

Yes, stakeholders is important in that respect, isn't it? Because so often we focus on the shareholder aspect of things and forget that stakeholders involve the community, the employees, a group of people that are often neglected in many of these things.

Therese Baptiste [00:04:08]:

Yeah.

Stuart Webb [00:04:10]:

Tell me some of the mistakes that I know you have come across that people try to do in this journey that fail to really encounter and work through some of that impact that you've been talking about.

Therese Baptiste [00:04:28]:

Yeah. The thing is some people believe oh, I don't need an ESG consultant, I can do it myself. The mistakes are like one, focusing only on compliance so they only do what they have to do. Two, ignoring stakeholder perspectives. They don't care what the community says. Lack of integration with business strategy, insufficient data collection and analysis and failure to communicate effectively. If you wish, I can go more in detail or I can just stop there.

Stuart Webb [00:04:57]:

No, please give us a bit more detail because I think you've given us some really great ones there. I'm particularly concerned myself about the lack of integration with business strategy because I find so many of these there is a great deal to be said for integrating with your business strategy. And people will often just turn around and go, we've got to tick a box or let's just do something. And it's not integrated, it doesn't help to build the business. And then it does lead into a failure to communicate effectively. What can you give us in terms of pieces of advice around those subjects?

Therese Baptiste [00:05:34]:

Well, I'll start with the one you went with. So it's lack of integration with business strategy. What we see is that companies may view social responsibility as a separate and distinct aspect of their operations rather than an integral part of their business strategy and this can result in a failure to align social impact with business objectives and a missed opportunity to create that long term value. And I started off with focusing only on compliance. That was my first one, focusing only on compliance. Many companies, they make a mistake of focusing solely on compliance with regulations and laws related to social issues without considering the broader social impact of their operations. I mean, there are some laws that said no child labor involved and they said okay fine, no child labor. But then they go and they want to make their products in countries where child labor is the norm. So rather than saying okay fine, if we don't hire those children, someone else would and saying let's see how we can work with this law. No child labor. Really? What is the intent of that? The intent of it is really that we want children to be educated. And there are some companies who have managed to say, fine, I will hire your child. Your child can work for a maximum of 2 hours, but they must go through four or 5 hours of education per day and the company pays for it. So it's more like in the curriculum as such. Again, if you just go poopy on compliance, it can be a narrow, short sighted view, and it doesn't serve the purpose of helping the community. If we look at ignoring stakeholder perspectives, companies may fail to engage with key stakeholders such as their employees, their suppliers, their customers, and their communities to understand their perspectives and their concerns related to social issues. So they just go with what the law says they have to do. The law says, okay, fine, we must like, I saw like there were some people wanted to say, let's say 10% of your company must be diverse. If you just look at that, 10% must be diverse. Some people interpret it to be of a different race, but that is fantastic if that reflects your environment where you operate of having that percentage. Because I teased one person, I was talking to a company and they were like, yeah, that's a good thing to do. But then one person in that group was actually from a company based in Africa. So I said to him, so are you getting 10% of people there of North African descent? And he looked at me like, of course not. I said, but if you want to make this a global thing, it has to be that way. So again, we see. This can lead to a lack of understanding of the social risk and the, I say, opportunities that a company faces and the potential impact on its reputation and financial performance. Like, I tell people, yes, I understand we want to get gender inclusivity, but will I hire someone just because they're female? No, if they have the qualifications and stuff. So, I mean, don't just tick the box, really implement it. Then we talk about insufficient data collection and analysis and oh my God, we don't have the data, and we make all these assumptions. Companies may lack the necessary data collection and analysis tools which exist out there, but you have to look through to see which ones apply to you, which one are built. I always remember when I first started doing business process reengineering straight out of university back in 1994, and that was the big buzzword. And at that point they said that you need to have 99.9% no errors. And I went to a client and the client was, okay, we want to make sure that we have 99.9% no errors. And I was like, you do 100 transactions a day. In other words, you can't have any go wrong. That is what it means. You can't use that as your measuring tool. So this can lead to incomplete understanding of social risk and opportunities, making it difficult to develop strategies they must be logical and able to implement. If you come up with metrics and try to implement them without data that matches what your company does, you literally excuse the word screwing yourself out of the systems. Right?

Stuart Webb [00:09:52]:

I have to ask about data thing because I had a client once who told me that they were bringing some machine learning and they were going to use some data in order to improve their process. And I said, okay, so from where are you gathering this data? And they said, well, we're not gathering it yet, we're going to start gathering it. And I went, okay, when are you going to implement the machine learning having gathered the data? And they told me they were implementing machine learning at the same time. And I went, but that doesn't work because you won't have the data to train the model. And they went, oh, don't worry, we're going to make data up. And I looked and I thought, I worry about the fact that companies actually.

Therese Baptiste [00:10:27]:

Do think these are the thing is my problem. I come from a background of It. My first degree was mathematics and computer science. I only went on to do business studies because I couldn't speak business speak and the business people couldn't speak tech speak. So now I call myself a perfect bridge. So I can understand when the techs are trying to throw wool over your eyes and also to when the business people are asking for things that are impossible given the circumstances. And the last thing and that comes, it failure to communicate effectively. Companies fail to effectively communicate their social responsibility, efforts and impact to stakeholders. And if you don't tell people what you're doing, don't expect them to know, okay? They lead to a lack of trust and confidence in the company's commitment. It's not blowing your own horn, but recognize that I'm doing good, let them know what you're doing. Bad news travels faster. You got to keep ahead by telling them what you're doing good. So those are the kind of things I teach to companies. Keep it out there because again, when I was doing my Masters, I did technology. Yeah, why not, right? Because it was easy to continue onwards. But I took marketing and strategy as the three subjects I were looking at, simply because marketing, getting that brand, that communication out there is all strategy with technology. So I consider myself, oh yeah, I got the blend and that is what needs to go there. So you have to manage the social risk. If you want to manage it without the help of an experienced ESG consultant, you're going to end up with a piecemeal approach that fails to effectively address your company's social impact. It's crucial you seek guidance and support from experienced ESG consultant, not those who have done an ESG course. There's too many courses out there and I see people, I look in this and they say they've done a course and they're ESG consultant. They haven't even lived life yet, right? Stewart they barely have. Like you said, you can still see the baby eyes and everything, but no, they're the consultants. I've gone to meetings with other ESG consultants and then when I'm speaking, they look at me like I was like, We've lived it. Stuart like I said, as I go further, you will realize this is not something new. It's just keep new terminologies that come out, new buzzwords that come out. It's crucial companies seek the guidance of an experienced person to ensure they're managing their risk and opportunities effectively to create that long term value.

Stuart Webb [00:13:00]:

Because for me, one of the signs of a good consultant is not that they've done 15 implementations, but they've done twelve, and three have gone badly wrong. And they won't make those mistakes again because they don't want to live through that pain ever again. And I often say to people, when they sort of say, well, why should I hire you? And I said, I've made all the mistakes so you won't have to. And that's the secret of being a good consultant, is to turn around and be honest and say, I've made enough mistakes that I now know what not to do. And I'll make sure you don't actually make those mistakes because I don't want to have to live through that experience ever again. You were talking then about some great ways of helping people to understand sort of some of these things. And I know you've got a really valuable free piece of advice, which I'm just going to show at the bottom of the screen. So can you talk to us about this valuable piece of free advice that.

Therese Baptiste [00:13:54]:

You'Ve sort of yeah, because you were asking me in our little talk before about what valuable resource people can go to because not everyone, I agree, can afford to hire an ESG consultant. Do I have to admit to Raspberries.com I'm not that expensive compared to the others from the so called firms who really inflate their cost? Okay. One valuable free resource I can recommend to people looking to manage is the Global Reporting Initiative Standards. The link is there for you that Stuart has given you. It provides for you a framework for companies to report on their sustainability performance. It provides guidance on how to report on a range of social issues because you have to report on your labor practices, on your human rights. Yeah, your human rights. What are you doing to the people in your company, people around people around the world? Diversity and inclusion, community engagement, customer privacy, GDPR and data security. Okay. Because those are things you look at. Even as far as passwords. I mean, just today I got a message from someone showing me according to how many words and characters in my password, how long it will take a hacker to hack. Okay? So now I have realized I need to develop a 14 word password. 14 words. I used to have eight or 914 words password with numbers lowercase and so on, and then it will take them some years. Other than that, it was five minutes, so I thought I was good. But apparently now the hackers are getting better. So by following the Gir standards, companies can ensure they're collecting and reporting on relevant data and information related to their social impact. Okay? Because remember, we have a lot of stuff about the climate and I could go on Stewart about green washing, but that's not my area. Just like this green washing, there's a lot of social washing pretending to care for people. Okay? The GI standards are a valuable free resource because they're publicly available and can be used by any company regardless of size or industry. Okay? It's widely recognized if you use it, companies can improve their understanding on their social impact and skills, develop strategies and programs. It can help them create long term value. But like I said, it's always best still to get. You don't have to get an ESG consultant like myself to manage the entire project, but it's normally helps when you start in guidelines or to check in on what your people are doing. Is it on your right path because you don't want to wait till 2025 when everyone's supposed to be ready to realize, I did it on my own and I did it wrong. Like when you baked that cake that you never followed in directions for, but you saw it in a book and you figured everything was there, which never is, and your cake doesn't come out the way it's supposed to and you only find out when you serve it to the guest. You don't want to do that.

Stuart Webb [00:16:48]:

Yeah, they'll help you make sure you never make those mistakes again because nobody wants to live through those sort of mistakes, do they, Teresa? No. There must have been a concept that you came across which really fired you up towards sort of this passion you've got for the social impact that your enterprise can have. What is it? What do you recommend that we read or get into in order to be able to understand and get into the passion that you've got for the subject?

Therese Baptiste [00:17:21]:

Well, then we are going back to one of my positions. I held, not tooting my own horn. I was my country's UN ambassador based in Geneva, and I was on the UNHCR committee. And that was when I was first exposed to the UN guiding principles on business and human rights. And I was like, literally, I was a business lecturer at university and I had not been exposed to how in depth this was. People have sat down and developed this. There are set of international standards that provide guidance to companies on how to respect human rights in their operations and supply chains. Okay. The Guiding Principles establish responsibility of companies to respect human rights, the need for companies to conduct due diligence to identify and address human rights. This sounds familiar, right? This is all what ESG and all these things are saying. This existed before the importance of providing access to effective remedies for human rights violations. I mean, I was so much into it when I was recently lecturing at a local university based in Belgium. We had students in final year, and one of the topics I had my students research was human rights. And at the beginning, they were like, human rights business. And then they saw the major impact and they saw the linkages. They had never seen that document. And it was so great to see these students dwell into it and develop research looking at technology and human rights. And for a senior ESG consultant focused on the S in ESG, I would say the UN Guiding Principles provides a comprehensive, globally recognized framework. It incorporates if you look at the ESG consultants, we help clients develop and impact human rights policies. Right. We see right now there's a lot of confusion with is EU policies for human rights for ESG really focused on the correct thing, or is it what looks good for the finances and people don't realize? The UN Guiding Principles has been implemented and is the key thing for responsible business conduct. It has been used by OECD in guidelines for their multinational enterprises. It has been used by IOL for their triparty. Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy It has also been used ISO 26,000 for guidance and social responsibility. It has been a transformative concept in ESG. And that's why I go back to her to say in ESG, it's coming from there. Okay, so, yeah, I was a UN ambassador back in 2011, 2012. So it sounds over 1112 years ago, I've been in this sustainability thing. I even served as the vice president on the UN Forum of Sustainability Standards. I was like the only diplomat at that time because I was a diplomat. I had been a minister of health. Yeah. Another thing, a politician. I've been an academic, had been in business. So they wanted that kind of background to see because to give that Holistic approach. And it provides what we consider to be a framework for managing social risk and opportunities related helping establish global standards. Because as I said in the beginning, there's nothing out there ready. There's no agreed on global principles. We don't have someone like Bloomberg, who is the head of the Task Force for Climate Financial Disclosures pushing on the social impact. We need someone to take that mantle and push on it, someone high profile who people respect the social impact. Okay? And we see that what we call the UNGPs. The UN guiding principles has helped develop the S component.

Stuart Webb [00:21:01]:

Ask you the first question before I do, I'm just going to suggest I know there are a couple of people watching at the moment. I'm just going to ask, if people do have questions, please post them in the chat. And I can ask them. Theresa now, because she's got some really valuable experience and as you've heard, she has a sort of background of taking a lot of input from politics to social impact and working with the UN. And some of that might give you what might give you problems. I know that I wouldn't want to do half of those things, but it might provide a lot of opportunities for people to say so if there are questions. But whilst we're just doing that, I'm just going to pose the final question that I've got for you, Teresa.

Therese Baptiste [00:21:50]:

It's an easy one. It's going to be an easy one.

Stuart Webb [00:21:55]:

I always use this question in order to sort of not have to do too much work. So it's quite honest. I have been asking you some questions, you've been having to answer them, but there must be a question which I haven't answered, which you would like me to answer. So what would you like me to have said? What question would you like me to have asked you, which I haven't yet? And obviously you have to answer it.

Therese Baptiste [00:22:19]:

Thank you. I would say you should have asked, what are the key areas for a company to examine who's looking to consistently meet the requirements and expectations of their stakeholders? Now, I'm going to answer that. I have two questions, actually, but that's my first one. I would think they would have to look at people. Yeah, why not? We must. People can't do math, people purpose, community and supply chain. Those are the four key areas, I would say people, because the pandemic something like don't Ranch on the pandemic again, Ms Matisse, the pandemic has changed the way we work. And with more working from home, it has shone the light on people's. Wellbeing, it really has. Therefore, companies will need to communicate clearly what staff support is going to be available. And there's also a job to close the gap between those at the top of the workforce and the millennials. The millennials are willing to grasp, want to work in at home. We still have some of the older people that believe, if I don't see you, you're not working. And again, I was never that way. I mean, even when I worked at a bank, I always told people I worked at the bank and I had younger I shouldn't say younger, older people underneath me. Right. But they consider themselves younger. But my logic was I didn't check what time they came in or what time they left. I gave them an assignment. They could come in one day every week, but if that assignment was finished, good, because I don't believe in watching every hour, because some people work very good quickly and then need a time off, right? And the FRC Reporting Lab has released what they call useful guidelines on workforce reporting including the importance of workforce engagement. Okay? And engagement doesn't mean because they're working from home, having nonstop meetings online. That's not it. If we look again at purpose, I think it's businesses need to create value, okay? Don't assume you're creating value and address these issues. Investors, because ESG came about primarily to make people invest in your companies. Okay? Everybody knows it's money. Everything is not going to be done unless there's money to be seen in it. And investors want to see companies believe in something and more than ever link the purpose and trust is dominant. It's a key requirement and I think it's also in your UK corporate governance code, key to building trust. It is essential for companies to think about demonstrating how their purpose drives what they do and the impact they have. The third thing I said was community businesses should be able to demonstrate how they tend to support or add value. So you need to look at that and supply chain, consider your ecosystem. And again, I remind, I mean, most people here wouldn't know, but there are some people who think that ecosystem talks only about trees and the forest. Ecosystem is the area of the businesses operating. And we say of your business, who you are to be an employee versus a contractor. Who do you want as your employee? Which ones can you say? Okay, I don't need this person as an employee, I need them as freelance. I give them opportunities to have other projects because that is sometimes why in your supply chain you have to look at do I need someone nonstop or do I need someone for projects? Because there are people willing to a lot of people are realizing the value of being a freelancer, okay? It's given them that control over their lives. They all have an impact on your brand and reputation because again, if you take someone just as a contractor as opposed to an employee, you don't again have full control and again what they do can impact on you and we talk about all those issues. And your business only operates well if all parts are healthy. Okay? So that comes back to my Minister of Health part. Everything needs to be healthy working together. Nothing can be a silo on its own. Okay? And a question that would have opened up more. My 6th thing is what do I see as the biggest challenge for companies to effectively integrate ESG considerations and how can they overcome this?

Stuart Webb [00:26:33]:

Well, I've asked you that but I didn't want you to feel under any pressure, honestly.

Therese Baptiste [00:26:38]:

I know because again, when I thought about it, I said if I answer this, that might reduce the need for them to hire terrestrial.com, right? Should I put that question? Because then it will have all the ESG consultants about how we support companies in this process. But I'm going to be honest and I'll just give you the four things. The several practical challenges that companies face is lack of clarity and consensus on their ESG priorities. There's a lack of clarity and consensus. There is difficulty in measuring and reporting on ESG performance and again that is where I do advise you to bring in someone who can make that so much simpler for you. I always tell people stick to what you're good at okay? Too many people are just taking ESG reporting and saying hey that's your job and throwing people into the wind and then wondering why it's taking so long, why it's not getting done. Okay? Limited resources and capacity if you have limited resources and capacity in your company recognize that. Put those limited resources and capacity where it makes money for your company and hire another resource to deal with it. And I go back to for instance when I lived in Trinidad and my husband and I had our company called Cornells and Associates. I used to really find it. It was strategic but it was funny. At the same time we were being hired by a leading accounting company to run their website. We were being hired by them to develop a strategic plan for them. Meanwhile they were hiring their consultants out to people to develop website. And I said to the managing partner I said you know something you not hire me because I'm that better than your employees but you can get more money from sending them out than I would charge you. And he says you know and I said yeah because I work for you I know what rate you charge thing but I don't charge that to you. So they can get me for 50% of what they would charge. So they make a lot more money off of it. But then they know that is it limited resources. They need something done. They want an outside perspective someone with a clean with no bias in it. And that is a problem if you take too many internal people to do that reporting they may have an internal bias, they may have it and they don't see anything wrong with the way it is operating now. So it can easily fix the report to say all is okay but then when the audit comes you're going to be in problems when the audit comes because what is reported is not true. And again be careful of the internal silos and your resistance to change. As people we don't like change.

Stuart Webb [00:29:29]:

Owners directors who spend a lot of their time doing things actually they ought to get other people to do partly because it's more effective and they pull a bigger growth lever by getting on and doing something which produces better results. But also because their internal bias means that they make decisions based upon what their gut tells them and their gut is often. Very wrong. It doesn't involve the right data. They haven't collected the data. So they go on what they think is the right thing. And I see a lot of decisions being taken by people who don't have the data but have decided to. As I sort of said before, they guessed what they think it will be, and they end up making a lot of mistakes, largely because they haven't brought somebody in from the outside who's able to take a fresh view. And just look at it and go. But it's obvious because I can see things here that you can't see because you're inside looking out. And I've come in from the outside so often. We do need to have that perspective of somebody who can just take a fresh view. Theresa, I just want to ask one question. We've had one question from Mark Thomas. I think it's a really interesting one that I would love you to just give. And perhaps you need to link with Mark Thomas outside of this, but can you just give him two minutes? And I don't want to take up too much more of your valuable time, because I know you have actually got a lot of things you want to try and do today, but what advice do you have for a graduate who wants to get into this field? And I think encouraging young people into this field is absolutely critical to the future.

Therese Baptiste [00:30:56]:

Yeah. And the thing is, one of these main things is if you're going into the field of ESG consulting, then you really have an interest in sustainability. Okay? It's not just finance, it's sustainability. The UN has a lot of sustainability courses to give you that background, the connections of it, not just the financial part, depending on your angle, which one is more for you? Are you one for environment? Are you one for social impact? Or you want for governance? Because the problem is when people try to say, I'm an ESG consultant of all, okay, because that is where it's problematic. So I would say Mark Thomas, because if you go out and you have to help them conduct materiality assessments, okay, you have to help them set clear targets and metrics. You have to help them do data analytics. So if you will, I see you see background in financial computing will understand I wouldn't see you doing more the social impact, but you can analyze it and do the comparison, but I definitely see you more in looking at the E and the G would be for somebody in finance. So, again, understanding sustainability and what it means, it doesn't just mean, okay, I don't use disposable, I don't do this. It's really understanding how these things interact, realizing that there is no perfect utopia that we want to create. If we create this perfect utopia, we are creating it for a few people because you can't get rid of everybody goes electric cars and stuff like that. So you're going in there with an understanding that you can't fix their problems, but you can help them understand their problems. And that is what a graduate needs to do. Okay, brilliant.

Stuart Webb [00:32:48]:

Theresa, you broke up a little bit on that question, but I think we absolutely got the spirit of it. And if people want to sort of get a message to you afterwards, I'd encourage you to please post them into this post on LinkedIn YouTube. We will get them to Theresa. She's just fond of knowledge and so much enthusiasm. Theresa, I want to thank you so much for this time you've spent with us. It's been brilliant. I really, really have enjoyed it. I hope everybody watching has enjoyed it. I'm just going to leave you with the one final link on this, which is if you want to get onto the newsletter list so that you get notification of this thing coming up. Coming up in the next few weeks. I would encourage you to just go onto this link, which is link thecompletroach Co UK newsletter that's link thecompleetproach Co UK newsletter that will get you onto our newsletter list. We send out a newsletter which basically says who's coming onto the podcast so you can join our questions, get them answered by people like theres Mark Thomas. I hope that's been useful to you. When you get advice from somebody as knowledgeable and ingrained in this and is so much of an expert, you can't get better advice. Theresa, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Really appreciate it. My pleasure, everybody. I just really appreciate the amount of time that we've had Therese on today. I hope you have, too. Thank you.

Therese Baptiste [00:34:17]:

Thank you.

Stuart Webb [00:34:19]:

And we'll just make sure everything works on the podcast before it all goes horribly wrong on me.

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View Details

Who is Sorin?

Sorin is CEO of SantinelaSantinela is an integrated Management Environment for production facilities, unlocking their full potential. It covers diverse functionalities specific to the management of production facilities, as a transversal platform designed by the workforce for the workforce.

Key Takeaways

How to help manufacturers improve their digitalization. 1:45

The right process isn’t it. 4:41

Advice on how to improve your processes. 8:06

Understanding the interconnectivity of processes and implementation. 11:53

The importance of diversity in process improvement. 14:52

Bringing people from the shop floor into the planning process. 19:30

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Find out more about Santinela at www.Santinela.com

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

digitalization, processes, process improvement, factory, understand, people, organisation, important, problems, therese, roadmap, question, point, big, shop floor, continuous improvement, company, spending, talk, website

SPEAKERS

Sorin Petcu, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb

Hi and welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I'm here today with Simon Pesci. Sarin is the CEO of Centinela. They're a agency which is dedicated to making the manufacturing of efficiency greater and improving it through process improvement and using digitalization to do that. So I'm really excited about this, because this is something I've done in my past. So I'm really excited to welcome Soren today to the to the podcast, and sorry, welcome to It's not rocket science five questions over the coffee, which I have in front of me, I know you've got one as well. Excellent, excellent news. Well, I'm sorry,

Sorin Petcu

you're enjoying a lot of stuff from my cup of tea, coffee, whatever.

Stuart Webb

Yeah, whatever it takes to get through. Sorry, tell us a little bit about the sort of the customers you're trying to help with these with this great way of trying to digitalize some of the some of the work that's going on today and in process improvement.

Sorin Petcu

So first of all, Stuart, thank you very much for having me. On today. So since 2003, I've been passionate about helping manufacturers to improve their manufacturing waste, let's put it like this. And after maybe 2005 2006, I started to see that there are lots of possibilities for digitalization in companies, and especially in the manufacturing businesses. And I've been working for different companies in food and beverage, so we are more specialised in food and beverage. And in 2016, I started to do consulting work. And I found out that food and beverage companies they were far behind, and they're still far behind in comparison to other to other industries, in terms of digitalization, digitalization is a very, very big word I would say. And what is happening is that manufacturers have some challenges, and they try to understand them. But to put in a very simple way, if you have a factory, a factory is like a black box, right. And if you look in, in the box, if you if you look at the box, you have inputs and your outputs. And in the box, if you don't understand it, as I was saying is a black box, you need to do something to be as efficient as possible to get those outputs the best way possible at the right time, the right quality, the right quality, you know the right quantity and stuff based on the inputs you get. So the challenges that they have, especially in this difficult and changing times is, I believe, to understand what they need to do to have the right digitalization. So how do you get from a process that is pen and paper in many, many factories and what we really want to do at something nela we really want to help manufacturers no matter the size, so there are small, medium or big. So the point is, how do you help them understand or generally they have a big problem to you know, to not look at the holes in front of the bike, but to look in the long term because they don't have time there are firefighting many times. And to think about how to optimise the processes, they have and digitalize them. This I believe are big challenges that they face in digitalization. Besides all the other challenges they have to face you know, with the inflation with Labour with whatever. So if we talk about digitalization, is about how you get the right processes, the right processes, not the wrong processes, digitalized and reliable Yeah,

Stuart Webb

and that's the key isn't it? Sorry. And because I remember back in when I was one of the first companies I started was was was working with workflow technologies and we've talked about getting the right work to the right person at the right time. So so the problem that that many factories face. Is that right process, isn't it, which is the right process because you can pull a lever to digitalize a process which does not affect the if the efficiency of the factory does it you can, you can you can spend a lot of time and effort processing and working on a process which actually doesn't have as big an impact as you expect it to. So it is that right process, isn't it? And some, I would guess, of your customers have spent a lot of time trying to digitalize a process and then discovered it didn't have the effectiveness that they expected it to have.

Sorin Petcu

Yeah, so the most interesting case I've I've seen many times in factories is that they tried to digitalize to digitise processes that are not, as you're saying that are not necessarily that important to the business. But most of all, they don't have the right processes in place, like the daily management system in a factory is critical. I call it the backbone of the factory. If if you don't have the right process in the in the shift, you know, the shifts, eight hour shifts, if you don't have the right meetings in the morning, if you don't talk about the right things in the morning, you know, the KPIs the actions from the day before the day the priorities of the day if you don't have the right processes and continuous improvement, right. What do you digitise you digitise some firefighting system, that will never give you the right results? So this is, I believe, the best example I have, and I've seen it in multiple multiple factories. So we go there to some basics of of management processes, let's put it like this.

Stuart Webb

Yeah, yeah. And it is that problem of, of knowing, which is the right lever to pull, isn't it the growth lever, the big lever that you pull, which is the greatest growth lever for any, for any factory to improve its efficiency.

Sorin Petcu

From from our experience is that, you know, factories have systems like ERP warehouse management, quality system that they need for the for the whole, for their survival, and from a legal standpoint, and then they have the assets, right, they have the lines, and those lines have to produce in a reliable way. They also have the teams of course, that need to be trained, they need to know what they're doing, they need to have reliable processes, standardised work and stuff like this. So, in our experience, the biggest lever to improve efficiency and effectiveness, let's put it like this and productivity in a factory is by making sure that the lines and the assets run properly, and they produce the right quality product at the right time. And there you start with the holes with a whole package of methodologies for continuous improvement that you can of course apply and afterward digitise, right. But the biggest one I would say is the is the way the lines run the OEE, as general people call it, you know, but generally people call it

Stuart Webb

so and I'm just gonna show on the screen now the your the link to your your company, LinkedIn profile. Now, there's some interesting stuff going on there. And then your website, or other any free piece of advice you have on the website that you can help people to understand exactly how they can make use of this obvious thinking, in order to get them to sort of understand that the way they should start to, to attack and to to approach these problems.

Sorin Petcu

Yeah, well, we don't necessarily have these things on the website. But together with Leila, that was your that you invited last week, we were trying to make these messages come across to as many people as possible in the near future. But I would say if you want to improve your processes and digitise your processes, that's something along the way we think is the following. So first of all, don't think short term. So short term is you can cherry pick, but you won't see the whole stuff, you won't have the time to do a holistic approach. What is really important is to understand your problems, map your processes, understand your problems, create a roadmap, this is really important. There are some companies that you know, there are a pen and paper and they have some processes that sometimes are not the best one so they can be improved. And they're already thinking about deep learning AI but without necessarily understanding the full extent of all this. So Yeah, the way we think is, you know, you depending on the maturity, you must learn how to walk, then you must learn how to run, right. So understand your processes, understand and build your roadmap, talk to the people in their own your company, and the especially the ones that are impacted by the change, because fear of change and not not understanding the change can be a very big roadblock. And sometimes, you know, without any sustainable proof, so he's just about the feeling of people, right how they see the change. So afterwards, make sure that the roadmap is made in a pragmatic way, because your resources are limited, right? And take a look at what you were saying before about the things that mostly impact your business. But without you can cherry pick, but you can cherry pick from the roadmap, you don't cherry pick just to cherry pick, right? So and make sure that you plan the improvements, and that you have some way to track the success. And once you understand your needs, and you create your roadmap, only then you look for the suppliers that might help you. And one more thing, the suppliers, I would say that there's really two things very important about the suppliers, the hidden costs, sometimes are there. And the second one is get the supplier that can also help you not only from if we talk about digitalization, don't take a supplier that can only help you from an IP perspective. But also from a methodological aspect. It's good

Stuart Webb

point, I'm just going to show one point that somebody has pointed out on LinkedIn, which is a great point about changing the roadmap taking from your roadmap, which is thing. But there's a great comment that's coming in from Therese Batista, which is unless you understand the interconnectivity of the various processes, and proper implementation of change management, any change can lead to chaos. And as a really good point, because I do remember in one particular project in which I was involved in one company that I was involved with, for a while, the management decided to apply some some really interesting technology to one process. And all they did was made rubbish, effectively move, not rubbish knowledge move through the organisation much faster. I mean, I did say to them, I said, Look, I hate to tell you this, guys, I'm going to use a bad word, you just made the ship flow faster, rather than actually, rather than it clearing out what you should have done and actually get the right that these people had just just picked the wrong interconnectivity on various processes. And what they'd ended up with was a bigger mess that was now just flowing much quicker through the organisation. So it's really important. And Theresa makes a FIPS is picking suppliers to look at their understanding of compliance with ESG. That's really, really key, isn't it?

Sorin Petcu

Absolutely. Absolutely. And I, again, talking about talking about things that that you have witnessed, I've also witnessed to SAP implementation some time ago, a long time ago. And I heard there was a consultant that was saying crap in crap out sorry for my word, right? So whatever you make sure you put the right data in there and without affecting the people that input the data, and also thinking about what's in it, about what they think you know, what's in it for me, because if you just asked me to put some numbers in, then it doesn't have my work. It doesn't help the digitalization process in any way.

Stuart Webb

Sorry, news, there have been a particular book or something which has affected your thinking that you you'd like to share with with the people that are we're talking to at the moment, that would help them to understand some of some of what you're saying.

Sorin Petcu

Yeah. So first of all, I would say that in order to have good digitalization processes, you must understand the continuous improvement process. If the organisations that, listen to us today, have the possibility to take to take a step back from the daily business, you know, and think a little bit about the continuous improvement roadmap that they'd like to implement. I think that some very good books would be TPM for process industries, which is, which is like, that was one of the first books I've ever read about, you know about TPM. It's really great. Then you have the Toyota way, which is also really good and it gives you but At one point here, it for both books. We are Europeans or from the US or certain things do not necessarily apply, as well as they would apply in Japan, for example, because we're not that. How do you say? Yeah, let's say that we have another way of thinking, right?

Stuart Webb

The culture is different, isn't it? There's no point in pretending that you're right the process improvement is culturally dependent. You cannot employ process improvement in a culture, which is determined not to necessarily think in a particular way, Ken Yeah,

Sorin Petcu

exactly. But these two books they can give you hints about the steps to take. And you have to adapt them to the culture and to the into the company you're in. Right. So but these are two books that are really great. And the third one I've just started was white digital transformation fails. by Tony Sultana, I just have it in a document here. They this guy, I've just started it. So he's from Procter and Gamble, and Procter and Gamble, they are really well known in the industry for having some very good processes. So and I think that they've made it and they are making it the right way. Yeah. So I think that we can learn some things from their

Stuart Webb

Sinem. I'm gonna throw in a question which is coming from the audience. So we can have a debate around this. But it's a question about how would you engage colleagues on equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging? What what do you think are important considerations for organisations to take into account to enable things like equality and diversity to get embedded during the sort of process improvement activities that you're, you're talking to your customers about? Wow, that's a long question. It's a it is a long, and we could talk for many hours about it. So let's,

everybody by having a long debate, but I mean, the importance of diversity and equality are quite important in process improvement, because a lot of what you're doing at the moment can seem to disadvantaged people unless it's brought in so that people understand the change and understand how their part within it isn't. And bringing people along is a really important part of process improvement activities.

Sorin Petcu

So all my life I've so one of my first one of my first credos, let's say in life is that I want to help people money comes, money comes if people are happy at the workplace, if they come to work, you know, liking the fact that they come to work that day. So, and in manufacturing, the manufacturing industry, the operator the technicians, the people on the shop floor, they are the ones that are really making the production happen, management is a supporting function. So, we do believe well, me and my colleagues, we do believe that equality and listening to people on the shop floor and making their lives easier and having good teams you know, that are motivated and happy to come to work. These are key to any digitalization and to any process improvement. Digitalization if it comes top down without explaining anything to the to the organisation will fail in probably more than 80 to 90% of the cases. So, diversity, inclusion belonging are really really important in all of this, but how do you engage? I would say I don't know if we can engage at the global level ourselves, but each organisation or small medium or big company, they should engage their colleagues you know, so, they should think that and operate operator is equal to a manager, you know, and their needs are equal. And moreover, a production line cannot run for the moment cannot run without an operator but it can run without the manager.

Stuart Webb

Yeah, I have been involved in a number of change initiatives within organisations and the one thing that I nearly always advocate for where I where I where I can, I can help management to understand is to have people from the shop floor be involved in the planning process, because it's those people on the shop floor who have most understanding of where the changes will in fact impact on people. And, and I think that without bringing those people into the planning process and actually making the part of the team, you are going to be pushing against the forces, which actually, you can't understand from the boardroom, you don't understand. And actually having that person sort of tell you about where the real problems are, will enable you to make the the digital change so much easier, because you will actually be helping those people to make their lives easier and happier. And, and and, you know, sometimes that is about inclusion, sometimes it's about, it's about belonging. And I know that Theresa just made a great point that they have not given consideration to employ people with more skills. And and that's something that is part of this process as well, isn't it? It's bringing those people back into those skilled those skill areas.

Sorin Petcu

Great points you both made, either in writing or verbally, I would like to add something here. So first of all, what is happening is that, you know, that you have I've seen over over time, two types of management in factories, yeah, top down. So basically, most of the decisions are taken at the top level of the factory, and the operators on the first line managers don't necessarily have any influence over the decision. But this is the not this is not the right or let's say the most successful, the most successful and the most inviting way of working. So in what we do at Santa nella, we try to invert this pyramid where operators team leaders, first line managers take most of the decisions. And we have, I have a great example from our of our customers that has implemented a ticketing module that we have with like, with a chat inside and people can work together. And just imagine that in over three is operators, with technicians, with team leaders with technical team leaders, they have worked on more than 100,000 tickets in a 150 person plant. Okay. So this is an extraordinary involvement of people in solving problems and the data, the the solutions, the problems, operators, know them, technicians know them. And most of the time, they also have the right solutions for the problems. Instead of getting an engineer like myself going there and creating, like the friends, they lose the night guys. So a guest station, right to solve a small problem. So these guys have a lot of experience, we should listen to them, and make sure that their lives and their opinions are respected.

Stuart Webb

Great point. Listen, sorry, we could talk all afternoon about this. And I'm very conscious of keeping you away from doing something which I'm sure is really important in your business at the moment. So I'll bring it to an end. By asking you if there is a question that I hadn't yet asked you. Well, what would you have liked me to have asked you? And then obviously, you need to give us the answer to the question that you would have liked me to have asked you?

Sorin Petcu

Well, I would I would say that something really important to ask, but not necessarily myself, but maybe the manufacturers, I would have a question for the manufacturers, you know, in these in these really challenging times I was talking about the inputs, the inputs are getting more expensive, you don't find them at cetera, et cetera, right. So these are things that you can control up to a point. But every manufacturer is taken into account, the way that continuous improvement implemented a good continuous improvement programme, you know, what Lean Manufacturing, TPM, whatever, plus the digitalization, what implementing these things would bring to them in terms of resilience and come competitivity let's put like this. And this, I think that this is a question. Not that you haven't asked me, but I think that it's a pretty important question too, for manufacturers to think about maybe at the end of our session. So how have they thought about continuous improvement and digitalization? Have they taken these into account to help them get more competitivity and productivity

Stuart Webb

Brilliant Sauron. Thank you so much. You know, I gotta I gotta finish by by thanking you for your time. Just to show one more comment from Therese, we what we're trying to do with this, in case you haven't guessed, guys, we're trying to remove the silos to give more exchange of information. Because for me, you know, removing silos in businesses is gonna lead to greater and I'm somebody who spends a lot of my time thinking about innovation. And one of the things that I find that too many companies think is that innovation is somehow just happens. Innovation doesn't just happen. Innovation happens to come from having conversations like this, potentially with sort of, you know, different viewpoints. And that brings together new ways of doing things. So I just love having people like sarin, come on and talk and give us their insights into things. Sorry. And thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us for talking about what you do at Santa nella, I would encourage you all to get onto the Santa nella website, which is here at Santa nella.com. And if you can't get on Santa nola.com, because your LinkedIn person, then get back to the LinkedIn website, which is Santa Ana, oh II on LinkedIn. And I really appreciate you, you coming on and spending a bit of time with us today. Sorry, if you're one of the people who comes on and listens to these things, please join our newsletter, where I send out an email which basically says who is going to be coming on, you can get details of that at HTTPS forward slash forward slash link the complete approach.co.uk newsletters, so that's link dot the complete approach.co.uk forward slash newsletter, go onto that website. And just subscribe to the newsletter. And you will get the notification coming and spending some time like people like Therese has done today. And being able to ask questions of our guests like sarin and future guests. Sorry, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us really appreciate your insight. Love the

Sorin Petcu

pleasure, real pleasure to be with you. Thank you very much for the invitation. No

Stuart Webb

problem. We could talk all afternoon and my coffee would go cold and I don't you need to get back to your job. Thank you so much for joining. Appreciate it.

Sorin Petcu

Have a great Day. Bye bye bye bye

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View Details

Who is Leila?

Leila is a strategist and educator in the field of digital transformation and marketing strategy with PhDs in Business Economics and in Communication and PR.

Key Takeaways

Introduction to Leila. 0:00

What is the main challenge of being an entrepreneur? 4:57

The importance of having an open mindset. 7:53

What’s the launch date for the podcast? 13:10

Inspiration for the strategy of kindness. 14:43

Leila’s research and how it influenced her. 18:57

The definition of homeostasis. 22:39

There’s nothing as stable as change. 25:33

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Find out more about Leila at https://www.linkedin.com/in/leila-phd/

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

leila, work, digital transformation, business, strategy, people, challenges, question, build, pitstop, instance, university, linkedin profile, innovation, coffee, collaboration, continue, kindness, homeostasis, digitalization

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Dr. Leila Lunguleac-Bardasuc

Dr. Leila Lunguleac-Bardasuc

Thank

Stuart Webb

you Hello and welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I am just going to reach and get my coffee which is here at the moment it's in my it's in this mug at the moment I won't put any brand names up because we're not sponsored at the moment. But I'm here with Leila. Leila is, well, Leila has a really impressive career track record. And when I tell you that she has, she's a strategist and educator in digital transformation and marketing. She has got two PhDs. Now I know people that have got PhDs, but I've not come across somebody that has got so much brain power, they've managed to get two of them. But she's been recognised for her work in leading digital transformation initiatives, developing successful marketing strategies and driving innovation and growth in really competitive markets across Europe. And over the past eight years, she has created and sent a new business strategy called strategy kindness. And I think we're gonna get to the strategy of kindness in a little while. And that's about creating a culture of positivity and trust, where businesses and people can come together with a shared purpose. And so she's working with people like Future Processing, and Santi Anala. And she's also a professor of new business models in the master's degree in industry 4.0 in the university Europe of Europea, Europa, Madrid. So Leila, welcome to It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee. I hope that introduction, at least gave a small amount of credence to your incredible career. Thank you for joining us.

Dr. Leila Lunguleac-Bardasuc

Thank you. Thank you, Stuart, for having me. And hello, everyone. You know, I've been a follower and the fan of your sessions since a while now. And I'm really happy to join you today.

Stuart Webb

Well, I'm really pleased to get you on at long last Leila Leila. Let's start with with with my first question. So we talked a little bit about some of your work, who are the people you're trying to help at the moment, and what is one of the problems they've had, which you try and help them to solve?

Dr. Leila Lunguleac-Bardasuc

me working with people who can share feedback, especially with people that are open to communicate and explore and shift the fit their thinking, in order to build some some value both ways, and also to build networks of collaboration. It's very important for me, because I see collaboration as a process of sharing assets, and what they have as an asset, and what I can share with them, what is the value to the customer and what they can offer me in return. So I also think that one of the great qualities to have is to always be teachable, and it's needed for all parties. So for me finding the key people in businesses to join forces with and construct this mutual point in objectives. I think it's my main role. And one of the main challenges that I detected is how to get your message out there. When we both know there is a lot of noise making. It's a challenge and also to help how you can differentiate and show the purpose of your work. I think that's the companies and the people that I work with. They are all looking to offer something of value like technology with purpose acknowledged, that can improve our lives. And I think this is what really unites all the people that I work with, they are all set to help in the digitalization journey, sustainable digital transformation as well or themselves. They have embarked on this journey of digital transforming their business and they are in need of this type of partners and advisor to support and participate at each step of the way. So this is how I see my role bringing this businesses together and sharing this time type of note know how we know from the data that around 80% of digital transformation processes are failing. So in my work so far, I have noticed that the ones that do succeed, know how to communicate and they know how to build strong business relationships and trust inside and out meaning communicating trust building within your organisation and outside with the tone of the actors.

Stuart Webb

So you're really facilitating that communication and you're trying to bring that communication from both within the business and outside of the business to bring together those strong partnerships that you need for transformation to you, you need for innovation to really start to be to take hold within within the business.

Dr. Leila Lunguleac-Bardasuc

Exactly. And to add to that, if I were to put my academic hat on now, as a as a university teacher, this is something that we're fanatical about, we also see as a main as a main challenge. And so we detected this as a challenge. So what we did is developed a curriculum that combines the soft skills and technology skills. So our focus is to best form the future leaders who are capable to detect the main challenges that their customers are, are facing. And well, to put it in a nutshell, and then respond to your question, I think the main challenge is to understand the challenges that your clients are facing, and an entire process.

Stuart Webb

I think it's interesting, isn't it before the before we started talking, we were sort of sharing some of the some of the differences if you like, between the businesses we work with and the students we work with, because, as I was saying, we do a little bit of helping some students. And, you know, I often see that when you get into the student population, they have absolutely no fear, they have nothing that they believe can hold them back. And yet, when you get into a business, there's an awful lot of barriers that need to be broken down before you can really see communication, and you can see trust be built because those barriers have somehow built up in businesses and trying to sort of bring that collaboration together is so much more difficult it would appear when you get into into a business.

Dr. Leila Lunguleac-Bardasuc

Yeah, I think that it's, it's true, and how you build that. So that is also a challenge how you start building on it. To define something of value. What we do at the university is to train our students with real life situations, for instance, and innovative methodology. And we see also in my work with other companies that you might work with students, to see technology and innovation as something that can help you achieve your goal, not the ultimate goal. So you have your ultimate goal, your objectives, and use technology to help you support that.

Stuart Webb

So So and I know we've got a number of people listening to you talk at the moment. And if people want to sort of bring a question to you, I'm more than happy to feed them onto the stage and let you answer them later. But but perhaps you could talk a little bit about the sort of mistakes you see businesses making, that you are trying to help them to overcome.

Dr. Leila Lunguleac-Bardasuc

Sure, maybe that's a mistake. But when you're trying to build this type of collaborations, you really need to have this open mindset. And to be open to share know how in order to receive something like we are doing now something that we've been doing in in our talks for a long time. And this generates value. Also, you need to know that it takes time. And it's not something that can be built right away and overnight. And it depends on the type of type of the problem. But because in this case, what I mentioned, it's a very complex problem that needs constant effort and involvement. Without help, I think that it's almost impossible to construct. And the same if we think of digitalization or sustainable digital transformation, especially when we think about SMEs, how can we help them find solutions to their problems? It simply cannot be done from what I've seen so far, if we are not aware of their challenges, and why would SMEs for instance, ask us for help. So this is why I started working together because he mentioned in when you presented my work to work together with Future Processing in the innovative tech space, and with something aligned industry 4.0 And smart manufacturing space, because we want to gain a fundamental understanding of the business challenges. So what is preventing them to take the business to the next level?

Stuart Webb

You've mentioned you've mentioned those two to two companies that you're working on at the moment. And I know you've got some some, some great, some great offers and things coming up. And I'm just going to sort of put your LinkedIn profile at the bottom here because I know there are some events that you're going to be running which I think it would be great for people to hear about what it is you're hoping to do in those events and and hopefully, that they're open to people to join in and hear you talking about this sort of thing in the future.

Dr. Leila Lunguleac-Bardasuc

Thank you You're thinking I would really love to share that. So please feel free to reach out on LinkedIn if you want to learn more about any of these actions or events that I'm taking, so please feel free to drop me a message. And I would be really, really happy to hear from everyone joining joining us today. I think that the main reason why all this initiatives are taking off is that they're based on the same belief of collaboration and idea sharing. And because I built them, not on my own, but alongside other collaborators, mentors and business partners. And as some resources are where where can we take it from here, I would like to invite everyone to join future series of events and get togethers that are coming up, the first ones are coming up in May. We are designing this in order to start building this kind of networks and collaborations that we talked about and apply the strategy of kindness. So if for instance, you are into finance, FinTech digitalization sustainability, the first event in the series will bring together on the 25th of May. In the afternoon, I think it's going to be five CT will bring together some top experts in FinTech, cybersecurity digitalization and leaders in finance, and they will discuss opportunities and challenges for sustainable digital transformation. So this one is organised together with Future Processing, you can find it on LinkedIn or again, just drop me a message and I can send you the invite. And if you are in manufacturing, together with Centinela, we are building a series of podcasts and get togethers that will start also in May, we do not have the date yet. So please keep in touch, and I'll share the details if you are interested, we want to discuss and see how we can overcome challenges in the industry. And also how we can increase the productivity and sustainability and manufacturing operations. And another event is the Friday coffee, which you're very familiar with. So we focus on collaboration, creativity. One when people come together at a Friday coffee, they have the opportunity to connect with others from different sectors and share this ideas with we do not have a specific topic and in mind, you can find a coffee and inside the digital transformation community on connects platform for instance, you can also drop me a message and the Friday coffee actually turns two years old. And we have the celebration on Friday. And I know Stuart you're going to join us this this Friday. So if you if you want you to join me and Stuart and progressive the group that we usually get together on Friday, this is also something I would very much like to invite everyone here to

Stuart Webb

I'm just gonna I'm just going to repeat those dates just in case anybody wasn't actually able to catch them. So that's the 25th of May, you're going to be talking to finance professionals, people like that you're in conjunction with Future Processing, that's going to be available to people on your LinkedIn profile. So they'll see details of that then you're also starting the podcast in make podcasts a brilliant strategy, Leila, congratulations on taking that one. I can't I can't think of anybody that enjoys one of those more than me. And that's a really a really great strategy. So look out for the podcasts that I'm sure Leila will be posting on her LinkedIn profile. Once again, go to the LinkedIn profile, say on Friday coffee. Well, what can I say about Friday coffee, a an interesting and eclectic group of people that normally seem to somehow end up discussing AI and the impact of AI upon their world. So really great things. Um, thank you, Manuel, for Manuel's just committed that. What a great, what a great series of topics and upcoming events. Yeah, you'll be busy later. But I think that's a good thing. If I'm honest, I think that's a really great thing. And congratulations on all of those. Can I just turn to my fourth question now we've now we've we've we've talked about that because I think there's there's there will be a really great, it would be really great to understand what was it in terms of either a book or a course or strategy which really drove you to understand some of this. There's this need for collaboration, this strategy of kindness within within business that sort of drove your your thinking about it.

Dr. Leila Lunguleac-Bardasuc

Well, actually a lot of things so I do get my inspiration from from many different sectors like from music to sports, to science fiction and fantasy books, for instance. So we know the quote that today's science fiction is tomorrow's science Pack. Wrong Isaac Asimov. And also Ray Bradbury says that science fiction is the most important literature in the history of the world. Why is that? Because it's the history of ideas, and history of our civilization birthing itself. So I get a lot of inspiration from there, I think that it has built since I was little it has built its has built the path that I'm currently on. And in strategy, for instance, I'm also influenced by several sports like Formula One like football and snooker in terms of the reaction to change the use of data, for instance, in decision making, from creating the competitive advantage and how you manage a team, and learning from your opponents just to name a few. I actually just wrote an article on strategy similarities and what we can learn from Formula One race strategy, and you can find it on the Future Processing blog. And I will continue on this with ESG. And sustainability in Formula One, race teams and data analytics. So this just to put it in a nutshell, but I think that if I am to look at the major influence, for the strategy of kindness and how I started developing it, it has been my mother and her study of living organisms, because she's a biologist. And she's, yes, sure that you can relate and you can have a lot of things to talk about and to expand on this. So now, you know that the strategy of kindness is, is inspired by by similarities between open biological systems, and what we can learn from them to apply in companies or organisations. And I've learned that organisations are open biological systems. So they also transform all the environmental factors. And they do this exchange with the environment because and it becomes one of the essential conditions right for the existence of the system to be able to do this exchange. So according to her, it creates this dynamic balance of balance and a permanent movement. And the organization's have distinct properties and characteristics of open biological systems. And I'm sure that I'm keen to hear from you on this, like attributes like self regulation, historical character, information, integrity, rights, and the dynamic balance.

Stuart Webb

Yeah, no, I could, I could, I could spend several hours lecturing on it. But I am interested in noting that you're doing some things at the moment of Formula One. And it reminds me that about 10 or 11 years ago, I actually gave a talk. And the subject of my talk was how to increase team productivity. And the entire talk was based around a pitstop change in the Monaco Grand Prix that had taken place just the two or three days prior to that. And the whole thing was how do you this unit worked together to make that pitstop change? And I think it was eight seconds at the time, if I recall, so some years ago, no, do it in less than two but but they made a pitstop change in something like eight seconds. And I sort of worked through exactly how each of the members of the team cooperated, what they did, how they did it, how they communicated prior to the pitstop how they communicated after the pitstop how everything worked together to make that as efficient as it possibly could. And, and I think even at that I did actually bring in homeostasis, which is a cellular process, which brings equal balance of, of water essentially, between the inside and the outside of the cell and, and how you how you do that. So I absolutely understand how you're where you're coming from when it comes to sort of cellular systems and things like that. And I absolutely agree with you. There's an awful lot about biology, which we could learn, because a biological system exists within what is a very toxic environment. And yet, most of the day we get through and we you know, there are millions of things trying to essentially kill you every day. And you actually not only fight those off, but thrive. And it's that ability to sort of ignore the ignore the the environment, which could could well could well take you apart as a business and move in and thrive because you actually get everything to work together. So there's an awful lot of lessons that we could take into that as a biologist, I'd like to sit there and talk about sort of cells being taken over and the DNA and such like but we won't, we'll move into something much less, much less contentious and and I'll just ask you the final question of the of the, of the of the session, which is, you know, I've asked you three or four questions now and you must be itching to talk about the thing, the question that I should have asked you. So I'll ask you to ask the question. I should have asked and then answer it. So that we've got a real understanding of where you're coming from?

Dr. Leila Lunguleac-Bardasuc

Well, first, just to just to say that seeing the your passion and this and maybe we can join forces and publish an article together. I would really like that. Exactly, exactly. And on the question, well, if we have the audience here, I would really like to see if they have a question that they would like to ask. And we've seen some messages that,

Stuart Webb

yeah, well, as I say, Manuel, Manuel was, was asking a question, I don't know if anybody has got a question. I mean, I'll post one. Now, the your PhDs are in quite different subjects, do you find that there is an interaction between them, which is where you have been able to sort of draw inspiration from both?

Dr. Leila Lunguleac-Bardasuc

Yes, because the research that I did, and the first, the first PhD was on creating competitive advantage. So even if it's on the business economic side, too, I was trying to look at ways how you can gain competitive advantage to creativity and innovation. And the main research that I did was on universities, on private universities and see how they interact and gain this type of advantages. And the second one, even if it wasn't in communication, I focused on new strategies, new communication strategies, and new digital marketing strategies. Because and I had the chance to interview directors of communication and marketing from different universities, because I also based it on the university's pace of public universities this time, and it was very interesting, to say the least, because I was interviewing them before the pandemic, and during the pandemic. And I could notice this shift in strategy and how universities and needed to to adapt and how students needed to adapt. So I think this, this really brought them together, and be able to have a broader analysis on the education, the superior education system.

Stuart Webb

And well, I'm gonna, I'm gonna leap in and try and see if Leila wants to sort of answer your question. So those of you are not familiar with the with the subject of homeostasis. Homeostasis is about the inside of a biological cell and the outside of a biologic cell or a biological organism reaching balance, essentially, it's it's the, it's a key feature of the way in which if we take in water, we don't end up sort of swelling, becoming a balloon, we actually wish we would if we if we didn't, if we didn't get rid of the wastewater that we don't need. But the thing which is really critical about homeostasis is it's an active process, it doesn't happen by doesn't happen. It there's a small amount of it, which happens just by sort of by normal diffusion, but actually, the body has to put in energy in order for that homeostasis to continue. And I actually think that, yes, certainly, a lot of organisations stop putting energy into their, for instance, their innovation strategy, which is one of the things that I focus a lot of my time on, a lot of companies get comfortable, and just sit there and say, Everything's great. We don't need to continue on, I guess, I guess later, you'd, you'd agree an awful lot of companies with their digital marketing strategy will say, it's great. We don't need to do so much anymore. We've got it right. And the problem is the world moves on. Things change in the outside environment. And your immediate response is one of hey, I don't need to fight this anymore. I can just carry on being what I will. And you know, if the world is if you know, if the economy is growing, even if it's growing slowly at one or 2% per year, if your business isn't growing at one or 2% per year, you're going backwards, because the world is advancing with you staying still. So you have to continue to put in energy to move your business forward to change things to look for the new things. And I am an advocate because a lot of I've done some work with companies, they go in and I do their innovation strategy, and they'll go great, we've done that now. My answer is no. This is a continuous energy. You need to continue to do innovation. It's not something you do and forget. It's something you continue to do on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. Lately, you must have something you can say in terms of How they must continue with their digital marketing.

Dr. Leila Lunguleac-Bardasuc

Yeah, it's an ongoing process. So this is why I also mentioned at the start of our session today, that you always need to be teachable to learn, and it's input and output. So what you've put in in terms of effort to build this type of relationship to build your marketing strategy, is what you're taking out of. So when you stop this, you also stop the continuous growth and build. Well, Bob Dylan said that there's nothing as stable as change. You're looking for one stable thing. That's that it's changed.

Stuart Webb

Brilliant. We've managed to bring science, we've brought communication and we brought Bob Dylan into the podcast. What else can you possibly want? From a podcast with Leila? Leila, thank you so much for spending just a few minutes with us. I am so Britt, I'm so brilliant. You managed to end it on Bob Dylan, I don't know how you did it. But that's just a skill that you have, which I think is great. I'm just going to bring us to an end by saying because I don't want to take up too much of less time, she's busy. As you can tell, she's got a lot of things to get on with. But if you would like to hear more about the sort of things we're doing on this podcast, go to this link, which is https colon, forward slash forward slash link dot the complete approach.co.uk forward slash newsletter, that's link dot the complete approach.co.uk forward slash newsletter, that will get you on to the newsletter list. And I send out a newsletter, which highlights and tells you about brilliant people like LELO, who are going to come on and give us this fantastic stuff on a weekly basis, Leila, I cannot. I cannot thank you enough. We have one question, which I'm just going to throw in now. How will the new tools of artificial intelligence are available affect the digital transformation process? And once you've answered that, I will let people go and you get on with your job.

Dr. Leila Lunguleac-Bardasuc

Well, not only the digital transformation processes, but I think that all our work, healthcare, and we just need to see an education, how we are going to implement that. So we need to learn how to use this tools, but in the same manner, so you have an objective, use these tools to help you reach that objective and do not make just like aI implementation or implementation of the surgeon to your overall objective. Because I think that this is where this is where digital transformation processes fail. So we need to see how to how to implement them how they can help us and just just use them for the purpose that we have to generate value. And to create this this type of value, I think that we are focusing on that we are able to do so. And thank you so much for your questions. Thank you for having me. And I'll see everyone next time I will be in the audience because I will. I'm looking forward to your future sessions and Stuart

Stuart Webb

Lila, I will only say if you want to spend more time talking about AI join Leila to Friday coffee, we spend a lot of time thinking about how AI will affect the working environment, how it will affect the way in which we work. We've had some brilliant discussions, which really do highlight the fact that too many people are using the use of AI as the destination rather than as the support to achieve their bit their business objective. And so, you know, les that's absolutely right. AI has to be the supporting tool in the way that workflow is a supporting tool in the way that things like Video Pro video calling is a supporting tool, use it as a tool, not as a destination. Leyla, thank you so much for your time. I really do appreciate the use of taking a very valuable 2830 minutes out of out of your day. And I really appreciate the fact that you've given us these pearls of wisdom. So thank you so much for that. Look forward to seeing you in the audience next time. Thank you so much.

Dr. Leila Lunguleac-Bardasuc

Thank you. Thank you for having me. Thank you everyone for joining

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View Details

Who is Tai?

Tai is CEO of That Marketing Team

Key Takeaways

How do you help your customers to generate leads? 0:20

Automated lead generation and sales. 2:18

Tools for using to attract more leads. 3:27

How to attract agents to become your local office? 5:30

The importance of understanding your customer’s needs. 6:34

Do you know something your customers know better than you? 7:56

The better decision you make, the better business you build. 8:58

The one thing you need to be able to do. 11:23

Stuart’s advice on how to make leads more automated. 12:51

Valuable Free Resource or Action

theleadsworkshop.com

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

https://youtube.com/live/cgIK-sCYl4g?feature=share

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Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

customers, gpt, talk, ty, automated, quiz, leads, word, business, people, work, hoping, write, prompts, marketing, data, automated system, questions, great, stuart

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Tai Goodwin

Stuart Webb 00:20

Good afternoon and welcome to excuse me, another episode of frog in my throat of five questions over coffee. I'm here today with Thai Thai Goodwin, she's CEO of that marketing team. And she's really going to talk to us about how she's gonna help us to generate more leads, and make more sales. Welcome to the podcast. Ty.

Tai Goodwin 00:43

Hey, Stuart, I'm so glad to be here. Now, I hope it's okay that I don't actually drink coffee.

Stuart Webb 00:49

That's fine. I've been drinking enough for both of us, Ty. I think I've finished six so far. So that's more than enough. So Ty, let's just understand a little bit now how exactly do you help your customers to to generate those models? What what is that? What is the ideal customer that you're looking to help you said small businesses to find small business for me?

Tai Goodwin 01:12

Yeah, we work with a lot of small businesses who are doing, you know, $2.5 million and above in their business. And they don't have the real budget to bring on a full blown marketing manager or CMO chief marketing officer. But they also really don't have time to do it themselves. So one of our tagline, Stewart is no time, no tech, no team, no problem. They struggle with getting the people in place, they don't have the tools in place, and we can help them with that.

Stuart Webb 01:41

So what is it that they've been doing until you get involved? You know that it's been a mistake that you're helping them? So

Tai Goodwin 01:49

a lot of my clients have been focused only on referral marketing or word of mouth? Right? And so because you know that that's great, until it's not great, right, when the referrals dry up, and then you don't have any leads coming in? What do you do? How do you find your next client and that makes it really hard for them to scale beyond where they are. And so we are able to come in and show them how to put an automated marketing system in place that generates leads for them on autopilot, it actually kind of creates demand for their business without them having to have a referral or word of mouth.

Stuart Webb 02:18

I love automated systems, I spend half of my life talking to people. In fact, I was in a conversation this morning about the fact that he didn't have an automated system in order to sort of take the leads he had through a sort of sales process. And make it automated, I always say, you know, once you've got somebody in the funnel, you need to make it impossible for them to crawl back up the funnel, you got to gently educate them until they eventually become a customer whether they really want to or not, because that's the that's the that's what we put these funnels in place for so so I know you've got a you've got some some great offers on your website and things like that. There's one in particular I'm hoping you're going to sort of talk to us about and that's the the leads workshop.

Tai Goodwin 03:01

The leads workshop is we do it every week. And in that leads workshop, I'm sharing the five things that we use to automate marketing for our customers, because it's not just about getting the leads in. There's ways to automate qualifying people. There's ways to automate your sales and delivery. So all of those things can be automated, and it saves our customers time, it helps them make more money, because now nobody's slipping through the cracks.

Stuart Webb 03:27

That's a really great. So how do you how do you talk to us about some of those tools that you use it that in, without giving away too many of what I'm sure you're going to talk about, but just tell us a little bit about that?

Tai Goodwin 03:38

Well, one of the things that we've used for a lot of local businesses is a quiz. We just built a quiz for an insurance person who, you know, wanted a way to bring in more leads. And it was simple quiz that can attract people because it's not intrusive. It's kind of fun, right? But people will give you more information and data. And when you have something like a quiz, as opposed to just a traditional PDF download, or you know, a webinar, you're going to get more data that you can use to do a better job with your marketing and people like a quiz. But how does that work? Are you talking about the Harry Potter? You know what kind of Harry Potter character are you quiz? We're talking about things that are a little bit more technical than that, and a little bit more specific than that. But it's still a quiz that asks people questions that helps them pinpoint what their real pain is and how you can specifically solve it.

Stuart Webb 04:28

I love the idea. I love the idea Ty tell me Is there a particular book or, or programme that really sort of helps you to hone the way in which you work with your customers?

Tai Goodwin 04:37

Oh, wow, there's so many Stuart, one of the ones that really helped me most recently is the 100 million dollar offer. And you probably heard folks talking about that. And, you know, it's one of those things where it's got some really great points in it. We don't take everything in it very literally, but it's got some really great points, specifically around it. And this is just what I picked up from, because there's a lot of people talking about the book right now. But it really helped me focus on what my customer wants, instead of what I think I should offer them. And that was the mission that was the linchpin for me, because so many of us, like, when we come into businesses, we've got these skills, we want to use our skills, you want to do this, and you want to do that. And we don't really take the time to actually figure out what is it that's going to solve the customer's problem? Fastest. And that was your,

Stuart Webb 05:30

I love it. I love it. It's so interesting, because I was having a customer meeting this morning with somebody. And they were talking about how they were wanting to set up a new business and set up agency in different countries. They've got a very international business. And I said, so. So what is it, they don't talk a lot about how this would help them to sort of, you know, accelerate this house. And I said, so what is it that that that will attract those agents to become your agent in that locality? And they looked at me as if to say why you've now have you started speaking a completely different language. And I sort of said, well, you know, you want to attract these people to become your local office, effectively, a sort of, you know, an attitude of your business, you're gonna give them your branding, and all that good stuff, but what's in it for them. And they kept looking at me and saying, but I don't understand this is going to help me accelerate my sales, and they will make money and I went, Yeah, but that's not what will attract them to become your office, what is it that you are doing to solve their pain or their problems when they went? Oh, these people want to do such and such? Okay. That's what I've been asking for the last five minutes, and they weren't see. And it was one of those moments where you sort of you, you've got to get somebody out of there sort of what is it that I'm trying to do to? What is it that my customer wants from me in order to get them to understand how to sort of make that sort of LEAP, don't you?

Tai Goodwin 06:48

Oh, absolutely. And it's amazing, because people forget that all the time. And, you know, I'll ask people, I said, Well, have you talked to the people that you want to serve? What? I can do that or what I need to talk to them? Well, yeah, you know, it's their money that they're going to invest is their energy, it's their trust is their time. So it amazes me when I run into people that have never asked the AUG, they intend to sell to, what is it that they really need? And why do they really need it?

Stuart Webb 07:17

Yeah, it's interesting, I spend a lot of my time with companies that are trying to innovate. And they, they they very, very rarely do, I sort of you know that there are two types of innovation, one of which is very much incremental. And the other one is what I call sort of recombinant, which is where ideas come back together. And it's often the customer that produces that recombinant idea. It's something which is completely out there. It's sort of something they've not considered, but the customer is thinking about it because they've got a different view on it. And I often say that the greatest source of innovation is your customers. And the one thing that I've had said to me more often than not, is, why would our customers want to be the source of innovation? They don't know what they're doing. And I'm saying, Well, do you know something your customers actually know better than you what it is you're trying to do for them. And if you ask them occasionally, if you just reached out and told them, I'd like your input, they might actually tell you more things that you could help them to solve in terms of pain points in their problem in their business.

Tai Goodwin 08:14

Absolutely. And it's not that they don't know is that they might not put it in the same phrase, you know, so it takes a really smart entrepreneur, really savvy entrepreneur, to learn what questions to ask so that you get the right data, it's like, and this is gonna sound like really, this is gonna connect for those of you that have parents, if you're a parent of like a five or six year old, there's some things you can't come out and directly asked a five or six year old, but if you ask them questions around it, you'll get to the answer. And that's kind of what you have to do as an entrepreneur. You know, and when you learn how to ask those questions, which is how we tie back into the quiz marketing that we do, it's learning how to ask the right questions, so you get the right data, so that you're making better decisions with your marketing and a better investment of your time and money.

Stuart Webb 08:58

I love that I love that phrase I actually read even this morning, because I was it's one thing I try and remind myself is, the better the decision you make, the better business you build. And you've really got to ask the right questions to make a really smart decision to build a really great business. Yeah. Good, good. Tie. Listen, I've been asking you some questions for last 1010 minutes or so. And there must be one question that you're currently thinking. Why doesn't he asked me this? It's so obvious. I don't understand why he hasn't bothered to ask me. So I'm not going to get you to ask that question. And of course, as soon as you've asked that question, you need to answer it because I'm not going to be able to know the answer to that one. So what's the question? I should have asked you that I haven't.

Tai Goodwin 09:41

Oh, goodness. Well, you know, one of the questions that's really coming up right now has to do with like chat GPT Nai. And a lot of people are flocking to it because they're like, I'm gonna fire my copywriter and I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna be able to do all this myself and I wrote this the other day, but let me give The question first, the question is, you know, what's the best way to use AI technology for my business? Right? Especially when it comes to marketing? And that's a such an important question right now, like I said, because a lot of people are flocking to it. And if they go, I'm just gonna get it to do this. You can write as many chat GPT prompts. And for those of you who are new to that, it's an AI Artificial Intelligence, which is not always artificial intelligence, artificially intelligent technology that people are using, and you can put questions in. And it'll give you a great amount of data, it'll give you great responses. Sometimes you have to, you know, go through and filter them and make sure they're correct. But a lot of people are using it to try to write, copy and to get prompts for social media and a good website, copy. And that's great. But here's the thing, no matter how many prompts you write, if you don't have a clear audience, offer, or messaging, none of your prompts are going to matter. It all comes back to this strategy. And that's with anything, that's the biggest mistake that I see people make is that they're running after tools are what we call throwing spaghetti at the wall, hoping something sticks this week, I'm going to try tic tac next week, as somebody said, I should use YouTube. So I'm going to try and YouTube as the next week. And you're just throwing things at the wall. And so you're never getting enough data to really know what's working or why it's working. And if you don't understand why it's working, you cannot replicate it.

Stuart Webb 11:23

Yeah, great, great stuff, great stuff. I have a scientific background. And I know that the one thing you need to be able to do is have enough information behind you to be able to replicate something that's been successful, because it's those one offs that were really successful. And then you go kind of want to know what it is I did. So I can do it again. And I just don't know. That's the problems that you have where people go, I think I did such and such, and it doesn't work and you're scrambling around. And that blows you off course, doesn't it? It leaves you know, it's all very, you know, people say I don't need a plan because plans never work. And I often say you know, what you forget is a plan helps you to know whether or not you want to be able to do that, again, it doesn't matter if a plan ends up being you being blown off upon you know how far off plan you are. So without that guiding strategy, without that thing that sort of says I know what it is I'm trying to do. You're absolutely right, people find themselves adrift. And that's, that's a really great message, I worry a lot about people who are now leaping into chat GPT chat GPT is just a great big load of words or put together and it just predicts the next best word, it doesn't mean it has any form of intelligence, it's not intelligent. It just predicts the next possible word with a high likelihood of success. I put some words into chat GPT the other day in order to sort of demonstrate to somebody how it would write them up until it wrote an entire paragraph of about 250 words without a sentence stop without any sort of without any sort of formatting. And I looked at it and went, would you like that to become that automated post that you put out on a regular basis? And they looked at it and they went? No, that's horrible. And I said, but that's what you were proposing. And too many people are just going, it's easy, but it will blow away any hopes that your customers have got of looking at you as an intelligent human being that doesn't know.

Tai Goodwin 13:11

Yeah, you know, it's like, I think it's like when people and I've never experienced this, but I've watched TV, I think it's like when people get hooked on drugs, you know, you get that high from Oh, this worked on Chet GPT one time or this worked on tic tac, and it went viral. And then you're always trying to chase that same result. But you're never getting it. And it's interesting, man, I can't wait like written his first like, you know, wave of people kind of just getting into this whole chat GPT. And it's gonna be really interesting to see what has actually worked, that's been implemented, like, it's one thing to, for people to be able to create stuff from it. And that's fun, and it's exciting. But I want to see what the results are. When people actually implement the content and the data and the responses that they're getting. That's what we need to be taking a look at.

Stuart Webb 13:57

Brilliant Ty, it's been a real pleasure having you come on and talk to us about some of this stuff today. Thank you so much for doing it. I'm just gonna, just gonna remind everybody that if you would like to get onto the newsletter, mailing list, I send out an email pretty much every Monday morning talking about who's going to be coming on to the podcast on Tuesday so that you can see the sort of wisdom that we're hoping to bring to you and the free advice stuff like typing giving us today. So go to this link, which is https colon, forward slash forward slash link dot the complete approach.co dot c a.uk forward slash newsletter. So that's linked the complete approach or one word Kodo co.uk forward slash newsletter, come on to that. Get that newsletter every week. So you can see some of the brilliant people we've got coming up in the future. Ty, it's been an absolute pleasure having you on today. Thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Really appreciate you giving us some of that wisdom about how to go about making your leads more automated. It's brilliant stuff. Thanks. Q

Tai Goodwin 15:00

Fantastic. Thanks, Stuart. It's been a pleasure

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Who is Joe?

Joe is the human Kaizen expert and author of the Amazon Kindle #1 New Release "Every Day Excellence".

Key Takeaways

From every mistake to every interaction. 3:34

Taking a step back and looking at your mistakes. 5:22

Understanding failure as an opportunity. 8:35

Books that would add value. 9:44

Why aren’t you like this? 12:19

Using time with intention and starve your distractions. 15:06

Valuable Free Resource or Action

https://everyday-excellence.com/excellence-shop/

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

people, joe, book, kaizen, understand, programme, mistakes, brilliant, brain, life, mark manson, friends, learn, talking, everyday, forward slash newsletter, power, screw, day, big

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Joe Templin

Stuart Webb 00:17

Hi, and welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I have my coffee here. Joe has got his coffee in front of him. That's brilliant Joe well done. I'm just really, really glad to have Joe Templin with me today. Joe is an author and he's a human Kaizen expert. I'm really looking forward to the conversation. Joe has a website called everyday excellence.com Really well worth going on and having a look at some of the stuff that Joe talks about that I'm really confronted with conversation. So welcome to It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee, Joe

Joe Templin 00:50

Stewart, happy Pi Day, it's a nerd Hi holiday, I could actually be wearing my Pi Day shirt, but we're in the middle of a blizzard. And so we're making do with what we have.

Stuart Webb 01:00

Yeah, I'm just looking at my window, right. And it has started that the heavens have opened and hail is now falling. I don't know what I've done to deserve this. But you can't hear it on the roof. Thankfully, Joe, listen, let's just talk a little bit about the sort of the problems that the customers are trying to help and the problems that they've got when you when you reach out to them.

Joe Templin 01:21

So let's just start with the premise that everybody has problems. The reason why is because everybody is alive and is a component of life that you're going to have difficulties and struggle. If we can start from that premise, then it's easy to see that everybody can benefit from who I am and what I do. And I'm not everybody's cup of tea or a glass of whiskey as it might be. But there are aspects of what we talk about that are really across the board and for everybody. And I am a human Kaizen expert, a lot of people are familiar with Kaizen from the manufacturing world where it's the concept of continuous improvement. And it's been applied to manufacturing, finance, software, but we are not applying it to the most basic and important component of any business or organisation, which is the people. And when you're a little kid, you are engaged in human Kaizen, you're learning to walk and you fail multiple times, you're learning to talk and you fail multiple times, you're learning to tie your shoes or draw or ride a bike. And so you're in this continuous improvement mindset. Really, until the time that people reach teenage years, maybe even when they go off to university. And then two thirds of the people stop growing. And so as you move further in your life and your career, it further Narrows and people start to be resigned to their current situation, or they just follow orders from their boss or from somebody in a uniform or what have you. And so we need to almost regress somewhat, to that childhood, to be able to re stimulate and grow and be the best that we can be and sort of appropriate that we're doing this on March 14, because this is Albert Einstein's birthday. And Albert Einstein himself said that the essence of genius is to maintain the enthusiasm of childhood into adulthood

Stuart Webb 03:34

and loved I love I love that quote Joe and I think you're absolutely right there are so many of us that have forgotten that in order to learn how to walk you have to fall on your backside several times and get up and say well that's not the way to do it, then is it let's have another crack and too many of us think that you should get it right. Well, yeah, we should aim to get it right first time but in actual fact you beat yourself up and I had a conversation yesterday with somebody who's starting out in their business and the one thing that he said is I made a lot of mistakes in February but I decided that I got to learn from those mistakes and I thought well he you're likely to make a success that aren't you know, that was that was that was just just warms my heart that this is this is somebody who just decided he'd made mistakes but he wasn't gonna beat himself up he was gonna learn from those mistakes and I guess that's that's the essence of what we're talking about. If you can extract

Joe Templin 04:25

one bit of information one pearl is my father calls it from every mistake from every interaction you can string together enough those pearls now a very rich life.

Stuart Webb 04:37

Yeah, brilliant. So one of the sort of things you find that your, your the people you're reaching out to help have tried to do in the past and essentially failed to do Joe before you can you can step in and try and do what you can't help them.

Joe Templin 04:50

One of the big overarching component actually looking at you know, the meta awareness from this is that people are failing To learn from their failures, because we all fail. And as we were talking about with learning to walk or your guy in business, there are a lot of salespeople then trading currently, you know, we make mistakes, we screw up. And because we're interacting with other individuals, there's lot of delaying false self false self interactions going on there, that we have to deal with. But it's people make the same mistakes again, and again, because they're not pausing, taking a step back and looking at what went right and what went wrong. In the military. They do after action, debriefs, and professional sports they watch the tape afterwards. And having the ability to set your ego aside and look at any interaction whether it was with your significant other or extravagant. Other unfortunately, whether it's in business, whether it's in an athletic endeavour, whether it's music, or trying to develop any other skill, taking the time to step back, look at disengage your ego, and emotion, and looking at the situation to try and extract the wisdom from it. So that the next iteration that your better is really the biggest mistake I see people make because they're either too emotional, or they don't take the time because they're too busy, which seems to be the way of the world at this point. Or they are unwilling to take ownership of part of the screw up, essentially, and make it so that next time they're better.

Stuart Webb 06:39

I really, really can't thank you enough for bringing us back to thinking about that sort of thing. Tell me Is there a particular valuable free offer a valuable piece of free advice that you can leave with the audience at the moment and this point, I'm going to put up what I think is a really interesting website, web links that you can you can refer us to which is everyday hyphen excellence.com. Forward slash, excellence hyphen shop.

Joe Templin 07:04

So if you go to the everyday excellence.com website every single day, there's a new blog there. And so every single day, there's free information, free insight for individuals that can help them grow and develop and improve in some capacity. If they go into the shop, they can find the three day three brain free training programme, which is a three day programme. Being honest there, and it's completely free, no hidden costs or anything, just sign up and every single day, for the three days of the programme, you'll receive an email. And what I do is I go through the evolutionary history of the brain from a biology point of view, the lizard brain, the monkey brain, or limbic system, and then the neocortex, and explain how it works, and how its evolved, and how they interact. And some of the power and weaknesses thereof, because we live in an information society. So everybody's trying to focus on their neocortex, but they don't realise that that is, although it's incredibly powerful. It is limited its capacity when compared with the older, stronger parts of the brain. And this is why even though you're on a diet and trying to finish your work, you're gonna go out and have tacos and margaritas with your buddies, because you've got 80 plus percent of your brain saying we want tacos, we want friends, as opposed to the neocortex. And so understanding these different components will allow people to harness the full power of their capability and utilise it.

Stuart Webb 08:35

It's really interesting, isn't it, because it's by understanding and despite the fact that you've explained it so well there, it's by understanding those things that you can actually start to address the, the failings you sometimes have where you don't understand where a feeling or where a behaviour has come from. And it's only by starting to break that down and understand it, you can actually start to sort of refocus your attention as it were, isn't it so that it's learning to do that that's the key thing to sort of being able to adapt to those new habits. And indeed, in your business life learning that in actual fact, we just said, a failure doesn't actually mean that everything's coming to an end, you just use it as an as a learning experience, if you can change your mindset. And you can understand where some of that's come from, you've got the power to do that.

Joe Templin 09:20

As Sun Tzu said, you know, 2000 plus years ago, he knows his enemy, and himself will ever be victorious. And essentially, you have three different selves and three different enemies going on simultaneously within your triune brain. And so you need to understand and utilise all of them. And if you can get them working in harmony, that's when you unlock your power. And you can do pretty awesome stuff.

Stuart Webb 09:43

Joe, love it. Joe, is there a particular book or a concept or programme that you think would add some value and I know there's a book currently over your left hand shoulder so I don't sure if you want to refer to that one in particular? Yeah.

Joe Templin 09:56

This is my book. So obviously I want people to buy this book because You know, that lets me buy beer and be able to, you know, go do more research and stuff like that. So everyday excellence.com they can get the book every day excellence. And obviously, I'm going to encourage people to do that. But when we were talking earlier about great books, it made me think about all the books that I've consumed because reading or audiobooks or what have you are all consuming information over the past few years. And the two that really rise to mind. One is the E Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber. I saw him speak decades ago, and it was like Sam Kinison, you know, on steroids, he was absolutely insane, but awesome. So anybody who is working in any sort of business or sales capacity, that is about how to systematise. And when you systematise, you free up time, so that you can go do other things. So that allows you to go run the ultra marathons, or learn guitar or spend more time with your sweetie or whatever, because you're able to do your business much more efficiently. And the other big one is Mark Manson's book, The Subtle Art of not giving up. And that one is, at this point, I think one of the leading self help sales books in terms of sales. And it's all about resource allocation. About you only have so many apps so much that you can care about. And so if you can allocate it towards the things that are most important to you, you're going to not be bothered by Little things like, Oh, we got snow start. Okay, roll with the punches deal with, oh, you know what this happened? Not a big deal. Because I'm concerned about this, well, this is building your business, or again, your special needs kid, you know, to develop properly, or getting through that issue with your relationship, as Nietzsche said, for man has a strong enough why he will overcome any how. And the subtle art of not giving up is about understanding yourself understanding that world screwed up, because once you understand that you can move forward. And from that point, being able to allocate your bandwidth to the most important areas of your life.

Stuart Webb 12:19

Absolutely love it. Brilliant, brilliant recommendations. Absolutely. really buy into those. A Joe, you know, I've asked you a bunch of questions. And I guess there's one question that you're currently thinking, why isn't he talked about this? Or what is it he hasn't yet mentioned? So I'm not going to throw open to you? What is the question that you would have liked me to have asked despite I failed to do, obviously. And then once you've asked the question, what would the answer be? Otherwise, we'll all be sitting here for the next several weeks, wondering what that answer will be. So what is that question? So the

Joe Templin 12:47

question that I get really often is, you know, how are you like this? Why are you like this? Because I've got a lot of friends who hated me when they first met because they're like, No, there's no way this is an act. Nobody's like this. And you know what my friends from grad school, who's now like Dean of a school, literally said that you she's like, there's no way a human being is like this. And I am like this is Liang talks about in his true self false self model, which is a very interesting read. I don't waste time with illusions. Yes, I write poetry and stuff like that. And I can really use words to spin stuff up. But I am who I am. And is straight on through by not telling lies, especially to yourself, you don't have to waste any energy. And in going back to that Mark Manson allocation of apps, it then allows you to have more resources. And you got to remember life is a gift. This is a wonderful world that we Armstrong and I burned the candle at both ends and in the middle of flame throne. And the reason why is when I was 10 years old, I died. No flatline, floating up bright lights, the whole nine yards big, deep James Earl Jones voice and all that. And I came back home. And so that's the reason why I've been able to work world championships in martial arts, and run ultra marathons and write over a dozen books and get more degrees than a thermometer and play Legos with kids. And you know, take time to watch butterflies and all these things. Because I don't screw around. And I am true to who I am what I am and dedicated to being the best version that I can be of Me, so that I can then bring that out of other individuals. And so there's an old Irish saying, a good friend is the best mirror that you can have. And the best friend that we can actually have is ourselves because we can be true to ourselves. So if you can do that you can really unlock your potential. And you can add what I don't find.

Stuart Webb 15:06

Joe, I wish I could get that spirit of wanting to, to not waste time into more people because I work occasionally with students. And I worry so much about the fact that students spend half their life worrying about wasting money, but never think about time, they never ever considered time. And the one thing that I say to them on so many occasions, and they look at me as if I'm insane, is you can always get more money, you will never, ever have more time. So use time with intention and feed, your, your, your, your, your excellent and, and, and starve your distractions and they look at me as if I'm insane, because, you know, they never ever focus on those things. It is a brilliant message you've got in order to sort of tell people, you will not get this period of time back ever. So use it with intention and make it your absolute focus.

Joe Templin 16:02

I wish I was a college student again, there's so much cool stuff to learn, experience and do yo turn off the TV and go actually experience it. Have people read stories about you and your adventures, instead of watching somebody else with them.

Stuart Webb 16:18

Brilliant, brilliant. Joe, this has been such a really fascinating conversation. And thank you so much for spending just a few minutes with us talking about it. I really would like to encourage all of the listeners at the moment go to everyday hyphen excellence.com forward slash excellence, hyphen shop or just go to everyday hyphen excellence from just read some of the stuff that Joe's got on there. Fascinating stuff, fascinating thinking, really encourage you to go and probe around and have a look. And I just also like to bring to your attention our newsletter because that's how you get to hear about interesting people like Joe and get to see the results of these conversations come back to you through the podcast. And that's link dot the complete approach.co.uk forward slash newsletter that link dot complete approach.co.uk forward slash newsletter. Joe, it has been an absolute pleasure to be here talking with you for just a few minutes today. Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate you're in the middle of a blizzard at the moment. I've got the halo briefly stopped, but I suspect it's coming back. So we'll we'll muddle through. We'll have a brilliant day because of it. Thank you very much for your time.

Joe Templin 17:28

Stuart, thank you for the opportunity to be excellent and grow today.

Stuart Webb 17:31

And thank you very much for that Joe

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Who is Richard?

Richard is an award-winning voice actor working with Your Script, Telling your Brand Story to Deliver Clear, Articulate, Warm and Engaging Results. My Story Telling Process will Assess Your Script to deliver :🎤 What is important, what needs to be emphasized? 🎤 What is the script trying to portray? 🎤 Is it informational, instructional or a warning, 🎤 A call to action, an invitation to participate or purchase? 🎤 To whom am I speaking, where are they, why is this information important to them? 🎤 What might be their reactions and how do I incorporate those into the telling of the story? 🎤 Who am I and why am I imparting this information?

Key Takeaways

Where do you get your voice from? 0:00

What are the problems that you help companies solve? 1:48

Working with people who have no idea what they’re doing. 3:38

What drew you into the voice acting life? 8:30

The importance of thinking about the customer’s problem. 11:50

Ai speech or text-to-speech. 15:11

We can bring the emotion and passion. 16:48

Stuart’s thoughts on the robotic voice. 18:35

Valuable Free Resource or Action

listen to Richard’s demo at https://voiceactingmagic.com

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/newsletter

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Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

voice, richard, narration, medical, message, voice actor, ai, people, listen, question, training, record, cartoons, demos, fantastic, scottish, elearning, voiceover, various parts, script

SPEAKERS

Richard Crossman, Stuart Webb

Richard Crossman 00:00

Stuart Webb 00:20

Hi, and welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I'm here with my coffee. Probably had too much of that already. Actually Richard is here with me Richard is a voice acting magic maker. I'm gonna say that I love the I Love the Doctor Who thing we've got going on so far. Richard. That's brilliant. Richard got an amazing career and range of voices as well to go with it. So I'm delighted to have you on the podcast. Richard, welcome to It's not rocket science. Five questions over coffee. Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be here. We have to get into the voices before we even started, didn't we?

Richard Crossman 00:58

Sorry, Stuart. I couldn't resist. Richard,

Stuart Webb 01:01

you've got a such a fantastic range of voices. I'd like to start by asking you where they come from before we get into the into the five questions because you've demonstrated to me so many voices in the past when we've talked what where do they all come from? Where's the inspiration?

Richard Crossman 01:17

That's a really good question. Some of them come from family. I have Scottish and English Heritage. So I have those accents that come sort of naturally to me. I'm also a trained opera singer. And so I have French and Italian as well. I was spent a number of years in a French classical kitchen as a cook and a chef and a pastry chef. So I have that French coming with me as well. And other stuff I've just sort of created as time has gone along. Having listened to cartoons and all kinds of radio dramas and all that sort of stuff, I can come up with a voice. I wanted to be the villain today.

Stuart Webb 02:05

Richie fantastic. Listen, tell me about the sort of people you work for, what are the what are the problems they have that you're trying to help them solve?

Richard Crossman 02:14

Well, the main problem is trying to get their message out. They want to get their brand out there, they want to get an idea of what they do and who they are or what sort of services and products they offer, or they want people to learn more about them. And then there's also the the client who wants to do internal training with staff. So I do a lot of that much of my work is corporate facing. So not a lot of it is out there in the public, because it's proprietary. I do a lot of elearning stuff, training of staff, and so on and so forth. So that's that's kind of where they are. They're trying to get their message, whether it's an internal message or an external message, and that's when I do my best to help them with.

Stuart Webb 03:05

And you've got a fairly nifty sideline there as sort of working with medical practitioners, because you're one of the few people I know that actually understand all of those deeply scientific Latin names in order to sort of get that message across, which is a pretty unique skill.

Richard Crossman 03:20

Yeah, I did one couple of weeks ago. It's a new drug called Zobo. rituximab relating to gastro esophageal junction adenocarcinoma. So I think I can throw that around in my mouth fairly easily.

Stuart Webb 03:38

Don't we all have to have to worry about that one. So that's a it is really fantastic that you you bring that? Do you find that you're constantly having to work with people who have tried sort of, well, let's take an example of a medical drug company that have done their best to sort of produce their own sort of promotional video, and even half the people working for them, I've got no idea how to pronounce that particular word. And they've eventually sort of given in and sort of found somebody like yourself to sort of help them out. And then you've got to sort of educate them on the fact that it would have been cheaper if they started that way in the first place. Well, I'm

Richard Crossman 04:12

not so sure how many people have tried it on their own first because I generally get them at the point where it's like, we need to hire a voice actor. Right? So what they've done before that I have no idea but I get everything from medical studies done in universities or research labs down to the medical disclaimer at the bottom of a television commercial you know, if you're pregnant if you do this and if you have that if you have that you shouldn't take this please consult your doctor and also, I work with companies who create medical equipment new new tools for dentists and doctors and and so on and I do the explainer videos on how to use those or how they came about and you know, what was the reason for their for their creation?

Stuart Webb 04:58

Do you know it It's, it's it's it's amazing that we even have to have the discussion about why you why you get involved in the first place. But I guess I guess I'll ask it, you know, there are there are people out there who and I know because you know, I've come across the, the the narrate your own video is not always particularly successful because you get the pacing, right, don't you that is the one thing that I think most of us really struggle with, without the sort of training in terms of acting and singing that you've got, we all really struggle to get the pacing, right, when it comes to sort of explain what we do. And we can we don't get the the excitement necessarily, you bring all of that to the video, don't you?

Richard Crossman 05:42

Well, that's what I try and bring. And sometimes I'm allowed to do what they call a self directed session where they send me the script, I prepare it, record it, send it in, and they like it, or they don't, and we have to redo or whatever. And that doesn't happen very often. The redo part, I may have to fix a word or something, but it's rare that I have to redo the whole thing. And then the other side of the coin is a directed session where I'm recording with somebody on Zoom or in some other form, you know, stream yard or whatever. So that they're right, they're directing me as I go. Letting me know that, you know, this is the the attitude we want, this is the vibe we want. And you know, can you take this a little faster? Can you slow it down? Oops, you made a mistake, in the words, you inverted words. Which is which is great, because it means they have exactly what they want when we're finished.

Stuart Webb 06:35

Brilliant. Tell me I mean, I think I'm going to do it now where can we find out more about your sort of work? And I hope that I've got the right thing here. I'm going to put up a a website there. What What can we do when we get onto that website? What can we find? What help can you give us to understand how you help people

Richard Crossman 06:50

with voice acting magic.com is the is the website, I have several domains, but that's the main one. And everything else comes into there. Basically, on that website, there is a sampler of sample player of a number of my demos in political spots in elearning. In medical narration, in commercial work in I missed one narration, that's the one I was looking for, for documentary or whatever it is. And you can listen to various parts, various samples and demos or parts of those demos, and decide whether or not I'm the voice you want. There's there's character samples up there. And if you go to write on that, that's on the homepage. And then if you go to other pages, you will learn more about who I am, what I do what I've done, who my agents are representing me in various parts of the world. And you'll also hear some other demos that I haven't put on the player. For instance, one of my demos is a reading of a section of the first chapter of Harry Potter in full scale Scottish dialect.

Stuart Webb 08:01

Oh wonderful. wonder are you going to do this? Are you going to do the Scottish voice first now I don't know whether or not I can even cope with Harry Potter being Scottish but it must be worth a listen.

Richard Crossman 08:14

Well, you know I do provide voiceover for business explainers social media promotional videos, telephone answering systems and stuff, training videos if you want something like that. And also costs us a bottle of McAllen, 50 year old

Stuart Webb 08:29

Richie. There must have been a book or a course which really started you to understand and get you into the into the voicing voiceover. way of thinking what was it that really drew you into this life?

Richard Crossman 08:43

I have been enamoured with VoiceOver in cartoons since I was a child. But I didn't understand what it was at the time. I just knew I loved all the voices, you know, Mel Blanc and his 300 characters, the Looney Tunes, you know, and the Hanna Barbera and all of those from way back in the 1600s or whenever it was I was born. And as I got older, I understood what was going on. And as an actor. You in film and television, I started to look at ways to get in. And before COVID Everything was done in Studio, you had to travel to the studio to record. There was no such thing as a home studio. For the vast majority. There were a few artists who had their own studios but not not the vast majority. And getting in was extremely expensive. demos were expensive training was expensive. And it just wasn't something I put my focus on at that point, although I still had the the pathway open. And then in 2019 I met a fellow who was a voice actor for an animated television series. And he and I got chatting and I discovered he had at a studio in the hometown that I lived in, and he was doing courses. So I went in and did some studying with him, did my first demo, and then started looking for other voice coaches and other training that I could get and found some fabulous stuff. And I've trained with some of the top voiceover artists in North America and in the UK. Over the past five years, I started doing it professionally three years ago. And I've done reasonably well, for the first three years, it's a long game, it's not something where you go and pick up a microphone and say, Tomorrow, I'm going to make a million dollars, it doesn't work that way. unless somehow or you get really, really, really lucky.

Stuart Webb 10:41

Well, that would be the story of actors as well wouldn't know.

Richard Crossman 10:44

Exactly, exactly. And one of the main things I do eight, almost 80% of my time is spent marketing. Yeah. Marketing myself to various production companies and video videographers and, you know, elearning companies and medical companies and everything else. And I had to create a brand, which the first one we created didn't work for me, as well as I thought it might. So about a year in, we changed it to the voice acting magic, which it is now. We changed the colours, we changed the logo, we changed everything. And that has proven to be very, very beneficial to me. And I also have a secondary website, that is only my medic, medical narration stuff. And that's your medical narration.com. And that's a very different branding, from what my voice acting magic is. Because for commercials and animation and all of that stuff, it tends to be a lighter brand. But for the voice actor for the medical narration, it's a more professional, professional brand and professional looking website.

Stuart Webb 11:50

So you know, I think that's a really important lesson there, Richard, and I'm gonna sort of hijack it a little bit and just sort of talk about that. But that's a really important lesson I think a lot of business owners tend to miss which is, you know, they don't think about the problem that their customer has. And for you, you are thinking about the medical narration, which is, you know, to serious problem. It's somebody who doesn't want to think about cartoons, because that they're not, they're not, that's not their problem. They're trying to get across a very serious, heavy subject. And so reaching out to them with the wrong message or reaching out to them with the wrong solution, which is what you were doing is not it's not helpful. It's counterproductive, isn't it, and you had to adapt your message to help them understand how you can help them solve their problem.

Richard Crossman 12:37

One of the first things that I discussed with my medical narration coaches, was a change in branding for medical narration. It was almost even before we started doing any work on pronunciation and delivery and telling the story and finding the story. It was you need a different brand.

Stuart Webb 12:57

Yeah, interesting.

Richard Crossman 12:58

It's already it's worked. Well.

Stuart Webb 13:00

Just before we come to my final question, I just want to give you a chance to highlight one other particular skill that you've got, which, for those people that are currently watching. Rather than just listening to this, you have a certain look, shall we say that you have a certain look, which, combined with a slightly red or a suit, would perhaps go down? Well, a particular time of the year. That's something that I think you must, you must enjoy doing.

Richard Crossman 13:28

And Stuart, I can tell you, you're on the nice list with just a little bit of naughty.

Stuart Webb 13:34

That's where I like to be Richard. That's exactly where I like to be.

Richard Crossman 13:37

Yes, I do. I've done well. I played Santa professionally for 35 years, but it's actually in my blood. The very first acting gig I had was a recitation of the poems was the night before Christmas. Oh, fantastic. At the age of three years old. Oh, fantastic. And we have we, we this year discovered a photograph of me in one of my mother's albums, at 10 years old dressed in a Santa suit handing out Christmas gifts on Christmas morning. So it's, it's been in my blood my entire life.

Stuart Webb 14:09

You know, you know, I would never have guessed a 10 year old could develop such a such an impressive beard, but well no, so that's pretty impressive.

Richard Crossman 14:21

Well, I'm actually 16 112 Christmas Day, but I've really enjoyed that aspect of of my career as I have enjoyed all my, all the aspects of my careers. I think I'm a number 13 Now or 14. And since COVID, has started it's been really wonderful because I've been able to do virtual visits all over the world, New Zealand, Australia, South America, North America, the UK and Europe. And I've two years ago, I started doing video Christmas cards, where I would talk to the client find out what it is they wanted Santa Claus to say as a greeting. Then we record it and they can do it. they want with it posted on the Internet, put it on YouTube, send it out as a link or send it out as a video or whatever, to whoever, whoever and how many people, they want to do it. And it's gone over very, very well with the clients. So

Stuart Webb 15:10

that's fantastic. That's absolutely brilliant. I love it. I love it. Richard, you know, we're coming to the end of this because I don't want to take up any of your really valuable time when you've got marketing to go and do. But tell me, there must be one question that you currently are thinking I wish you'd asked me about such and such. And so I'm going to give you the opportunity to tell me the question I should have asked you. And then whenever you've asked the question, you better answer it otherwise none of us we won't sleep tonight as we wonder what it is you would have said? Well, one

Richard Crossman 15:39

of the big things that's in the mind of pretty much every voice actor right now is AI speech or text to speech. It's it's a really difficult situation that's that's starting to poke its head up. And one of our voice actors actually had her voice stolen by tick tock, wow. A couple of years ago, and there was a huge outcry from the voiceover community. And she actually filed a lawsuit against tick tock and, and one. So there's, there's a lot of stuff happening right now with AI. A lot of companies are trying to put text to speech together, because it's cheaper, quote, unquote, than hiring a voice actor. But what we try and educate the clients to is that by having a real voice, you are investing in your project, not just making an expense, because it does improve. If I hear and even before I became a voice actor, if I hear artificial voices, I just tone out almost immediately. But we can bring the emotion we can bring passion, we can bring all kinds of nuances to a script that AI can't.

Stuart Webb 16:57

Richard, that is fascinating. I joined a group of academics and senior business level advisors, most most Fridays for what we call our Friday coffee. And you know, for the last four weeks now, despite everything that's going on, I mean, we've got we've got one UN ambassador, as part of the group and several professors of universities, every single one of them was bringing up how AI is affecting their, their, their their industry at the moment and the impact of AI. And do you know, the one thing that seems to be coming through on all of it is the fact that we have to remember that as humans, we still have got unique capabilities and unique characteristics, computers still don't have, and maybe they will start to develop some of it. But the thing is, we still have our humanity and we should learn to work with our humanity rather than sort of kicking back against the computer. So emphasise the positive of being a human, I guess is the message behind that, isn't it?

Richard Crossman 17:58

I actually did a script two days ago, no Friday it was. And part of that one statement in the script, which is stuck in my head is that AI will replace 800 million jobs by 2030. And I have a sneaking suspicion, that's a conservative estimate the way things are going. But it's going to be a very interesting few years as we go through that and realise what AI can do, and what we still need humans to do. And it's just going to be an interesting time, a difficult time for a lot of people. But an interesting one.

Stuart Webb 18:35

I will only say having heard a video posted recently that I was very interested in watching. The voice that was behind it was very obviously robotic quite quickly. The emotion was missing from the narration of what was a really interesting topic. And I was very quickly turned off from the listening to the video, because I was distracted by the rather robotic and cold voice and had it had a human being narrated with the warmth that you can bring with the interest with rise and fall of the voice and all the intonation. I might have actually stayed with that video to the end. But unfortunately, I clicked off in about 28 seconds. And that I'm afraid probably defeated the object to the person that put that video together in order to try and save a few pennies. And yeah, I didn't get to the end of the message and didn't take in what they were trying to teach me. So you know, there are still very large numbers of people out there who I hope are taking that on board and thinking about that before they start to turn away from human beings and what they can bring to their video production.

Richard Crossman 19:44

I am a robot from the satellites surrounding the Earth at the moment and I am asking you to please listen to human voices rather than me.

Stuart Webb 19:54

Interestingly, even trying to sound like a robot Richard, you failed miserably and still sounded like a human be just the message, we want it brilliant. Richard, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us, I really do think you could not do better than go to voice acting magic.com That's voice acting magic.com and listen to some of the great accents that Richard puts across on there, they really are quite fantastic. And if you need, if you need somebody to come and visit you in your home, come come around November, December. And you would like somebody to give you a special message, or here's the man to come and contact you because he does a really wonderful sideline in helping you to still believe, you know, I'm I have now passed the threshold when I shouldn't believe. And it's quite difficult to believe that he's not the real man. So, Richard, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. I really appreciate it.

Richard Crossman 20:49

It's been my pleasure, my friend. I'm so happy you invited me to join you today.

Stuart Webb 20:55

And if you would like to get onto our mailing list so that you see an email that comes out both Mondays and Tuesdays that lets you know who's going to be with us on it's not rocket science five questions of coffee this week. This is the link to go to which is https colon slash slash TCA dot FYI TCA your FYI forward slash subscribe, get onto the list. Come and find out who you are going to be listening to this week. And join us live on the recording. Richard, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Much appreciated. I'll let you get back to your day job now of making people happy with the voices you produce.

Richard Crossman 21:33

It has truly been a pleasure, Stuart, thank you so much for the invitation.

Stuart Webb 21:38

It's wonderful to hear those voices. It really is

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View Details

Who is Elaine?

Elaine uses DISC Profiling alongside laboratory and online health assessments to find the root cause of your health challenge Multi award winning Best Health and Wellbeing Mentor 2022 – Business Excellence Awards Brainz Magazine Top 500 Global Award Winner 2022 in recognition of my "entrepreneurial success, achievements, and dedication to helping others".

Best Speech & Health Mentor of the Year 2022 (Nottinghamshire): Elaine Godley- European Business Awards (EU Business News)

Best Disc Profiling Therapy Company – Europe - European Business Awards (EU business news) See more at https://discplus.health

Key Takeaways

Who is Elaine Godley and what does she do? 0:21

The pressures of working in the legal field. 2:11

How did you become interested in nutrition? 3:47

How to be proactive about your health and wellness. 4:54

Looking at your behaviour and health. 6:28

Where to start with a cancer diagnosis? 8:23

Elaine’s journey from leading law firm to helping others. 9:37

How to get in touch with Elaine. 11:19

Valuable Free Resource or Action

see elainegodley.com

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

https://youtube.com/live/ZS6SBqCfF68

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

behaviour, understand, behavioural, elaine, health, 12th, programme, burnout, disk, people, cancer, day, work, books, march, home, team members, show notes, lawyers, cancer diagnosis

SPEAKERS

Elaine Godley, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb 00:21

Hi and welcome back to five questions over coffee. My apologies we're a little bit late starting this one that's due to my inability to understand my own computer. But that's behind us. I have today with me a really lovely guest. I'm really looking forward to this conversation. So Elaine Godley Elaine is a multi award winning health and wellbeing, mentor who uses disk as part of her part of a work if you know disk, you will understand how that how that works. She's really been transforming team effectiveness, health and wellbeing for professional service firms. And she is a multi award winner, including a brains magazine top global 500. Mentor, I'm really looking forward to this conversation. Welcome to the podcast, Elaine.

Elaine Godley 01:05

Thank you lucky to be here. Thank you for the invitation.

Stuart Webb 01:09

No problem. So let's start by trying to understand who it is your help what what are the what are the what are the people that you are looking to try and help with their health and well being problems?

Elaine Godley 01:21

Well, that's not doable in marketing terms. So I've narrowed it down to lawyers and accountants, in particular, because I know from firsthand how difficult it is, in the current environment, how stressful their environment is, any time of year, lawyers and accountants always have problems. So they are my total market these days, although I do help private individuals.

Stuart Webb 01:48

And of course, I think you were at one stage, somebody who understood the law by taking a law degree, didn't you? I didn't take a law degree. And Stuart, I took her I have a master's in I have an MBA in legal practice from Nottingham law school. And I have been chief executive of a few firms and organisations

Elaine Godley 02:08

both in in legal and accounting.

Stuart Webb 02:11

So you certainly understand the understand the pressures that the search people are under because of your background.

Elaine Godley 02:17

I do indeed. And it's 70 or so from the inside out. So I know how to speak legal and accounting speak, we say,

Stuart Webb 02:25

somebody needs to be able to speak legally. So tell me what are the sorts of problems you find that people that you help so top lawyers, top accountants have got and how they try to help themselves before they seek the sort of advice you give.

Elaine Godley 02:40

And a lot of them suffer with burnout and overwhelm. They're constantly told, Oh, we know, by their employers, we think the world of our team members, and we look after your view, this hack and that, but very often, they're not proactive, not proactively looking after their, their team members. And they'll provide methodologies that they don't score, you know, a foot rub or a gym membership or something like that. But that's kind of after the event, a lot of these people who are so dedicated to their work, they've got their head down the time their desk, they've just pressure upon pressure upon pressure, and they get the bond and their health coke goes. So my aspect these days is merging disc behavioural profiling. So the behaviour aspect with the psychology and the health results. So that's how I've ended up kind of blending the two together.

Stuart Webb 03:35

Can you describe that to us? What what is it you? What is it you do with disc that help people to understand that and now, have you applied that within your own within your life as well?

Elaine Godley 03:47

Well, I was, I was running. I was managing partner of a local London Authority, and suddenly years ago, and so I finished the project. And then the next day, I got the next month, rather, I got the breast cancer diagnosis. I've subsequently had more different versions of cancer, including stage four. So I learned in nutrition, diet, lifestyle, all that kind of stuff, in addition to using disk in and merging it in disk. Previously, I've used the disk model. So disclose. I'm aware it's a lot of behavioural profiling, if you're Personality Typing, it's not about people in boxes. It's about looking at what ageing characteristics are. So for example, people who run law firms and accounting firms are typically different behavioural types to those who are actually doing the work. And there's often a mismatch in communication. So I've used just in terms of helping the teams understand one another, helping the bosses understand the team members in every which way. And I've identified patterns. So when somebody is out of alignment, when they're just behavioural profile patterns for themselves at home, is out of alignment with how they're behaving in the workplace. That's a guarantee for health problems, though I can look at somebody's spiritual profile now, and I can tell you what the likelihood is of them being ill, or they're likely to deal with if reach burnout if they've exceeded burnout. And of course, I had the health strategies now to, I'm not just saying, oh, you know, this person doesn't look very well, or whatever. It's, it's an open for conversation. So it's not a medical diagnosis or anything fancy like that. But I've got the health strategies with my other aspects of training, where I can help people unravel if they have got difficulties. So it's about being proactive.

Stuart Webb 05:39

It's great, great line, is there any advice you can give the audience that, that that will help them to think about how they are proactive about their health and their well being, including understanding their own behaviour?

Elaine Godley 05:55

Well, first of all, looking at how different potentially their behaviour is at home from in the workplace, did they put on a suit or when some cases people put on a uniform, and they'd behave differently? They put on like a public mask. And a lot of people do this without even realising they're doing it. So think about what your behaviour is like at home, what your behaviour is, like, is it work? Are you building up stresses and strains at work, and then going home to the family or the kicking the dog or whatever you do? So look at how your behaviour potentially is changing? And are you asking yourself, are you an element? Ideally, to your view, are what you see is what you get? Very often, that's not what we say. So look at your own behaviour. Look at your health situation. Are you drinking too much? That's a typical one with lawyers in particular, particularly litigator so are you thinking too much? Are you eating rubbish food? Are you taking exercise? Are you moving at all? I use it as your school day. And are you suffering with migraines? Do you join steak? If you've just taken inventory of your of your body really? And the because the answers are all there in the body, the body knows the body will tell you when something's wrong, but very often we don't listen.

Stuart Webb 07:12

Absolutely, right. Absolutely right. I'm going to put a link down at the bottom of this page. So that you can see some information about where you can go and read more about Elaine and her fascinating history. So if you have a look at here, which is Elaine godley.com. That's Elaine godly e l a i n e godly g o d l ey.com. And if you go to this page about underscore us, you'll see some great information about Elaine and what she does and how she helps people. So Elaine, I hope you don't mind I shall put that into the show notes so that people can go and have a look into your website and learn a bit more about the sort of thing you do to help people. So Elaine, is there a particular you mentioned your your cancer diagnosis? Was there a particular book or course or programme that set you understanding how your health and well being could be affected by your the food and the things that you do and eat to help you overcome some of those troubles that you mentioned?

Elaine Godley 08:23

There are so many books is difficult to know where to start. When you're given a cancer diagnosis, it's It's scary. It's very scary, particularly when they say stage four, and you've got less than a year to live, which is what happened to me in 2015. I previously had to two versions, I had different types of breast cancer previously. So I'd already had any kind of what to do. I've, I support a number of different small charities, I don't support big charities, and then marketing budgets and fancy travel and whatnot. I believe in small charities, and there's one called cancer active.com. And that is an amazing resource. So rather than recommend a book, I'd recommend this resource because the creator of that site Chris woollens has written a number of books, or any number of his books will tell you what to do and how to get started in the cancer field. Obviously, contact me

Stuart Webb 09:23

contact that cancer active.

Elaine Godley 09:27

Yes, cancer active.com. And as I say, there's various there's research articles, there's books, there's all kinds of information on there, which is really really useful.

Stuart Webb 09:37

Terrific. I shall also make sure that goes into the show notes look like it's been really interesting hearing about your your journey from from leading law firms, accounting practices through to somebody who's now trying to help those people are doing exactly the same job. And there must be a question that's currently on your mind that I haven't yet actually asked you which you're itching for me to do. So I'm I'm gonna just now throw open to you. What is the question that I should have asked, which I haven't? And then obviously, once you've, you've made know what that question is, you'll need to answer it. Otherwise, we'll all be left hanging for forever.

Elaine Godley 10:12

Yeah, so I suppose the question might be, as you know, what do I do currently have I've merged with the disk and their behaviour together? How do I actually help people, and she's on Long live in golf, as you know, Stuart. So I've got a very nice lifestyle here. So I do everything I do online, which mate means that my support is cost effective. And you see, nobody needs to leave home. And I've got a number of training programmes that I'm in the process of creating, which aren't on any of the websites at the moment. But do contact me I've got a course coming up on the 12th of March, which is a 10 week programme, looking at all the areas is 10 areas that people get themselves into trouble with, and those 10 areas, and we will be going into deep dive discussions on a Sunday evening, starting from March the 12th. From six till 830. And that's fascinating, okay, and you can reverse Iran's illness or how you can avoid it.

Stuart Webb 11:19

I think we're gonna have to try and promote that one for your land, because it sounds like that sort of thing we know a number of people should be getting involved with. So that's the 12th of March. This point, if you're listening to this, after the 12th of March, obviously, you can have to catch up but the 12th of March 2023.

Elaine Godley 11:37

Yes, absolutely. So obviously, email me or LinkedIn lingo view on LinkedIn. And I can send

Stuart Webb 11:47

it once again. Oh, make sure that that that is in the show notes. So that's Elaine, Elaine godly.com. I think if I remember right, and your email address later, to Elaine, Elaine godly.com. So I should make sure that's in there. Elaine, thank you so much. Thank you for spending a few minutes with us. I appreciate you breaking away from the lovely life you've got there in Portugal and the dreadful the dreadful difficulty it must be to sort of tear yourself away from doing something fun. And come inside and speak to us on a call like this. Thank you ever so much. I'm really looking forward to seeing how you develop those those courses because I think that'd be a really great resource for us to all understand exactly how to do better with our mental and physical health to enjoy pushing forward. If you've managed to avoid I managed to survive Morula stage four cancer for more than a year. You've done remarkably well, haven't you? And I'm sure there are many doctors around the world who are still looking at you and wondering quite how they can copy everything you've been doing. So it'd been really great spending some time listening to you and talking to you about this. Thank you.

Elaine Godley 12:49

I did it in three months and that was eight years ago. Example.

Stuart Webb 12:55

It can be done. It can be done. encourage everybody to find out how by following what Elena is doing at Lane. godley.com. Lane, thank you so much for spending some time with us. I really appreciate it

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View Details

Who is Tom?

Tom Spyt was a CardioThoracic Surgeon and University Professor but since his retirement has turned his experience to becoming an experienced Life Coach and Hypnotherapist. He helps people facing career change or retirement and those concerned with mental health issues.

Key Takeaways

Trauma is something that happens in our lives. 2:50

Lack of confidence comes from childhood trauma. 5:06

How do you help people with mental illness? 7:08

Thoughts create feelings and feelings lead to actions. 10:17

Engaging with thoughts about the past. 11:39

The metaphor of a railway station. 13:38

We are all experiencing changes in our mood. 17:16

What book or course would you recommend to the audience? 19:14

How to change your identity and purpose. 21:24

Valuable Free Resource or Action

http://thekindnessproject.co.uk/book/

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

people, thoughts, trauma, tom, important, coaching, life, spending, veterans, talking, experience, consciousness, metaphor, brilliant, retirement, psychologist, depression, understand, engage, mailing list

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Tom Spyt

Stuart Webb 00:18

Hi and welcome to It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee, I have my coffee in front of me at the moment I hope that Tom has as well. Today we're going to be meeting Tom spy Tom is a fascinating character, Tom will obviously give us some of his own history. But he was a cardiothoracic surgeon and professor, and spent a lot of his time helping medical students and his patients. But at retirement, he switched his focus and started to think about those people who are facing career change, retirement and mental health issues. And he's retrained as somebody who really thinks deeply about how those mental health issues affect those people. So, Tom, I'm really grateful for you to spend a few minutes with us, thank you so much for this, I'm thoroughly looking forward to this conversation.

Tom Spyt 01:06

Thank you, Stuart, I appreciate this opportunity. So because you, you said, I am recently retired cardiac surgeon, it did not happen immediately that I started to do what I do now. Retirement for professionals is, can be a challenge, because it is associated with the loss of identity and purpose. It doesn't only happen at the retirement, it happens also, when somebody is made redundant. If somebody comes to the end of the service in armed forces, these people whose identity and purpose and that's very often leads to a degree of depression. For me, and it took me about a year to to find myself again, I will tell you more later how I done it. So now

Stuart Webb 02:17

so what is it so what Tom, before you launch into that what what is it that you find that the people you help now have tried to do to address these issues on their on their own without any form of help and and how has that potentially not helped them?

Tom Spyt 02:34

Well, this takes her takes me to a little bit more to what they do. And as I said, as you introduced me, I deal with mental well being. Now trauma is something which is common. I work with veterans, British and Americans. And it's not about Battlefield trauma, you just trauma which happens in our lives. And it affects one in three of us, in one form or the other. And yet, this is the most the good note denied and belittled cause of human suffering. The difficulty here is that people we have a very different trauma. So one person may be look trivial for the other one. However, it's still very important. It doesn't matter how it feels for observers. What's important how it feels for an individual. Difficulty with for people with trauma is that there is a general reluctance to talk about it because it is ignored. It's denied. And furthermore, people who experience trauma quite often feel that they are responsible for it. The deal really caused it examples childhood trauma, or childhood abuse and for the abuser which happens so often. For instance in like rape, women who experience that feel responsible or they are made responsible for what happens to them. So the difficulty to reach out. Consequently, long term consequences of trauma are devastating and life long lasting example, a, quite a few of my veterans I work with, we just have Have them to transition from life in forces into civilian life. And they don't really often didn't know how to do it. Because they enlisted when they were still teenagers. Quite often in during conversations will turn, I discovered there were always who tell me eventually, oh, you know, I feel like impostor I, I can't do things I don't think I'm capable of. And what it is this lack of confidence comes from childhood. And this is a lack of closer relationship close bond between the primary caregiver, usually this biological mother doesn't have to be and a child. And the reason because the small person is doing our utmost to be loved to be closed, as if it's denied at this closeness. It starts doubting and doing my best. I can't do any anymore. And they grew up and it is it's not surprising. And I'm not put off by fact, when somebody who is in his 50s tells me, you know, do you think I really can get this job, we just say my dream job. So this is something important and you'll think about the extent of trauma, there's somebody in our family, amongst our friends or neighbours who suffered from this from from trauma. And also it will, you know, if your data comes from the United States, mainly, if one in five kids observed domestic violence in the one in the six, lift up, lived with the caregiver abusing alcohol. These are patterns, which will lead to inability to create to have loving relationships to continue domestic violence, Oh Is my father was doing it, it is okay for me to do it. Or it's okay to abuse children, girls in school or at latest later age. So these are issues which go far beyond Oh, just mental well being. That allows me to uncover a lot of areas, which that sort of intervention is not easily available. There's not enough psychologist or psychotherapist who can help me the circumstances. And of course, I'm not. I'm not securities, I'm very interested in psychiatry of trauma. And as a result of me studying it. And I'm certainly not a psychologist. So I hope that answers your question.

Stuart Webb 08:19

Tom, it's interesting that people suffer with this because of, of trauma in their childhood, how do you go about helping them to recognise and overcome this? What are the techniques

Tom Spyt 08:35

use not as technique is something which very few people know about. And what I'm going to tell you about is now there are rules how we all experience life, regardless of age, gender, race, language, culture, or religion. All eight billions of us experience life in exactly the same way. And the rules are constant, they always work like a gravity does. The others work even if we are not aware of them. So this simple explanation of how we experience life turns life's round, because it allows people to deal with depression and also with anxiety. How? What I'm talking about is three three principles. That's how we this cold in there in psychology are rare. I would say in the field of even psychotherapy. There are three principles principles of mind, consciousness and thought would be don't understand how important is how central is the thought, to our experience in life, we get an awful lot of thoughts during the day, about 10 to 30,000 of them, and they are all neutral. So there is no such a thing, oh, I keep on getting negative thoughts or I need to think positive. All thoughts to start neutral. And there's a metaphor out. You probably remember first time when you went to the cinema with your parents or siblings, very little person, and they were curious where the speakers are coming from, and eventually you turn back and you you notice this white flickering light? Well, to see the picture, there's got to be screen. And screen is a metaphoric description of consciousness or conscious awareness. And the picture is a thought, oh, pictures are just pictures to start. However, thoughts create feelings. There's no such a thing like, Oh, I feel one way or the other, if you look sad or depressed. Now there's got to be thought first. And the feelings lead to actions. And no actions, also some form of action. And all actions have caused the consequences we are responsible for. So when it comes to a depression, what is it? Well, actually, it's engaging with the thoughts about the past is 98. I was thinking about, Oh, that's such a fantastic job. And it's gone. How terrible it is. Yes, in this days, it felt terrible. I ended up being diagnosed with severe depression. Once I understood, there's actually this thoughts about the past, and the past is gone. I cannot undo it, I cannot make it any better. And that's how it is the same as with the future. I'm talking about anxiety, what is anxiety? It is engaging in thoughts about our imagination. Once we believe that the thought which came to our mind is true, wow, it becomes a reality. So what to do? Now some people say and when when I work with veterans who are very depressed, nearly suicidal, we talked about it. And I teach them how to get rid of those thoughts. Or let them go. Because those are like clouds, the paths? So how to do it from the in practical terms? Well, when you drive a car, you often listen to the music, some music, you like some music, you know? Like your thoughts? Well, you do belong to the musical station, you change it. There's no such thing that you become thoughtless. Immediately. next thought comes the other. If that doesn't appeal to you that sort of metaphor. Imagine yourself standing on the platform of busy railway station, like a new street in Birmingham. You're standing in trains stop in front of you, or things or thoughts, doors open. It doesn't mean that you go to a certain example which is third metaphor, which is appealing probably for the younger population is we all have got smartphones, and quite often we look at posts on the Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. And we spend about two or three seconds looking at the post and then we scroll so it comes into our mind. I noticed that I've seen it. I noticed thought about how fantastic was the past is gone. How fantastic moves, the relationship is gone. How close I was to my mother who passed away. Is this old true? But I don't have to engage in that sort of world. Who does how you Just a real practical advice. And that's how it works.

Stuart Webb 15:04

Tom, I love I love those analogies. And I love that you've given us such valuable free advice there in how not to engage in those self destructive thoughts. That's fantastic.

Tom Spyt 15:16

Well, it does. It does work, as I said to you. There's a lot is written on the rules of how we experience life. It is a term, which was coined by American philosopher called Sidney banks. And really, it is not a concept. It's not psychology or, or philosophy. That's the rules. And there's no way we can ignore them. Quite often, if Furthermore, it's possible to teach a little people about them, and they they understand it and understand it very well. Example. What's the consciousness? Well, consciousness is not binary. It's not that we are conscious or unconscious, of course, we've got to be conscious to, to be aware of the thoughts which come to our mind. However, consciousness has got the infinite number of levels. Like imagine a lift made out of glass, outside a skyscraper. And it goes up and down all day long, because that's what lifts to do. But it's the ground floor, it looks so the glass, it may not be necessarily quite nice picture of traffic, crowds, fumes. It may be some people you don't like the look of, but then it goes up. When it comes on, to the theatre, such as floor, you look through the same glass. Oh, it's so nice. I can see far away, it's peaceful and quiet. Well, as anything changed, it's exactly the same world. What it is what is important, the recognition of this is that we are all experiencing changes of our mood. Sometimes, we are in a not very good mood. And what is important to know that the moods are like, left, it will go up with a with us without us doing anything about it. There are certain conditions when it is impossible to make things better. If for instance, somebody is in a chronic, severe pain, that is impossible, without dealing with the pain first. What is what's the important when I was teaching this to my grandsons who were at the time, six and eight, and the next morning after our conversation, I was telling them, so what are you going to do if you are in a bad mood? Oh, and I think granddad is going to pass. So even the little people can understand that. And they can understand now, the importance of it is oh, they said there was a number of suicides among two teenage girls. Wow. How could they protect themselves? Understanding how we experience life that is the best protection and the only probably protection which comes from within not just regulating more and more different media. Yes, it is important is contributing. But for a teenager to understand that they what they experience may be just illusion.

Stuart Webb 19:12

Yes, yes. brilliant advice. I love it, Tom, that there must be a book or a course that you would recommend that the audience do some reading or thinking about that would help them to sort of understand some of what you've been talking about today. What What would you recommend?

Tom Spyt 19:31

I would recommend there is a American psychologist who spent a lot of time teaching people about it through a different programmes of crime prevention mainly. By the way I work with inmates. I correspond with them. And they are very responsive to what I have been talking about. They can rehabilitate not all of them, because some of them have got real psychopathic tendencies. And you cannot do anything to say government. But so what I would recommend, the author name is Jack pranskey. And the book to start with this, somebody should have told us, and it's a brilliant title. And when I read it, I thought somebody should have told me lie would have been so much easier. This book is also available in audio format. For those who, who prefer listening, because that's also very important to recognise that some of us are mostly visual, and some of us are predominantly auditory. That's helpful. I like audiobooks, because that makes going for a lot more interesting.

Stuart Webb 21:02

Brilliant stuff. Uh, Tom, I've asked you for questions. There must be a question that you think I should have asked, which I haven't. And so I'm now going to ask you to tell me the question that I should ask you, and then obviously, you're going to answer it for us and give us even more value?

Tom Spyt 21:24

Well, one of the things is, you could have asked me, How do you change? Like the question of someone who lost identity and purpose in life?

Stuart Webb 21:40

I do love the question.

Tom Spyt 21:44

Because that is there's a way and it's quite quick, easy way. And it's, it's the best is to do it in person, not always possible. So with the people who know. NLP, it's a, it's a more advanced than it would be, is possible to do it online. It's there is a different way of doing it. And that helps, helps people who are stuck as many of us are at some point in our lives. We don't need coaching all the time. However, any experience experienced there, any successful business person would have a coach from time to time. And then companies like Amazon provide free coaching for employees who wanted or encouraged it. And this, as I said, what I do with veterans, it's called mentoring, but in sent, in fact, it is it is coaching, too. So the mechanism already available. It's not a problem, the challenge of coaching is lack of awareness of how it works, and how it can benefit an individual.

Stuart Webb 23:13

Tom, Tom, I think you hit the nail on the head, so many people are not aware of what help they could get, and how they could overcome some of these and struggle too often on their own, don't they? And with that, I'm just going to put up this. scrolling across the bottom of the screen at the moment is where you can find more information about the sort of help that Tom gives. I'll just read it out for those people who are going to be listening to the audio. But it will be in the show notes. But it's www coaching and hypnosis. sanctuary.co.uk That's coaching and hypnosis. sanctuary.co.uk. Tom, you are a fascinating character with a fascinating history with some really brilliant things to say. I really do want to thank you so much for just spending a few minutes with us talking about some of this stuff. I know your time is valuable because you have so many people you're trying to help at the moment. So thank you so much for just spending a few minutes with us.

Tom Spyt 24:13

Oh, yeah, appreciate your station. Thank you, Stuart.

Stuart Webb 24:16

No problem Tom. Now, I'm just going to tell if you'd like to get onto our mailing list so that you can come and be sure that you get to catch up with really fascinating characters like Tom would you go to this link which is TCA dot FYI. So it's very simple TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe that gets you onto our mailing list. And we will email you once a week with who's gonna be on the link who's gonna be on the podcast this week. And also when it comes out as a further podcast, really interesting characters like Thomas spied, who will be he will be I'm sure. A valuable a valuable addition to your to your list if you can get on and look at his website. I'll just give you that one again, which is coaching and hypnosis. sanctuary.co.uk. Tom, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. I really do appreciate it. I know how valuable your time is. And I appreciate that you've been so willing to give so much value to people about how we can better address some of our some of our issues. So thank you so much.

Tom Spyt 25:24

Thank you, Stuart.

Stuart Webb 25:25

I'm just gonna play the intro. I look forward to seeing you all next week.

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View Details

Who is Mark?

Mark is a leadership professional who has developed a unique tool. TeamLytica is a web-based team analytics tool that:

Analyses and identifies a team’s strength indicators allowing focus to raise their performance through immediate actionable insights
Is web-based, intuitive, simple and quick to complete with zero tech integration and instantly deployable – results in just twenty minutes
Has recently launched but whose benefits are already being realised by companies such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and NatWest
Has impactful and unique insights to improve team cohesion and actions to reduce stress and increase overall employee wellbeing
Is purposely different and complementary to other solutions like staff surveys and psychometric profiling tools
Allows for benchmarking and Team360 retests to help prove ROI on training spend

Key Takeaways

How do you offer value to your team? 2:28

Mark’s approach to measuring team cohesion. 4:12

Launching a self-serve platform. 5:30

How to get free stuff from the website? 6:50

Inspiration: Scouting. 9:07

Toxic masculinity and the core of gold. 10:47

Leaders need to be committed to their teams. 11:56

The importance of building trust in your team. 14:35

Valuable Free Resource or Action

https://www.teamlytica.com/solution/free/

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

https://youtube.com/live/tkshPCTe-Uo

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

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Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

team, people, mark, coach, litical, trainers, longer term, business, problem, psychometric, building, high performing teams, tool, spending, customers, report, leila, question, coffee, stress

SPEAKERS

Mark Hide, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb 00:08

Hi again and welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee I have, I've just admitted to mark actually, my coffee is going cold, I've got a fresh one in front of me. But that's another story that we will refresh later on. Mark, I know you got a nice fresh cup of coffee in front of you. So, welcome to the podcast. Let's enjoy 1520 minutes talking about team dynamics, team cohesion, over a cup of coffee mark from Team litical. Welcome to the podcast.

Mark Hide 00:37

Thank you, oh, my coffee is warm and gorgeous.

Stuart Webb 00:41

As it should be, as it should be. So Mark, sort of talk us through the problem that you are looking to help businesses with and and the sort of the problems that you've seen that they get the get wrong, which you're trying to help them to correct.

Mark Hide 00:59

Short when I came into corporate life and said, set up a leadership and team development company 20 odd years ago seems like yesterday. And over the years I've struggled, I struggled to differentiate myself from the competitors in a crowded marketplace, all doing very similar things. And I decided to do something about it. And I created a web based app that analyses a team and how it works and functions together, my marketplace, our business coaches, trainers and HR professionals that I understand because that was me that 20 odd years. And I think the biggest challenge they have is to for new business development getting in that funnel getting inconsistent business. And the challenge is to be different. And there's an awful lot of business coaches out there all doing very similar things. So my platform helps them differentiate that helps them stand out from the crowd and creates a new way of talking to their customers and adding value to those teams and those leaders that they deal with.

Stuart Webb 01:56

That's an interesting problem anyway, what sort of things have you seen business leaders doing, which gets them into the problem of not having a cohesive team before you help to try and solve that problem.

Mark Hide 02:10

So the business coach or trainer, they, they tend to have come out of corporate life, they've gone on a course they bought in to an accreditation process, and they love being qualified in something, the majority of them, there's those like me that wanted to become a coach, but I can't because I ended up just telling rather than listening, because I think I know the answer is probably don't. So without that consistent approach, and how they're going to help their customers, they rely on referrals. And so therefore, they get challenged how they continue a long term business with a with a customer. Whereas what my platform loves team, the ticket enables a team to measure sorry, coach will try to measure a team here, then we've their professional magic, whatever that magic is, and then come back and really importantly, retest three 612 months later. And that gives them this brilliant thing of return on investment, which is like the Holy Grail for for coaches and trainers, it's very hard to quantify and to measure how much a team has improved. I believe I've achieved that. And I can do that with my platform.

Stuart Webb 03:13

Brilliant. So tell us, how do you offer value to your team litterer customers, both the coaches and our guests the end customer of that coach or, or your client question. So

Mark Hide 03:27

I do have a number of ways. First is I'm really passionate about this is this is a 20 year journey for me. And I want to help every team realise its potential every manager, give them an easier life and be more productive. So first thing I'm doing is building a community. These are good people, they're nice people, they're good. The people you want to do business with coaches and trainers are very passionate about what they do. So that community is important to me, and then giving them the resources to help them stand out in that credit marketplace. And they will probably use one of a plethora of psychometric profiling tools that range from free to hundreds of pounds. And they will do a very similar thing, which is allow the individual to assess themselves in their career. This report goes, Hey, yeah, that's me, Wow, this psychometric profile is so accurate. Well, of course it is because you've done it on yourself, then show it to their boss, show it to their partner home and put it in a drawer and it gathers dust, vast majority 10s hundreds of millions of pounds wasted. Whereas what I've built is something that I will analyse a team measures cohesion, stress morale, and 54 other colour coded matrix, I spent a lot of money making it very accessible. And it allows the coach to go in and work with that team and that manager, do some immediate quick wins, which makes them stand out and gain trust with that team. And then over a period of time implement longer term, either structural or behavioural changes to that team to get them from either stressed or apathy into what I call optimal performance, the top of that performance curve, and building that relationship investing in that team. Might be small things might be coaching might be training might be skills, and then coming back, as I say, and retesting, and enables that coach or trainer to have a longer term relationship with their customers, and hopefully see them good and improve their productivity and measure it along the way. So that's what I do.

Stuart Webb 05:15

So Mark, have you got any, any metrics, you could point to some success stories, you could just briefly tell that sort of give us an indication of that sort of longer term success of the cohesion of the team changing because of the interventions?

Mark Hide 05:29

That's a great question. So I originally launched this as a self serve platform directly into teams, and but my passion is with business coaches, and trainers and a consulting firm pick this up last summer. And they compared my report with another report, they were judging to see which one might be more appropriate, as part of their three initial tools they use with very senior leadership teams to consult with. And the the gentleman phoned me up, Matt phoned me up, and he said, we tested your platform. And we tested this other one on our same zoom call. He said, yours we introduced, and I sent the team off with the questionnaire and a packet of biscuits on a virtual call. He said, within 20 minutes, we were making positive changes to how our team operated, which is not quite as you can see, I'm very proud of that. And he said, and then with the other team, the guy took two and a half hours to explain how the software worked and how to utilise the results. And of course, we never picked it up. Because I think managers are time poor and they want quick wins. So we go straight in there, urgent actions, get it done, start moving the dial forward. He then implemented it with two of his clients at very senior leadership levels, with airline manufacturers, which are household names. And sadly, I can't tell you, but they are very big companies. And so yes, I'm really proud of the I got quite emotional, actually, because he asked me to actually analyse a team with having never met them. And we sort of nailed this team and that their main challenges and the opportunities for for them to go in and help that team progress. So it was good.

Stuart Webb 07:00

Love the story. Mark, there must be a great way that we can sort of get some free, free stuff from you to help us I'm gonna just put the website now scrolling across the bottom of the of the screen here, which is Team Politiker. Which is you know, it's not Analytica, it's team politica. So don't get don't get confused. Team litical.com. Tell us what can we get when we get onto that website? What what what great offers and, and stuff? Can we learn about team litical from that website,

Mark Hide 07:31

or I do like you, Stuart, great approach. So there's a number of things. Firstly, it's packed full of case studies. And so we try and give away lots of information about how that can be used in different industries and other culture training can use it was starting to build up a whole series of blog articles around the 54 different metrics, which is a problem, each of those metrics is a problem in a team somewhere. And we're going to be building up that bank. If you want to access the report, and you don't have a budget, or you just want to try it out, we do a free version, which will give you just cohesion, stress and morale and the nine categories scores. And that's free, you can just come in and access that and have a look through. And then you can just pick up the phone and talk to me because I'm quite generous, and I tend to give away too much. And I'm really happy to help a team and get stuck in and help them with their problems.

Stuart Webb 08:20

Mark, I love it. Because as you know, as I said, you know, the one thing that we believe in here on this particular podcast, if if we give massive pre sales value, it'll come back. So I love the approach. Yeah, good free stuff, love the love the the offer of picking up the phone and just talking to people. Because that if if anything for somebody who's cash strapped and then wants to move a bit forward, that'll might just give them enough momentum that they come back later and go now I really need to engage. So, Mark, thank you so much for that. Listen, we're getting to the real meat of this now, which is there must be a book or a course or a programme or something which has sort of inspired you which you want to sort of pass on to the to the audience listening, what is that book or course that you think would really add some value to the way that they would bring about some sort of cohesion in their team.

Mark Hide 09:07

My first inspiration and my first guide for people I spent my entire life in scouting, and it's been a an amazing family resource, motivator, whatever it might be. And I was taught Scout leadership and team working from seven or eight years old. And in fact, next week and a half term week. I'm up to Scotland with 22 young people will teach you ice climbing skills and slow holding and doing stuff teaching leadership to young adults. So that's that's really important to me. I'd love to stress that a couple of things. I'm I'm following a guy in America called Jocko Willink. And he's an ex US Navy SEAL he's he's a bear of a man he's but you know what if you take away the WHO raw American stuff underneath is a core of really good solid, valuable leadership and team working knowledge Insights and skills. And I really like what he does. There's a badge he had, which was, nobody's coming. It's down to you. And I just I have this little badge and I stick it up on the wall, because it's, it's not us, isn't it, we've got to work hard and get out there and knock on doors and make it happen. And the other person I really admire her approach is lady called Helen Pritchard. Now, Helen Tudor. She's a LinkedIn specialist. And she has his very down to earth, very simple, replicable, scalable way of using LinkedIn to develop your business. And if you're a coach or trainer out there wondering how to get further contacts, then I would check out her details. And it's very accessible. And she's good at what she does No, no rubbish, either. Just straightforward advice.

Stuart Webb 10:47

Mark, thanks. Yeah, no, I must admit the, there's an awful lot of we could talk for many hours, I suspect about people who are now beginning to form opinions of the way they should form team through some of this toxic masculinity. And, you know, there's, there's there are people that are in the news, we won't talk too much about them that are out in the sort of the eastern part of Europe that have recently been arrested, because they sort of spout a particular type of toxic masculinity. And so one thing I've learned over my years is that most of those people that have that sort of, they may be gruff on the outside, but the core Heart of Gold are the people that you look at and go, they'll make a great team, no matter what's going on around them, because they are focused on not only what they've got to do to move something forward, but how they bring everybody else with them, not forced them, not drag them, not push them ahead, but turn around, you know, you're coming with me. And I'm a great fan of the fact that, you know, most of the people that I've been working with in the past have those that will turn around and say my foot will be the first out of the helicopter when we attack the hill and the last foot off off the hill when we when we finish taking it. And that is what truly inspires me that you as a leader, you have to be committed as much as you'd expect anybody else to be committed, don't you?

Mark Hide 12:05

100%. And we're all people. And there's a really bit of old theory called Hertzberg as motivation theories, why we go to work, and we go to work, because we're tribal, we want to be with other people, we want to interact with other people and enjoy what we do. And if we get to work, and we will like a bit of pressure pressures, okay? Stress is okay, but not too much. And if you've got the wrong manager, or the wrong people in that role, then you come to work, and it's not enjoyable. So you're not likely to put your all into it. And when that team is cohesive and working well, and it's fired up, and it's aligned, it's got shared goals, and it's got energy and passion, and then it's going to drive forward and deliver whatever the role is, whatever the job is, they will do that, and they will deliver it at a high standard. So that's what I'm trying to aim for really

Stuart Webb 12:51

had a great comment from Leila. I do know Leila, pretty well. And, you know, she sort of talked about, it's a great tool. So, Leila, I hope you check it out. Because it is really quite an interesting tool. I've seen it it is simple to use. So thank you, Mark, where we're, I've been sort of asking you questions for the last 1015 minutes. And you must be fed up with me asking you all the questions that you didn't want to be asked. So what's the question you would like me to ask you? And then once obviously, you ask the question, you need to answer it. Otherwise, I should just be forced to make you answer it. So what is the question you would have liked me to have asked you.

Mark Hide 13:26

So the Holy Grail that people buy? Have you ever been in a high performing team? And because we all strive for it, but very few of us ever get there. And it's a joy when you're in a high performing team. It is pleasurable, it's exciting. You solve problems you didn't know you could. There's a high and you're waiting for that bubble to burst, but it's Pairing your Phone. It's an amazing feeling. And I've only been privileged to be in two high performing teams in my life, one in my work life, and one in my scouting life, and I was climbing a big mountain. So how about you, Stuart? Have you ever been in a high performing team I

Stuart Webb 14:05

have been lately, yes, you really should connect with Mark. He's an interesting character. And lately, you're an interesting character, say the very least, as well. So Mark, I will find a way of connecting the two of you together. Yes, I've been in a high performing team, one that I joined, and was an inspirational leader who, you know, was very single minded, but at the same time, you know, was prepared to get there by committing themselves more than anybody else, and one that I was fortunate enough to actually end up leading. And that was largely because I was able to pick the people that I needed around me who the trust between us was so was it already somewhat established, but through the circumstances it built and that some of those people, you know, this is now some 20 years later, we're still in contact because we still value each other's advice and that's the sort of the thing that comes out of He's high performing teams, isn't it? It's not just do you solve that problem? But do you want to solve other problems into the future and continue to support each other long after the project or the company or whatever has moved on.

Mark Hide 15:12

It's so true. And in fact, that high performing I mentioned in my corporate life was 20 years ago, and I'm still in touch with the guy that was my boss. And we're still trying to do work together because I enjoy His company. And I know what we can do when we work well together and achieve this amazing thing.

Stuart Webb 15:29

Mark, this has been an inspirational and thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. I do really do. I'd like people to go and check out Team liquid.com. That's T am litical l y t i c a.com. It's well worth having a look at even the free stuff that Marc's got up there. It's quite an interesting tool. As I said, I've seen it in depth, and sort of the the report that he produces is really well worth having a look at. So please check out what Mark is doing with Tim Nitika. Mark, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. I'm just going to tell everyone, if you would like to get onto our mailing list and get an email each week telling you who will be on this week's podcast to be able to join us Layla did to either put questions or comments during the recording, or please join the mailing list, which is TCA dot FYI, that's TCA dot F. Well, why I forward slash subscribe. I will put that into the show notes. I'll also put into the show notes, the email, sorry, the web address of Team let's get in case you weren't able to capture it, so that you can connect with Mark and further discussions. Mark, thanks so much for spending a few minutes with us really appreciate you spending the time. It's been a fascinating discussion. I just love the love the energy that you bring to your and the passion you bring to your business. And I know that team litical will will will be a tool most people won't be to get into.

Mark Hide 16:51

Great Alison Stewart. Thank you for your time. I love your question set. It's different and it's it sparks conversation and thought and debate which is what it's all about. So appreciate it.

Stuart Webb 17:01

That's exactly what we're trying to solve and debate is absolutely it. Thank you, Mark. I really appreciate it. Speak to you again in a very short time.

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View Details

Who is Debbie?

Julie runs an accounting company helping businesses grow through acquisition with confidence, credibility and calculated risk

Key Takeaways

The importance of clarity in business. 3:35

The power of asking for help. 6:10

The value of learning from bad experiences. 9:34

Leadership and body embodiment. 13:15

We all stand on the shoulders of giants. 16:04

Connect with yourself when you’re at your best. 19:16

What’s the question I should have asked you. 22:27

Valuable Free Resource or Action

www.wilkinsonaccountingsolutions.co.uk

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

https://youtube.com/live/QAI98x2ONMo

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

people, debbie, working, leadership, coaching, invite, question, problems, telephone call, podcast, life, feel, deep breath, bit, connect, email, humour, conversation, absolutely, book

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Debbie Moore

Stuart Webb 00:21

Hi, and welcome back to five questions over coffee. I'm delighted to have with me now Debbie Moore. Debbie runs the high achievers coaching company. And she is she's got some great coaching advice, I think for real, really high performing teams, high performing companies. So I'm really looking forward to this conversation. Debbie, welcome to questions over coffee.

Debbie Moore 00:51

Thank you so much.

Stuart Webb 00:55

Just put my water down here. Because if I drink any more tea or coffee today, I'll probably not sleep for the rest of the month. And there's not much left in this month. So Debbie, tell me, what is it you do with your clients? Who are your clients? What are they? One of the problems? They've got the you're trying to help them to solve?

Debbie Moore 01:15

Okay, great question, Stuart. Thank you. So I think first of all, I've kind of gone through what I would call my a bit of an r&d phase last year, and I'm just getting clearer and clearer and clearer, who I'm here to serve. Now the problems that I'm here to solve. And the people that I am predominantly working with now are who are classes, young professionals, so young professionals, leaders, entrepreneurs, and when I say young, they're typically in their 30s, although that might vary a little bit anyway, they're younger than me. And the problems, the challenges that I hear, that they are particularly faced with the stories that I keep hearing are, that they feel they're living a life that somebody else envisaged for them. Meaning the times that we grew up in, and I'll kind of put you in the same kind of age group, as me, if you don't mind, is different to what that younger generation is experiencing, socially, politically, economically across the board technologically. And they find that they're working in some structures and with some principles that are not working for them. So they're feeling out of alignment, and they're feeling stuck. And it's resulting sometimes in exhaustion in sometimes a lack of motivation. And it's feeling quite UK. That's they're the stories that I often hear sometimes, if they're working in teams, despite their best efforts, they might not be able to communicate effectively with their teams. And then there's this frustration that sets in. And then they're wondering, why isn't this working? Now? Is it me? Is it my leadership, so it's then inward self blaming, which doesn't help either. And sometimes wisdom, other people that I'm working with, they do have a high aspiration to work in an aligned authentic and a healthy way where their life feels that it has more meaning. They just often don't know how to get there.

Stuart Webb 03:35

Debbie, I love the fact that you've got that clarity is so critical. Well to any business owner to have the absolute clarity of what is the problem that they have the solution for and having that absolute clarity, I think is really helped you to articulate that fantastically well. And if I can say, you have got, you know, a wonderful target audience there because you're so right, there are so many younger people who just are striving to do their best but but but you know, the pressure of social media and the pressure that people feel they have to show performance, etc. You're right. There are so many things at the moment which are which are besetting them. And I think it's great that you have got that focus and you are you are targeting that particular audience. I love that. Absolutely. Love it.

Debbie Moore 04:29

Thank you. I appreciate that. And there's one more thing actually that I didn't mention some smoothies people that they are incredibly successful in their own right things look like they're great on the outside, but on the inside, it's not and it can be a crisis of confidence, a lack of self confidence and that authentic confidence as well. Just wanted to name and presents that.

Stuart Webb 04:51

Yeah, and I think there's this there's a tremendous there's a tremendous, I do some work with with some with ship students and The thing which worries me so much about some of those students as they're coming out of it, and they feel the need to somehow demonstrate self esteem by putting on a sort of cloak, and they don't have what I would describe as their own self worth, they don't know. You know, they, they, I often describe it as a self esteem is where they, they walk down the street, and they want to know that they're allowed to walk down the street. So they put a mask on. But if they had true self worth, they wouldn't care whether or not they had to walk down the street, they just know the right street, to be honest, so few of them, I've got the clarity to say, I should be here. And I know that I'm doing the right thing. And, you know, they do need the help of people, aren't you? And I guess that brings me to question two, which is, what is it that you found that they've been doing which may or may not have helped them to get to where they need to be? And how do you help them to break through some of those, those barriers?

Debbie Moore 05:54

So what, before I respond to that studio, so just want to acknowledge that what you named and the insights you're having, and it just, it just makes me feel so sad that because that's what people are doing, you know, that they're putting on a mask putting on a face? And you don't have to do that. So thank you for naming that. So what I'm what I'm discovering is, I think, first and foremost, that, that people often think it's a weakness to ask for help and support, because that means being powerfully vulnerable. And people have not always yet discovered the power of being vulnerable and saying, you know, what, I don't know, can you help me? And sometimes, that's about who they ask, and feel. They're not always confident, or Sure, for example, in some workplaces, in some instance, situations, it might even be, you know, going to a networking event that they can actually speak up and say, you know, this is me, I'm not quite sure. But I'm, I'm trying to learn and I wonder who can you know, who can help me. And they often think it's the old Henry Ford quote, you know, if you, if you keep doing what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got. And I know it's a well used your well use quote, but it's so true, because often what we're trying to do, is sought out those problems that we're experiencing from our beautiful logical thinking brain, but we're going round and round and round the same circle. And the other thing that I noticed is, by their very nature, we don't necessarily see our own patterns, we don't see our own limiting beliefs necessarily. And we certainly by their very nature, don't see our own blind spots. So that then leads to all sorts of challenges. And what often happens then is somebody might think, well, it's my job, my job is not working for me or my business is not working for me, like similar, or even my relationships not working for me. And they might suddenly summon up the courage to leave and think the right thing to do with start again. And then heaven forbid, what happens is the same patterns the same the same circumstances, but it's just in a different setting. And that that just breaks my heart. So what I find is that without the right help, and whether that's me or whether that's somebody else, but without the right help, people often don't have a clear, aligned authentic intention. That's then expanded not just through our thinking brain, but through our through our senses. So what it feels like to be moving towards that place, what it might look like, what it ignites smell like or sound like or tastes like, and having somebody along their side to sponsor them to support them to help them move into a growth mindset when challenges arise, because Surprise, surprise, they do. And it's also there's a couple of other things here. It's also about taking, really having somebody with you so that you can take aligned action and be held accountable. And I don't mean having a big sticker or anything like that. What I mean is that sense of okay, you took that loot, you took that action, you did something differently. So what worked about that, what didn't might you do differently next time. So it's one of my teachers, Dr. Clay Samet says, you know, let's composted and learn from it and then move forward.

Stuart Webb 09:34

I love that expression. I love that expression. I might borrow that sounds okay. I think he's lovely.

Debbie Moore 09:40

You're welcome.

Stuart Webb 09:42

I think that's a lovely expression, because you're right. And I love the reason that you put behind that because so often, these experiences that people have, they think they they're, they're bad and they need to be forgotten, but actually, it's the learning from it and taking the you know, changing them mindset and looking at it and going well, you know, that might not have worked the way I wanted. But if I did something else, or if I took from that this learning that I know, I won't do that, again, that's a positive and we don't do that enough, do we, we don't take the, and try and change the bad and the negative into something that we can use to become a positive spring forward.

Debbie Moore 10:20

Yeah, absolutely. And, and I think, I think the other thing is with that, when something happens, we often try and push it away. And when we try and push it away, it just gives it more energy. So that in itself needs and again, I'm gonna, I'm gonna quote, the dots close, dammit here. It needs sponsoring, it needs witnessing in in a in an appropriate way, so that we can composite that and help that be part of his moving forward. And that's really important.

Stuart Webb 10:51

Absolutely love it. Debbie, we've we've come to the part of the show where I now ask you to give us some valuable free resource valuable free advice that we can start to move forward from and I know you have a link that it would be worth making a note of which is HTTPS, colon forward slash slash, Debbie more and that's D, B, B, i e, more ammo or e coaching.com. Forward slash organisation? Debbie, tell us about that link. And what what the valuable offer is that you have going behind that link?

Debbie Moore 11:25

So thanks, thank you for that, Stuart, I appreciate it. So behind that link, there is an opportunity to connect with me for one on one if what I'm saying resonates with you for a one on one kind of 20 minute exploratory discussion so that we can just do a bit of laser coaching on where you are in your life right now. And there's also just to be totally transparent, an invitation to potentially be considered to join us in May where I'm going to show you running a new group coaching programme, it will be a small group of people learning together from one another's experiences called revolutionise your life. And we can have an exploratory chat about that, if you'd like to do so if you don't, and it's not sometimes it's not resonant working with me, I have a cohort of people who are referred people to and that might be a suitable, you know, possibility, or just the conversation might be enough. Whatever works for you,

Stuart Webb 12:26

Toby, I love that. I love the fact that, you know, you you acknowledge and we all need to acknowledge that sometimes the synergy isn't there. And that's, that's not a problem. There is no, there is no expectation that sort of, you know, taking up an offer like that is going to be calm. Right now there's the hard sell. This is an exploratory conversation, this is an offer. And and I love the fact that you will termina go Do you know, there's somebody else who perhaps you would get on better with, let's have a conversation about how I can introduce you to them. And I think that's really valuable.

Debbie Moore 12:58

Thank you. That's really important. Yeah, absolutely.

Stuart Webb 13:01

Is there a particular book or, or course or something, which, which enabled you to sort of unlock some of this coaching advice and, and would be a valuable resource for people to, to take on themselves?

Debbie Moore 13:15

That there is to us and within that, as well, if I may, and if you'll humour me today, I'd just like to offer a little experiment while we're while we're on the call. So I'll just talk to to your question directly, first of all, and then maybe offer something that might help people here today. So there are there are, there are 333 women actually, and and within that, some publications that might help people. So three women have inspired have inspired me and moms very many, many, and I do stand on the shoulders of giants. On is my leadership and body, embodiment somatic coach, teacher when department who God rest her soul, she actually passed in December. She actually taught me I really want to present her today because she actually taught me I have got a body as well as a head because growing up as I did, I kind of was disconnected and that's the other experience that I see with my clients today. We get disconnected from our our heads and our bodies. And I'll come back to that with a little exercise in a moment. And you can find when this work online and there is a book called Leadership embodiment, it's a valuable resource. My my teacher who I've been with now since 2013, Dr. Claire Samet is the founder of the Institute for Women centred coaching, leadership and training. And her work is all around her PhD research into the power blocks for women, which she's researched. into shame, like an isolation and how our limiting beliefs keep us stuck. And her work is absolutely game changing. And Claire is, is absolutely a high recommendation. And then the other one is, and it's a book series that I'm part of just to be transparent about this, and the inspirational leader behind that, because they are looking at and it's called the Payette, forward series notes for my younger self. And it's this there are four volumes now. And there are stories in there that are real life stories from women and men, about seminal moments in their life when they write back to their younger selves with the wisdom and the experience that they've gained where they are in their adult life right now. And that kind of brings me almost full circle to why I'm here today and doing what I'm doing. And it is about bringing that wisdom that I've learned from the shoulders of giants to try and help people today.

Stuart Webb 16:04

We we all stand on the shoulders of giants, don't we don't think we really do.

Debbie Moore 16:08

Yeah, so absolutely. So if you'll indulge me, if anybody wants to play along with this so. So we often what I want to speak to here is how we get triggered in a typically unconsciously. Now, some people listening to this may have done work in martial arts. So this may, this may just humour me and go along with this. So what I want to invite people to do, and you have to play along with this Stuart as well is if it's safe and comfortable to do so. So please make sure you're not driving or looking after young children are operating heavy machinery if it's safe and comfortable to do. So I just want to invite you to think about something that kind of happened today, low level, not a big unprocessed emotion, low level that's happened today or yesterday, that kind of triggered a reaction in your body might be an email coming in and you think ah, I should have answered that. Or it might be the telephone ringing and it's somebody who you don't want to talk to or you might be doing a talk. Or you might be at a meeting. And you notice that somebody suddenly falling asleep or yawning or looking away or rolling their eyes just something like that low level.

Stuart Webb 17:27

Okay. Mind a telephone call I didn't want to make.

Debbie Moore 17:31

Okay. Okay, so I want to invite you now to think about where is your attention, as you think about that. And you don't have to share it with me, but often are retail you can if you want often our attention then is on the stressor. It's on the telephone, it's on the call, it's on the screen where the emails come in. It's if you if you're in a meeting, it's it's on that person who might have your own doors, rolling their eyes. And all of a sudden, we start to run stories in our mind, I should have done that. I don't want to do this. So everybody must be bored because that person's rolling their eyes. And our our concentration then gets narrower and narrower and narrower. Yeah. So and then

Stuart Webb 18:16

I'm gonna have to agree with you every minute. Thank you knew I had to make that call. All I could think of was the reaction I was gonna get and what he was going to say and how I didn't want to have that discussion. And and suddenly, all I could think about was, Do I have to pick the phone up at all?

Debbie Moore 18:33

Yeah, so all of a sudden, whatever your intentions were for that day, it's gone out of the window, all your attention to that. And I just and thank you for for sharing that story because it just normalises this happens to us. And then I also want to invite you just to notice anything that you might feel in your body. So for example, any muscle groups that might tense Yeah. Yeah, so just noticing that just very gently from place of curiosity and wonder. Okay, so now I just want to just notice in all of that, so now I want to invite just to shake all that off, and I'm doing it with you just shake it all off that sort of right. So okay. Just Yeah, that's better. Okay. So now once we invite you to just make a shift, and you see, or if you're standing or if you're walking, and just think about you when you're at your best. And it might be for example, when you're cheering these these causes podcasts call Stuart, or it might be somebody who is out just having a walk and connecting with nature. Or it might be when you listen to music, it might be in your work. It might be when you're playing with your children, whatever. Just Just connect with you when you're at your best. And as you do that just seemed like to take a deep breath and as if you were breathing all the way down into your hips, down through your legs or the soles of your feet. Okay? Connecting with the earth. And just see if you need to make any minor adjustments, even 10% more. What would it be like even if I connect with myself even 10% More, and just taking a deep breath. And for some of us, we might actually want to do either Wonderwoman or Superman pose currently what Superman does, but no wonder woman goes like that and just lifts her head up a little bit and just have your chin just tilted up a little bit. And now take a deep breath. Once you do that, as you connect to you at your best, just feel the space as if the space and you've been supported from behind. And now, just in lighting to put up retention kind of out there a little bit on the horizon. Not too far, not too close. Now, I invite you to think about that telephone call? Or that email coming in? Or that person who's rolled their eyes in the meeting? And I wouldn't

Stuart Webb 21:06

think about it, you feel so much less worried about it.

Debbie Moore 21:10

And when you feel in less worried about it, what options does that give you? Oh,

Stuart Webb 21:16

what a good question. I can I can choose not to be angry when they make the comment I know they're gonna make because why do I need to be angry?

Debbie Moore 21:28

And what I'm hearing you say there, it gives you choice. It actually gives you choice about how to respond. And actually yeah, that person might be angry. And that might be legitimate. But that then might inform your response that might then take the conversation in a totally different direction to the direction it would have gone. So I just invite sorry, gone.

Stuart Webb 21:53

No, no, I'm just taking a lovely deep breath, Debbie.

Debbie Moore 21:57

You're welcome to do so. Is your podcast after all. So I just didn't like people. If that resonates for you just play with that and practice. It's just ah, and just getting to this place of I wonder what might that be how I respond to that telephone, call that email or event just expand a little and look beyond that person who's rolling their eyes. I wonder what my next step might be from there. So what

Stuart Webb 22:27

a lovely exercise. Thank you. Brilliant, brilliant exercise, I almost hate to ask you the question that I've got in my mind now, because it'll break the spell, but I'm gonna do it because that's the format of the coffee of the five questions over coffee. And my fifth question is, there is a question that I should have asked you by now. And I haven't. So what's the question? Please don't let it be. What is the email that what is the telephone call that I should have responded I had to make? Because that would be very cool. What is the question I should have asked you at this stage, which you are wanting me to ask. And then once you've, you've asked the question, then obviously you need to answer it for us.

Debbie Moore 23:07

Okay, so I'm not cruel. So I won't ask you that question. What I would do I'd get, I'd get really curious. And I'd challenge me and I would say, Okay, do you want your talk? And if you do what you talk, then what's the help and support? Or what's what's inspiring you to get to the next level in your life right now? Because like everybody else, I'm on my, I'm on my own growth edge. And my answer to that would be two things. One is this I'm in, in part of a leadership mastermind group with a global with some incredible global leaders, Athena leadership mastermind to try and raise my own level and my own contribution, my own thinking. And the other thing. Someone last week, introduced me to a woman, a woman's work, who I'd never ever heard of before. Until that time, Dr. Edith Eger, and Dr. Edith is 93 years old. She'd been in outfits, and she is incredible. Listening to her on the podcast, she has two books, the first one she wrote in 2017. And she put a publish another one three years ago at the age of 90, the choice and the gift. And both of those I've ordered, because I'm constantly up levelling, I'm a lifelong learner, and actually kind of share one more, please do the book that I'm reading right now is called the people part by Annie Hyman, what? And the hymens and the Hammonds what talks to as moving into this place of self leadership, rather than self protection and the benefit of that for people and organisations

Stuart Webb 25:01

I love I love that. And I will be I will be looking into certainly two of those books because they sound absolutely incredible. One of the reasons I should be looking into one of them is that I spent a day. And I expect in November of 2022, and it is a trip, I believe everybody should take. Because you learn a lot about yourself by looking at the that picture and whether or not you could choose to take away from that a positive or negative experience. If you can choose to take a positive from that, then you have achieved more or less things, Debbie, I'm going to thank you so much for spending those few minutes with us, and for taking us through that lovely exercise. And I do hope people, when they hear the replay of this, spend a few minutes thinking about making those choices, when you get that phone call, or when you have to make that phone call when you get that email or indeed, when you get bad news or whatever. Take the moment to just centre yourself and do the exercise to choose how to respond because that choice is so important to us. And thank you so much for sharing it.

Debbie Moore 26:12

See that. And thank you very much for your time today and having me on the podcast. I've really enjoyed it. Thank you so much.

Stuart Webb 26:18

It's no problem. Listen, I'm just going to say one thing, if you would like to get onto our mailing list so that you can get on and hear when the these are being done live and join us and watching participate in those discussions that we've just had. Go to the link at the bottom of the page, TCA dot FYI, that's TTA dot F where forward slash subscribe that just comes through to me, I put you on the mailing list, and I send you an email most Tuesday mornings with the who's on the podcast interview live this week. Debbie, thank you so much. I'm looking forward to seeing how your mastermind group that you're putting together in May goes. I sincerely hope that people will take advantage of coming back to you about that because I think it'd be a brilliant opportunity.

Debbie Moore 27:06

Thank you so much to do it. And thank you for having me on for my very very first podcast on live.

Stuart Webb 27:12

It's been a pleasure to be thank you so much. Thank you Stu out see you again soon. Bye bye

Get full access to It's Not Rocket Science! at thecompleteapproach.substack.com/subscribe

View Details

Who is Julie?

Julie runs an accounting company helping businesses grow through acquisition with confidence, credibility and calculated risk

Key Takeaways

What do you find that businesses do without professional help? 1:50

The value of having a CFO 3:27

The types of clients they work with. 4:45

How to turn a business into a saleable asset. 6:13

The different areas of finance they help. 7:18

What books and courses do you recommend? 8:30

How do you know when you need more financial support? 10:04

Understanding the information you’ve been given. 11:32

Valuable Free Resource or Action

www.wilkinsonaccountingsolutions.co.uk

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

https://youtube.com/live/1NjGvqu53Xs?feature=share

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

business, julie, acquisition, cfo, own internal processes, question, grow, people, forecast, control, finance, exit, build, strategy, business owners, financial support, book, tca, buyer, growth

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Julie Wilkinson

Stuart Webb 00:18

Hi, and welcome back to it's not rocket science, five questions over coffee. I'm delighted to be here today with Julie, Julie Wilkinson. Julie runs an accounting firm, we'll get into that in a little bit. And she helps businesses to grow through growth through acquisition with confidence, credibility, and calculated risk or shoving. It's fantastic. I'm really looking forward to hearing about that, particularly the calculated risks, Julie, so Well, welcome to It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee.

Julie Wilkinson 00:48

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Stuart Webb 00:50

No problem. So let's start with the sort of, you know, those customers who you are trying to help, particularly those who are looking to grow by acquisition.

Julie Wilkinson 01:00

Yes, so we have a accounting and consultancy firm. There are three types of clients that we helped mainly. So we have, a lot of people we work with are in the end, potentially looking to exit. So they're looking at what they want the business to be worth, when they exit the business. The acquisitions come into play often, because they have a growth span, that's not really viable just to go in organically. So the acquisitions is a route to help people expand quicker so that they can meet their exit strategies on the timeframe that they want. So we help people plan their financial strategy, longer term, and then help them look at acquisitions and also then work with them to do the due diligence when they buy those businesses.

Stuart Webb 01:43

difficult job actually, sometimes the that that's that span of trying to sort of grow quickly, isn't it? What do you find that businesses have done without professional help like you to try and do that? And, you know, sometimes I know, because I get involved in some of it, is the difficulties they end up getting themselves into?

Julie Wilkinson 02:04

Yeah, so I think not bringing on in a finance support or in a form in the business. And I think that's often because people don't know is out there, I suppose. So what what I tend to find, when businesses are getting into a sort about half a million stage, you know, they are starting to get to the place where they could potentially, you know, have an FD or a CFO. Now that might be part time. But I still think people often get to that age and a bit worried about spending money. So they creep, and then people creep quickly, and then it gets a bit out of control. Because what so sometimes owners are quite some people are good at financial analysis, and some people aren't. And people, some people are more savvy with business and others. But even if you have got the time, we find that when and you're quite good at it, you get to a size when you don't have the time to actually do it anymore. So you end up just not doing it, but you haven't bought anyone in to do it for you. And that's where people I think, fall short of the financial analysis, because they either don't do it at all they've tried to do but they just don't have time.

Stuart Webb 03:04

Yeah, yeah. And interesting. I was having a conversation with, with somebody this morning, who was in a position where they were wanting to rapidly accelerate, but they you know, you start asking questions about cash flow forecasts, and where are they at the run rate, and they there is a blank look, and you go, Okay, I think one of the problems might be that you haven't yet really grasped what your financials are. And they really need the sort of help of somebody to sort of, you know, sit them down and explain how they do that sort of thing. And then to get well, perhaps you need somebody one day a week to just come in and hold your hand through this. Because otherwise, you're right, you know, 18 months down the road, it's become extremely complicated. And they fail to grasp some of those cashflow forecasts or run rates and things like that, which actually make it very difficult for them to grow any further.

Julie Wilkinson 03:53

Yeah, yeah, definitely. And I think, you know, I think comms bit overwhelming for people sometimes because they've got so much to think about. But at the end of the day, if you want to grow, you've got to put some more like a CFO or someone out will help something will take a lot of the work off of them. But they are going to have to be open that they need some time to actually grasp and possibly strategy thoughts. If people can't do this type of growth without putting days aside to actually deal with the growth and there's no point in trying to do the process. Even we can build the best reports in the world if you never have any time to take it in. And it's not. It's a bit of a pointless exercise. Anyway.

Stuart Webb 04:26

Brilliant. Brilliant. Julie, what help do you help with doing this initially, with some some of the funds you come across? I guess you don't immediately just launch in and say, right, it's 2000 pounds a day for me to even start engaging with you. What's the sort of route into getting help?

Julie Wilkinson 04:45

So it does kind of depend where they are and who they are. So the two main types of clients is either we just get buyers coming to us who are just looking to grow by acquisition. Now they could have businesses or it could be like a sideline business. So if it's, if you're at an acquisition stage, we come in In sort of when they found the businesses because we're not brokers, so we don't help people find businesses. So they're either a buyer, obviously a buyer can be a business. But if it's like an independent buyers would come in. But then on the generic business, if they're looking to grow, yeah, like you said, they're probably probably have like what we call a discovery session, which is basically a deep dive where we go in and sort of assessment businesses. Because we find people that want to grow by acquisition, if they haven't got their own internal processes sorted, it can make it worse, basically, because they're bringing in more complex scenarios into their business, and they don't even measure their own business, let alone another one. So we would sort of assess it to say, Well, what do we think they're ready into, like how we would get them on that journey to be ready to do the acquisition, the exit strategy is a whole nother conversation, because obviously, that's more about them building their own internal processes, so that the business is more of an asset than, than just sort of like lifestyle. But it all encompasses really into the same sort of journey, because the acquisition is just an option within that growth journey. You can still wet sit and grow without an acquisition. But you still need to set set things in place to actually be able to exit to maximise value at the end

Stuart Webb 06:13

of it, absolutely love it, the fact that you're talking about that? Yeah, once again, that's really the sort of thing that that we deal with here, which is actually helping people to understand that, you know, you can't exit a business if you're still at the centre of it. And if it's still you, and everything you do, that's no longer an asset. That's, that's that's you. And to turn that business into something which is potentially saleable, only say, potentially, because too many times, I find business owners who will turn around and go, Well, I don't I want to, I don't want to leave that much control in other people's hands. The answer is, well, you don't want to leave your business then do so you might as well accept it. But you know, in order to be able to sort of get to the point where you can leave the business, you have to have processes, systems, checklists, database, all the rest of things, which are in other people's control that you can say, Well, so long as they're doing everything that I need them to do, then I can actually walk away and leave the business in good hands. And that's when it becomes a saleable asset. Until then, it's just as you said, it may be a very large lifestyle business, but it's still at the heart. It's still a lifestyle business.

Julie Wilkinson 07:18

Yeah. And if you broke down the different areas of finance that we helped with, we would help in different areas. So we have different levels of staff. So we have bookkeepers. So they would sort of help businesses deal with day to day, bookkeeping, keeping on top of their reconciliations and making sure the integrity is in order. Then we saw got our CFOs, which we have, which would help with the strategy. So someone said to us, well, I want to exit in five years, we would say, Well, before we do anything, let's build the forecast initially, just to see like, if you carried on as you were, where would you be, like the value and then looking at like, what are the opportunities or the milestones they have to get to get there. And then you would have sort of the governance and controls piece around the organisation. So that would be more likely who's doing what and where to control. So the example I generally use to people, if they wanted to pay a supplier, they own the still paying suppliers and they want someone else to pay the supplier, would they have an end to end order to payment control process, so they could feel comfortable that someone would do that and it wouldn't go wrong. And so so as safe as we can do like governance and control. So we can help look at the organisational structure and how those controls will help minimise, like risk of error and fraud.

Stuart Webb 08:28

Brilliant. Julie, what is there? Is there a particular book or programme or course that that you sort of you learned your craft through and you'd recommend other people to sort of get hold off and start thinking?

Julie Wilkinson 08:42

Well, I so I'm a chartered management accountant by trade. I mean, I've been taught for over 10 years, I've worked in sort of finance in different areas, clients for over 20 years. So I don't, there isn't? Yeah, obviously there's courses and books that can give you knowledge. But I just think this type of thing comes with experience. And so I don't the I don't believe there's any court or book that can help them magically do all this themselves overnight. I think obviously there's courses that can give people knowledge, some guidance, I I just think the best thing to do is get the right help from the right people, because obviously we would be expected. So when we when we come to look organisational structure of a business, you know, the first thing would be saying to people they want to exercise Have you got a management team? Now that management team would probably include one of our CFO, they wouldn't only be the CFO and be de our sales director, do you have a managing director or UPS director maybe you know, and if they don't have those people, this person would be sort of thinking as well you need to stop and go and get them on the team. So but obviously you know there are I don't particularly read that much Ralph. I do listen to some podcasts and stuff, but I don't think there's anything I don't feel that one course or book that could give the overall knowledge of finance because it's too detailed. And that's why people study for years to learn. Ah, I get the experience from it.

Stuart Webb 10:02

course there are some excellent podcasts out there. And I'm not going to mention any one in particular. But if you're not listening to this one, you've clearly done something seriously wrong in your life anyway, moving on, Julie, there must be one question that I'm currently sort of poised to ask you, and it must be sort of on the tip of your tongue. I wish he'd asked me the following question. So I'm going to ask you to specify what is the fifth question I should ask you? And then once you've answered the question, what is that question? You should answer it for us?

Julie Wilkinson 10:32

Yeah, so the question, well, I'm sort of taught, I'm doing this question to help business owners really, I just think business owners need to sit? The question I'd be asking is, as a business owner, how do I know I need more financial support? That's what's what I think the business owners should be asking themselves, because it's difficult to know what their account is. And I think, you know, my answer to that would be if you don't have a forecast, and I don't mean what in your head or written down on the whiteboard, I mean, sort of like a five year plan with a bit of a cash flow. If you don't have the actual KPIs and master documented and some form of management report that will literally report on those. And so that means everything, not just, you know, writing a few marketing things down on the whiteboard, again, you know, to help people track things, if you don't have those things in or don't regularly get information that you understand, then that's when you need more financial support, because you need those things to start making decisions.

Stuart Webb 11:31

And love your question. And it would be one thing that I would spend a lot of my time talking to customers about, actually, which is Yeah, have you actually understood the information you've been given by people? Or indeed, have you got any information? Because there are so many that when you ask about information, just have no nothing at all, which they can actually sort of point at. So I love the question. I think it's brilliant. Thank you so much. Okay, look, we've come to the end of the five questions with Julie. If you would like to get notifications about when we have an upcoming discussion, such as this one want to join in, join us live, even ask questions and make comments. go to this link, which is TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, that's TCA dot FYI, forward slash, subscribe, get on the mailing list. We've had quite a number of people join in the last few days. And you'll get a notification that we've got an interview coming up, such as people like Julie, you get some interesting information. It's not it's not all sales. It's about helping you build a better business. So Julie, thank you so much for coming on. I really encourage people to get onto your website and find out about the sort of thing that you do in terms of getting people to sort of acquire and think about how to acquire sensibly and with sensible strategies. Thank you.

Julie Wilkinson 12:54

Thank You.

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Who is Janet?

Free yourself from Imposter Syndrome?

Feeling like an imposter and feeling not good enough, can cause overwhelm, exhaustion, stress and leave you full of self-doubt.

I can show you how to free yourself from this, in order for you to be the amazing businesswoman you know you are, free from overwhelm, self-doubt, and the all too often need to people, please.

I will help you get to the root cause of why you feel and act the way you do, so that you can exchange your negative self-talk and negative self-beliefs for positive ones. You will learn to put in boundaries in place and be able to say ‘no’ to things that you don’t want to do. That way, you can then be in control, excited about your future and free to live a phenomenal life.

Key Takeaways

Imposter Syndrome and the impacts on job performance. 1:30

Where did they not feel good enough? 3:03

How do you overcome the feeling of guilt and shame? 4:15

The value of a free offer. 6:39

Recognise the negative voice in your head. 7:47

The belief that you’re not good enough. 9:12

Book or programme that set you on the track. 10:24

How do you overcome feeling like an impostor? 11:41

Valuable Free Resource or Action

janetgabrieltherapy.com/https-bit-ly-3uzjqh3/

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

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Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

janet, feeling, beliefs, clients, changing, brilliant, podcast, running, stressed, imposter syndrome, work, people, stay, tca, told, talking, absolutely, recognise, coming, impostor

SPEAKERS

Janet Gabriel, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb 00:24

Hi, and welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I've got my coffee mug in front of me I know Janet's also got something to drink. So Oh, you're drinking water, Janet, that's very good, probably much more healthy than what I'm taking them out, which is probably appropriate. Janet is a transformational coach. I I've met Janet on a couple of occasions. And frankly, some of the stories she's told me. Absolutely fascinating. So I hope we're going to get into a little bit of that now. So welcome to the podcast. Janet.

Janet Gabriel 00:56

Thank you for inviting me. I'm looking forward to it.

Stuart Webb 00:58

Terrific. So, Janet, tell us a little bit about the sort of people you're trying to help.

Janet Gabriel 01:05

So I mostly work with women in business and entrepreneurs who are suffering with imposter syndrome. Some people say what is impostor syndrome? It's feeling like a fraud, feeling that you're not good enough to be in the position in your job or running your business, or even in a relationship

Stuart Webb 01:24

where we don't we all occasionally feel that way. And there's no there's no harm in admitting it as well. That's the thing that I think stops people and maybe that goes into the second question is, what is it that some of the people you're trying to help have already tried to do that have maybe sort of not succeeded in trying to help them break these imposter syndromes? And what are the what are the impacts of imposter syndrome on their ability to do their job, that relationship, etc.

Janet Gabriel 01:53

Okay, so they tend to work harder and longer than anyone else, they may be a bit of a perfectionist, this shows up quite a lot. They believe that if they get everything perfect, that they'll stay under the radar, this is what they're trying to do. So they might find themselves in a job that they don't particularly like, and but they will stay there. Because they're comfortable. If they went for promotion, for example, they're not likely to ask for the promotion, they're waiting for the boss or somebody else to recommend them first. Because they're not confident enough. And they have low self esteem. So they're staying in their job so that they can stay quiet. So they're not progressing. Or maybe they want to start their own business. But again, they believe that other people know what they're doing. They're far more experienced than them. So they don't put themselves out.

Stuart Webb 02:45

Yeah, yeah. And we've all met people that have done that, haven't we that somehow the long hours are going to solve the problem? So that's obviously not worked? What what do you do? What do you help them? And how have you helped some of these people?

Janet Gabriel 02:59

So I helped by getting to the root cause of the issues. So where did it come from? Why did they not feel good enough. So around about the age of seven or eight, most of your beliefs about yourself are fixed. So not feeling worthy, not feeling good enough, not feeling lovable, likeable, capable, etc. And we take all those negative beliefs into adulthood, where they will run the show. Because 97% of all our daily thinking, our emotions, our reactions are all coming from our subconscious mind. So it's as if we're still running on that seven or eight year old. So using hypnotherapy, which is perfectly safe, we all go into a hypnotic state every day. So if you're making a cup of coffee, for instance, or driving the same route every day, you're not thinking about it, you're also dries. So I help by putting my clients in a very relaxed state. It's nothing like state hypnosis. It's just a two way conversation. And I find out where their beliefs came from. And it is always fascinating because sometimes we don't know why we act the way we do. So when my clients find out, Oh, gosh, you know, when I was six, I was in a class at school, and something happened. And I'll give you a quick example. One lady said, and she remembers that she's, gosh, how old is she? Now she's in her 30s. As she remembers this very clearly that they have paintings around the school classroom. And at the end of the turn, the teacher was giving them out. She said, this girl, which one's yours, and she pointed to one of the teachers that can't possibly be yours. It's too good. Those teachers and another lady told me, she wasn't very academic and And she did particularly well in a project. And when the teacher handed them out, he said to her in front of her, can you imagine this? You must have cheated. She sat next to one of the very clever boys in the class. And he said, I believe you cheated off of him. Oh, sorry, that belief of even when I try really hard, it's not good enough that stuck. And obviously, there were a lot of other things going on.

Stuart Webb 05:29

That's, yeah, I mean, I don't want you to divulge any secrets. But how do you get people to overcome that feeling during this, this discussion you have when they're very nicely relaxed, and they suddenly realise that's what happened,

Janet Gabriel 05:43

is getting them to recognise where their beliefs came from in the first place, and that they are still running on that very old outdated programming. And then we can change it. So they're looking at that particular, you know, scene that they've gone to, in that very relaxed state, and they are, they're looking at it as an adult now. So changing it that isn't true. I do have personalised recording for all of my clients, which they absolutely love. And it depends on the person on each individual. Some listen to it for 21 consecutive days. And that helps you change your neural pathways, changing the way you're thinking and updating your thinking and beliefs. Some people take longer, it could take up to 60 days. I've used the word like the clients over a three month period. So they get three recordings. We spoke to them.

Stuart Webb 06:39

Brilliant, brilliant. Now I know you've got a really interesting offer, which is which is going under the screen now. So I just I just say it for those people who are listening and can't see but but it will be in the show notes. It's Jared Gabriel therapy.com HTTPS hyphen be it hyphen l EY hyphen, three user ID J GQ. I think that is h three? I think that's probably got that right. I don't know, Janet, I don't know. I may be wrong. But it will be in the show notes. I have a look in the show notes. We get Jenny, tell us what what are what is there on that valuable, valuable free offer that that that page

Janet Gabriel 07:17

10 Things you can stop doing right now that's causing you the problem?

Stuart Webb 07:22

That is such a valuable free offer? Isn't it? 10? I mean, that's 10 things, not just one or two, that's 10 whole things you can do, which is great, great way. I must say I just had a quick look. So I think I think that's a really great offer, Janet, I mean, do you want to give us a hint of one or two of those things? Not all 10 Because we don't want to get everybody sort of not going to that length. But But what I want to tell you the things that we could stop doing now.

Janet Gabriel 07:47

Just recognise what you're saying to yourself everyday. Get that negative voice, that chatter that you can't shut down recognising what you're saying to yourself. And if you believe that you're in a career that you're not good enough, would it actually stand up in court? Just ask yourself, or if it was a good friend of yours with the same experience and qualifications as you? What would you be saying to them, having this positive self talk, and the way we speak to ourselves affects us emotionally, there's a mind body connection. So the more you have chest and having that negative negative self talk, and you will then start to experience other symptoms. If you suppress your emotions, they will come out somewhere else. So clients come to me they have migraines, constant headaches, stomach issues. If they're stressed, they've got IBS flaring up just what the lady got her IBS, so under control, because she's sorted out her, her anxieties been absolutely amazing. You know, things like eczema flaring up, and then it's the vicious circle, isn't it, you're stressed, your Xmas flared up, which is so irritating, and then you're more stressed. So again, you're in that vicious cycle. And again, those beliefs that you have, I need to work harder and longer than anyone else. Everything has to be perfect. Oh, I'm having to do this. Because I'm not good enough. I'm not good enough. So I have to work hard and they you go round in those circles. And it does affect not only your health, your relationships as well.

Stuart Webb 09:36

Brilliant, love it. Absolutely love it. And, you know, from my own personal experience, I know. You know, it's a bit like that one that you're often told, particularly when I used to do a lot of public speaking and I kept thinking to myself, What happens if an eye mentors took me aside and went look, for goodness sake, you know, fake it till you make it because nobody else knows whether or not you're You know, they're all sitting there wondering what's going on as well. And if you tell them by, you know, by basically telling yourself, you're not good enough or telling yourself, you're gonna make a mistake, they'll look at you and go, Well, I can see he's made a mistake. But if you tell yourself, it's fine, they'll think it's fine. And it is that self talk, isn't it? It's just beginning to sort of bring yourself under control and just saying, you know, this is it, there's so much so much in there. So, I mean, there's Brilliant, thank you, Janet, thank you so much. Now, there must be a book or a programme or a course that really set you on the track towards this what was what was that that book or programme, of course, that you think other people might enjoy reading about other than your own your own therapy in imposter syndrome.

Janet Gabriel 10:41

What really resonated with me was, I am good enough. And I needed help years ago, and I was sent for CBT online, which didn't work for me, beginning of the third session, the therapist said, this isn't working, and I couldn't agree more. It's no good just talking about your issues, you need to resolve them. And that's what I do for my clients. So that book really resonated with me. And that's what got me on the course for rapid transformational therapy. So I've not only been able to sort my own issues out, I've been able to help friends and family, which has been absolutely amazing. I've got hundreds, I could recommend so many books and podcasts. This is what I do every evening, I'm either listening to a podcast or reading a self help book. I absolutely love what I do. And I never stop learning.

Stuart Webb 11:34

Not that brilliant. Now, this is where I get away from having to spend all my time thinking about questions, and I put them straight back to you. So there must be a question, which you're currently thinking he hasn't asked me about or something like that. So what's the question that I should have asked you, Janet. And when I've asked you the question, I should have asked you answer the question for me, please.

Janet Gabriel 11:56

The question would be everyone's out there asking how do I overcome feeling like an impostor or fraud or not good enough? And the answer is, I have already touched on this, you need to update your programming. So we update our laptops, we update our phone or hope we do. We need to update our thinking because as I said, you're you're operating on that old, very outdated programming. So you see very successful people, or maybe you've worked with somebody who suddenly will go off with long term stress. This happened a lot when I worked for the NHS, and people would just disappear. And you'd have no idea that they was really struggling at the time. You know, people don't speak about this women come to me. Their friends and family have absolutely no idea what they're going through. Or their partner. They they very much they're ashamed to say how they're feeling. And they want everyone to know they're still coping. So for me, hypnotherapy has just been life changing. Because you can update those those thoughts and beliefs that you had.

Stuart Webb 13:05

Fabulous. Brilliant. Janet, I loved our conversation. Thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us and just talking to us about this. It's been a real pleasure sort of talking about this. Let me just introduce everybody here to the link which you can use to get on the mailing list and that means that you get an email from me on normally on Monday or a Tuesday morning telling you who it is that's coming on this week's podcast so you can join us live on LinkedIn and YouTube and watch and and and understand people like Janet and the help she brings people and that's TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, TCA dot FYI, folks, I subscribe. Jared, thank you so much for coming on. And just spending a few minutes with us. I really appreciate you being here. I really look forward to to hearing more of those wonderful stories and I really appreciate how much effort you're putting in to help us all and impostor syndrome.

Janet Gabriel 13:58

My absolute pleasure. Thank you so much for inviting me. Thank you. Have a great day. Bye bye. Thank you. Bye

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Who is Chris?

For 4 (and a bit!) years Dad and Daughter team Chris and Charlotte have been on a mission to share stories. Specifically stories of amazing people doing brilliant things to make the world a kinder place.

Along the way they've spoken to hundreds of people, and learned hundreds of lessons of why we should all try to be a little bit kinder, and how we might practically apply kindness in our lives.

Now you can get access to all of these amazing lessons in The Kindness project book due to be released later in the year.

Key Takeaways

How do you help people be kind? 0:22

The importance of financial planning and giving back. 2:50

Time is the commodity that’s most limited as opposed to money. 5:37

The one thing you can control is your reaction to the circumstances -.7:52

Focus on the right thing, not the wrong thing. 11:29

Why it’s all about relationships -. 13:50

How to reach out to clients in a way that’s not intimidating. 15:57

The fear of letting go and the fear of saying no. 19:46

Valuable Free Resource or Action

http://thekindnessproject.co.uk/book/

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

people, book, kindness, clients, business owners, business, life, money, fretting, chris, project, stories, spend, talking, stoic, interesting, read, financial planning, question, financial

SPEAKERS

Chris Daems, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb 00:22

Hi, and welcome once again to five questions over coffee with me Stuart Webb and today I've got Christine's with me who is a really got I'm really looking forward to this is a really inspirational talk, I think we're going to have a chat about a really interesting project that Chris has been doing with his daughter. But Chris in his day job does financial planning. So you know, this is a real break from tradition to Chris, somebody who actually works in kindness and financial services.

Chris Daems 00:52

Combinations. Don't think I've ever had a conversation with somebody that is said to me. Yeah, kindness and financial planning, they come together really well.

Stuart Webb 01:03

Chris, welcome to the podcast, I'm really, really pleased to see you. Listen, you know, we normally start off with how do you help your clients? But you know, how do you help people be kind, I guess is the question I'm going to sort of put back to you.

Chris Daems 01:17

It's a really good question. I hope that we inspire people through the work we do on the podcasts, because, and we've been doing it for five years now, I know sort of podcasting is an interesting thing. It's something I've fell into with an inch with a desire to share stories of people doing good stuff in the world. And when we first started it, it was that case of going, we looked at the numbers, because I am a financial planner. And that's just sort of part of my personality is looking at now than others. And I think

Stuart Webb 01:52

the person but you can't take the person out of the planning.

Chris Daems 01:56

I think I think I'm a business owner as well. Right. So tracking the numbers and understanding what's going on is, is part of it's part of who I am. And it's interesting, because when we first started looking at so the amount of listeners we were getting on the podcast, I think week one was 17. And week two was 12. So we lost listeners in the first week for some bizarre reason. But now we've been doing it for five years, and we've consist you shared stories of people doing amazing stuff in the world. We get 10s of 1000s of listeners who tune in to the kindness project every month, and it's an absolute honour to share the stories of people doing amazing stuff in the world. I absolutely love it.

Stuart Webb 02:44

Yeah, it's a really, really great thing to do. You know, to be honest with your question, there's not enough kindness going around. Is there? That's one of the that's one of the messages that come through to me.

Chris Daems 02:54

Yeah, I mean, I mean, part of its interest in Islam, you know, what you said at the start about that combination between being in financial planning unkindness, even though even though we're in a position where that link might not be obvious, what I do in the day job is help people achieve financial independence so they can live the lives they want. And actually, there's nothing kinder than having that financial clarity, so that you can come and do stuff you want. And often, for a lot of our clients who are typically between 50 and 60, when they start to work with us, part of their life plan moving forward is giving back, because they've been lucky in their life to build a level of wealth. And it's often it's about that next stage of their life being in a situation where they go, Well, how can I help others?

Stuart Webb 03:49

Yeah, yeah, I, you know, you're probably aware a little bit that some of the work that I do, and I'm working with business owners to try and grow their business, but nearly nearly all, I mean, it's not true that every one of them, but pretty much every one of them wants to be or grow their business, because what they want to end up doing is saying, Well, I've got this charity, or I've got these people that I want to help actually what I want to do is liberate enough money from the business at the end of the day to go into, you know, there's only so much time you could spend on the golf course. So you know, they want to do something else. They want to spend some time with some people, they want to be there. I mean, now I've just helped one guy, he's grown his business. And what has he done, he's done two things. One, he's now spending a lot more time in a hospital because as he said, the one thing that you hear about people when they get to this stage in their life is they've spent too much time in the office and he wants to get people out of doing that. And the second thing is that he actually sort of developed devoting some of that money back to helping other people grow their business so he can see them get back out and do good things after they finished with their business. Like financial financial planning is important part of being able to give back.

Chris Daems 04:56

I mean, one of the things I'm really proud of is and again, we talked about that Okay, one of the lucky things I've managed to do is take all of the stories from the podcasts and put them in a book. And that was published late last year, it's doing really well. About 100% of the profits we get from that book, go into our local hospitals, funny enough, some proxies who do amazing work. But for people at the end in the lives and certainly go in, and we've got really good close relationship with our speakers, they've been on the climate project a number of times, and I did the marathon for them in 2021. So we've we've done a lot of work together supporting what they do. And I've been lucky enough to see the work they do firsthand, by going into spirits and meeting the team and stuff like that. And you look at that, and you go, it does give you a different perspective on life, when you realise that sometimes it comes to an end quicker than we think. And sometimes we need to think about the decisions we make with our time, which is the commodity that's most limited, as opposed to the money.

Stuart Webb 06:11

Yeah, Chris, you're absolutely right. I'll put the link to the book down at the bottom of the screen. So the kindness Project book.co.uk, forward slash book, that's the kindness project, book.co.uk, forward slash book can't recommend that everybody just goes and gets a copy of that themselves. Because there's, there are some great, great stories. Chris, you just mentioned something there in terms of time, and I'm sort of constantly aware that time is the one thing that you can't get, you can make more money. You just can't make more time time passes, you know, whether you like it or not. And I'm, I'm constantly aware that, that, you know, I talked to people who own businesses, and they talk about time management ago, time manages itself, whether you like it or not, it passes at 60 seconds per minute, whether you do what only thing you can do is manage your attention during that time. And I think that's one of the things that you're sort of talking about there is it it's about attention isn't it's about people being attuned to what they're trying to do and being and thinking about more what they're trying to achieve with some of the stuff that they're talking about. Yeah,

Chris Daems 07:13

I mean, I mean, for me, and again, this is the planner coming in, coming out. And it's about having a clear strategy, step one, because the amount of people we speak to, like in our professional lives, talk about, I've done the setup this investment, or I've done before we start talking about any of that what the plan, you know, and it goes back to be intentional with your time and look at sort of how we have we do that. And just having been financially clear about where you are, so that you can move on to to where you want to be. And it's interesting, because when I get through it, I'm not perfect. You know, if you've read the book, I tend, I tend to stories about the fact that I am liable to make mistakes like goal averse. And so one story in the book about I travelled with my dad every year, my dad's in his 70s Now, and we do like a little weekend, boys weekend, every year where we go away together. And a couple of years ago, we went to you brought up and I booked a hotel, the hotel Gibraltar and not booked flights and stuff like that flew into Gibraltar airport, got in the cab at Gibraltar airport and said, Look, we'd like to go to the hotel with Gibraltar. It went I can't take you there. Okay, interesting. Why not? Cuz, because sir, the hotel Gibraltar is an interpreter. It's in Spain. And I bear in mind that we manage millions and millions of clients were really good at what we do. Hopefully, we do all that sort of stuff. I don't know anybody else do it, who's booked a holiday in the wrong country, you know, who's put in the wrong place. Now, I thought I'd done my research on Google Maps, it was 10 minutes from the airport, it was just over the border. But one thing I do write about in the book, and the reason I share that story, particularly as business owners, is I think the starting point to be kind to others is also to try and be kinder to ourselves. And understand that life isn't perfect, but also sort of navigate that in a way which allows you to do the best for you and your clients.

Stuart Webb 09:39

Yeah, absolutely. Right. You know, Chris, that's a really interesting. Yeah, a really interesting story to illustrate that because, you know, too often I find business owners who are beating themselves up and, you know, I think you and I both fans as well of the daily stoic, I sort of sit and read, I sit and read that that's the first thing I sort of read pretty much every day is To just centre myself on the fact that there are a lot of things in this world that you cannot control. But the one thing you can control is your reaction to the circumstances. Often we're trying to fight against data, we're trying to control things which are just out of control. We can't control the world, we can't control the weather. But what we can do is decide what we're going to do to react to it and deciding to react to a setback like that. I go, Okay, fine. So we're gonna go on, go in a hotel, that's 10 minutes down the road, but in a different country, we'll make the mess that will make better that will find a good

Chris Daems 10:30

thing. It's about perspective, isn't it? I mean, my dad wasn't happy for money. So I mean, drag it and 74 year old men through them. And the thing is, we tried to get a cat the other end, but we didn't have any euros because I didn't expect to, like need any, because to still use sterling. But we woke up in the morning, it took a while for him to get over it. But they'd say we are now getting international travel every day of our trip. So so it did it did potentially help. But I mean, you've allocated I'm glad you brought out that. If there's one book that I recommend anybody read. It's the daily stoic. It's the book that I read every day. And it's a really interesting discipline that book has around, only read a page or die. I've never done that before. But throughout 2022, I did it. And it really helped my morning routine, and having a perspective in the day. What's your, what's your favourite stoic teaching?

Stuart Webb 11:29

Oh, gosh, I think I was probably getting towards it towards the end. And we started doing it when we were talking about just now which is, which is that that concentration on the fact that you know, I remember very clearly it was towards the end of December, the the momentum, alright, you know, everyone is going to die and you sit there and you think I don't want to think about it, but at the same time, it focuses your mind on and it's so difficult to get across to people who are younger, and I work a lot with students. And you I watched them spend hours debating if they could spend 20 Pence less on this or 20 quid less of that. And you think the time that you're spending debating that you could actually put into something which you're gonna make 20 quid later on the new life. But yeah, just focusing on that, we'll come back to that thing. It is that focus, it's the focus on the right thing, not the wrong thing. People spend too much of their time and I was just dealing with business owner, just before we got into this call, and you know what, he was fretting about something and I was going, let it go. It's just not that important. You know, in the grand scheme of things, when you get to the end of the business life, you're gonna look back and go, What the heck that was about, you know, that was a day of fret wasted because I could have got on with doing what we're doing. It is that focus on, remember, you've got a legacy. Remember, you've got something you're going to leave and make sure what you leave in worthwhile rather than fretting about the money or fretting about the it is it is, you know, you look back and you go, did I have the right relationships? Are people going to look back on me and think I was, you know, a reasonable nice kind person? Or are they going to I can go why was he always constantly worrying about the money? You know, that's, that's, I think, the teacher,

Chris Daems 13:16

and I agree, I mean, the money, what we what we sort of start with is all money is a tool to allow you to live the life you want. Now without money, life can be fairly difficult karmic because it brings worry where you don't need it. But thankfully, the clients who try to start off with their, you know, accumulate wealth and savings, and that's a responsibility insurance we take really seriously are in a position where they've either financially independent or getting there. And ultimately, it's all about relationships. You know, the reason we started the kindness project, and it was really selfish, if I'm honest, the reason the reason I decided to climb this project is she's 19 Now, but she was 13. And I was really worried about maintaining a really relationship with a teenage girl, because what do I talk to the teenage girl about? And having that project, we work on it together, particularly as we, you know, we published every week and record content pretty consistently. It's been a really good anchor to that relationship, you know? And it's inspired, hopefully, you know, she's at uni at the minute and Strathclyde studying journalism, hopefully, that curiosity of helping understand and tell other people's stories has inspired her to do that. But

Stuart Webb 14:43

yeah, and I think it's a great Oh, it's a really great way of maintaining that relationship by I don't know, with my son the relationship revolves around something so much more shallow and sport but I mean, you know, yeah, I mean, it's,

Chris Daems 14:58

it's whatever you Hold on to isn't it when my youngest, it's out because she loves she loves. So it's just a thing, you've got to go where they are.

Stuart Webb 15:11

Now, that's interesting, Chris, I'm sorry, we've sort of gone off on off the kindness project a bit, but actually go where they are, it's really, it's really an important lesson for business, isn't it? Because so often, you know, as business owners, we are not reaching out to where the customer our client is. And, you know, I say this, so often, he sort of alluded to it a little bit, then, you know, we don't add, reach to our customer and try and put ourselves in their shoes nearly enough do and that's kind of where I was sort of thinking, it's sort of some of the kindness project sort of comes into this, we don't actually try and put ourselves in their shoes, we try and sort of hope that they will come to us. But actually, The Secret to Building a business, the secret of kindness is going out and saying, What do I do to put myself in your shoes, and then look at it from your point of view. And actually, that's a good lesson for business.

Chris Daems 15:57

It's a really interesting one, particularly in the business that we're in is a financial planning practice. Because I think we underestimate how scary it is comes to somebody like me, I think in the UK, money's still quite taboo. It we're in a position where having open and honest conversations about money is something we're not, we're not that great at in the UK. But come into somebody like me and saying, I'm not clear about where my financial future lies, and I need your help, is scary. So when we were thinking about how we could help clients in a way that the mic is intimidating, part of the reason we, we put videos on our website, client testimonials and, and things like that is to show that smart, sensible people get the help, they need to get the outcome they want. And it is scary initially, but we're quite friendly. So and if we can show that if we can show that the spirits and speak to a financial planner, getting the help you need is a I was gonna say painless, less pain than you expect. Then hopefully, more people will then get get out they need to achieve their goals. But we, as I said, We Never underestimate truckers, people putting us you know, somebody's worked 2030 years building their business, building their careers, building their wealth to achieve what they want to do in the next chapter of their lives. Trust me and my practice and my team with it is it is a big jump. So think illustrate in the fact that we're decent people who want to do the right thing is important. Now, the kindness project has nothing to do with that. I didn't expect the two to overlap. The kindness project was about a desire to share stories of people doing good good with well, when a time I was looking at the world and going where are all the good stories. But I think it does help for clients to be too to recognise that we believe in doing well and doing good.

Stuart Webb 18:23

Yeah, I agree with you, Chris, there must be something you're doing at the moment to reach out to those clients, giving them that help without sort of going to charging them the earth before you sort of do it. What what do you what's the what's the way that people should should engage with you both as a business owner with you as a person sort of now promoting the kindness that you're talking about in the book?

Chris Daems 18:44

Yeah, so typically, it's interesting. So we're 12 years into the practice now. And we're typically referral one. So all of our clients come through introductions, either through our professional network people who know unlike us, and trust us, or through our existing clients, and that's a really nice position to be in. But I'm always looking to connect with fun, interesting people. One of our roles as a practice is we only work with people we like, that's really important to us, because we want to have a great time while we work in as you say, if we were intentional about who we work with its interest and want to get your perspective on this. How many business owners you do you work with? Are we take on clients they know they're not?

Stuart Webb 19:36

Yeah, boy, you know, that's interesting, because I had a discussion with a with a with, with somebody about that the other day. When I say the other day, it was back 10 days ago. So it's a bit more than a week. It was just sort of the turn of the between the Christmas and New Year period. And they were basically saying, you know, I have problems, and I just sort of went through and then it's a quiet period. Let's just spend, I spent, I spent a couple of hours and when let's go through all the current customers you've got and just sort of ask the question, are they making your profit or not? Absolutely every single one he basically Terminator are they're difficult. I don't make much with them. They're difficult. And I looked at him and I said, Why do you have these customers? Yeah. Anyway, I couldn't do without him and I went, are you having fun with them? No. Well, what's the point? Well, you know, they might be profit. And we've just proved that to have those losing money, working with people that are losing your money, and the fear of letting go the fear of saying no, I don't want to, because there was this, but they might produce better results in the future when the evidence from history is that they won't. And if the only business just to hope you're in business, just to sort of expect some miracle, you're in the wrong business. So my advice to him was start start basically quitting clients just turn around, say, sorry, your behaviour is not what we want. We're not interested in working with people like you, you can change your behaviour or, or we're firing him. And he looked at me and said, couldn't possibly do that. And I went, I don't think we're gonna be able to work together, because that's my attitude. My attitude is not to turn around and work with people who, frankly, you're gonna cost me more effort than I'm gonna get

Chris Daems 21:14

out of it. Yeah, yeah. And I get positive. I get why it's difficult, right? Because I've been there in terms of the the sort of my journey as a business owner in the first couple of years not being able to do that. And then getting to a point where I go, Well, why am I why am I doing that? Brian? Brian's obviously pro just commented side hope he's not the strategy. I agree with that. I mean, it's, it's having that having that clear plan, and having the difficult conversations when clients aren't working with you. That's the bit that I think a lot of business owners avoid.

Stuart Webb 21:52

Yeah, absolutely. Right. Chris, I mean, I've taken up far too much of your valuable time. So I'm just going to very quickly get to the sort of the final question I've got for you, which is, you know, I've asked you some questions. You've asked me some questions. But there must be one question that we haven't yet sort of asked. And I know we sort of veered into this a bit. So you know, what's the what's what some of our sort of strategies, but what's the what's the one question that I should have asked you, perhaps about the kindness project, perhaps about financial planning, perhaps about life itself? But which one? Would you like me to have asked, which I haven't asked yet?

Chris Daems 22:21

Well, firstly, let me say you say, I've really enjoyed it's been a short chat, but I've really enjoyed our conversation today. And thank you for helping me promote the book.

Stuart Webb 22:31

We're gonna push this out, Chris, you know what I will get out of that with but yeah, I think it's great book. I think it's worth everybody getting a copy.

Chris Daems 22:39

Yeah. I mean, I mean, thankfully, the sales have been, uh, been pretty decent so far. The more we can raise space, the more I'll be happy. And one thing I do want to mention on the book for us to talk about the question is we've got a event at NSX in the middle of Feb. So it's a bit of a light book launch slash celebration event. We'll share that with everybody. If you're if you're in the area or you want to travel down, we should have a really good turnout help us celebrate the impact of the book. One thing one thing that I think we could have explored more is reading material, because I think the starting point was when people were building their financial plan is self education, right? You know, what can I learn to learn to empower myself with before actually come to speak to a professional, and there's a few books number one is happy money by Elizabeth Dunn, talks about the fact that spending money can make us happy, but spending money on certain stuff makes us happier than others. So that's a really interesting book to read. Wellbeing by Tom Rath is another good one. That's all about looking at all aspects of well, being not only financial, the ultimate Millionaire is one of my favourite books by David Bach. And interestingly, the daily stoic I definitely recommend that in all aspects of your life reading the daily stoic is worthwhile.

Stuart Webb 24:13

Can I Can I just because I we've just talked a little bit about sort of daily routines progress on I don't know, as I said, one of the first things I do is get up and I read the Daily stoic, but I also have a routine that means that the one of the first things that I do in the morning is actually read myself in the way that you've just discovered. I'm just going to show you the book that I'm currently reading that's, that's on my desk. So that's, that's a really that's a good book that I recommend. I take the other one that I've got, which might surprise you. But that is absolutely brilliant. Anybody who hasn't read that book will know you're not expected that to be a really good business but but it's a brilliant business, but because it's about people. It's about how you manage to get inside the head of somebody and you You know, we just talked about it too often business is not about try, I'm going to try and put these down without locking everything down and show off to business owners are not thinking about the people are they? They're not thinking about the, the, you know, how do you make somebody's you know, happy in their life. And I said this to a business owner recently I turn around said, he said to me, I'm afraid of selling and when everybody's afraid of selling, we're all afraid of rejection. But I'll tell you what. Yeah, I like that from Howard Bullock is another financial advisor, which I'm going to do. So we'll put that up in a minute. But you know, the one thing that I keep saying to people about selling is, if you've got a solution to their problem, and you've understood their problem properly, if you just reach across the desk and say, Do you want help, they will buy it from you, you don't sell a solution to anybody, you, they will buy it from you. So to be honest with you work with the people you like and just offer them help, you'll be surprised.

Chris Daems 26:01

And interestingly, I mean that our approach is, it's got to be when you're ready, you know, and sometimes that element of speed somebody initially and then not being ready yet, doesn't mean they don't need your help sometime down the future. The amount of times clients have come back when they've gone. The pains got too much. Now I need to get financially cleared to go to the next stage in my life. It's it's an interesting model.

Stuart Webb 26:26

Chris, this has been a really fabulous discussion. Thank you so much. I am very aware of how valuable your time is. Look, everybody go get this book, go get the kindness project. Book. It is it is it is it is an interesting, but it is not your standard business book. Except it is. So if you see what I mean. Chris, I wish you all the success with that. I'm just gonna just gonna, just gonna put one. One final thing up if you would like to get onto our mailing list so that you get an email on a weekly basis about who I'm talking to on the podcast this week. Really interesting conversations like this. So you can join us we've had people today, putting comments up and talking about the sort of comments that people like interesting people like Chris, we only have interesting people on this podcast, we don't have any wasted time. That's the link to get on, which is TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, that's TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, Chris. Thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. I'm just gonna play the outro so that we finish this off, and then I'll make sure that we get out we really helped you to promote the kindness project, but because Thank you, no problem at all. Chris, thank you very much.

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Who is Elena?

Elena is a professional accountants and tax advisors who help automate and optimise your business processes, to be able to make informed decisions and experience the financial freedom you deserve.

Key Takeaways

What are the mistakes business owners are making and how do they play out in their business? 2:24

Looking for the problem in concentric circles starting at your desk. 4:28

The importance of taking a simple approach to business. 6:08

Not all business coaches are very good with the financial data. 8:03

What is the most stressful period in accountants’ lives? 12:54

The importance of paying yourself first -. 15:47

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

business, elena, clients, business owners, accountant, problem, accountability partner, people, find, money, book, life, question, report, speak, coach, burnout, share, talking, tips

Stuart Webb 00:24

Hi there, and welcome to It's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I'm here with my coffee in front of me. And I'm ready to have a really interesting discussion with Elena Meskhi. I hope I'm saying that correctly. And that, you know, you'll tell me, thank you. Elena is an accountant, she helps her business clients to optimise and automate their processes so that they can make better financial decisions and therefore achieve the financial freedom that they're really interested in. I love this sort of subject this is definitely write up my tweet, I love talking to business owners about how they optimise and and make their business, less about them and more about the business process. Because that's the only way you can exit your business. If you're still at the middle of your business, being the controller everything, you cannot exit your business, you can never sell it. So Elena, I think it's gonna give some great, great, great tips in there. So she's also the author of a book, we'll come to that I'm sure during the discussion, Elena, welcome to It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee.

Elena Meskhi 01:26

Today, thank you so much for inviting me, I'm very excited to be here to share with you the tips with their audience about how to extract yourself from the business and move yourself to the next step. And how to face different fears and challenges. So we work with that business owners who run their own businesses day to day. So it's usually starting when they think that they had enough working for one lunatic and surprise and maybe they they started working for another one being themselves who is much harsher, who is more demanding and more challenging and constantly sitting inside you and say Go Go Go doo doo doo bigger, but more more not enough. How to how to overcome all that.

Stuart Webb 02:21

I know that lunatic very well. And I'm not going to say any more than that. So I mean, that's the answer to the first question. But tell me about the second one, which is you're obviously working with people that have tried things in the past, they've tried ways of doing it, what are the mistakes they're making? And how are you seeing those mistakes sort of play out everyday in their business?

Elena Meskhi 02:39

The first thing, the most predominant one, they the business owner would think that there is no problem. So they don't acknowledge the problem, that there is a problem. They think it's the team, they I can't find the right people. It's the system which don't work. It's the banks who don't get the loans. It's a cash flow. It's always the problem. And you know, the social media and the media overall, it's kind of support that thought. So everything else is wrong around you, you're the right one. So you're in the, in the quest to put things right. And to what I understand about business and business owners being so foreign in this industry for the last 15 years, you better start from yourself. And when when you face yourself and you realise that you have the burnout, you keep doing doing doing and you're afraid of stepping back and think about the business and analyse the situation. And actually when you remove yourself and this is the first fear because what if they're willing to go job What if the product is not going to be so good what if someone else will drop the ball I have to control everything and everywhere. And by being in the operational side so much involved, the business owners struggle to actually present the better product the better idea and to do to remove themselves from the business and enjoy it and deliver even bigger scale the life changing opportunities they can do. And when they finally identify the problem, they would try to solve it in isolation. So, they would think people is the problem. So, I will fix the people they will hire different consultants, they will aim they will improve the recruitment process the training process and then something else does work then they will figure out that there is another problem there was a system don't work because we do things in a without using technology for example, and then they will work with another specialist who will help them to improve technology. So the problem I see is that total disintegration of there are aspects of the business, because they, they either have to put all the consultants together, which first of all challenging to find the right people. Secondly, it comes at a cost, because, um, the business owner feels the demand that they have to know, all those areas, they go in deeper research, they invest more of themselves in that subject. And that's more harder for them to delegate it. So it's like a catch 22 They never can win in that situation. And this is, this is how they get more stress, burnout, this money, never ended circle. Sounds familiar?

Stuart Webb 05:41

Does sound familiar? And and I remember a very wise mentor of mine in my early in my career told me that whenever you see a problem in your business, you start looking for the problem in concentric circles starting at your desk, because so often the problems that you see are the ones that you are beginning to create. So having been somebody that spent a lot of time in businesses trying to help them fix process problems. You're absolutely right. There are too many times when people look and go, Well, it can't possibly be there, it's got to be over there. And you start putting together too many different disparate things that just make it even worse, you really need to take a simple approach only you take it back to basics. Business is actually fairly simple business is really not very difficult. But we make it difficult by looking and trying to complicate things, because it can't be as easy as it looks kind of.

Elena Meskhi 06:34

Absolutely, yes, we will look everything at our perspective. And one of the very good technique is to have the accountability partner. And this is also very tricky solution, because we tend to find the wrong people to be our accountability partners. I see different situations, sometimes that could be your life partner, and your common goal and you consult with them to discuss at their dinner or breakfast, how to do different different scenarios. It can be a business partner, and I find it there once you reach the limit very quickly, because all those people they subjective. And of course, they have your best interest at heart, but they can't, subconsciously they always will be their first advisor for themselves rather than you. So that's why it's very, it's very different, different. Another solution business owners comes up with, they will find the business coach. Yeah. But the business coach themselves, they will help them to take their mind to the next to look at the things differently, they will challenge them, they will be their accountability partners. However, not all business coaches, they are very good with the financial data. And the business owner also would be a little bit reluctant to share too much financial data with coach for the number of reasons. And the business coach, understandably, they would withdraw themselves from that sort of conversation and talking about money. God, this is what the business about is nothing if you are in business for money, yes, okay. You could have the illusion, I started the business, I want to help people, I want to make this live better. I want to work with best people. That's that's fine. That's your ethical. And that's your ethical understanding of the business. And this is the mission of the business. But the primary goal of the business is to make money. And who is the better person to speak about money than your account? Because we know so many, we know so many information, it is so valuable, that even life partners they don't know and with accountants is why do I call myself more than accountant because I'm not. I'm not scared to talk about money with my clients. I'm very open and open to share my insights and my advices about it. It's type of the industry accountants, typically they are introverts, and they don't that much like talking to people, they will like during reports or data and analysis of the digits and figures. And, and by presenting you with that. So one of the Gronk conversation we hear from our prospective clients who come to us the question we ask, How often do you speak with your accountant? And then most times, they will say well Once a year when the financial year is over this is when they see their accounts. And they're like, That's too late. That's already too late. How did you make all those decisions through the year? How did you know how to borrow money? How to whether you have capacity to recruit more stuff? How did you raise the prices? These are all the questions you speak through with your accountant, because Coincidently, not coincidentally, it all come to the matter of your business. This is all interlinked, and this is what evolved. So I find that accountant would be the best accountability partner, accountant would be the best business coach, when you find the right accountant, who is keen to speak, who came to share, and who will not be, you know, afraid of hiding behind the figures are the highs of the reports, and actually elaborate and be open and give you feedback to understand what's the reports about how to read the report. And what's the report, because there is the another fear that some accountants have, if I will share too much information with my clients, and they will teach them too much how to read the report, they will be doing it themselves. And it's, it's again, it's self fulfilling prophecies, it's when when you are not sharing the learning the understanding what business business owners are crazy. Business owners, they, they are best in what they do in their best in their product, their best in their services. They don't know that much information about the financial data, and how to read it and what strategy to use and how to approach. So that's why I think that we have done tremendous help and tremendous assistance to the business owners on growing the business on extracting them from the business. They have more clients less and less time in their business, they have bigger profits, and they finally living the life they want.

Stuart Webb 12:13

I have to admit a very unusual accountant because I find very few accountants who are who are quite so happy to act as a business coach to their clients as you Elena and in fact, some of the best, best work that I do is with accountants, because the accountant will often say, you know, you need to help them to sort of extract themselves from their business by making some changes. They won't listen to me because they think I'm just here to talk about their numbers. So if you've managed to crack that you've done very well, I know that a lot of a lot of the best joint ventures that I got going on are with accountants who are turning around and saying, you know, I need to crack into what is actually going on in that business. I can't find out the numbers are telling me something. I don't know what it is. And they're not prepared to tell me so. And I know you've you've written a book about all of this, I'm just going to share the link for where we can see that book on screen. There it is going on. It's on Amazon. And I think you said that you you have you not only have you documented this but you eat your own dog food, don't you you actually live what you have written in your book.

Elena Meskhi 13:14

Yes, exactly. It's all the self, self written. This book is about my experience, how I put my business to the next level. I've been in this business for the last 15 years, started from scratch from the kitchen table and grown it throughout town at some point in time I sold my business and I started again from scratch with more experience and with more knowledge and tips. And now finally, believe it or not the most stressful period in accountants live in December and January because it's such a joy. So look at me. I'm not in the office, I'm actually in Africa, having the time of my life with my family. And I know for sure that all the deadlines are done on submitted. And they wish the same for all my clients. Because they on top of like things they don't have to stress on the 30th of December or 23rd that they have to complete the tax returns. So we totally implemented all those strategies in the business to meet with the use of technology with use of different different aspects including psychology, including neuroscience. And it was very, very exciting journey and it is still is I'm still this is actually what we keep doing. I'm training and speaking with my clients on a daily basis, parts of the day. This is sacred and assisting them on taking that journey forward to find a way to find that happiness in life. I found the balance.

Stuart Webb 15:02

Pretty bad, pretty good. If you've ever if you've been able to train your clients that well, you've done well, we're coming to the end. And I've got the final question for you for you. Couple of questions wandering off his and we've talked about your book. But there must be a question that I haven't yet asked you that you would really like me to have asked you. So what is the question you would have liked me to ask you? And once you've asked the question, would you mind answering it as well for us?

Elena Meskhi 15:27

All right, that's a good strategy for the interview, I learned that you might wish to ask me about my innovative method called Pay yourself first. And what it is about this is at length spoken in my book, and this is the idea I came along. And I have been lucky tested on the on on the several on all of our clients, and have the tremendous results. So the concept and I think this is one of the tip on takeout, what your listeners and your audience can take and actually sleep on it and see how this concept will be lent into their business. So the business owner, they have so much pressure and they have so much responsibility. So they are responsible to the clients for the product to the team for the salaries to the suppliers, and they always prioritise and they act like firefighters, whichever demand think they're touching. First, they completely forgetting about themselves. And they completely forgetting to pay themselves first. So the concept talks, and introduces the change of this world and to put themselves first. So they think about themselves first they think how much money they do the personal budget how much money they need, in order to functional properly not like on bread and water, but to have all the variety in life what they used to, and come with a personal budget and setup that as the minimum amount of money their business must generate and generate, but probably after to leave as a bottom line on what they can take it minus taxes. So and to put it as a priority. And rather than every month, paying the salary, and then suppliers and then the software and then whatnot, they will pay themselves first that particular amount of money and see how the world will start changing around them. So on my website, and under mosquito calm, we have a scorecard which will help your audience if they take that test, they will be able to see they will get there pretty neat report about their business where the business right now and what next actions they can do to take the challenge and then out of that test, they will get a free copy of my book. So this is one of the perks and they can learn a little bit more about their pay yourself first, which I find is a life changing for all of my clients.

Stuart Webb 18:15

They know I think that's a brilliant offer. And I thank you so much for spending a few minutes away from your holiday to spend some time with us today. I wish you all the success going back to that holiday. I'm just going to finish by saying we've got a problem with the video. It's playing far too quickly. We will we won't read it because we don't edit on this programme. I'm just going to say thank you to Elena Elena. Thank you so much for spending a bit of time with us. If you would like to get onto the mailing list so that you get to hear about really interesting people like Elena coming up go to TCA dot FYI forward slash subscribe that's tcaa dot FYI, forward slash subscribe and get on to our mailing list so that you can hear about really interesting people. Elena, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us today. I am now going to play the the out video which will enable the other metre stop this so you'll hear the music you're getting so my apologies for for glassing areas with that far too quickly. But we're gonna we're gonna say thank you very much wish you all success in your business and have a lovely holiday.

Elena Meskhi 19:25

Thank you so much. Thank you, Stuart. I am the subscriber to your podcast from now on and I'm looking forward to hear more interesting, insightful stories

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Who is Marc?

Marc Singer - The Men's Coach

After being sentenced to life in prison for a crime he had not committed, Marc had to also endure the tragic deaths of his entire family, whilst in custody... Fast forward to now, he is a successful professional Men's mindset coach who works to help them discover their turning point and create a life that they choose.

Key Takeaways

Despite being in a very bad situation, Marc didn't want to see himself as a victim, and had to choose to take responsibility for thoughts, feelings and actions, in order to move himself forward.

it was only then that he discovered that he had the skills and attributes to become a great coach and this sent him on a path of self discovery

Our past may not take us into a life of crime, but mat prevent us from achieving our best, such as presenting us from being able to speak in public

Men specifically avoid moving forward with their lives a group that struggles the most in terms of everything that we do. Suicide rates are the highest with men. And that's a lot to do with a reluctance for men to sort of move forward. So the question I would ask is, why is that men struggle to move forward with their lives, and really take control of the things that matter most, which is your mindset. The way the mindset creates everything we do in life, it creates our thoughts, our feelings, and our actions. And if we're not in control of that, then our actions are not going to be conducive to the life that we're living.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Links;

www.marcsingercoaching.co.uk/

http://www.facebook.com/leaderwithincoreenergy

(4) Marc Singer ~ The Men’s Coach | LinkedIn

https://youtube.com/@MarcSingerCoachingSeminars

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

life, people, beliefs, men, prison, book, coach, attitudes, struggling, create, deal, mark, discover, mindset, question, important, helped, jail free card, moment, work

Stuart Webb 00:25

Hi, everyone, welcome back to it's not rocket science, five questions over coffee I have here in front of me, my favourite mug filled with coffee. And I've really, really looking forward to the next 1015 minutes we spent with this man Mark singer is the men's coach, he was sentenced to life in prison for a crime he hadn't committed, but he had to endure deaths of his entire family whilst in custody. And now he is a really successful men's mindset coach who works with them to help discover their Turning Point and create a life that they would choose now I think this is gonna be a really fascinating few minutes. Mark, I really am looking forward to this welcome to It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee.

Marc Singer 01:14

Thank you very much for having me on.

Stuart Webb 01:16

Look, what do you do you want to just start by describing those men that you're trying to reach? And the sort of people they are? And?

Marc Singer 01:33

Yeah, yeah, no, that's fine. Yeah. I mean, like, as you said, I went through a traumatic set of variances, which then create the lives that they choose. And, yeah, it was a it was a bit of a journey. So as you just said, they're convicted of a crime that had been in God, the trauma or all of that, whilst actually raising the family funerals and selling the family, home and so on whilst in prison, whilst not knowing if I was ever going to be actually released from prison, so, but I sorted as an opportunity to turn my life around, eventually secured really no, I'm a professional coach, working with men to help them create the lives that they choose as well. So that's what I now do.

Stuart Webb 02:21

So tell me, how did you I mean, what are the what are they doing? And who are they trying to reach at the moment? And why? Why is your approach different? What was it about the your experience that helped you to see that as a positive, and turn your life around?

Marc Singer 02:40

Well, actually, well, when I was in prison, I hit rock bottom. And for a period of time, saw myself as a victim, and then it was that realisation that I never wanted, I didn't want to see myself as a victim, and I had to choose to take responsibility for my thoughts, feelings and actions, in order to move myself forward. I never wanted to be a victim. So it was at that moment, I decided enough was enough. And it was then that I decided to deal with that, then then instead of my actual situation where I was the prison and so on, which I couldn't change I could only change what I was doing how I was working. So I failed, because more were then and that led me to a situation when I did actually secure release I fell into code. King, no, no. And it was only then that I discovered that I had the skills and attributes to become a great coach myself and it was sent me on a path of self discovery and and oxide pectins chip professional excellence in coping, and I enrolled with them. And two years later, I qualified as a professional coach, and an S. Now what I do I work with men, particularly, to help them overcome whatever's in their wine. The reason I work with men, typically now, back in the day normal guys who are looking to have some sort of breakthrough in their lives and looking to move forward with their lives. There is a lot of stigma, and I work to break that down so that men can deal with what, whatever they're going through in a moment, and not to put forward to things like this because they have that belief or attitude that it's more feminine, it's more for women. It's not necessarily for working class got that then holds them back from moving forward. So I do tend to work with a lot of guys who are normal everyday guys who look not so much in terms of like dealing with the emotional side because that's what all All of us do, but we deal with it in a different way. But it's more given a more common sense. way of moving forward without all of fluffiness ism a common sense process work way of working forward, which helps them create whatever they want with their lives and, and it's effective and it helped them choose.

Stuart Webb 05:22

Mark, I love your message, I love what you're doing. And I'm just going to put a ticker across the bottom of the screen now, which is, which is your website, which is Mark, as Mark Mar, see, singer coaching.co.uk That's M AR C. Singer coaching.co.uk. Mark, there's lots of great stuff on your website. And I know you're in the process at the moment of writing a book which, which I hope is going to be a real, real bestseller to tell us tell us what is what's going to be in your book, what's, what's the stories in that book that you're going to sort of write and help men to discover this path from, from what you're telling them?

Marc Singer 06:09

Yeah. The book is my journey. It's a story about the only the tip of the iceberg. But when you look at the whole story, because there's a heck of a lot more to it, it was my journey and why I ended up in place one motion. So it really goes back to the beginning where I started. And I actually got involved in a gang I was involved in drugs and things like that when I left school, football violence and things like that. So I created a whole set of antisocial beliefs and attitudes which dogged me for many, many years after, and that led me into countless situations which were antisocial, and, you know, with the police, and so on. But it was many years from all of that in my 30s that I actually got convicted of the thing that I went to prison for. And even though I hadn't done, what they convicted me of, it was actually my own beliefs and attitudes that created that situation inadvertently, and only realised that later on because I I hadn't dealt with the underlying stuff that dogs been for many, many years on the surface or surface I hadn't. I hadn't had I dealt with the beliefs and attitudes at an earlier stage, I wouldn't have been involved in motion to begin with. And so I recognise that when I was in prison, and I started doing the work on the beliefs and attitudes whilst in there, that then helped me change my belief system so that it was more prosocial, more able to move moving forward. And a lot of us in life, we tend to develop beliefs and attitudes as we go through life, which affect us in different ways as we move forward. And it could be something. For instance, I'm working with a guy at the moment who, who's a businessman who struggles doing live speaking events. Now, the reason why he does that is because something that affected him many, many years ago when he was a kid. And he hadn't dealt with those beliefs and attitudes, which are now holding, holding him back from being is at his most comfort in front of people. So it's those sorts of things that I work with to help them identify and remove or change. And so understanding how our mind works is imperatively important for us to be at our best. And it's anything in life, if you want to be a footballer and you want to be the best, then guess what you're going to work on different aspects of become the best version yourself. And if you're a business minister, same thing, if you want to use your mindset, to the best of its ability, you're gonna have to learn how to do that. And many of us don't understand how our minds work fully. And don't understand how the beliefs and attitudes and things that we develop years before affect us in the current. And it's important that we do our best. So a lot of the stuff in the book is about that. It's about how my journey went from where I was to where I am now and everything in between there. But it's also more about individual reading the books is about me, it's about the people, whoever everybody's going through some sort of transition, transfer transformation in life. Doesn't matter who you are. And it's important that we understand how we can work our way through things like that in a more positive and productive way. And my book is about everybody, it's not just about me. It's about whoever you are away from create what you life. And that's the whole premise of the book. It's hast Half Life Story autobiography, half self help book.

Stuart Webb 09:41

I love it. I absolutely love it. I really think that's a brilliant way of putting it. Listen, normally my fourth question when we get to this point of the interview is about what book or what programme? Do you sort of, did you discover which actually sort of you know helps you get forward? You've sort of described a lot of that but is there a cific instance of something you'd like to leave the audience with to say, This is why you've got two graphs. Now this is what you've got to do. This is what I did to, to push me in the direction I'm taking now.

Marc Singer 10:14

Yeah, I mean, basically, what ask is that? What are the likes of? You know, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs Christianna Cristiano Ronaldo, Bill Gates when all of these people got in common? And the answer is, they all have a coach. And I think there was a general misconception, many people that if you ask for help in any way, in life, if you have a coach, if you have a mentor, it means you're weak in some way that you're struggling in life. And so many people avoid reaching out and asking for help, because I think it's a slot that's on this. And it means that they haven't got the ability to do it themselves, and that they're struggling. And I have a device. And it's a common misconception that a lot of people have, that you know, you have, you have to be, you know, mentally challenged or depressed or something like that, in order to reach out and get a coach. And it's really not the case, it's just it really is for the people who want to be the best versions of themselves. And that's essentially the difference between something like therapy and coaching. Coaching is for people, sorry, therapy is for people who want to delve into a certain life coaching is for people who want dispersions. Simple as that. And so my advice would be to people who are, you know, looking to progress in their lives and become the best version of yourself to consider hiring a coach. And so, in order to do that, there's no, it's no coincidence that six people in all have coaching? And that's one of the things I would learn. I'd say, you know, again, yeah, I mean, I learned a philosophy when I changed my life. And that, if you are asking me about a book called leadership by Bruce Knight, and he's the one he is the founder. And I would suggest anybody who's interested in find out more about that, check that book out.

Stuart Webb 12:09

Globally, Mark, listen, I've spent the last 1015 minutes asking you a bunch of questions. And there must be a question that you're currently thinking, Well, why isn't he asked me a bag, whatever. So my Get Out of Jail Free card at the moment is to turn around, get out of jail free card, what a wonderful thing to have for a few years in your life. Anyway, my purse, my question that I'm going to put to you now is, what's the question that you would have liked me to have asked that I haven't done yet. And obviously, I'm going to make you do the work again, I'm going to ask you to answer the question that you asked yourself. So what is the question you would particularly like me to?

Marc Singer 12:53

Well, again, I mean, it's really, what what is it that people, you know, why is it that people, men pacifically avoid moving forward with their lives? I mean, this is the thing that people look at the the general demographic of men, we're with a group that struggles the most in terms of everything that we do. You know, suicide rates are the highest with men. General issues, such as women is the highest in society. And that's a lot to do with a reluctance for men to sort of move forward. So the question I would say, you'd ask is, why is that men struggle to sort of move forward with their lives, and, you know, really take control of the things that matter most, which is your mindset, and your, the way we the mindset creates everything we do in life, it creates our thoughts, our feelings, and our actions. And if we're not in control of that, then our actions are not going to be conducive to the life that we're living. And it's very important that we do that. Because most of settling in life for things that we don't truly want. And if we really want to be at our best, we have to be in control. And the question I would ask is why why do you? Why why is it that men does some common misconception among general men that it's or it's for a feminine all these different labels that people put things on? And none of it is true? It's inaccurate, completely. And I think mainly, a lot of guys will avoid doing these sort of things or investing in a coach because they feel that, you know, there's, you know, the old fashioned belief is just get on with it mentality is just get on the, you know, stiff upper lip, and I had that for a long time when I was in prison. And, yes, it has a place in some ways in society to do that. But the reality is, like I said, it's a misconception because people assume that by getting on with things when you're tough in some way, but it's actually the opposite. A real strong guy in life is the man who asked for help to help and it doesn't mean mentally. Ill like I just explained it in a in a You know, mentally ill way or you're struggling with the president is a way in which we all get forward in life, the most successful people in life always do. So I would say the answer to that question is to not judge things before you, you know, move forward, always have an open mind when you go. In life, generally, very closed minds, even though we tell ourselves, we've got an open mind, we will actually judge pretty much everything from our past beliefs and perspectives. And that then stops us things with any sort of clarity and objectivity. And it's very important that most of us see things with that. Because if you don't, you won't learn, you won't grow. And like me, I would have been stuck in prison. Still, I wouldn't be here talking to you today, if I had that sort of mindset. Because had I believed what everybody was telling me at that time, which was, you're never getting out of prison. There's no point I had no release date, it was a lot harder believe that I wouldn't have got out, I chose not to believe that I created my reality by my actions day in day out by focusing on myself and being the best version I could possibly be learning, exercising and doing all the things I knew, that would help me move forward. So it doesn't matter what your circumstances in life doesn't matter. If we've got a cost of living Christ says it doesn't matter if there's a war in Ukraine, it doesn't matter if there's COVID going on, it doesn't matter if we're struggling, that we're struggling through, we can all be successful with the right mental approach. And that's very, very, very important for any of us, specially right now, with what was going on around us. And, you know, there's the most successful people are the ones who walk through any sort of recession and things like that, and grow from it, rather than allowing it to force them to, you know, crumble basically,

Stuart Webb 16:45

I absolutely love what you're talking about, I think it's so, so brilliant. I mean, really, really appreciate the message you're putting across. And I think you're right, men are taught from a very young, early age, you know, it's the big boys don't cry, suck it up, get on with it. And, you know, we suffer for years because of it. I, I know, find most of my ideas from turning to people around me and go, What do you think, and you know, as business people, as leaders of businesses, the one thing that we can't afford to do is to just close down outside help and close down coaching and close down mentoring. We need those people to help drive us on and drive our businesses on to be the best. So I think what you're doing is brilliant. I love the story. Absolutely. Looking forward to the book. I know it's not out yet. I know he's coming soon. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of that book and reading it and I should be I should be sort of promoting it through through things like this podcasts and things like that. So really appreciate you coming on and spending a few minutes with us today. I just think that the message is great. I really absolutely love it. Listen, I'm just going to I'm just going to finish now by by doing the usual if you have got got any value out of this and I hope you have one or subscribe to the the newsletter list and then you can get an email every Monday which tells you what speakers we've got coming up in this week's our podcast recording and and you can get on and make sure that you follow people like Mark through his website. He's got lots of links on there, lots of information. So come on to our website onto our newsletter, which is TCA dot FYI. STCA dot FYI. FYI forward slash subscribe that gets you onto the newsletter mailing list. You'll get care about some great speakers like people like Mark coming on. Mark, thank you so much for coming on and spending a few minutes with us. I really do appreciate you spending a few minutes and giving us such huge value in the way that you have approached. Huge what what would have crushed me absolutely would have crushed me but you have approached it so positively and given so much value back and I thank you very much for your time today. Thank you very much.

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Who is Felicity?

Felicity runs Networking Events & Telemarketing companies. Her Free and affordable networking events with no need for membership are an exciting and cost effective way to network for small and growing businesses.

Key Takeaways

The small business market makes up 99.3% of the businesses in the UK alone.

They don't feel like they've got the opportunity to do things, when in actuality, if they had maybe a little bit more support, a little bit more guidance, and a little bit more opportunity to sort of combine their services together and support each other the world is their oyster

The most important thing amongst networking is variety. variation with networking is really key.

The Talknetworking vibe is being able to have different formats that give different end results, and that have different people in every single time.

Let's break you into more countries. Now is the time to change the way that we view networking. So I am in the process of changing not only the formats, the return on networking, but also the reach that we have as businesses so that those leads and those connections that we have that trust that we build up amongst each other.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

https://talknetworking.co.uk

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

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Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

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Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

networking, businesses, work, talk, small businesses, building, support, people, opportunity, felicity, book, uk, reach, event, give, counties, lots, coffee, format, moment

Stuart Webb 00:24

Hi, and welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I have got my favourite coffee beer mug in front of me with coffee in it. And the person I'm talking to you today. I don't think needs any coffee, she is probably the most dynamic networking person I've ever come across. And it's a real pleasure to have you on Felicity Felicity. Francis,

Felicity Francis 00:46

thank you. How do I follow that title?

Stuart Webb 00:49

Well, you start off by telling us what sorts of businesses you help and what who is it that you are trying to reach and help with your with your businesses,

Felicity Francis 00:58

while in quite a small circle of 400 million small businesses are my target market. But currently, my focus is the 5.6 million businesses in the UK, obviously, further afield, very welcomed, but I'm very big on supporting small businesses who fit into lots of different categories, whether it be startup or the well established, but those of us who are growing our businesses, and the ones I feel who lack the most help out there.

Stuart Webb 01:24

Yeah, what is it you think that those businesses aren't doing enough? Or that you're trying to help them with what is it that they're trying but somehow failing to do?

Felicity Francis 01:34

Can I say networking now? Working? I think there's lots of different things going on in that market at the moment, because there is a, what I deem is we are put down with being a minority. But in actuality, the small business market makes up 99.3% of the businesses in the UK alone. So what I find is that because we are treated so much as a minority, we don't actually realise how strong we are. So I find that that market tend to feel very segmented very alone. They don't feel like they've got the opportunity to do things, when in actuality, if they had maybe a little bit more support, a little bit more guidance, and a little bit more opportunity to sort of combine their services together and support each other their world is their oyster.

Stuart Webb 02:20

Yeah, and I think you're right, isn't it? What is it you're trying to do to help them in the moment? What are you? What are you reaching out to them with? And this point, I'm going to put a little banner across the bottom of the screen.

Felicity Francis 02:33

Oh, well, that. So I am talking about working. So my passion with talk networking has been to change how business networking works. I know there are some groans over the way of networking. And going back 12 and a half years now it's 2010. When I started up talking about working, it was about making sure that it actually followed what the small businesses wanted. So I think that you know, making it flexible, making it affordable, taking away membership, giving people opportunities of attending as they needed it. And also it fits in with them. We don't all sit there with wonderful diaries that stay empty. But to me, the most important thing amongst networking is variety. variation with networking is really key. Because of the fact that we all want different outcomes in business, are we looking to build up our support network, which in theory should be the main focus, but are we lead generating? Are we looking to build up our awareness? What are we looking for? And if you keep doing the same format, with the same group of people, it means that you're limiting that opportunity. So the whole talk networking vibe is being able to have different formats that give different end results, and that have different people in every single time.

Stuart Webb 03:44

Yeah, and one of the things we do here on the on it's not rocket science is we talk to people about the valuable free actual free resource that you're able to offer some of these people I know there are some great offers going on. Talk networking, introduce us to what you can get by just getting on to talk networking.co UK and and signing up as somebody who's interested in networking.

Felicity Francis 04:05

So what I offer is a free event. And that free event is all focused on one to ones building up those one to ones during the event. That's a lot of us that we're after we need that to support network and those opportunities of finding people to collaborate with and building that trust with. So our free event is focused on booking those one to ones in during the event and our records actually been 391 booked in during 190 minute session with 60 I think I'm 63 Maybe 64 people. So it was a massive opportunity of being able to actually leave your networking, having had your sleeves rolled up during it and you come out with stuff you've got something to do. So proactive networking is my thing.

Stuart Webb 04:48

So just just give me that one again. 391. One to One bookings following 90 minutes of networking, between how many people is there To 63, or 64. That is, that is a fairly phenomenal number of agreed one to one meetings that you can get out of just 90 minutes of your day.

Felicity Francis 05:11

Yep. So we run those once a month at the moment, but that will be starting to go out via the counties building up connections everywhere, and it runs entirely for free.

Stuart Webb 05:21

Wow. So what what inspired you Was there a book or a programme or something like that, that inspired you to start doing this course.

Felicity Francis 05:30

So there were lots of different things. I mean, I I've attended courses and that with other people, I think a lot of my experience has been through watching other people. But I will say that something really, really stuck with me over the years was a book that I read. And I'm actually sitting next to it, it lives on my desk. But my book is, is fish. And it's a phenomenal, phenomenal book, I actually went through with a highlighter, and highlighted all of the pages and the little bits that I liked. But it's about the way that you communicate with people. And although this is written about communicating with people in terms of an employed role, this actually is relevant in any role. And I've used it particularly with working with my team, but I actually use it with my networkers as well. And it's about the way that we support one another. It's not about being selfish. It's about what we give to support the morale around us.

Stuart Webb 06:25

Brilliant. Now, I've asked you questions, but I suspect there is a question you're thinking he hasn't asked me about such and such yet. So here's the opportunity, which I give to people to get them to ask their own question. And then of course, you have to answer your own question, because I'm not here to do any work. So Felicity, what is the question you want me to ask you? And once you've asked it, what is your answer?

Felicity Francis 06:46

Oh, that's a great question to ask. I, I'd like you to ask me, What am I doing to make the difference?

Stuart Webb 06:54

I like the question, What is your answer?

Felicity Francis 06:58

My answer to that is lots. So I am very adamant that I see lots and lots of networking going on out there. And it's not a disregard to any group, all of them have their value in their place. But what I tend to find out in the world of networking, is that it doesn't suit the majority. It tends to be segmented, it's got lockouts to it or the cost factor or the timing factor or the demands that go along with it. They don't fit your criteria, even the return that you get back from your networking. So what I'm doing with talk networking at the moment is advancing the events that we have in the formatting that we have. And then it's going to start expanding. So what I'm going to be doing in the very near future is having this go out amongst the counties building up across the UK, building up that report to me, we're not segmented in our regions, we are now working worldwide. And I've only just come out of working in, you know, one event only in the last half an hour with people in Portugal and Canada and all sorts. What I want to see from us as businesses is our ability to work further if you're a UK based business and can only work work around the counties that you are, if you're able to work worldwide, let's get you meeting those other people. Let's break you into more countries. That I think that now is the time to change the way that we view networking. So I am in the process of changing not only the format's the return on networking, but also the reach that we have as businesses so that those leads and those connections that we have that trust that we build up amongst each other. And those recommend patients and referrals are within reach constantly.

Stuart Webb 08:33

flow state, I think it's a great message. I love it. I love the fact that you're focused on those only 400 million businesses and it's only 399,990. Anyway that many to go now that you can actually sort of to reach it. It's a brilliant message. A lot of what not to networking does listen, everybody, you really do need to go to talk networking.co.uk It's there at the bottom of the screen talk networking.co.uk Have a look at some of the format's and networking events. If you're not used to networking, you will find it's probably the best fun you can have without actually having to sort of pretend you're not busy doing work. Having said all of that, I'm now going to just encourage you as well to get onto the mailing list, so that you can get an email from me on a Monday morning. It comes out on Monday and it basically says who's going to be talking to us this week and what they're going to be bringing in terms of value to you. And you can get onto that if you go to to ca dot FYI that's TCA dot FYI, forward slash, subscribe, you get the details there, get on to the mailing list, and every Monday you'll get a an email about who it is it's gonna be on. It's not rocket science. Five questions over coffee this week for let's see, thank you so much for spending time. I know you've just you've just said you've just rushed away from one event. And I guess you're very busy, because I know you've got quite a lot on. So thank you for spending just a few minutes with us and describing it. I hope that we get a lot more people coming along and helping their business to grow by doing better networking because they've heard from you so thank you very much

Felicity Francis 09:59

Thank you much appreciated

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Who is Alex?

Founder and host of the largest online risk management and decision making conference. RISK AWARENESS WEEK is the biggest global online platform to learn risk management and decision making. Amazing lineup of international speakers share practical case studies on integrating risk management into corporate decision making, planning, budgeting, project management and risk-adjusted performance management. Our aim is to bring together best quantitative risk management practices in a easy to understand and practical fashion for a fraction of the price. You can watch the workshops live or in replay on your phone, computer or tablet. More than 10000 participants watched RAW workshops over the last 3 years, don't miss this opportunity to upgrade your risk game. The workshops will be of value to decision makers and risk professionals alike.

Key Takeaways

[1] How do you use risk information to help your environmental team build better business cases for the things they need to change?

[2] Humans brains are good at pretending that things don't exist, even though the risk is real and obvious to everyone, our human brain still thinks of ways to justify doing nothing to us.

[3] Risk awareness week for me to became kind of this fresh breath of air, where I brought in scientists, NASA engineers, oil and gas engineers, you had people who actually did something that made a huge difference. And no consulting talk, no hypotheticals, you know how the future is bright. And you know, we'll save the planet. Just very pragmatic, very practical, simple things that everybody needs to understand about making decisions under uncertainty.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

https://2022.riskawarenessweek.com

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

risk, risk management, people, awareness, called, uncertainty, thinking, alex, decisions, choices, averages, scientists, calculators, business, book, irrational, mathematicians, predictably, dot, electricity

Stuart Webb 00:23

Hi and welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee I'm here today with Alex Sidorenko. I have in front of me my coffee, I better not show you the, the design on the front, it will be advertising, we don't do that sort of thing. So you've got your coffee in front of you, that's great to see Alex run something called risk awareness week and is is really quite important because risk is something I don't think nearly enough. People take seriously in their business risks are around us everywhere. And not a lot of people sort of think about them and and measure them and then do something about them. That's the key thing. It's all very well knowing about risks. But it's then what do you do about it? How do you actually deal with it? So really delighted to have Alex here and have a really interesting conversation about this. Alex, welcome to It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee.

Alex Sidorenko 01:13

Thank you, and welcome to your listeners.

Stuart Webb 01:15

Thank you. Listen, Alex, tell me who is your who is the sort of ideal person that you're trying to reach? With your business? What is it? What is what is it that they're doing?

Alex Sidorenko 01:24

Yeah, well, so me reaching somebody with a business is a bit of a stretch, because my day job is working as an executive, like a risk executive, and then large multibillion dollar corporation. And then as a hobby, I have this desire, this burning desire to share risk competency with anyone, because I think, and my experience kind of tells me that thinking about risk is something humans are very bad at. In general, whenever we make the life choices, you know, marriage, sending kids to private school, relocating, you know, buying a house versus renting, investing, all of those decisions are quite risky. There's a lot of uncertainty associated with that. And we're not very good. So my audiences, in my nine to five job, my audiences, basically, you know, board members and executives and other shareholders that I deal with, on a regular basis. And from kind of in the night, I put on my life, you'll share the video with somebody later, I have my brand in, you know, risk awareness week, hoodie on. And that's kind of my night hat, where I tried to just raise risk awareness around the world, bring this competency of thinking about risks before they happen to people.

Stuart Webb 02:49

So tell us a little bit about sort of the, the, if you like some of the dangers of of, of not, not not being risk aware and about not reacting to risks in the right way.

Alex Sidorenko 03:05

So there's, there's been a lot of fascinating research in in that area. In 2002, Daniel Kahneman and Vernon Smith got the first Nobel Prize in Economics in that area of research. And then in 2014, Richard Taylor got the second Nobel Prize in Economics for kind of continuation of that research. But basically the findings of all of this, there's this whole area of science called neuro, neuro economy, behavioural economics, neuroscience. And what this group of scientists basically studies is how does human brain process uncertainty? You know, thinking about the future thinking about choices, thinking about making decisions when the information is incomplete. And their conclusion is what a an Israeli scientists Dan Ariely calls predictably irrational. So humans in general, whenever they're faced with an uncertain choice, or a risky decision to make, they could, according to this scientists, they will predictably make irrational choices, and sometimes it's just sub optimal. But sometimes it's just playing bad, dangerous bad choices that we as humans make. And corporations are different, because the way companies traditionally planned budget forecast price pretty much ignores uncertainty. So this, this notion that you know, things are not guaranteed they're not set in stone. Somehow, this is us to most of the people on the planet skill. And whenever we're thinking about the future, we just kind of wouldn't not just not appreciate but we completely ignore the fact that there could be multiple futures the future is uncertain. And unless we can have a count for that, and discount for that and plan for various possibilities, various scenarios, we're pretty much setting ourselves for failure. So a lot of a lot of research suggests that, you know, when we look at the situation, we don't see the underlying uncertainties and risks. And even if somebody comes into the room, and tells us well, there's this risk that you haven't considered, our brain immediately starts processing excuses for discounting. And ignoring that person who came into the room to help us make a better choice. So not only we don't see things, we also resist, some, when somebody brings us things like on the plate and says, Here are the risks, and be mindful of that, we will ignore that. And which is what I found absolutely hilarious is when everybody agrees, finally, that the risks are real, and we need to do something about that our brain goes into this kind of stage where it just comes up with excuses on why somebody else needs to do something about that. But we don't, like you know, relocate, you know, move away, for example, you know, there's a big war happening in Europe. And a lot of very difficult choices need to be needed to be made. And there are a lot of people who say, Oh, I am going to stay where I am. Despite this, despite an imminent, very real threat to my livelihood. And people just going to continue to just pretending that things don't exist, even though the risk is real and obvious to everyone, our human brain still thinks of ways to justify doing nothing to us. So why risk management is important is because I think evolution design this, and there's this whole explanation, you know why we need system one thinking what Kahneman calls new because, because thinking about risks and uncertainty, it takes up a lot of energy, it takes basically a lot of glucose, it absorbs a lot of energy that we have. And we can't operate in this energy intensive mode, most of the time. So our evolution designed this to be operating in an energy preservation mode. And we're just basically we kind of idling our brain is idling, looking for some templates, quick solutions in a simple, simple answers. And unfortunately, for some non typical, scary, risky situation, those benign answers are not good enough, they're there. That's why they're predictable, but they're completely irrational.

Stuart Webb 07:45

So tell us about risk awareness week, the the URL that's going across the bottom of the screen just now, which is it's 2022 dot risk awareness. week.com. Tell us tell us a little bit about what what you're doing with that. And you know, are there are resources that we can learn from in order to be able to be more aware of risks in our businesses in in our lives.

Alex Sidorenko 08:08

So four years ago, and this is the fourth year, I'm running risk awareness weekend since then, that became kind of one of the biggest global virtual risk conferences in the world. And four years ago, way before COVID, and virtual conferences became sexy. I very much disliked travelling to various conferences now used to speak at a lot of conferences all over the world. And I'm very much just like the travel and the logistics associated with that. So I was looking for a platform that would allow me to have different speakers from all over the world and have it somewhere virtual that I can share with the rest of the world. And so finally, I've been looking for it for about five years. And finally, in 2019, I found one, which was affordable. And so I created this risk awareness week on this virtual platform. And back in the day, it was 2019 dot risk awareness week. And you can kind of follow the logic and if you could, if you go to 20 nineteen.if, you go to 20 twenty.if, you go to 2021 dot, and 2022 dot. It's it's like four different conferences, and I have another charity and winter dot, you know, charity dots, like there are a lot of risk awareness weeks, over the years. And so that, for me, was an opportunity to bring together some of the best minds in decision science, probability theory, and neuroscience, some of the best minds bring them together on a single platform, which was amazing because some of them are in Australia, others are in US and Canada. Some of them are in Africa, and all different timezones and yet, because it's a virtual platform, everybody could kind of come together. And since then, approximately four to 5000 people watch it every year from about 125 trees, which makes me very passionate and proud of that. But there's, there's the kind of the the underlying reason why I created risk awareness week is that in the risk profession, so it's for what first, it's important to understand kind of, there's this risk angle to everything you do in work. Whenever you make a decision, whenever you plan, whenever you forecast something, whenever you think about the future, there's this risk angle. But unfortunately, it's not, it's not the end of the story. Because in the risk angle, there's this whole profession called Risk Management. And that is separated into two, what I would call Well, I call it risk management, one and risk management, two, and one is astrology, and the other one is astronomy. So the other one is mathematical science based. And the astronomy and astrology side is kind of hypothetical wishful thinking beautiful colours and pictures, but has absolutely no evidence to suggest that it works. And so there's this whole management fad, just like the ESG and GRC. Like that there are a lot of management fads, behind which there are a lot of good things. But the kind of the top layer, this commercialization layer is just nonsense. So in risk management, unfortunately, we have exactly that. And most of the conferences dedicated to risk on the planet. Even if a person wants to Google risk management, just out of the blue, if they were to Google risk management, the chances are 99% of the responses in the search would be horoscopes. So astrology, like no scientific background, like just nonsense. And so risk awareness week for me to became kind of this fresh breath of air, where I brought in scientists, NASA engineers, oil and gas engineers, you had people who actually did something that made a huge difference. And no consulting talk, no hypotheticals, you know how the future is bright. And you know, we'll save the planet. Just very pragmatic, very practical, simple things that everybody needs to understand about making decisions under uncertainty.

Stuart Webb 12:23

Interesting, interesting, I have done a lot of work. In my previous career before I started doing what I do. Now, I was a, I was a scientist dealing with virus viruses. And obviously, one of the things we used to deal with was the the certainty that there would be a virus that would be coming along that would cause a global pandemics. And the uncertainty was when, and obviously, you know, the, the message that we've received over the last two or three years is, many governments knew that there was going to be a global pandemic, but pretty much all of them decided that they didn't really want to deal with it now, because it was too difficult and didn't want to put the money aside, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. So I buy into a lot of what you're saying it's very difficult for people to face up to something which is a little bit uncertain. Do you really think it's going to happen? And then when does what what will you know, the the act of dealing with it is, it is not always pleasant?

Alex Sidorenko 13:21

Yeah, absolutely. Especially. And this is, this is one specific case study that I had with my environmental team. So I was working for this large fertiliser company, $10 billion global corporation. Very big. And one of the challenges was, how do we use risk analysis risk information to help our environmental team better build better business cases for the things that they need to change. And one of the things we did was we helped them justify water purification, additional water purification plants, because the water pollution was too significant. And it goes back to how well you kind of you sell the message or you communicate the message, because they've been trying to get approval for this. And it was like a $20 million investment. So not a small, it was a it was quite a sizable investment. And they spent years trying to justify the need to implement these controls and to build the water purification plant. Until we came and helped them to show that the risk exposure that the business was sitting on was about $300 million. And by spending 20, they actually ended up reducing risk exposure to I can't remember 50 or 10 10 million so they we helped them and this is what risk management does. It helps you quantify uncertainty and put it in some sort of measurable terms. And then many decisions that you had a lot of unease and discomfort about made can become a no brainers because you're saying, Well, essentially on 300 million exposure that could hit your business cashflow. Today, tomorrow, or every day, you don't deal with this problem. And then you have this much cost to get rid of this exposure, not completely, but you reduce the exposure quite significantly. And then it kind of becomes an almost no brainer than why you need to spend the money to mitigate the risk. So this is what risk management is about. It's not only just kind of bringing to the surface, what the underlying risks are, but also helping to package the risks into something that business understands.

Stuart Webb 15:38

Brilliant. Yeah, Alex has ever been a particular book or a concept other than sort of Daniel Kahneman, some of the some of the, the Nobel Prize winners, you know, I really appreciate some of the, some of the work they've done to to to, to justify their Nobel Nobel Prizes in memorial of Nobel the economic prizes, in memoriam of Nobel so, so other other books or concepts that are really sort of driven some of your some of your thinking and some of your inspiration.

Alex Sidorenko 16:13

So because the kind of the science of risk management is sitting on three pillars, the the math, the psychology and the decision science, I have kind of two different books that I recommend. So one is on the psychology side, and it's by this Israeli scientists that I mentioned called Dan Ariely. Now it's called predictably irrational. It's it's, despite the fact that and I think this is very fitting for the name of the podcasts, despite the actual underlying neuroscience being very complex and very difficult and quite questionable in some of the conclusions that they make. Dan Ariely does a very good job of popularising it, because some of the findings and his book is like very easy to read very basic introductory level into the concept and the book is called predictably irrational. So it's very easy to find, and he shares a lot of like very domestic cases, you know, why do we buy a new mobile phone? You know, why do we always overspend on vacuum cleaners or cause which is completely stupid, but we still do it. And there's like, there's a scientific explanation where we do it. So that's one on the, on the psychology generally predictably irrational. And on the other side, a book that I highly recommend is by Sam Savage, in us called flaw of averages. And it's more business driven. There's basically in the back in 1904, or 1906, the Danish mathematician, came up with this theory called Jensen's inequality, but you don't need to know that because people already simplified it all for for the average reader. So he came with basically with a mathematical theory, which says that whenever you think about uncertain future, and you're trying to try and dumb it down to a single scenario, like whenever you build a business plan, or budget, and you have single point estimates, especially if you're if those estimates are your averages, you're pretty much setting up yourself for failure, because you're ignoring all of this volatility in your business plan. And you're making not just suboptimal, sometimes really, really bad decisions. And so if law of averages is basically Sam's attempt to but by the way, Sam is a speaker at the risk awareness week and has been since the very inception of 2019. He's a very famous dude and fascinating speaker in us. And so his book flaw of averages, is kind of is very nice introduction into the topic of risk management on why whenever you plan your next trip to a holiday destination, why or whenever you know, the planet wedding budget, you shouldn't use single point estimates. And you should use ranges instead, by the way that I for one had like a whole monte-carlo Like mathematical model for my wedding budget, which my wife absolutely loved. I'm being sarcastic. She did not. But yeah, I am weird in that way I model most of the things in my life.

Stuart Webb 19:44

I'm sorry to hear that. But it's something that I'm sure we can get you some tablets, but that I've asked you. I've asked you some questions. And I'm sure there's one question that you're currently thinking. He hasn't asked me about or he hasn't asked the question that's really critical here. So tell you what, for my final question, My question to you is, what's the question I should have asked you? And then once you've answered once you've asked that question, you better answer it. Otherwise, we'll never know what it was what the answer to that question.

Alex Sidorenko 20:11

So I think in the very fitting in the context of this podcast, the reality is that the underlying science of risk management is rocket science, it is actually very difficult. And your probability theory is actually quite complex. There's, there's kind of there's no dancing around that. But the good news, and, you know, so the question, I wish people asked me more often, that I don't have a PhD in mathematics. And then what do I do? And my answer to that is that think of risk management, just like you think about electricity. Most people on the planet have no idea how electricity is generated. And yet, we have no problem using it. And this is what we, you know, in risk management we call generators and users, we have mathematicians who generate uncertainty distributions, and they forecast and they help you model they build models, they build calculators. And there's a very small percentage of those people go there. These are the people that sit in kind of their basements of pentagon and large corporations have like one or two of these people, they usually very kind of hardcore mathematicians, and they do their own stuff. But that doesn't mean that you need to become like one of them, which is actually impossible for anybody to become a math genius, unless you kind of you've spent your whole career doing that. But that's not that shouldn't stop you from using the risk information and thinking about risk, because as the user, you have no trouble switching on lights, and using electricity. It's exactly the same way with risk analysis. We are trying and this is what risk awareness week is kind of all about. We're trying to create templates and calculators and site sample data points, that you can just put it and put it into into your business plans into your forecast, you can use that to help you make decisions, we have calculators, and sample models for most kinds of problems out there that somebody who is very knowledgeable he is built. And then we just want more people to use it, just like they started using electricity. The only difference is that electricity used to be really, really expensive, you know, using risk analysis and probability isn't really expensive at all. And it's actually much more much more accessible. So the kind of the final message that I want to get across is this is not privileged to some mathematical genius is subsidy in some way in the world. It just if you're not one, it just means you need to find somebody who's done all the pre work. And then you just reap the benefits of, of risk analysis in your work. Whenever you next make an investment decision. Whenever you make your next forecast budget or sales plan. Or you forecast you know, you think about your next budget for your trip or you know, deciding whether you want to buy a house or rent a house. There is probably a math genius who already done all the all the work and then you can just reap the benefit of using using the calculator.

Stuart Webb 23:29

Brilliant. Alex, this has been a really fascinating discussion, I really, I urge you all go to risk awareness. week.com 2022. But 2019 2021 22 You're gonna get to see some of those some of those talks, the discussions. And it's been a fascinating hearing your take on this, it is a subject which is just not as well understood as it should be. I appreciate just how much effort you're putting into trying to raise the awareness of risk. Aren't you doing a great job? Thank you very much. Thanks, Jordan. Listen, if you'd like to get onto our mailing list to hear so I send out an email once a week saying who's going to be on the on the show this week, giving you the opportunity to tune in live ask questions if you want to you if you want to get onto that mailing list, go to https colon forward slash forward slash TCA dot FYI keep it nice and simple. For those of us that don't have PhDs in math, TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, get onto that list and so that you can see the interesting people coming up. People like Alex, Alex, thank you so much for spending sort of 20 Minutes with Us really appreciate this. And I'm sure we're gonna get a few more people at that risk awareness week. Next time. Thank you.

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Who is Joe?

Joe runs a professional recording studio in York UK that offer a wide range of audio production services for every company and individual, big or small for any type of use. This includes stuff such as podcasts, audiobooks, training resources, online courses, music and everything in-between.

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Outsourcing your podcast recording can take the strain away allowing you to concentrate on content
Podcasts are just business conversations and nothing to fear - anyone can start one!

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

podcast, people, business, joe, microphone, studio, recording, customers, suppose, world, brainer, b2b, thinking, realise, conversations, camera, documentaries, question, company, audio recording

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Joe Graves

Stuart Webb 00:25

Hi, and welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I'm here today with Joe, Joe Graves who with his brother, I think it is Joe isn't it runs in York, you do things like podcasts, audio books, training materials. So it's like, and Joe's got a huge amount of experience in this recording business. So he knows a lot more about how to record things than I do. So I'm sure we're gonna learn a lot from talking to Joe about how to go about making your podcast etc, better. So Joe, welcome to It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee.

Joe Graves 01:00

Thank you very much for having me.

Stuart Webb 01:01

I hope you've got a cup of coffee in front of you. And I hope you're

Joe Graves 01:05

it's too late in the day for me to have coffee. And I'm like,

Stuart Webb 01:09

Joe, tell us a little bit about who it is you help with your recording studio and the sort of problems they've got when they come to you.

Joe Graves 01:16

So at the minute, it's, it's funny, it's changed massively over the past year or so for 10 years, actually a little longer. It was we were recording bands and music. And we were in that world for a long time. To the point where we're even living in in Arizona for a while I like working straight for labels and stuff. But as time has gone on, I'm like I'm 31 now, stuff has changed. Since I've got into the game. You're you become passionate about different things. And obviously as you as you run a business, you become heavily interested in how you run businesses and you start learning you reading books, reading books on running a business and all that and speaking to people like yourself and your calibre take a massive interest in that. So that's when we started taking a bit of a turn into a set of public services, as opposed to recording music and mixing music, such as podcasts, you know, work and do more b2b stuff. So yeah, now we focus a lot on that. And I would say 90% of our customers are of our businesses. And they're not really restricted in what kinds of businesses they are, for example, we do. Like say we produce audiobooks from top to bottom for some of the largest publishers in the world, such as Strathmore, like St to Audible stuff, you know, things like that we do a lot of podcasts for companies, such as Federation of small businesses, who are, you know, some of the biggest business consultants in the entire UK you know, as well as some smaller companies like we have gyms, you know, sort of professional athletes come in, they interview other professional athletes on mindset, things like that. So, then the game is quite wide. And you know, how you can use podcast to grow your business. And it's really just about connecting with your audience, which is, I suppose the angle we take on it, because that's what I believe podcasts do. And this is kind of like what we're doing now gives people an opportunity to see or hear Yeah, learn from you. That just allows you to feel like you know, people have when you know, people, it's easy to do business with them. So that's the route we think

Stuart Webb 03:18

it's that no, like, trust thing, isn't it? I mean, you hear your real real conversations with real people, you realise that they've actually got a life beyond the sort of the business, that sort of thing. It helps to build that connection.

Joe Graves 03:31

Yeah, massively.

Stuart Webb 03:32

So one of the sorts of things that people have tried to do before they come and see a real professional like you Joe, what did you inject into their, into their podcasting or audio recording, which, which, you know, the rest of us are still struggling with? So I mean,

Joe Graves 03:47

it can be a lot of things, it does vary up. I was amazed actually, when I started doing podcasts how how difficult that can be to produce you know, from top to bottom, when you factor in, obviously, the audio recordings, the video recordings, particularly video of Meeks it was all audio before, so learned about video has been a massive learning curve for me, everything down to, you know, camera seven record limits, stuff like that. So how do you bypass that and then, wow, it costs a lot of money to do so. Stuff like that. So I suppose reverse. It's the quality, I think is one of the major factors because you can you can do podcasts like this, you know, I'm here on my laptop right now. And it's still it's still a great way to do a podcast you know, if I was feeling fancy, I could have brought like a camera with me and plugged it into a 4k camera plugged into my computer or brought a microphone and whatnot. But it's not always necessary you know, you can still create great content without it but for some customers while our customers at least they've goal, they have the belief which I suppose I do agree with on many levels. Is that the quality helps. helps the customers suppose they can enjoy it more if they're watching some it maybe Yeah, maybe 4k, whatever it be, it can be a bit more immersive. So there's benefits to doing it in the studio, not to mention the fact that it's totally out their hands, it's done for you. They can come up with a concept come to us, we'll set up all the microphones, do all the recordings of the cameras, do all the editing after chop up the social media snippets, great thumbnails, it's done for them and handed to want to play. So I suppose that's where we come in. When it comes to podcasting.

Stuart Webb 05:28

Yeah, yeah. Brilliant. Okay, so I guess you have a lot of very valuable advice that you could give to some of the audience. So give us give us the pearls of wisdom, Joe, what is it we should all be thinking about when we're doing these things that will just help us improve just that little bit? And bring some of that professionalism you've got?

Joe Graves 05:47

So you talk in purely in terms of production? Are you talking in terms of why should we even be doing a podcast? Or

Stuart Webb 05:53

you Well, yeah, it's a really great questions on it. I mean, yeah, I was thinking in terms of production, but I mean, you know, the, why should you be doing a podcast? We all know that podcasts are the the up and coming thing. And, and frankly, you know, I was talking to somebody about this. And, you know, I'm launching, you know, I think you've got a similar sort of offering, why should you do a podcast? At this stage, you know, with some 600 million blogs out there. Although there are a lot of podcasts, there's only about two, 2 million of them out in out in the world. And to be honest, you're you're a much bigger fish in the podcast world than you are sort of trying to be a blogger, aren't

Joe Graves 06:28

you? Well of that, and it's just it's, it's incredibly easy to digest. Yes, I'm watching. I don't know about yourself. But if I have a question of what to learn how to do something, I'm gonna go straight to YouTube instead. You know, and again, if it's, if I'm driving, it will be like, there's certain podcasts I listen to, it's great company, there can be educational depends what kind of thing you're going for, quite frankly, a no brainer. Like, I think if you're a company, it's the perfect entry point. No matter what you're doing, it's a way to demonstrate your authority and your niche, it's a way to, like I say, the big one is connect with your audience. Because it really is if people understand the people behind your business, and they do agree with you about many things, they're going to think about you instead of your competitors, when they're ready to buy the kind of thing you sell. So in my eyes, it's a no brainer. And you can have one conversation like this and chop it up into 510 pieces. And then you've got regular content for a week, a month, or whatever you want to distribute it. It's an absolute no brainer. And here's the big hidden benefit that a lot of people don't know about. And I think I might have spoke to you about this, when we last them first spoke the networking aspect of it. But particularly if you do an interview style things, you know, podcasts, it's such a great way, like more people than you can imagine. They're happy to come and talk about themselves and what they do. And this is the thing, it's such an easy sell. If you are of course it's free, it costs anything. But you know, if you say it's one, I offer this, you know, are you interested? They might look at it, they might go talk to me, you know, but if you say you want to come talk about yourself for half an hour 80% of the time, the answer is yes. And you know, we've all been sly about having an ulterior motive. You know, it doesn't have to be that they become your customer, but maybe someone they know, might be interested in what you do, and you ultimately just building a network. It's a fantastic way to do it. It really is. Because well, first of all, I mean, in my case, I'm demonstrating what I do. Yeah, sir. And I tell you in a very short space of time, we've filled our studio with this kind of, you know, we spent a while thinking we want to go to music, how do we do it? How do you get into the b2b world and it really was a perplexing situation for me my brother like how do you do it like you do speak to what do you do? And then it was from a customer we had a total fluke podcast customer who came in said, Oh, we're trying to do a podcast you do it. We're like, suppose weekend, that we quizzed them on it and explained exactly this to us, like, yeah, we're meeting all the best people. And then we're getting referrals. We're getting work. And in a very short space of time, like I said, we've gone from music to this. And it's, it's just been the greatest way. And all you're doing is having conversations with people. It's fantastic. It's fun. It's easy. It's a no brainer.

Stuart Webb 09:11

Do you know it's brilliant. You put it like that? Actually, Joker? You're absolutely right. Too many people think podcasts are something special, but they're not. They're another form of content. And they're a conversation and you know, we have conversations all day, every day. And nobody ever thinks of the fact that those conversations can actually be quite meaningful. They can actually be interesting. Most people are you know, they don't they go into conversations just you know, on thinking or you got to do is sort of switch on that. And suddenly they become something else, don't they? And you know, you're right. We're here we met we met because while I love, great, great, we connected over podcasting. We're talking now about podcasting because we really enjoy it. I actually agree with you and present. I think one of the best things I ever did was start up a podcast because I've met some really, really interesting people and And then I put on my network. So when I want something, it's a really warm introduction to reach out to them and say hi again, you know, remember, remember that great episode we did? Oh, by the way, if you know anybody else who'd like to have exactly the same thing that I'd love to sort of talk to, and there's a warm introduction, they immediately turn around go, yeah, that was a great conversation. It was great fun. My mate bill would like to go at that. It's such a such a quick way to build your network.

Joe Graves 10:23

You couldn't have said it backwards. That's exactly what it is. Yeah. You reentering with a, you know, a warm, warm connection. And, you know, as much as that can be a tactical thing, in business, or life or whatever, that's really all the world is it's, you know, it's relationships, you know, that's all anything is. So this is the perfect way to do it. Like I say, worst case scenario, if you meet 100 people, and not one of them, are anyone in their network needs your services or anything like that you've at least created a hell of a lot of content that you post in all over the internet. And if it's the right kind of content, for the right people, that's going to be promotion, and all cost nothing. You know, I mean, motocross something if you come and do it versus you know, because we have a full studio, so but if you did it like this, where it's like I say it's great contents a great way to do it, you can do it for free, you know, maybe unless you want to invest in a microphone or whatever. But other than that, it cost you time. Yeah. Fantastic way to do it.

Stuart Webb 11:27

Yeah. And today's Internet means that you, you can do and we are, you know, I'm in a different part of the country to you, we've saved all that sort of, you know, carbon by not travelling, but at the same time, we're still connecting.

Joe Graves 11:40

Absolutely. It's one of our customers the called factual America. And they so a factual America is the podcast wing of the main company, Halima pictures, and they're, they're a film company, they do documentaries about America. And then they were the company actually, that we got this idea of. And they in their podcast, they interviewed directors of documentaries. And they're all well, not all but most of Oscar winning directors, Grammy winning directors, all the right people, it's all the documentaries you'll see on Netflix, Disney plus Amazon Prime. So just like that the meeting all the right people, and it's it's helped them massively grow the business. Yeah. It's, it's just a genius idea, really, when you think about it, but so simple.

Stuart Webb 12:30

So is there been a particular? I mean, you obviously you've gone into podcasting, after after being a sound engineer and working with musicians? Was there a, was there a particular book or a course or something like that, which helps you to sort of shift or you just think would be an interesting sort of pick to be able to tell people about and get them to start thinking about some of this in their own lives?

Joe Graves 12:51

Podcasting, not specifically, that was just the road I was down. And, well, I mean, I'd have an interest in listening to them for a long time before we started doing them. And when I realised they were a great way to get into, for us the more b2b style of things, because I think one of our major goals was like, How can we get more retainer style clients and get some stability in the business? And this was a great way to do it for us. But in terms of like I say, not not really when it comes to podcasting. But I would say in terms of business in general, which I suppose kind of relates to podcast, it's about communication really was Donald Miller. So the first one I listened to was marketing made simple. And then, yeah, there was a listen to start building a storybrand After that, and actually got the online university. What's What's the online university called? I can't remember, but I got a year subscription for that. And it was all fantastic. Yeah, again, it all boils down to communication, how you speak to people, you know, rephrasing the way I suppose I do podcasts, you know, I help you connect with your audience. You know, that's, you know, just flip it around the approach on what it is. Because a lot of people don't realise that a podcast is a way of doing that. But everyone is, of course, interested in connecting with their audience while because who doesn't want to be thought at first, you know, who doesn't want to be the go to brand, when when someone's looking to buy the kind of thing you sell, you know? So I suppose that that was a book that really I spent a lot of time I didn't just read it over and over again, I listened to it audiobook form actually, I've not really read and listened to. But that was a book where I really dwelled on the concepts and then skew in my head for a while. And I've gotten to a point where I feel like it's second nature for me now. The concepts of the book

Stuart Webb 14:43

are great. Yeah, you're absolutely right. And if you're one of those people that learns by listening, learn by listening because that's what podcasts and audiobooks and those sort of courses are about now, aren't they?

Joe Graves 14:52

Absolutely, yeah, that again, that was another reason we got into I was like, Well, I do this the amount of audiobooks I have on business. You are podcast I've listened to on business. If I couldn't believe it was maybe a couple years after I was like, why don't I do this?

Stuart Webb 15:06

So, listen to this. There's been, you know, I've been asking you the questions here, and you've been generous enough with your time to talk. But there must be a question that you're currently thinking, I wish you'd asked me about such and such. So I'm gonna give you the opportunity now to ask that question. And then obviously, it would be great if you answered that question having asked Yeah,

Joe Graves 15:24

yeah, sure. Okay. Well, I'm about to jump in and ask myself the question, something like that. Okay. Well, like you say, you can do a podcast like this through zoom. So what's the difference in doing it studio? Why is it worth it? Like says a lot, a lot, a lot of reasons why it's worth it, it's not always necessary. But if you were to take the jump, it's higher quality. It's, you know, a lot of people find it more digestible, it stands the test of time, things age, you know, it's gonna be more evergreen, by a longshot. And the problem is, it's, it's nowhere near as easy to do, as you would think. I know, like I say, when I first jumped into like, Okay, we're gonna start recording podcasts with people. Cool, give them a mic, give them a mic, put a camera on this guy camera on that guy. Cool. What What else is there to it? I mean, I was so wrong, I can't even begin to explain the variables. The the challenge is, it's every time you do want, it's different, you know, little things like I mean, in my world, it's common sense, I have the microphone directly in front of here are maybe half a foot, but be consistent, because the total inconsistencies when you move in relation to the microphone, things like that, that are all common sense to me, and you explain it to your customer, and then they'll move around anyway. And then it's like, hang on, you're gonna explain all this before, and then keep an eye on them. It's there. It's like monitoring the entire session, then, like I say, since we started doing podcasts, the amount of money we spent on camera gear, recorders, microphones, boom, arms for the desks, line boosters, because it's quiet. You know, before this, we were recording people screaming and shouting, and you know, so you don't need a, you don't need to worry about like a low noise floor and the microphones is endless to get him to that pro level that the amount of things you just couldn't imagine. Like I say it for a lot of people is worth it. And obviously, I'm in a lucky position where I can do my own, you know, with my decent cameras and microphones and got various rooms at the studio in which we can do them for different sets, and whatnot. So yeah, I would say if you want to step up the production, don't be fooled into thinking you'll be able to do on your own. I've had over a decade of audio experience working for some massive companies are doing albums for Sony, you know, I've recorded songs that I've been on Xbox games, you know, all sorts, but this was a challenge as well, you know?

Stuart Webb 17:53

Yeah, it was that is a really good lesson, somebody with that sort of experience is one of this. This is challenges. He's brilliant. I put the name of the studio down at the bottom of the other screen if you if you go to inner sound audio.co.uk forward slash podcast hyphen studio. So it's inner sound audio.co.uk forward slash podcast hyphen studio, you'll find all sorts of details there about Joe and his brother, what they're up to. Great, great person to know, when it comes to this recording stuff. You'd need experts like Joe, on your side, when you're sort of doing something like this. Joe, thank you so much for spending a few minutes talking to us really appreciate you spending a few minutes out of what must be a busy day, because I know how busy you get with this sort of thing. So I really thank you very much for spending a few minutes with us and really appreciate your time.

Joe Graves 18:44

Thank you so much for being great.

Stuart Webb 18:46

No problem. Listen, people if you would like to get onto our newsletter list so that you get an email from me on Monday about who I'm interviewing, at this time most weeks, you need to go to TTA dot FYI forward slash subscribe, that's TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe that gets you on to the newsletter list. You get an email from me giving you details, who's going to be on you can listen live and you also get details of the recording and how to subscribe and also details of how to become a guest yourself if like become a guest. So get on to the newsletter list and if you know somebody who'd like to be a guest, find out how to become a guest and subscribe to the video. So thank you Joe very much for being with us. Really appreciate it. I'm gonna give us a quick shout out and and we all see each other again very soon.

Joe Graves 19:31

As you

Stuart Webb 19:38

know I need to actually press the right button down I need some of your skills on this job.

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Who is Simon?

In 19 years of entrepreneurship, Simon executed hundreds of go-to-market strategies with B2B teams around the globe. He has scaled his own consultancy and has retired from operations, reaching financial freedom and became an investor.

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

simon, business, sprint, talk, tool, blueprints, sharing, activities, work, brilliant, tca, coach, recession, agency, listening, strategy, solve, programme, risk management, community

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Simon Severino

Stuart Webb 00:23

Hi, and welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I have here my favourite mug which has a bear on it, which I really, really enjoy taking my coffee from. I'm looking forward to a really interesting discussion today with Simon Severino. Simon, I think we I didn't think we shared so much. I'm so looking forward to this conversation because it's exactly the same ethos, which is to bring templates to people, to enable them to scale their business so that they can free themselves and move on without having to spend so much of their time managing their business. So I'm really looking forward to this conversation, Simon, welcome to It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee.

Simon Severino 01:07

Here's to pay everybody excited to be here.

Stuart Webb 01:09

Terrific. So let's start with who is your ideal client? What is it? You're trying to help them do? What is the sort of the target person that you reach?

Simon Severino 01:20

We coach agencies, consultancies and big solopreneurs, who are doing around 35 to 100,000 per month, and want to double that in 90 days. So they're doing around 35 to 100,000 per month right now, they want to double it in 90 days and have more fun, while scaling the business.

Stuart Webb 01:45

Hey, we all want to have more fun while we're scaling our businesses, Simon, I think that's a really brilliant target to be talking to people, there are so many people out there who are in that space that really want to do so what is it that you find that they've tried before you meet them, and you work with them?

Simon Severino 02:01

They did multiple things. They found some cool cultures to work on purpose and mindset, which clarified their goals and what they stand for. But they didn't get the bridge to the day to day, okay, how do we live the purpose and get the purpose across every day. And then on the other side, they were then still looking for coaches and courses and methods, they find tactical stuff. And they did the tactical stuff, which sometimes was working, but mostly was not exactly for their customised for their context. So again, there was a link missing. So yes, this kind of LinkedIn tactic works. But what exactly was the problem that I wanted to solve in the first place? And so they went back into that, so they tried stuff on on the purpose and mindset area, they tried some tactics. But what's not coming together right now for them is a simple operating system, daily, weekly, monthly habit, simple blueprints that really solve their problems. And the one to one coach to actually talk about the implementation and the obstacles and what pops up every week.

Stuart Webb 03:19

Yeah, simple, simple tools like that work brilliantly, don't they? Do you want to? You want to give us an example a sort of, you know, case study somebody, you've helped somebody you'd like to just highlight and talk us through what it is you did with them?

Simon Severino 03:32

Sure. So agency owners. We have a Dawson's right now being coached right now, in our 90 days programme. The 90 days one to one coaching programme is called the strategy sprint. So in week zero, we create the game plan with them the next 90 days, what are the 12 things that we will solve in in Sprint's of seven days each? And with that game plan? This agency, for example, then it's a European marketing agency. And they are doing right now, week one. So the personal vision and the business vision so the founders are really writing down in five pages. Where will the business be in three years? How does it look like feel like and they create also an audio affirmation that they will listen to every morning? So that excites them? They are now sharing it with the whole team? Do you agree, do you do you add anything and then when they've shared it, this now becomes something that they use every day. They are pulling parts out of that and using that for the job description because they are hiring. They're using other parts to simplify the number of activities that we'll do. So in week two, they sit together and say okay, based on this, what are the few big activities that we are going to run to accomplish our three years vision broken down into one year's activities broken down into This quarters main activities, and then the core metrics and who does what? Very simple everything on one page. And so in week two, they have now the energy because it's linked to their purpose to what they are here to build and why they love it. Week two, it's super simplified. It's just three goals for three months. Everybody knows how those activities build upon each other. So it makes sense. And it doesn't feel like overwhelm and doing too much it feels like cool, we're building these three things, they will move these three metrics forward, we have a weekly dashboard showing us the progress all right, cool.

Stuart Webb 05:42

Brilliant, I absolutely love it. I absolutely love it, is I gotta just put a scroll across the bottom of the screen, which is that that website you talked about which is strategy Sprint's dot com? Is there a piece of advice or a free resource on that website, which you can get to the audience to really start to help them to understand how to start taking this journey themselves.

Simon Severino 06:03

Yes, so 25 of our Blueprints in total, we have 274 Plug and Play blueprints ready for our clients in the sprint university. But 25 of those which are the most used, we have for free on our website, it's strategy Sprint's dot com slash tools, and people can download them for free, it's open source, and the more people use them, the better they become. And the more relaxed business owners, we have there. And that's better for society because they come back, more enjoyable to dinner, they listen more, they're more fun to be around. That's why we share those things.

Stuart Webb 06:42

Oh, that's a lovely idea, I do something very similar. I believe I know, you believe that the way we can help businesses grow is to show them how we do stuff, they get more value out of us showing them how to do stuff than telling about it. So I've absolutely agree with you, if you can, if you can download these things, you can see how it's done. You may or may not need Simon but you know, you will definitely remember Simon is the guy that set you on the straight and narrow towards your business growth and to releasing the time that you need in order to think more about what it is you're doing with your with your business. So Simon, thank you very much for that. That's going to be in the show notes. And we will get people to come along to that and start downloading some of those brilliant tools. Simon, is there a particular book or programme that really set you on the path to understanding some of this stuff for yourself?

Simon Severino 07:35

Yes, I have used the last three years of pandemic to write down exactly what I do, how I do marketing, how do I do sales, how I scale the business from being a solopreneur, to being a global business that runs even without me. And I have written in form of a book, the strategist prints book, which is now out on Amazon. And that has been definitely the most formative book for me because writing it took me around two years, developing the tools that are in the book took me 21 years in the field. But then, you know, selecting the right ones that are really applicable to all businesses across the globe, from Los Angeles to Singapore, and then curating them, simplifying them, making them more enjoyable and more easy to use. That has that took me two years of very intense work. And that has transformed me and the outcome is now strategies prints.

Stuart Webb 08:40

I'll be honest with you, I have done a similar exercise. And I found that creating a tool to use with one on one of my clients can take me sometimes an hour, maybe two hours, turning it into something which is usable again and again. And again, can take years because you have to refine, you have to see it in application, you have to apply it again. You have to think harder about what it is we're trying to do with the tool. Do you know creating a tool is simple. Getting a tool to be really effective. It's hard, hard work. And there's people that have done the hard work for you are the best people to come along and help you get that tool in your application implementation. Getting a tool to work is is just it's just a simple bit. It's just takes a long time to do isn't it. And that time is not something you can easily buy. If you're buying a business or running a business. You need somebody to come along and go. I've done it. I know how to do it. Here it is ready for you to go. That's brilliant. Simon, there must be one question that at the moment you're thinking I've missed in my four so far. And this is where I connect vaccinate and I stopped working and you do all the hard work again. Well, what is the question that you are currently thinking? I wish he'd asked me this because he hasn't yet asked me. So once you've asked the question, obviously, you're the only one who can then answer it for us.

Simon Severino 10:00

how to navigate a possible recession.

Stuart Webb 10:02

Oh, good one. Well, lots of the question.

Simon Severino 10:06

So what I'm doing to prepare for a possible recession or stagflation, because I'm in Europe, so I will be in a recession 100%. Wherever you are listening, you might be in a recession. So. So what can we do? One thing is to really learn risk management in terms of, you know, your overall wealth protection. So I have now three buckets, 30% real estate, 30%, equities and 30% digital assets Kryptos. And I really make sure that I don't go over this allocation, because allocation is risk management. So make sure that even 1/3 can collapse for a while and you still, you still have everything in the green overall. That's one thing that I'm learning. And the and I'm also sharing that on YouTube how to do that. And the second thing that I'm learning is to have your most important 4050 people. At, at at buttons distance on. Basically, I have them on my phone, I have a mastermind of my 47 most important people from Los Angeles to to Singapore. And we are much more than a mastermind. Meanwhile, we are a real community, we open doors for each other, we support each other, we challenge each other. We share tools with each other, we introduce each other, we cross promote each other. So that's the community aspect. And I think in in tough times. Now, it really matters. If you have people that you can talk to with oh my god, I'm overwhelmed with this issue. I don't know how to solve that. How do you do that? So that we can quickly can brainstorm, do case work together problem solving sessions together, but also just going through the journey with other entrepreneurs who have similar topics, I think is very beneficial and makes the that whole thing are so much more fun.

Stuart Webb 12:08

I love it. Simon that is such a brilliant, brilliant advice. You need a community at tough times. And that's that's what you know, it's not rocket science is all about listening. I really enjoyed the conversation Simon, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us shedding your and spreading your your your wisdom. I just like to point out to people listening if you want to get on to the newsletter, so that you can hear in advance when people like to diamond are coming on live to talk to you and giving this valuable valuable advice. This is the link you need to go to it's TCA dot FYI forward slash subscribe that TCA forward slash subscribe on I'd invite you to put comments on the YouTube video that Facebook site and or LinkedIn about this talk has been brilliant. Simon, thank you so much for coming on and spending a few minutes talking about strategy sprint. I look forward to watching your progress and how you build that community again.

Simon Severino 13:06

Thank you, Stuart. Thank you, everybody. Keep rolling.

Stuart Webb 13:09

That's really good. Thank you very much. And Don has just said, Thank you for sharing your time, so she'll be definitely checking out that book on Amazon. Sounds pretty good.

Simon Severino 13:19

Yeah, let me know what you think you might like it.

Stuart Webb 13:23

Brilliant. Okay, I'm just gonna play out our outro Simon, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us.

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View Details

Who is Mike?

Mike attained his DMS PGDip at London Metropolitan. He represented the university at the 4th International Conference on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management in Germany where he received an award for his workshop entitled ‘How to alleviate stress: the importance for organisations to implement a more holistic view of the employee to alleviate stress’ (presented in collaboration with Robert M Gordon, American Psychological Association, USA and Paolo Scapellato, European University of Rome, Italy). Whilst there he also collected a number of coaching awards; one of which, as a Football Association referee.

He has worked with businesses such as Computer Sense, the Public Carriage Office, Transport for London, Specialist Make-up Services Limited, the Nouveau Beauty Group, Dixons Store Group and Priority Data, as well as practices in Harley Street. He has coached thousands of employees, boosting their motivation, emotional resilience and mental health, and instilling the foundations of good stress management. Described by his clients as a hugely transformative, well-respected practitioner, Mike continued to impact the field of customer service, instilling direction and leadership in large teams.

Mike’s passion is to help others become the best version of themselves on every level. The results his clients enjoy are consistently outstanding, and they also have a beneficial effect on an individual’s colleagues, their environment and family, and the community that surrounds them.

Key Takeaways

We don't seem to be doing & saying much about how people need to look after themselves in these challenging times.
We're not talking about that ability to communicate, we're not taught nearly enough how to listen to each other. And unfortunately, when we've learned it, we have ingrained behaviours, which we have to undo in order to be able to learn it properly.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

A mental health resource : https://www.mikelawrence.co.uk/rediscover-your-confidence-the-antidote-to-good-mental-health/

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

Join The Complete Approach Facebook Group : https://TCA.fyi/fb

Join our Success to Soar Program and get TIME and FREEDOM. : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Success-to-Soar

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————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

people, work, programme, listen, mike, organisations, mental health, sheffield, emails, question, called, lots, activates, learn, notifications, clients, problems, johann hari, brain, helped

SPEAKERS

Mike Lawrence, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb 00:25

Hi and welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I am delighted and I have I have got my coffee here with me today. So it's here ready to go. I'm delighted today to be joined by Mike Lorenz Mike is a really interesting, transformational coach. He started his his career in leisure and hospitality and I'm sure he might get into that, where he was a Butlins Butler. It's red coat, helping holidaymakers through positive engagement and mindfulness. He's now a mentoring and coach for a number of large organisations, he reduces absenteeism. He improves employee morale, and he approves company internal culture. And Mike is in great demand in the corporate world. And he has got some clients who have described him as truly transformational. So I think we're gonna have a really fascinating discussion today. Welcome to the podcast, Mike.

Mike Lawrence 01:30

Yeah, could skim the day's view, it's great to be here last has been a while

Stuart Webb 01:36

it has been a take, it's taken us a while to get this set up. And thanks for taking the time to do this. Because I'm really looking forward to the conversation. Mike, can you just start by giving us a sort of an insight into the sort of person that you help the sort of the sort of internal and external behaviours, etc, that you might be seeing in your clients that they're that they wish to change and, and bring about a better well being attitude?

Mike Lawrence 02:00

Yes, I'd be happy to do so Stuart. Obviously, it's changed because I think prior to sort of COVID, and the lockdown, a lot of the clients, the people that we're seeing on a private basis in my clinic in Sheffield, tended to be women, the thought is like business owners, because you tend to find that the women only speak and how they wellbeing regime. And so they're more looking after their actual well being their mental health, that has changed somewhat. And now this is sort of balanced out. And in a lot of men, which is which is good, we're now starting to come forward and have that conversation talk about the challenges or problems that they face with their sort of well being. And so prior to Tina to COVID, lockdown, it was, you know, the general sort of strange depression sorts of anxiety. Also burnout I sustained on the increase, whereas now it seems to be around financial well being that lack of certainty about the future with the rising cost of living, and so it will try them out. Or we can navigate through these sorts of challenges. Because, you know, in the media and the government's we're talking about a lot of the problems which are going on. And yes, occasionally we have a mental health awareness, but really, we don't seem to be doing saying much about how people need to look after themselves in these challenging times.

Stuart Webb 03:33

So what are the behaviours, the things that you've seen people with those thoughts try to do to help themselves before you get involved with your, with your, your, your services,

Mike Lawrence 03:49

the, you know, you've got the negative behaviours, and the positive behaviours and negative behaviours, and some people might think that positive is the coping strategies. So hybrid work and brought in people eating more from element and generally speaking, eating in eating into access as a way of trying to cope because working from home the hybrid working in too far away from your kitchen, and so is this readily available, people are drinking more as well at home because again, it was it was readily available, also working more one way of filling that gap in terms of the challenge of problems that we're facing and felt as though that we needed to, you know, to sort of, you know, work or to fill in those gaps. And so, if I'm in that, working with people who are suffering with burnout or lots of in lots of situations, they're not looking after themselves and and typically the thought of things which I'm here and a lot of the time the things such as, you know, I'm feeling overworked and stressed a lot If I'm feeling depressed, I can't get to see my doctor. Or if, if I do get through to see a doctor, I just feel as though that them not listening, because I've just got a short. I'm just got a short when you call it time with the doctor. And in most of the cases, the prescribing medication, which obviously the right thing to do, but what they're wanting to see is to see somebody that was going to help them with CBT, or counselling, depending on where you live. And in the end, where you are in the control did turn depend upon what term level of support that you might get.

Stuart Webb 05:41

So, Mike, you've described some really interesting things there. Those are all things which, which I guess, you you provide, D provide them on site in your clinic, do you go to workplaces? How do you how do you offer that services?

Mike Lawrence 05:56

Yeah, well, was to follow benek in Sheffield, also, people see me remotely as long, which is one of the advantages and benefits, I suppose as the remote working. And so I'm able to offer a range of support services to people throughout the UK, and also our clients, you know, throughout the world as well. And then also get involved with organisations who provide Employee Assistance programmes and, and some people who might be fortunate if you're working for a large organisation, you might be able to get support through EAP, what I find is that lots of people who have got these schemes in the workplace which are free, they're not using them. So if anybody is watching this programme you have got in you're in a company that provides an EAP is really important that you do, you know, do so that said, I go into companies and tend to be smaller organisations, and where they haven't gotten an employee assistance programme. And now we'll come in there. And I will deliver talks and one to ones with members of staff, who may not feel confident speaking to some of their mental health problems to the to somebody within HR. And in some cases, you've got people have been trained as Mental Health First Aiders and a mental Mental Health First Aid instructor. And so I deliver that training on site and also in the workplace. But time and time again, you find that people are Mental Health First Aid trains, again, people within those organisations, there might be some stigma associated to going into the Mental Health First Aid or to talk about, you know, there's some of the problems that they actually face. So I offer a range of workshops, and they range from menopause, which has been on the increase, which had been asked for quite a lot. Mental Health Awareness, stress, depression, anxiety, nutrition and financial well being. Because now that organisations recognise that there have got a duty of care. And as part of that corporate social responsibility, they are doing more and need to be seen to do more for the employers.

Stuart Webb 08:10

Great. Yeah, thank you, Mike. Mike, I understand you've got a pretty valuable free resource that people even if they're not part of a large organisation, or a small business, even if they work on their own, that they can take in order to be able to do something. And I've just put the link to that scrolling along the bottom the screen now that that your website and the link is rediscover your confidence, the antidote to good mental health? Do you just want to describe to us what that that resource brings to the table?

Mike Lawrence 08:41

Yes, I can. It's a resource which is available to, you know, to everybody. It's a training programme, which I created and developed online about a year ago. And this is after some research that I did with clients. And also, what some, you know, as you know, a magic one question on LinkedIn, midway through through the pandemic, when I asked, you know, if I could offer you something, if I help you with something in particular, which would move you forward in terms in mental health and well being, what would it be. And so based upon the feedback from existing clients, previous clients, and also friends and family in the poll around on LinkedIn, I created this support programme for people around the UK and also around the world, who are able to step onto this series of webinars and workshops, which are deliver via video and also on a one to one workshop basis, where we'll be tackling and dealing with some of their challenges which they might have faced a long time ago, in terms of their health and well being because a lot of times, the things in which we faced our the problems that we have Sometimes it might be through the loss of somebody, or it could be something that we saw. No, in our in our early years in our childhood. And subconsciously, we've repressed those memories and thoughts. And this then impacts us in later life. I help people who come on to the course to identify or them to identify some of the root causes of their problems, and give them sorts of coping strategies help and support. So they're able to hopefully glean a better quality of life.

Stuart Webb 10:36

Great, great, great use of LinkedIn. Get that get that feedback on what people actually need from from you? What a great use. Mike, I guess there must be a number of books or courses or programmes that you've taken part in yourself, which have really inspired you that you have you seen as a way to build up your own education is, is there something like that, that you'd like to share with the audience today, in order to give them a flavour of things that you've been learning or things that you've, you've discovered that you'd like to sort of bring into the bring to the audience?

Mike Lawrence 11:09

Yes, there's, there's a couple that come to mind. And it's always books, I'm always reading books, always learning. A lot of the there's a book sorcerer series by a gentleman called David and Eagleman is also been featured on BBC, you can see he's got some on YouTube, there's some videos that he's gotten also lots of, I think, some BBC iPlayer, as well. And he talks about the brain, and goes very deep into the brain and gets thinking about, you know, what's in there, and how and how it works, the mechanics of it all. And there's lots of aha moments, staying with the brain. Many people may have heard of Darren Brown. And there's some great two podcasts that I've listened to recently one's called boot camp up the mind, which is excellence, and boot camp of your life, which is really good as well. And again, he delves into the brain talks about some of the blind spots that we have, and, and how we think and how certain things that can influence our sorts of beliefs as well. And the final one I'll share with you is one called Lost. What's it called? Is it lost focus? I think it might have things called loss, I think it might be lost, lost focus. And it's written by a gentleman call yo Hannes, Johann Hari, h a r i. And this is for me, it's dynamite. Because when you read this, when you read this book, or I listen, or I did, I listened to it on an audible when I'm going walking. I guess you're thinking about how we use our time and where that time got bears word, where does time go? Because we say all the time. You know, if you love what you do, and I love what I enjoy doing throughout the day, and your end of the day, it's like, wow, you know, where's that time gone. But we can use that time more effectively. And when you break it down, and the amount of time is actually lost? Or as he would say, taken away? Then you calculate that time says, Well, what would I have done with that time? If I control it, you know, a lot better. And typically, you know, everyone's got a mobile phone. And the amount of times and there's lots of studies and research and he talks about this, well, the amount of time and switch is lost on looking at those notifications that keep coming up on a day to day basis. And also emails and you know, you are still at you're nodding your heads, and, and emails, and we're doing this podcast called like, remotely, and I've got notifications switched up, I've got emails, you know, I've got everything's switched off. In actual fact, I've had them switched off for about four years. And the amount of time the amount of control that I have now it is just, it's incredible. And you know, a lot of times when people ask me, you know, I'm being interviewed, and you might ask me, anyone in the future and says, you know, what tip would you give people, you know, in terms of the well being, turn the notifications off

Stuart Webb 14:28

of that mic? And yes, you're right. I'm nodding because I too am a I do not have notifications on my phone, I guess. And you know, there are reasons for it. And, you know, we're going into what you said about Johann Hari, and I believe he was the guy that invented this thing called the Johari Window, which I've heard a lot about, which is, you don't know things about yourself. You've got to look at yourself in a different way in order to see it. But I'm very aware of the fact that notifications are one of those things which activates some very deep, old thinking in our brain I want to call them lizard brain, which is, you know, the crack of a stick in the in the woods used to be assigned for us to sort of get ready to run away nowadays, it's a being on a phone and activates all that same that same system in our body so that our our adrenaline is hyped up and we sort of get, get ready to either run away or fight. And what you don't need when you sitting watching the television and trying to relax on the day and decompress is things from your phone or when you're focused at work, you don't want to bring from your phone or thing popping up in the corner of your screen. So I'm like you, I now have a system where I, I, I have my email set as a calendar invite for myself, and I go and view my emails three times a day. And that's the only time I read email because otherwise, I'm focused on work. And when I want to actually sort of go on to social media, I use a technique you've probably heard of it called the Pomodoro Technique, my work for focus time, and then I give myself permission for a five minute break. And if I want to check Twitter, that's the time I check it. Or if I want to check LinkedIn, that's the time I check it. And I really don't do anything other than that. So I don't have notifications like you. And it has freed up hours of my week, it really has.

Mike Lawrence 16:15

It works a treat, because you probably well aware that in those those studies, that it highlights that when you if you've got the emails aren't if you're working away, and because you know, we talked about multitasking, and we all say that we are great multitaskers. And it breaks that myth by saying no, the brain doesn't work that way, you can only do one thing at a time. And those people who think they're great multitaskers, they take longer to do those particular tasks. And also, when you've got the if you're writing a document or a report, and that email pings up and it breaks your conscious because it activates that part and your brain was like, Ah, screw it, I need to go to that. So you start to write to that, then you then takes about 20 minutes, then to go back to that document to that that part of your mind, who was accessing to get all those nuggets information for you and your flow. You know, write that piece of work, it takes you 20 minutes to get back to that place again. Just Just

Stuart Webb 17:18

brilliant love it might love it. We could talk about those techniques for about another two and a half hours, but I won't. Because you need to get on to something else, and you need to focus on your work. So let's just get to the final question. Mike, there is probably a question that you're thinking at the moment I wish he had asked me whatever that question is. So Mike, would you please tell us what is the question you would like me to ask you? And then once you've asked the question effectively answer it for us so that you don't leave us hanging with the with it with an interesting question. But no, no real fulfilment of the answer

Mike Lawrence 17:53

is probably you probably mentioned it in the intro about being a red carpet.

Stuart Webb 18:00

You tell us what did you learn being somebody who helped holidaymakers through their what they hope would be a stress free time? How did you help them?

Mike Lawrence 18:13

I think it was to, they helped, I helped them in enjoy and have a good time, and have fun. And when you look all those years ago, at a very young age, the ability to be able to work and enjoy what you do and have fun and also and also impact positively and in people's lives in their own sort of health and well being and that was from the young generation all the way through, you know, to the you know, to the older generation, so all those generations and, and it helped me with my my confidence because prior to going there, I was probably an introvert and WhatsApp in an old steel town of Sheffield's and going to college and what have you around that when and just going and being flung into this space of over 5000 people who and who were there and spent a lot of money in those days and they're with their family expecting to entertain and expecting to be taken care of, you know, by these people, you know, these girls and boys in these red coats, and so something that it's live up so and, and the wonderful thing about it is that initially when I came out of working there I worked into I went into working in London in the legend creation industry when for whatever reason, I don't know what I wanted to be a manager in charge of people. And I found it very difficult in the first few years to adapt. Because I'd gone from somewhere where I was enjoying myself, I was having fun. And lots of people were, it was all positive engagement. There was no talk of mental health or wellbeing back then, because everyone was just having a good time, then we're going into the civil service, in local authority in London, it was totally different. And it took me a few years to actually adopt. And also, Stuart's, as I, as I tried to move through my career in management at it, I actually had to take off the fact that as a red coat on my, on my CV, it was fine in that was getting overlooked. And people felt as though that I wasn't saying management, managerial material, and that I didn't take the role seriously. And so I actually took that part out of it and just said that I worked in the leisure industry on the south coast, and left it at that wasn't until many years later that I set up my own consultancy company. And I was being interviewed on radio Sheffield, by a by a link be interviewed on radio Sheffield. And like yourself, he asked me the question, but he asked it in a different way. He actually said to me, what transferable skills did you did you learn as a red coat that you use in your business today. And that was like, ah, and there's lots because yes, I've got a lot you know, qualifications and Mental Health First Aid instructor and gone on lots of courses since then managerial courses and things around and complementary alternative therapies. But those skills that I learned back, then, you're able to communicate to people to talk to people understand people have conversations with people, you know, not on text or email, but communicate, and listen, because that and then to interact with people, and understand how they talk and how they feel and pick up on those things, you don't realise that you what you learn there, which then takes took me all the way through there. And, and it's one of the key attributes that I possess, when I'm working, you know, with, you know, with people now, it is one of the key things, because I was just gonna go on to say And finish in the, in my, you know, in some of the studies that I've done recently, I was surprised in one way that, you know, when we go to school, in the teachers house, it's taught how to read and write. But the amount of time in which actually is is put aside and how to listen, is very little.

Stuart Webb 23:05

Mike, that's a really interesting thing, too, that I started I interrupted you. I mean, it's interesting that you had to take away an element of your first part of your learning in your career, I similarly had to remove my, my, my, my scientific background, when I first started out as a manager, because people would often ask what somebody like you wanting to do a job like this. So you just take it away, don't you but, but I think that final point about learning to listen was probably the most the most interesting one that I think you you've hit upon, if we could just learn to listen to at a young age, you know, you're right. At school, we are not taught what we need when we get out into the real world, or we were not taught about that teamwork. We're not talking about that ability to communicate, we were largely sort of sat in silence listening to somebody who who feeds facts, we're not taught nearly enough how to listen to each other and, and something we learn far too late in life. And unfortunately, when we've learned it, we have ingrained behaviours, which we have to undo in order to be able to learn it properly.

Mike Lawrence 24:13

Absolutely, because the you know, we've all got our friend we want to be, you know, the social media is all about, look at me Look at me, like like like, and, and, and in reality, if some, in a lot of cases projects, a false image of actually who we are. But being a but in terms of a mental health and well being. Because, you know, a lot of the times when I meet people or see people, and you might say the same as well, and the first thing that we're saving, you know, English and British, we talk you know as to how are you? I'm fine and well, I'm okay. But oh We biggest a lot of times we we not? And we hope that, you know, we hope that people will respond, I'm fine. I'm okay. And well, you know, am I right? Because we were to say, actually, I'm feeling not very well. That's not what you wanted to hear.

Stuart Webb 25:23

We must stop, we could talk for hours, I will just say that I think there is some hope. My son who is 21 has a friend who has been to through some difficult medical problems just recently. And when he first reached out this, this young lad to my son, about a year or so ago, I said, Look, I've got a medical problem that I just I just haven't talked to many people. He's now got through that there's been surgery and things which which have helped him to get through this. He's not out of the woods, but he's, he's better. He sent a text to my son last night. And the text basically said, mate, thanks for being there. And just listening when I needed somebody to talk to. And I was just blown away that to 21 year old people, to 21 year old young men were able to actually do that gave hope for the fact that there is going to be a better view upon mental health in the future, because he really did reach out. My son was prepared to stand by and listened and helped him through and just, you know, went through it with him, you know, no matter how difficult it will seem. They just exchanged a series of sort of little text messages saying thank you. There's hope. Yeah, really, there is.

Mike Lawrence 26:40

And there is and we can't give up. And that's the you know, a great message. That there's always hope and we need to continue to believe that there is hope. And continue to strive to get that support from like minded people are going to listen and and be MBA and hold us accountable on on that journey, wherever we are.

Stuart Webb 27:04

Mike, let's, let's end on that. That's a brilliant, a brilliant endpoint. Listen, if people are watching, recording, listening to the recording, and the playback, if you want to be available to listen to really interesting conversations and pop in with questions and comments, with with interesting people like Mike go to this this list, which is HTTPS, colon forward slash forward slash TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, that gets you onto our newsletter list. We will send you notifications before the broadcast, so that you can watch and listen and learn together with with really interesting people like Mike. Mike, I want to thank you so much for being here this morning and spending a few minutes with us. I know you're a busy person, and I know you've got a lot of things you've got to get on with. But thank you very much for your time.

Mike Lawrence 27:58

Thank you, Stuart. Appreciate it.

Stuart Webb 28:00

No problem. Thank you

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View Details

Who is Travia Steward?

Travia Steward shows people how to stop watching their life go by because they're either too afraid to take action or don't know what action to take. Most people are more willing to remain comfortable than to rise and go for it!

Key Takeaways

Being stuck is often the result of not having someone who can help you see where you are stuck
Sometimes we can't change as we have a fixed mindset and that needs external viewpoints to move.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

See the free breakthrough starter Gift: https://bit.ly/3KgQkvh

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

Join The Complete Approach Facebook Group : https://TCA.fyi/fb

Join our Success to Soar Program and get TIME and FREEDOM. : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Success-to-Soar

Work with me privately

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

breakthrough, life, brendon burchard, fix, book, talking, mirror, action, question, picked, frightening prospect, listening, realise, journey, conference, thermostat, johari window, absolutely, area, stuck

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Travia Steward

Stuart Webb 00:24

Hi, welcome back to five questions over coffee with Travis Stewart today. Travis is a breakthrough coach, I'm really looking forward to hearing. I'm hearing some of the story that Troy has about became a breakthrough coach because it is passionately I've seen it on the website Travia Welcome to It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee. I hope you're there with your drink ready a hand.

Travia Steward 00:48

I am Stuart, thank you so much for having me. I got a nice Four Sigmatic cup of coffee. And so yeah, I'm ready to go.

Stuart Webb 00:57

I wish I wish I could drink. It's afternoon for me, I wish I could drink coffee in the afternoon. I will be up all night. But that's not about me. It's a tribute. Tell us something about the sort of people that you work with? What are the problems that they that they are suffering with that, that you're trying to help

Travia Steward 01:14

them with? Right? So I primarily work with both men and women, probably more women than men. But you know, people have been asking me, you know, my business coach is like, are you going to niche down and get more specific, but the clients that I have that come to me that I'm able to make a difference in their life, they are stuck. They are reactive to everyone around them. You know, I call it giving other people control of your thermostat. Like we were talking before the call like the, you know, our temperature thermostat in the house. It's like we give people permission to piss us off all the time. So I you know, help them control their own thermostat. But what happens is the people that I work with, they just one day have looked in the mirror and said, You know what? This is? I think there's just more. And so I help them peel back the layers of well, what does that more look like? What area of life is that more that you want? And I help them go after and achieve that. And that's what I do. And so like one woman described it, as, you know, trading, I'm sort of in a holding pattern, I help them get out of that holding pattern and take take action on their life.

Stuart Webb 02:25

Okay, I think you know, if that's the, if the niche is people who are stuck, that's the niche. That's right. So so so tell me, what are the things that some of those people have done before they seek help that haven't maybe worked for them? Or, you know, what, what are the, you know, people listening at the moment saying, I think I recognise it, what are they likely to have found themselves trying to do?

Travia Steward 02:47

Right? You know, and it's a lot of the same things that I found myself doing when I had the proverbial moment of looking in the mirror. I read books, I went on Amazon, I started doing conference after conference, you know, I did a lot of self help. But what I found was, those were band aids. And those were things that fix it temporarily, but did not get to the core of, well, why are you there to begin with? And so what I find is everybody tries to fix it and go, okay, and then we try to fix all the things at once, you know, I'm just going to fix my life. But you know, instead of going, well, maybe let's look at our health. Okay, maybe it's the relationship, maybe it's me. And so that's what I find that they're just trying to, you know, encompass every single thing at one time. And it's just, it's self help. I got this, I can do this. But we can't see our own blind spots. You need someone to see what you can't see.

Stuart Webb 03:38

Yeah, that's the old Johari Window, if I remember rightly, isn't it's, it's you there are there are certain things which you just do, which you just cannot find for yourself, somebody has to be looking in you and sort of pointing out, you know, do you realise in a certain situation, this is the behaviour you exhibit? You know, because you obviously, you're behaving in a particular way.

Travia Steward 04:01

Right, exactly. That's a good way to put it.

Stuart Webb 04:04

I love Yeah, it's, it's, it's something that was said to me a long time ago now. And somebody sort of did point something out. And I went, No, that's not right. You've got to be okay. And then I eventually realised you might have a point. And you sometimes you need somebody who just is got that sort of view, and your best interests at heart to just say, I think you ought to be aware of something.

Travia Steward 04:24

Absolutely. Yeah. Because I mean, we can't there's so many things we can't see. Because so many times I'm like, Oh, I didn't do that. Oh, here, you know what, here's my phone, look at the video. You Oh my god, I did do that. You know, for some reason, we have selective memory sometimes, right? Sometimes we just don't know.

Stuart Webb 04:44

So I think you've got a great free resource that can help us with some of the triggers. So so I'm gonna just put something on the screen now which I which I was gonna come up. Yes. Yeah. So this is a great resource that I think can help people who are in that position at the moment and would really love to sort of get get to somewhere different, tell us about this valuable free action.

Travia Steward 05:05

So this is my breakthrough to greatness guy. And what I have found in my work is that in the very beginning it as it takes you through a quiz of this, you know, your with your mindset, is it fixed? Is it growth, because, first of all, if we don't know, if we're stuck, like, I remember, when my mom was still alive, my mom, my mom was a diabetic. And she would call me she lived in New Orleans, and she would say, you know, and she'd be she, Hey, man, how you doing? And she'd be smacking in my ear? And I was like, What are you doing? You know, what are you eating, you're smacking, and she's like, Oh, I'm eating pecan pie. But you're diabetic. And she goes, I know, I'm just gonna take an insulin shot. I'm too old to change. Right? So that was an example of her having a fixed mindset. So if we don't know where we are to begin with, and we're so fixed and stuck in our ways, then the rest of the guys aren't even going to help us. Right? So then it's a it's a matter of looking at, what are the things that you really want to do, that you're fearful of? Where does that fear come from? And so he's just asked is just a very simple like three page guide. That's the beginning the foundation of, you know, let's start thinking about where I am. And what is it that stopping me, and this is an example of this is some quick action that you could take that goes, Okay, I want to get out there and write that book. But I'm afraid of what I'm afraid because my friends are going to say this, I'm afraid it's going to expose me to whatever that is. But it helps you to get down to the fear of what is that thing that's stopping you? And then a little bit of affirmation, work a little mindset work as to, okay, if I'm gonna step out and do that thing. What am I going to do? How am I going to take the action and able to do that? So it's just a quick thing. You know, I know people don't like long, you know, ebooks or anything like that. So it's just, it's a quick, it's a breakthrough guide that could start them on their journey.

Stuart Webb 07:02

Like the idea of a breakthrough guide. That's a really good one. That's a good one, as there been a particular book or course programme in your life that has affected you and taking you on this journey that you you'd like to share with us.

Travia Steward 07:15

You know, this is, this is the guy that did it, right. I picked up his high performance habits, Brendon Burchard. And everything about what Brendan stood for. I immediately loved like, this was a time in my life when I was still teaching high school theatre. And I, you know, looked in the mirror and said, There's got to be more than this, because I kind of, you know, run that full race. And it was time to switch chapters. And I picked up his book. And then you know, what you do is you go Google, oh, there's a conference coming to Phoenix. Oh, my goodness, wonderful. So I went to his conference. And I just started eating everything, just eating drinking Brendon Burchard. And he was the one that really lit that fire under me, initially. And it was his book, high performance habits, that really opened the door and said, Hey, welcome to my world. So yeah, it's him. And it's that book.

Stuart Webb 08:15

Everybody needs to file it somehow. Everybody needs.

Travia Steward 08:20

So good, so good. Yes. And he liked and he likes it, you know, and I've always said that when I come full circle, you know, and I'm throwing it out to the universe. Here we go. That I, you know, my first taste of being extraordinary. And being in the company of extraordinary people was at his High Performance Academy. And so to come full circle and a full evolution, declaring that I will speak on Brendon Burchard stage, and so that is the fire and then that's when I feel like oh my goodness, it's the full evolution, right of this journey for me.

Stuart Webb 08:55

When's that gonna happen? When's that gonna happen?

Travia Steward 08:59

You know, I would love for it to happen in the next three years. Terrific. Well, that's not

Stuart Webb 09:04

something to pin. Yes, people. Three years time, we'll all be going and we'll be in that comfortable listening to track you're taking us through the journey that she's been on. And maybe she'll only do it for the first part, and she'll leave the three years from now until then it's all a second speech.

Travia Steward 09:22

Oh, I love it. I love it.

Stuart Webb 09:25

So there's there must be a question. You're suddenly thinking trivia that you're thinking, Well, why isn't he asked me about this? Because that's the real real question that really helps to focus them on what is the question that you'd like us to have discussed? And please, when, when you've asked it, answer it for us as well.

Travia Steward 09:41

Absolutely. So as I was talking about what the breakthrough guide, you know, the question would be someone's listening right now. And they're like, Okay, yeah, I've done the whole thing in the mirror. But where do I start? How do I begin to take action? That breakthrough guide will help but also The question is, where do I start? You take a life audit, if we had to go through the major areas of our life, like I would want someone to go, Okay, if I considered my life a 10, a 10, out of 10 being the best it could ever be, which area am I going to start with? And so it would be okay with my relationship with my marriage? Is it a 10? out of 10? Well, you know, it's a four because we're not communicating. Right. So what about my health? Do I feel good? Do I have the physique that I want? Well, you know what, that's an eight. Yeah, absolutely. What about my job? Do I love my job? Absolutely. That's a seven. So then if you're taking a life audit and go, Okay, if my lowest number, my lowest score is a four out of 10, that's where I should start. I should start where there's a bigger gap, there's a bigger deficit, so that we're not trying to run the whole gamut and trying to solve and fix everything one time, because most people are like, if I just fix him, I'm going to be I'm going to fix everything in my life. What's not true a lot of times it's not. So it's starting and choosing in one specific area. Let's start there. And then sometimes it's picking that area that goes, You know what, this one thing if I fix this with me, that can be a domino effect that could improve communication, improve my health, give me more discipline, give me more motivation, all the things. So I would say, where do I start? You start with a life audit auditing, where in your life you want to fix.

Stuart Webb 11:29

That is a really good piece of advice, JB I like that I like Ford, it is a well, it's a it's a frightening prospect as well, because that will expose them all of those things that you're thinking that something was gonna be fixed. And then challenge yourself to get the help you need in order to make those make those big breakthroughs, breakthrough to those those massive actions that you need in order to take to perform and perform

Travia Steward 11:56

better. Absolutely, absolutely.

Stuart Webb 11:59

COVID. This has been a really interesting discussion. Thank you so much for spending a few few minutes with us. Absolutely. I really appreciate you spending a few minutes listening, I'm just going to put a scroll across the bottom now. I send out an email every Monday with who's coming out what they're going to be talking about. So you can get on to the live stream or onto the recording and download it later. So that you can actually pick up on some of this stuff. And this is the link you need to go to which is TCA dot FYI forward slash subscribe, the contact, you will get notification of who's coming up what they're gonna be talking about, and join the discussion. Trivia thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us really appreciate you sort of doing this and talking about some of the that real challenge that you need to challenge yourself with to make those breakthrough and I'm so I'm so pleased to be able to share with us. Oh, thank

Travia Steward 12:49

you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure. And thank you for allowing me I know you're in the evening to start my day having you know talking about things that I can talk about all day long, so

Stuart Webb 13:01

no problem. So I'm going to try to speak to you again soon.

Travia Steward 13:04

Okay, thank you.

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View Details

Who is Phil Johnson?

Emotional Intelligence Guarantees Success! Over 75 MBL testimonials and videos on LinkedIn. 📈 Career Revenue $1.5 Billion. MBL enthusiasts are living in the US, Canada, UK, Europe, Japan, Germany, Bosnia, Africa, Australia, the Middle East and Saudi Arabia.

Key Takeaways

The development of our emotional intelligence is the solution to being able to deal with change. And the fear and anxiety that occurs when those changes caused us to leave our comfort zone. So emotional intelligence isn't a solution to the challenges we face. It is the only solution to the challenges we face.
Apple's primary hiring focus is on the search for people with above average levels of emotional intelligence.
If you want to guarantee your career and personal success, if you want to guarantee your organisational success, the key to that is the development of emotional intelligence.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

See the free coaching session at calendly.com/mblcoach/chat-with-phil

Sign-up for the newsletter on LinkedIn https://lnkd.in/dqxVrFZK

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

Join The Complete Approach Facebook Group : https://TCA.fyi/fb

Join our Success to Soar Program and get TIME and FREEDOM. : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Success-to-Soar

Work with me privately

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

emotional intelligence, programme, change, results, phil, development, question, employee engagement, mbl, emotionally intelligent, helped, remarkable results, terrific, organisation, tca, newsletter, podcast, face, link, executive

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Phil Johnson

Stuart Webb 00:23

Hi, and welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I'm here with Phil Johnson, who is going to tell us all about emotional intelligence, which is a really fascinating subject. I'm really looking forward to this. So welcome to the podcast. It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee.

Phil Johnson 00:41

Ah, Stuart, thank you. It's a pleasure to be on your show.

Stuart Webb 00:45

Terrific. So let's start with the first question I always ask, which is, can you describe to us the sort of person you're attempting to help with your service?

Phil Johnson 00:55

Typically, it's the executive that has an urgent desire for better results than they're currently getting. And their organisation have been doing that now for the last 21 years.

Stuart Webb 01:07

And let's face it, they're pretty much every executive once we get better results, and they're currently getting so there's a rich pool of problem out there that you could help solve, what are the sorts of issues that you think that those executives are having, that you're trying to reach them with?

Phil Johnson 01:25

The things that have gotten them to where they are, are also the things that are standing in the way of getting better results. So they're trying to, they're trying to get better results than they're currently getting. By using the habits and micro skills that have gotten them to where they are not realising that that's not possible. If they want better results than they're currently getting. They need to change.

Stuart Webb 01:53

That's, that's a valid valid point. You know, a lot of them, though, try to do their best to sort of address these issues themselves. They dive into the mastermind groups, they do that what is what is it that you've seen them do, which hasn't really helped them get to where they really need to be?

Phil Johnson 02:12

What typically they've done, see, if you're not willing to change yourself, if you're not willing to do the emotional labour that change requires. The only other alternative you have is to try and use position based power to get others to change, to control and manipulate others to get them to change. And quite frankly, that's been the go to, for most for most people. And that's why according to Gallup, the current level of employee engagement worldwide is around 13%. So it's a huge problem.

Stuart Webb 02:52

13% is really low

Phil Johnson 02:54

Yeah, yeah. It's costly, the US economy alone, over a trillion dollars a year. If people don't feel safe to take risks, they're not going to be engaged. And there's almost a one to one correlation between the level of employee engagement, the level of customer engagement. So if your employees don't feel safe, then neither do your customers.

Stuart Webb 03:23

Good point. I love it. And you know that taking a risk, is the key to moving a business from where it is today to where it needs to be, isn't it it is that innovation it's taking, it's taking things further, if you sit in the safe zone, you are never going to in fact, we will know that if the economy is growing, and I know economies are not necessarily growing as fast as they could at the moment. But when an economy grows at three, four or 5% a year, if you're staying in the safe zone, you are retreating, you are going backwards because the rest of the world is beginning to expand around it.

Phil Johnson 04:00

Whenever we take an action and moves us outside of our comfort zone, we come up against significant both biological and sociological sources of resistance. That's why most people don't do it. Unless they're unless they haven't really urgent desire for better results, ie unless they're in a lot of pain. So this is the work that I helped them to do to help them to move outside of their comfort zone. And providing them the habits and the micro skills to get to get the results they want to achieve.

Stuart Webb 04:37

And I love the way that the use of that word Microsoft micro skills. So do you want to just describe to us a micro skill?

Phil Johnson 04:47

Ah yeah, being able to listen, without taking things personally. Being able to listen without resistance judgement or attachment outcome is a As a microscale,

Stuart Webb 05:01

terrific lover, listen, I know you've got a really valuable free action, which, which I'm going to sort of put on the screen now, do you want to talk us through, you know what it is we can get out this free action, which I'm just going to say is a calendly.com link, and it's currently.com/nbl. Coach MBL, we'll get to MBL coach in a minute chat hyphen with hyphen Phil. So let's MDL coach, chat with Phil MBL. It the the the the the the the covenant us actually run here for this

Phil Johnson 05:37

Master of Business Leadership. It's a programme that I've developed. And it produces remarkable results. I've I've helped individuals and organisations create very remarkable results using this programme.

Stuart Webb 06:00

So tell us tell us what is the valuable free resource that you're giving us at that link.

Phil Johnson 06:07

One free coaching session.

Stuart Webb 06:10

And that is a really valuable free resource. Because I would imagine, you can get a lot of value from just one coaching session, and it will take you to, to the to the way in which the NBL programme can help you as long as you want to describe the NBL programme to us.

Phil Johnson 06:26

Yeah, it's a, it's a, it's a process of becoming more conscious of what's going on in you and around you. So that you can become a more inspirational leader, develop your emotional intelligence. And become more conscious see where we're only conscious about three to 5% of the time, the rest of the time, we're relying on our habits, to determine our behaviour and our results. And a lot of those habits are actually what's standing in the way of our getting better results. So I am the ROI. In going through this process. This programme never ends and it it helps you to get better results both in your career within your corporation and in your personal life.

Stuart Webb 07:22

And I know you post fairly regularly on LinkedIn, I'm just going to show the the LinkedIn post here where I know that you post it pretty much daily, you post something on LinkedIn to sort of give us insights into how we can improve.

Phil Johnson 07:34

Yeah, I created a newsletter on LinkedIn about maybe about four months ago. And it's all about related to the development of leadership and emotional intelligence. So it's a free newsletter, and hopefully, I can provide some some insights that can help people get better results.

Stuart Webb 08:03

Terrific. Listen, I've spent the last few minutes throwing questions at you. And you've been good enough to answer them, thankfully. But I'm going to make you do work. Now. There must be a question that you are wishing that I would ask you or thinking about why has he not asked me this question. I know I've asked you two or three questions which have given you the opportunity to give us a knowledge. But what would be the question that you would like me to have asked and then you know, once you've asked that question, would you please be good enough to answer it for us? Sure.

Phil Johnson 08:33

The question would be great for you to ask is, is there a way I can guarantee my success? Both in my career and in my personal life? Is there a process that can guarantee my success?

Stuart Webb 08:55

Great question, Phil, give us the answer, please.

Phil Johnson 09:00

The answer to the question is the development of your emotional intelligence. The ROI the development of emotional intelligence represents a critical part of our of our development that we never got. And because of the accelerating rate of global change, its value is going to continue to increase exponentially along with the along with the accelerating rate of change. So you see more and more companies hiring, promoting and developing emotional intelligence. And matter of fact, if you if you want to give you an example of a company, this company is currently doing over a trillion dollars a year in revenue. And their primary hiring focus is on the search for people with above average levels of emotional intelligence. Wow. company is apple. And that's why when you think about it, the energy you feel when you walk into an Apple Store is an example of a more emotionally intelligent environment. They're not trying to sell you anything. They're trying to understand your pain. And if possible, offer a solution to that challenge that pain. Whether or not you buy anything from them is secondary to their desire to want to serve you, they want you to have a great experience. And maybe you will tell your friends and they'll tell their friends. And that energy, if you think about it, think about the last time you were in an Apple Store, and try and compare and contrast that energy with the energy of the stores around it. Very different. So. So that's an example of a more emotionally intelligent environment. So the development of emotional intelligence, because of the accelerating rate of global change, represents the future of organisational development.

Stuart Webb 11:06

I love the example. Phil, one is a terrific example. It really demonstrates it's not just for the small business that thinks they need to do this, these are these are serious business people that are taking this to the next level and really looking for the people that can that can operate at that level.

Phil Johnson 11:28

It's critically important and we haven't really touched on this. But they say we're facing an absolute tsunami of change, with a 500 million year old brain that doesn't like change. Without getting too deep into the weeds in the end of the science. The development of our emotional intelligence is the solution to being able to deal with change. And the fear and anxiety that occurs when those changes caused us to leave our comfort zone. So emotional intelligence isn't a solution to the challenges we face. It is the only solution to the challenges we face. And it will become a multi trillion dollar industry. So getting back to your question and my question, the thing that I would tell your listeners is that if they want to guarantee their career and personal success, if they want to guarantee their organisational success, the key to that is the development of emotional intelligence. And by the way, I've been proving that all over the world for the last 21 years.

Stuart Webb 12:54

So that is a brilliant message to leave it on. Because I think that should spark enough people to get to this link to go to MD calendly.com MBL, coach, hyphen, chat with her, even if you just spent I have now a few minutes talking with this man getting to understand your emotional intelligence, your level of the emotional intelligence of the people that you've got to deal with. And I think that's the real key to some of this. But let's just be let's just start with understanding yourself in order to be able to understand others. Phil, what a brilliant message to leave it on. This is something that people need to take seriously. If Apple takes it seriously. You should take it seriously. Absolutely love that message. Thank you very much indeed.

Phil Johnson 13:37

Stuart, it's a pleasure to be on your show.

Stuart Webb 13:41

Felt I just listened to people if you want to come on to the subscription list, the newsletter list that I produce. Every Monday I send out an email which shows who's coming up on the show this week. How you can get involved how you can get involved in asking questions even if you want to ask questions later, and something and make sure that you get the show notes and information about the podcast that comes out when this is published. You need to go to TCA dot FYI forward slash subscribe, that's TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, go to that link, subscribe to the newsletter made sure that you get the email each week and also make sure that you are on the list, which, which also gets the podcast sent to you. Every time it gets published. Phil, thank you so much for coming on and speaking to us about is such an important topic. Really important that we get to grips with it and I encourage you all get to, to take advantage of talking to this man about your emotional intelligence and emotional intelligence and the way that you can use it to enhance your career and your prospects as a business owner. Thanks, Phil.

Phil Johnson 14:42

My pleasure.

Get full access to It's Not Rocket Science! at thecompleteapproach.substack.com/subscribe

View Details

Who is Phil Johnson?

Key Takeaways

The development of our emotional intelligence is the solution to being able to deal with change. And the fear and anxiety that occurs when those changes caused us to leave our comfort zone. So emotional intelligence isn't a solution to the challenges we face. It is the only solution to the challenges we face.
Apple's primary hiring focus is on the search for people with above average levels of emotional intelligence.
If you want to guarantee your career and personal success, if you want to guarantee your organisational success, the key to that is the development of emotional intelligence.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

See the free coaching session at calendly.com/mblcoach/chat-with-phil

Sign-up for the newsletter on LinkedIn https://lnkd.in/dqxVrFZK

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

Join The Complete Approach Facebook Group : https://TCA.fyi/fb

Join our Success to Soar Program and get TIME and FREEDOM. : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Success-to-Soar

Work with me privately

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Phil Johnson

Stuart Webb 00:23

Phil Johnson 00:41

Ah, Stuart, thank you. It's a pleasure to be on your show.

Stuart Webb 00:45

Terrific. So let's start with the first question I always ask, which is, can you describe to us the sort of person you're attempting to help with your service?

Phil Johnson 00:55

Typically, it's the executive that has an urgent desire for better results than they're currently getting. And their organisation have been doing that now for the last 21 years.

Stuart Webb 01:07

Phil Johnson 01:25

Stuart Webb 01:53

Phil Johnson 02:12

Stuart Webb 02:52

13% is really low

Phil Johnson 02:54

Yeah, yeah. It's costly, the US economy alone, over a trillion dollars a year. If people don't feel safe to take risks, they're not going to be engaged. And there's almost a one to one correlation between the level of employee engagement, the level of customer engagement. So if your employees don't feel safe, then neither do your customers.

Stuart Webb 03:23

Phil Johnson 04:00

Stuart Webb 04:37

And I love the way that the use of that word Microsoft micro skills. So do you want to just describe to us a micro skill?

Phil Johnson 04:47

Ah yeah, being able to listen, without taking things personally. Being able to listen without resistance judgement or attachment outcome is a As a microscale,

Stuart Webb 05:01

Phil Johnson 05:37

Stuart Webb 06:00

So tell us tell us what is the valuable free resource that you're giving us at that link.

Phil Johnson 06:07

One free coaching session.

Stuart Webb 06:10

Phil Johnson 06:26

Stuart Webb 07:22

Phil Johnson 07:34

Stuart Webb 08:03

Phil Johnson 08:33

The question would be great for you to ask is, is there a way I can guarantee my success? Both in my career and in my personal life? Is there a process that can guarantee my success?

Stuart Webb 08:55

Great question, Phil, give us the answer, please.

Phil Johnson 09:00

Stuart Webb 11:06

Phil Johnson 11:28

Stuart Webb 12:54

Phil Johnson 13:37

Stuart, it's a pleasure to be on your show.

Stuart Webb 13:41

Phil Johnson 14:42

My pleasure.

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View Details

Who is Dr Fryer?

Dr Deborah Fryer is a money mindset mentor, spiritual business coach, and creator of the Anatomy of MoneyTM system for holistic wealth and well being. She helps heart-centered entrepreneurs breakthrough subconscious mental, emotional and financial blocks so they can create sustainable, 6- or 7-figure businesses with ease, speed, and confidence (without working harder, feeling guilty, downplaying your success, or selling your soul).

Key Takeaways

Tapping has been clinically shown to reduce and even eventually eliminate the pattern of trauma and stress. It has been tested extensively with people who have PTSD. And it has been shown that tapping can cut through these nervous system patterns to create a system that responds with ease with safety with calm, overwhelm and confusion and angst.
If you tell your subconscious mind, here are things I'm grateful for, it's going to find more things to be grateful for. And all of a sudden, you will be living in this world that's overflowing with abundance and opportunity.
If you really want to change your mindset, if you really want to change your mind, you've got to decide. not to keep doing the same thing over and over and getting the same results and getting more and more frustrated.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

See the free book at https://deborahfryer.mykajabi.com/turn-on-your-tap

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

people, money, stressed, realise, create, gratitude, concentric circles, conscious mind, tapping, habitually, detour, deborah, feel, book, mind, body, grateful, constriction, internal, nervous system

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Dr Deborah Fryer

Stuart Webb 00:23

Hi, and welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I'm here today with Deborah fryer PhD. Welcome Dr. fryer to the to the podcast, we're looking forward to a really good conversation. There is a money mindset mentor, a spiritual business coach, and creator of the anatomy of money system for holistic wealth and well being, as he helps heart centred entrepreneurs breakthrough subconscious mental, and emotional and financial blocks so they can create sustainable six or seven figure businesses with easy speed and confidence. So that's really great news. I'm really looking forward to this conversation. Welcome to the podcast. Deborah,

Dr Deborah Fryer 01:03

thanks so much for having me.

Stuart Webb 01:05

Really appreciate your time. So I mean, I've just given you that introduction. And I guess it does, say who you're trying to help, but Who's your ideal client? What is the what is the problem they've got that you're trying to help them to solve?

Dr Deborah Fryer 01:19

People come to me because they want to make more money, or they have really great jobs, they're already making great money, but they're feeling kind of empty inside, they're feeling burned out, they're feeling like they'd really love to quit a corporate job or some job that they're in, that isn't fulfilling them at the soul level, they're making great money, but they're trading their time or our or they're contributing in ways that feel inauthentic or not allowing them to live up to their potential. So there's some rub, there's some way that either you're not making the kind of money that you want to make, and you're feeling very discontent and frustrated and anxious and stressed about it. Or you're making great money. And you're still feeling discontented and frustrated and stressed. So people come to me because they have an issue with money. And what they discover very quickly is that money is a very powerful, pristine, clear mirror that's reflecting back to us. Our relationship with ourselves.

Stuart Webb 02:24

Yeah, it's all about self worth journey. It's all about understanding how you become a friend to what you want to do and how you discover that, isn't it? And I guess that leads me to question which is so what is it you find those people have tried to do prior to meeting you in order to solve some of those problems?

Dr Deborah Fryer 02:45

What I discover that people have tried to do what I myself tried to do for many years until I realised there was another way that's way easier, and way faster, and way more rewarding. What we all try to do is we look out at external conditions for our self worth. We look at the paycheck number one, how much money am I making as if that's a reflection of how worthy I am as if that validates my contribution. And we've often wittingly outsourced our validation to some thing, some person, some experience, some condition that we don't control. And that leaves us feeling very disempowered. Because if you're my boss, and I need you to say, Debra, we're going to pay you, whatever the amount is, you've decided how much I'm worth, not me. And if you say oh, we're not going to give you a raise, then I might misperceive Oh, I guess I don't deserve more. And, and it just gets really twisted. And we do this all the time we project onto other people, I need you to like me, I need you to approve of me, I need you to give me more time or give me more money or give me more respect or pay more attention to me or whatever it is, without realising I could fulfil my needs directly. If I stopped looking out there for validation.

Stuart Webb 04:13

Great message. I love it. I love it. I you know, I know we're going to come on to, to to this, you know, you, you've got a very interesting sort of link that I think we can all go to now and have a look and understand how that how some of what you're saying could be applied to us Can Can you talk us through what it is you've got at this site? And I know, we're going to create a slightly easier link for people to be able to download or get to this link when I put it in the show

Dr Deborah Fryer 04:42

notes. Yeah, so the link that is flashing before you right now is for a free book that I wrote. That's all about understanding the inner terrain of your body because the conscious mind which scientists say controls about 5% of our thoughts or beliefs or habits and which then goes to create, what we feel about something, the emotions we have about it. And the feelings and the emotions that are generated from the thought will lead us to take a particular action. And that particular action because of how we're all wired. Because we all have a negativity bias, those particular actions, which we're conditioned to take, feel like constriction, feel like pressure, feel like tension, feel like I'm going to be in trouble. at the root level, all of us, pick up, absorb, interpret, perceive feedback from our environment, and our environment is what we're born into. And so if people use a particular tone of voice, we assume, Oh, this means I'm lovable, or that means I'm not lovable. If we cry, it might mean, this means they're going to pick me up and love me. Or it might mean, this means they're going to say Go to your room. Right. So we either learned that crying is beneficial, or that crying is punitive. And neither is true. You know, we cry because we're feeling something but we learn we're not allowed to express freely, we learn to express in a very conditional manner. And the result of that is that we, we shut off parts of ourselves. And so I think of it like a GPS. When you get in your car, or wherever you might be walking, when you're going from where you are to where you want to go, you set your GPS, which tells you multiple routes you can take, and you can take the scenic route, you can take the toll road, you can take the fastest route, it's up to you to choose which way you want to go. So you pick the route. And you start on the route, whether you're walking, biking, driving, it matters not you start on the route. And the GPS will tell you, Oh, here's a detour. Here's a place where there's a lot of congestion. And it might be yellow or red on your GPS, you know, I'm talking about this makes sense. You get to the part where it's yellow, or red, and all of a sudden, the traffic is at a standstill where the crowd is packed, and you just cannot move forward. This happens in our bodies, and it happens automatically and unconsciously. And it operates below the level of conscious awareness, which is the mind looking for? How can I fix this? What's wrong with this in the mind is really quick to analyse and, and, you know, figure out what's wrong and compartmentalise and see things as good or bad or right or wrong. But you're feeling an ancient ancient feeling that the mind doesn't vibrate at the same rate as the body. So the conscious mind cannot address this construction. So let's say you're trying to break six figures, you're trying to break seven figures, you've got a money goal, and you're heading for it, your conscious mind says I got the strategy, I got the funnels, I got the automation, I got the digital today that I need, because I think I need all these things in order to get this result. But internally 95% of the rest of you that's not operating from your conscious mind. In other words, the 95% of you that is operating in your body from nervous system, programming and conditioning and grudges, and resentments, and reactions and experiences, and they got mad at me and I shouldn't do that. And nobody in my family ever made that much money, and I grew up in poverty. And when I make this much money, all that stuff is gonna get activated. The minute you think about breaking through to seven figures. And because all that stuff gets activated, it's going to be constriction, and it will show up in very specific places in your body. And that constriction is just like a traffic jam. So you're on your way from here to here. But all of a sudden, you can't get there because there's so much constriction. And so what tapping does is it magically dissolves those nervous system patterns that are encoded, that are automatic and unconscious. We don't even know where it came from. All of a sudden, we just feel in our solar plexus. We feel it in the throat, or we feel it in the heart, right? We just feel this clamping down of No, no, no, you're not going to get through you cannot do that. And tapping has been clinically shown to reduce and even eventually eliminate the pattern of trauma and stress. It has been tested extensively with people who have PTSD. And it has been shown that tapping can cut through these nervous system patterns to create a system that responds with ease with safety with calm, overwhelm and confusion and angst.

Stuart Webb 10:07

I've said it so many times to people that I've spoken to if if only the world and most of the people in the world realised that stress was entirely self induced, we would we would start to break through so much quicker and so many ways. We just don't get that we don't we believe that it's come from outside. We believe it's this, we believe, is that, because I thought so trying to sort of work out? Well, it must be that it can't possibly be internal, because we don't understand the internal anatomy to

Dr Deborah Fryer 10:34

it. Yeah, we're so looking out there, right? Like, oh, it's, I'm stressed because the economy this or I'm stressed, because my boss wouldn't give me a raise, or I'm stressed because my husband, whatever, right? We're so looking out there and blaming things out there. Because it's way easier than to look in here and realise, oh, I created that. Why did I create that for myself?

Stuart Webb 10:57

And it's painful, those limiting beliefs, isn't it? You know, I can't possibly do that. Because, right? It's not, it's got nothing to do with the fact that when I was small, my mom used to say to me, well, that's not something we do around here. Without ever, it's certainly not that it's got to be the fact that the marketing funnel just isn't working today, we've got to get that right. And then it will be fine. Right? I, you know, I, I often, I often do get into these discussions, I had one business owner the other day, and he was just saying, you know, I just need to get more sales. And I just need a marketing manager to do that. And I looked at him and went, are you sure that's the only problem around here and it was going well, I can't think of anything else it could be. And I thought it could actually be you. But I'm not gonna get into that today, we're gonna deal with that on another day. So we have to start looking sort of, in concentric circles, starting with ourselves around us, don't we

Dr Deborah Fryer 11:48

totally, I love that concentric circle. idea, because it really applies to the body. Out at the external, people perceive me a particular way. And so I feel like, I need to fill in the blank. I need to dye my hair, I don't dye my hair. But if I, you know, if I were responding to, I don't want people to think I'm XYZ, I might choose that I need to wear makeup, I need to weigh a certain amount, I need to look a certain way. Right? Because of what they're gonna think of me. And I've given my energy and my attention to what they're gonna think of me. Okay, then the next. So that's, that's like an external layer, right? It's how do people see me? And then do people see like this? Or do they see the energy coming from me? And if they're seeing the energy coming from me, what does that look like? What does that feel like? How does that flow through me. And that's really what this work is about, that I'm doing with my clients is to is to help them go directly or in a more efficient and joyful and pleasurable way from where they are to where they want to go. And, you know, we take the detour, because there's something there that we need to say, we take the detour into self loathing, or self judgement, or self criticism, or self harm, or self abuse. Notice all these words, start with self. Because we're taking these detours into parts of ourselves. We're, we're bumping into our own conditioning, which is part of me, right, you and I have very different circumstances. But I know from having worked with 1000s of people, that our nervous systems all respond in the same way. And they respond by setting off an alarm saying Danger, danger. Don't do that. Don't do that. Who do you think you are, and there's going to be constriction, and we're all doing the same work. I mean, part of what I think creates so much stress and suffering and anxiety and frustration for people is this belief of, I'm the only one who fill in the blank. And I know that I used to feel like a special snowflake. I'm the only one who, you know, you just don't get me. I'm the only one who and I needed to make myself worse off than everybody else. Which is crazy. But we do that when we're living in a place of self denial. Because we want attention.

Stuart Webb 14:22

Yeah, yeah. Brilliant. It's

Dr Deborah Fryer 14:25

really about going deep, deep, deep into the core. Me. It's not about all it's all like concentric circles.

Stuart Webb 14:30

It is it is absolutely. I love it. I love it. So yeah, I mean, you've obviously talked a little bit about your book. Are there other books or programmes that you have? you've explored that you think would be a value to talking to the audience about at the moment?

Dr Deborah Fryer 14:45

Yes. So turn your tap is a book that's about literally changing your brain changing the way that you habitually think so that those habitual thought patterns no longer run and when they don't want to run? That's normal. or the route that you take. I also have a course that's called gratitude rocks. And gratitude rocks is a super simple course, about the stability, of gratitude. And I call it a gratitude rocks because it rocks like, it's awesome. But also because rocks are, it's like, you know, they say put in the big rocks first, having a gratitude practice, it is the simplest practice, and it is the most powerful life changing practice. And it's really simple. So I mean, I can tell you right now what it is. And for people who want to have a guided version of it, there's a course that's 28 days, where every day you get a daily dose of gratitude, and a little video and a little prompt, so that you can journal about it, the high level of view is that when we're grateful, we open to receiving. And as Rumi says, Your task is not to seek love, but all the barriers you've put up against it. The same is true for your task is not to seek money, but all the barriers you have against it. Your task is not to seek the perfect relationship, but all the barriers you have against it, your task is not perfect health, but all the barriers you have against it. It's really about that deep internal work of I allow myself to be this to, to have this. So a daily gratitude practice my daily gratitude practice, the simplest form is every night, as I'm cycling down from beta into alpha, into theta and delta to sleep is I asked myself, What am I grateful for every night. And I simply say, as many things as popped to mind as I'm grateful for. And Thomas Edison said, something like never go to sleep without seeding your subconscious mind. Because your subconscious mind will go to work and find more of whatever you tell it to focus on. Your subconscious mind has like a golden retriever, you throw a tennis ball, it's kind of run after it and bring it back to you and be like, hey, look what I got for you. So if you tell your subconscious mind, here are things I'm grateful for, it's gonna go find more things to be grateful for. And all of a sudden, you're gonna be living in this world that's overflowing with abundance and opportunity and, and things to appreciate what we appreciate, appreciate. So I always do my gratitudes right before I'm falling asleep. And I also do them first thing in the morning before I get out of bed, so that I made a gratitude sandwich, when I'm sleeping all through the night, I'm in gratitude, and then all through the day, and then a gratitude sandwich. So that's an awesome way to increase your prosperity, and really increase the abundance throughout all areas of your life. I wrote another book that's called Best brain hacks, which is 108 ways to uplevel your brain and to create more pleasure, more spaciousness, more joy, and all of the 108 ways are not thinking ways. They're all about ways to access, your blue, your, the wholeness of who you are, through your senses. So there are meditations that involve sound, and smell and taste and touch. And there are a lot of creative play exercises in there. Because we all take ourselves so seriously. You know, come on, lighten up. And you know, I wrote this book for myself, first of all, because I was, you know, so heavy and so serious. And I thought, like, work was hard, and you got to struggle, and you got to suffer. And I didn't want that. So I wrote that book, you know, as, as medicine for myself, that it's okay for you to have fun. It's okay, if you love your life and love your body.

Stuart Webb 18:44

Not. I'd like to give to many, many, many people. I can think of several people who need to take that book.

Dr Deborah Fryer 18:51

Yeah. And then I have a course that's also an evergreen course. That's called 40 days to rewrite your money story. And it's like the tip of the iceberg. It's like a little fingernail clipping of the whole human form, that it's just like a toe in the water of what's actually going on in the internal anatomy. So, there are a lot of tapping scripts in there. There's some visualisations, there's some meditations to help you begin to identify where are the places in my body, where I habitually shut down where I habitually say, Oh, the road is closed. You can't go here. And you'll begin to see, oh, I habitually say, I don't know, I habitually say, I can't have that. I habitually say, I never have enough. And for a lot of people, this is brand new information and it's really mind blowing, because they don't realise how loudly their body is talking to them.

Stuart Webb 19:48

Good stuff. Isn't we've had a fascinating insight into some of your work, but there must be a question that you're currently thinking. He hasn't asked me about or I wish he'd asked me this question. So Here's my opportunity to allow you to tell me the question that I should have asked you. And then obviously, you have to answer it. Otherwise, we'll all be spending the rest of our time thinking, I wonder what the answer to the question is. So there were what is the question that you would like me to have asked you?

Dr Deborah Fryer 20:15

Well, I think the questions you've asked are really great, really spot on their deep questions. The number one question I get from people, is, how do I change my mind? Every day, I get this multiple times a day, I'm so in scarcity, I'm so in fear, I don't have this. Look, people are so oriented to lack. And it's very hard, if you're oriented to lack to see anything about lack, it's so hard, it's like you're wearing glasses, and the prescription The glasses are ground, to see in perfect focus, lack, and so everything you look at his lack. And so, you know, if you really want to change your mindset, if you really want to change your mind, you've got to decide. And I know this might sound simplistic, but we bang our heads against the wall, we keep doing the same thing over and over and getting the same results and getting more and more frustrated or getting deeper into debt or keep having the same relationship over and over again, and we keep getting rid of one and the new one comes in and they're a same version of that one. And the same problem arises and we get rid of that one, and another one comes in, it's like, we're on this rubber stamp of the same, the same, the same, the same, because the internal terrain is the mould in our terrain is the mould and you're gonna have to change the inner terrain, you know, back to the concentric circle thing. You cannot change at the X at the outermost part of you, that's like, Oh, I got my funnel, or I got my copywriting or I got my sales letter or whatever the thing is, that's some external thing. But where did that come from? It came from in you, you're the one who had the idea, you are the one who had the dream, you were the one who created the content. So you've got to go to the innermost core of those concentric circles. It's like peeling an onion, you keep peeling, and peeling and peeling and peeling and peeling, and you're gonna cry, every layer, you peel away, and the more layers you peel, the more you're gonna cry, and eventually, you're gonna get to the very middle. That's where you have to come from. And when you get to the very core of you, and you discover who the core of you is, your entire identity is going to change.

Stuart Webb 22:33

I love it. I absolutely love it. Deborah, this has been a really fascinating discussion. And I really appreciate you spending a little time with us today. Thank you so much for bringing those insights, we will get a slightly easier to to read link than the one that's currently on screen. We will do that in the show notes. So come on that but in the meantime, if you would like to be able to get on the mailing list, and so that you could join us now for great speakers like dot fri here today. This is the link you need to go to it's just as simple as TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, that's DCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe that puts you on the mailing list. I'll make sure you get an email once a week, which has who's coming up what they're going to talk about why you need to be listening to these people. And you'll also get access as well to the podcast when this comes out. Deborah, thank you so much for being on the call. I really appreciate you spending some time with us. And thank you so much for bringing some of your wisdom about making your your limitations, the thing that you can actually break through without looking around and seeing that it's outside of your control. Things are so much I do worry about people who look around and say I can't control anything you think actually, you can control everything. If you can just control your thinking you can just control your reaction to it. Great to have you talk about that. I really do appreciate it. Thank you so much indeed. Thank you

Dr Deborah Fryer 23:59

so much for inviting me on.

Stuart Webb 24:01

That's no problem.

Get full access to It's Not Rocket Science! at thecompleteapproach.substack.com/subscribe

View Details

Who is Dr Fryer?

Key Takeaways

Tapping has been clinically shown to reduce and even eventually eliminate the pattern of trauma and stress. It has been tested extensively with people who have PTSD. And it has been shown that tapping can cut through these nervous system patterns to create a system that responds with ease with safety with calm, overwhelm and confusion and angst.
If you tell your subconscious mind, here are things I'm grateful for, it's going to find more things to be grateful for. And all of a sudden, you will be living in this world that's overflowing with abundance and opportunity.
If you really want to change your mindset, if you really want to change your mind, you've got to decide. not to keep doing the same thing over and over and getting the same results and getting more and more frustrated.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

See the free book at https://deborahfryer.mykajabi.com/turn-on-your-tap

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6937449028682964992/

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

Join The Complete Approach Facebook Group : https://TCA.fyi/fb

Join our Success to Soar Program and get TIME and FREEDOM. : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Success-to-Soar

Work with me privately

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

people, money, stressed, realise, create, gratitude, concentric circles, conscious mind, tapping, habitually, detour, deborah, feel, book, mind, body, grateful, constriction, internal, nervous system

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Dr Deborah Fryer

Stuart Webb 00:23

Dr Deborah Fryer 01:03

thanks so much for having me.

Stuart Webb 01:05

Dr Deborah Fryer 01:19

Stuart Webb 02:24

Dr Deborah Fryer 02:45

Stuart Webb 04:13

Dr Deborah Fryer 04:42

Stuart Webb 10:07

Dr Deborah Fryer 10:34

Stuart Webb 10:57

Dr Deborah Fryer 11:48

Stuart Webb 14:22

Yeah, yeah. Brilliant. It's

Dr Deborah Fryer 14:25

really about going deep, deep, deep into the core. Me. It's not about all it's all like concentric circles.

Stuart Webb 14:30

Dr Deborah Fryer 14:45

Stuart Webb 18:44

Not. I'd like to give to many, many, many people. I can think of several people who need to take that book.

Dr Deborah Fryer 18:51

Stuart Webb 19:48

Dr Deborah Fryer 20:15

Stuart Webb 22:33

Dr Deborah Fryer 23:59

so much for inviting me on.

Stuart Webb 24:01

That's no problem.

Get full access to It's Not Rocket Science! at thecompleteapproach.substack.com/subscribe

View Details

Who is Elliot?

Using public speaking to be an authority and be more giraffe

Key Takeaways

If you're not standing on stage owning your space, someone else is and I bet they don't care as much as you so if you're not willing to stick your neck out your people are missing out
Learning how to tell your story, like a TED speaker so the idea is worth telling is key to success
Be more giraffe! Stand up tall and put your neck up for what you know you can teach the world.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

See the free report at www.speakerexpressscorecard.co.uk

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

Join The Complete Approach Facebook Group : https://TCA.fyi/fb

Join our Success to Soar Program and get TIME and FREEDOM. : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Success-to-Soar

Work with me privately

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

speaking, elliot, giraffe, problems, question, structure, speaker, talk, great, standing, confidence, tedx, share, essence, ted, understand, communicate, idea, booked, stage

SPEAKERS

Elliot Kay, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb 00:22

Hi, and welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I have a coffee here in front of me, I really need this one actually today it's been an interesting technology problematic day and Elliot, and I've been trying to connect for a while, but one or two problems, but we've managed to get here at last. So hi, Elliot, you are going to be talking to us today about how to be more giraffe, which I think is a really more really interesting line. I think I'm gonna go, no one's gonna be about but welcome to the podcast, Elliot.

Elliot Kay 00:55

Thank you for having me glad we could sort out the tech problems.

Stuart Webb 01:00

So Elliot, talk to me a little bit about what your ideal client looks like, Who is it you're trying to help?

Elliot Kay 01:08

We work with business owners and entrepreneurs who want to use speaking to position themselves as experts use the stage virtual and off an actual stage to really share the thought leadership to attract the ideal client to grow their business through the use of speaking. We want people who want to stick their neck out, be seen be heard and be more giraffe for the right reasons

Stuart Webb 01:35

to reflect I knew that BQ board your app was going to become quite obvious, quite brilliant. So what are the sorts of problems that these customers of yours these the people you're trying to help have have suffered with before they turned to people like yourself for help?

Elliot Kay 01:54

The problems? I mean, it's interesting, because once you bring speaking, it becomes multi layered. And it does depend a lot on where they're at. But if I was to kind of generalise it, the key problems can start with confidence, the confidence to speak the confidence to sell the confidence to be seen the confidence to deal with judgement, the confidence to manage things when things go wrong. But also it's about the problem of how do you communicate your brand essence your brand message from the stage? There's of course the problem of not having a structure that creates predictable results. The the problem of not being able to get booked, get paid or get booked in the right places. And then there's a problem of how do you speaking to raise your profile to stand out? And guess what be Magiera? Right? So those are some of the kind of generalistic problems there love the clients face? One, two or three of them, some of them all of them, depending where they are when they turned to us to work with us.

Stuart Webb 02:53

And what's the sort of advice that you're giving to them? Is there is there a is there a way that we can sort of understand some of that?

Elliot Kay 03:01

Yeah, of course. I mean, again, I'll kind of go general, right. So if it's a confidence issue, the advice would be depending on what the confidence is. There's always something to fix it. So if it's nerves and things like that there's coping strategies, whether it's NLP, EFT, whether it's hypnosis, whatever it is, there's something and often there's an app for that without saying they can add fat, you know, Apple, but there's apps for things like that. But if it's the confidence to sell, it comes down to a structure that you're comfortable with and being authentic with selling. So again, we'll show them a structure that can work and will show them a way that they can be authentic, because what a lot of people do, is they try and be someone else that sells in a certain way. And again, that's uncomfortable and clunky. If it's about getting booked, getting paid the advice we give them, it's about the packaging, how you package things, how you literally position yourself, the content you put out there. If it's about a structural issue, then it's about Look, here's some structures that can work with you with its storytelling with its signature talk with its keynote. And what we will do is advise on the best structure which will magnify them again, who they are not turn them into robots and people think structure is script. And it's not we're not about scripting, we're about structure slightly different. So that's one of the key advice I would give but the biggest overall advice I say to everybody is this. If you're not standing on stage owning your space, someone else's and I bet they don't care as much as you so if you're not willing to stick your neck out the motor off, then someone else is doing it and they are gaining ground and you're losing ground that's the biggest advice generally when it comes down to using speaking or not to speak or not to speak

Stuart Webb 04:40

nothing put your neck out be more giraffe which is a really great thing. I know that you've got a website which I've just displayed at the bottom of screen which is speaker Express scorecard.co.uk some valuable stuff that you want to just talk us through what that what that what that gives us on that website.

Elliot Kay 04:58

Yeah, you know a lot of people comments that I get no, I'm good. I'm good. I'm good. I'm like, great. Well, Dora assessment, let's see how good you Oh, maybe I'm not good. So basically what it does, it gives us an accurate score of where they are currently with a speaking, it's like 30 Questions takes three minutes. And then they'll get an individual score, which is tailored for them. And an 18 page report, which helps them understand how they can improve whatever area they fall down on. Every now and then we get the 95%, like someone who's just smashing in all areas and great, there's ways we can work with them too. But often, we get kind of between the 5070s. And wherever you are, is perfect. So it's not like a school mark, we're not here to go no to your on your 50. It's just to go look, you're at 50. Here's how to get to 60 or 70 in that space, and it's just easygoing, you know, easy questions. I think they're yes or no is because I don't like complicated things. I just like simplicity, right? And so I made them as simple as I can, and as quick as you can answer them. And it's just a great snapshot, you know, so if you go to that website, Speaker Express scorecard, Dakota, UK, you'll get the download. And you know, if you don't want to hear from us after you get after that ever again, just unsubscribe, no hard feelings, but we will find you No kidding, of course. Yeah, there we go.

Stuart Webb 06:11

I love it. I love it. And it is a valuable resource. But I've had a look at some of it. And I think it's, it's, there are some interesting ways to help you focus on what you're trying to achieve if you get the question. And you've got to be honest with yourself, how many of us that's, that's that's key.

Elliot Kay 06:28

Yeah. Don't don't click Yes, yes, yes. Because you want to feel good about yourself, because that's not an accurate score, you'll get a great score. But it's not where you're really at. And that's the key thing here. You have coffee, I have water.

Stuart Webb 06:40

Earlier, why don't you just taking that water? Let me ask you the next question, which it gives you just chance to sort of, well, hopefully you don't splutter and coughed too much after taking it you should be experienced in drinking water, I guess, as a public speaker, tell me Is there a particular book or concept or programme that's really affected you that you think you'd like to share with the audience?

Elliot Kay 07:03

One of the most effective programmes for me, there's been a couple, obviously, I trained and a mentor for five years, and I became one of the trainers as well. But one of the most recent courses I did was, was a TED to become a TED coach, or, you know, to understand how to construct a TED talk. And to me just going through that training, in terms of how you deconstruct an idea and reconstruct an idea and how you communicate and the different layers of communication to me has been a really impactful insight into how to truly communicate like a thought leader, not just stand there and talk about yourself and look at this, or just, you know, share your story from a place that doesn't empower that if you're gonna take the concept of Ted, which is ideas worth spreading. And when you learn the backs the back, the back, I'm trying to think of when you learn how they do in the background of deconstructing, and then reconstruct, and then communicate it for mass impact. For me, that's been one of the most valuable courses I've attend, attended and done myself in the last two years, is really great, because you know, you can do the online version, and you do get assessed, and you have to submit stuff. So it's not just about watching, you got to think of things yourself. And then as a result of that, when I work with people on their TED talk, so that TEDx is, I've been able to really deep dive and keep to the essence of sharing an idea worth spreading. And to me, that's been the most insightful course I've done recently.

Stuart Webb 08:34

Interesting, interesting, very valuable, very valuable lessons as well, I imagined behind that, because massively, you know, the essence of the TED talk is that it is 20 minutes maximum. And so often, you see really complex ideas, and you wonder how on earth somebody could pack so much value into just 20 minutes, because the essence of it is to just focus on those things, which are going to be most impactful,

Elliot Kay 09:02

right, and all about the essence of the idea worth spreading. And that's the great thing about it's not about how great a speaker you are, it's about how great the idea you speak about. And that's why I loved doing it so much, because it continuously reiterates that, and I was like, because I'm from such a speaking world. It's all about the speaking. And when he lands on it, it's like, no, it's about the idea now Oh, yeah, that's great. So that's why I really loved it that's really, really loved. And of course, you know, if you look at the sort of top 10, TEDx is, Ted, they're all geographie in their nature. So that's why I like it. So,

Stuart Webb 09:37

Elliot, it's been a fascinating short discussion, and the ideas behind it have been fascinating, but I guess there's one question right at the moment that you're thinking, I wish he'd asked that question and so I'm going to give the floor over to you this is my Get Out of Jail Free card only have to think of four interesting questions to ask you. Now I've got a fifth which is what's the question I should have? See? And then obviously, please answer it. Otherwise we'll all be left hanging thinking what was an interesting question, but what's the answer?

Elliot Kay 10:07

I think the key question he should have asked me is, what's the cost? of not using speaking in today's age? Loves

Stuart Webb 10:18

the question. I

Elliot Kay 10:18

love the question. What is the cost of not using speaking today's age? And here's what my answer would be to that. The thing is, we've all moved to an era where we're broadcasters were speakers, you know, if you think about it, if you use Zoom, you're speaking if you use lives, you're speaking if you've got a podcast, you're speaking for us clubhouse, you're speaking, right? If you're doing webinars, whatever you want to call them, we are living in the age of broadcasting. Even if it's written word, you're broadcasting your thought leadership. And one of the greatest ways right now, post pandemic, in the current situation in the environment in the mass uncertainty, to reach out to people to connect with them, for people to get feel for you to really understand who you are, as a brand, as a service as a product is through speaking, right is for standing or sitting on the virtual stage or standing on stage, and people really get a feel for you. There's been a craving for connection and community for the last two years, and you would have known, you would have seen that massive explosion of it over the last two years and how much more people are craving community, one of the greatest ways to build communities to reach communities to touch community's hearts. And it doesn't matter if you're in the tech industry, by the way, or if you're a coach, consultant or trainer and author is through speaking, and the way to convey thought leadership and one of the quickest ways to generate sales and convert them because people get a feel for you is through speaking. So unless you're a coder who has no interest at all, in speaking, unless you're someone who generally doesn't want to do it. If there's an inkling in you that understands how speaking is marketing, how speakings communication, how speaking is leadership, how speaking is something that if you're not doing someone else's, and they're the one winning your business, and they're the one winning your stage diamond, they're the one owning your space, I suggest you step up, stand out, stick your neck out, be more giraffe and get going.

Stuart Webb 12:20

I love the lesson on that earlier. I think it's absolutely brilliant. Absolutely right. There is so much requirement at the moment for connection and authenticity. And there is nothing more authentic with standing in front of the small or large group brand talk to them about their problems and the way that you can help them overcome their problems. So I love the message I love absolutely loving you.

Elliot Kay 12:41

Thank you. Thank you see, that's a question

Stuart Webb 12:47

we could go on, we could go on but we must stop because it's five questions over coffee, not 17 questions over coffee. Elliot Thank you very much for being on. We're gonna be telling everybody that we know about speaker Express scorecard.co UK that speaker Express scorecard.co.uk somewhere down here floating the bottom of the screen is those words and they will be in the show notes. So thank you so much Elliot for being with us. I'm just going to hide it now I pull up another one of those things. Every week we send an email out saying who's coming onto the onto the podcast so that you can join us live get ready for your hear what the sort of comments have got make comments in in the in the chat and work with each other and if you want to get on that mailing list you go to TTA dot FYI that's TTA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, you will then get the opportunity to hear great speakers such as Elliott telling you how to become a greatest speaker and that really brilliant stuff. And I encourage you to do and obviously be more giraffes stick your neck out this week. Be more giraffe work with work with great people like Elliott to take your speaking to the next level. If you're enjoying these, these videos, look at Share, Subscribe to the subscribe to the podcast. Share that with everybody you know because that's the way we help people like Elliott get in front of the people who need to be more durable. So that's it for today. Elliot, thank you very much for being with us. Really appreciate your time. Appreciate we struggled through some technical issues but we got here which is important thing and it helps get the message out to more people. Thank you very much. My pleasure.

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Who is Jürgen?

Jürgen ismaking Marketing and Podcasting Human

Key Takeaways

There are 600 million blogs on the internet but only 1.5 million podcasts - that might be a lot, but a lot less competition
Podcasts are a great way to start conversations with prospects
Transform your business by putting profit first!

Valuable Free Resource or Action

See the resources at https://innovabiz.com.au/flywheelprogram

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Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

conversation, podcast, business, flywheel, relationship, social media, book, post, today, build, newsletter, podcasting, programme, question, process, people, systems, customer, stuart, grow

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Jürgen Strauss

Stuart Webb 00:25

Hello, and welcome back to it's not rocket science, five questions over coffee, I have my coffee to my side, I know you're against got a drink with them as well. So I'm really looking forward to this conversation with you again, you're going to who is going to try and help us to understand how to make podcasting, marketing human, which, you know, as a podcaster and a marketer, I kind of am really enjoying listening to the pearls of wisdom, I'll be as European, it's gonna give to us. So you're welcome to It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee.

Jürgen Strauss 00:55

Thanks, Stuart. It's a real privilege to be here. And I'm really looking forward to our conversation

Stuart Webb 01:00

to reflect so tell me what is the what is the the the ideal client that you're looking for in in in the work that you do?

Jürgen Strauss 01:10

My dream client, business coaches and consultants that work in the technical or manufacturing or healthcare space. So they provide services to those industries. And they're usually looking for. They're looking to grow their business, but they've, they're struggling to get visibility in front of the right audience in front of their dream clients, they're often struggling with putting together a longer term strategy to build their audience build their visibility, and hence grow their business.

Stuart Webb 01:51

Okay, so give me an example of the sort of problems that those people have had and have tripped over before they sort of looked for help in order to overcome some of those problems.

Jürgen Strauss 02:02

Well, often, they have kind of haphazard systems. They try things sporadically. So they might post newsletter and email newsletter. But after a little while, it kind of dies or a lot of people unsubscribe, so they get discouraged, and they stopped doing it. Or they might post on social media. But they put on one post and hope that their dream audience will see that not realising that, it's got to be done a lot more strategically than that, because the social media actually doesn't necessarily put that in front of the audience that they want to get in front of. Also, the follow up systems after that, so if they post something on social media, and somebody clicks through the link, where they go, often, they end up just landing on their website. So the person might be interested in what they've read on that social media post, or in the newsletter. When they get to the website, they think, Ah, okay, now now, what do I do? It's sort of expecting them to think for themselves, rather than taking them on a journey, one of the many customer journeys that people can go on when they click through a link. And all of that strategy is, is missing.

Stuart Webb 03:29

Yeah, it's so often the case, isn't it? Yeah, I get that. Too many times, we sort of broadcast a message and think that's it job done, we're not gonna get to that article. You know, social media is great, but it allows you to build a relationship, but that relationship is what gets you the customer Not, not the initial message, it's the ability to, to build that relationship, find out more about that person, work to understand their problem, and then actually sort of work on a solution to their problem, rather than just, hey, here I am. I'm expecting you to land me with an order. I often I often, I don't know about you, but I often talk to my clients about the fact that so often that you know, if we were talking imagine a person sort of, you know, the most attractive person you can think of knocking on the door, and then being there on bended knee with a ring in your hand saying you marry me, but chances are they're going no, I want to I want to go on a date, at least one first. Business owners think that actually, we're just going to propose marriage and our customers are gonna go Yeah, why not? I want to enter into a lifetime agreement with you. We've got a date that haven't we we've got to show them. Show them a good time first, maybe invite them dinner? I don't know.

Jürgen Strauss 04:36

Yeah, that's right. That's I think that metaphor comes from Mark Schaefer. And he's in what's his book called, but he's philosophy is the most human company wins. But I like to say that all of those things are really starting a conversation. Yeah, yeah. It's as if you meet somebody on the street. And you say, Hello, Stuart. How are you? Where are you headed today? I see you're taking your dog out for a walk. So those are the kinds of things that people will have conversations about if they meet on the street. And then continuing those conversations will build some sort of relationship. So in that instance, it might be, Hey, let's go have a coffee. We might become friends, maybe I've got a dog as well. So we have conversations about things that we discover are in common. I think, posting on social media or sending out newsletters or whatever the engagement, whatever the connection point is online, should be looked at as starting a conversation or if there's already a conversation ongoing, taking that conversation to the next level. And I'm very strong on bringing people from social media, which is somebody else's platform, into your own ecosystem to continue that conversation.

Stuart Webb 05:56

Yeah, Agree. Agree. So is there have been a particular book or concept that's helped to? Sorry? No, we need to come to question three first, which is that valuable free resource, and I must now bring up my banner, which shows that valuable free resource, which I know you've got some great stuff here on the innovate the, you know, in V's dot com.au. website, so no, bs.com got a gosh, there are so many syllables in, you're gonna read

Jürgen Strauss 06:26

hard to say, innovation and business, just marry those two together. I should have thought of it. So what Yeah, well, what we have there in that URL that scrolling across the bottom is our flywheel programme, which is the entire process for our podcasting, production, setting up a new podcast, producing a podcast, and then leveraging that podcast, and leveraging it in the way that it ultimately leads to business. And that's a little bit different than what typically people might think usually, people think of podcasts, if they're not doing it themselves. If they're looking at it from the outside, they think of podcasts, and they think we can get sponsorship, or we can get advertising. But that's not really where the the gains are. Or if you want to go down that route. There's it's very hard work, and not a lot of reward for that hard work. So we have a whole set of processes, how to build relationships with people upfront how to have an awesome experience with guests that we bring on the show how to have an awesome relationship and present awesome content to our listeners, how to then take those relationships with the guests with the listeners. And also when we go on other people's shows like this one, how we take and grow those conversations into ongoing relationships and how they can then build into it might be directly business, it might be partnerships, it might be referrals, it might be a bunch of those different things. And all of that is part of that flywheel programme. It's a it's a essentially an audio book that covers every one of the 12 steps of our process.

Stuart Webb 08:17

Excellent stuff. Excellent stuff. So is there a particular book or concept that's really sort of helped to cement your business knowledge and has brought you to the point where you are today? Well,

Jürgen Strauss 08:27

that was a hard question for me to sort of think about either. I'm always reading books, and I'm always discovering new books and thinking, Wow, that's great. And usually the book I'm reading right now is the one that is front of mind, but then I reflected back on us or what's something that has had a real impact. And I have to say Mike McCalla wits, his books, and particularly his book Profit First and his system about profit first totally transformed the way I run the financials in my business. And before that, I was really overspending at times, and losing track of paying myself and paying profit and his philosophy totally transformed that and now, you know, we we know exactly what's happening financially, I get paid first, the profit goes next, will attack us tax goes first, but then it's paying me and paying the profit. And then what's left is what we can spend on operating expenses. And so we know we've got to keep our operating expenses below that number. So that's really had a big impact on how we run the financials. His other books also, I mean, the one that that I really love is the Pumpkin Plan. It kind of covers so many different aspects from process from marketing from being unique from being innovative. So that one I'll highlight is Well, but all of his books are fantastic. So he's got a whole bunch of them that kind of all come together as a as a system, in fact, and his latest one is fix this next, which is kind of addresses kind of is almost like an umbrella over all the other books that he has where he talks about clockwork as the one where he talks about systems and processes. The Pumpkin Plan is more about marketing and being unique and fixing the core of the business. And then he's got surge, which is a little bit more about customer, customer interactions, customer relationships, I've

Stuart Webb 10:42

not come across those that so I'm going to put those on the reading list. You can actually get to those immediately after this. Well, maybe a little bit later today. But I should get to those on the list. So final question. And it's now the time that I step back and allow you to sort of do all the hard work. So there's, there's got to be a question that you've been thinking to yourself. I wish he'd asked me about what is the question you wish I had asked you? And then tell us the answer to that question. Yeah.

Jürgen Strauss 11:10

There's probably a couple that come to mind. I'll go with the is it too late to start a podcast? Yeah. People, people that haven't got a podcast yet. Or you know, I think this applies to video channel as well. But I have some statistics around podcasting. The lot of people say, well, it's too late to start a podcast there's people have been podcasting for? Well, I've been podcasting for eight years, and we've got over 500 episode, there's people that have been podcasting a lot longer than I have, and I've got 1000 or more episodes, so it's too late to get in is kind of the conventional wisdom. And I say, Well, no, it's not. Because there's about one to one and a half million active podcasts, all across the internet. It sounds like a big number. But it's actually not a big number. Because when you consider blogging, blog posts that people still jump on board today and still recognise the value of blog posts. There, you're competing. Over 600 million blogs, on the internet, you're competing with that number. So if you consider writing a blog post, and starting up a blog, you're competing with 600 million others. If you start a podcast, you're competing with one to one and a half million others active.

Stuart Webb 12:45

You know, they always say you know, when's the best time to plant a tree 20 years ago, the second best time today. So podcasts are a bit like trees, I guess they produce similar results. This, they're the ones that grow and they build the audience. So, people if you hadn't started a podcast 20 years ago, then today is the right time to start a podcast and you're going this has been a brilliant conversation. And you know, as a fellow podcaster I really appreciate the fact that the two of the one and a half million have managed to find a time to speak together, which is a great thing to do. And, obviously, we look forward to getting onto the flywheel programme and seeing what you've got there. If you would like to find out more about what I'm up to, and get an email from me ahead of the recording of these broadcasts so that you can watch live and ask questions we've had people watching today. I can see they've already liked the conversation, which is great news. So they're on Facebook liking this and that's brilliant. But if you'd like to get that email and know exactly what we're doing when we're doing it, go to TC aid or FYI, that's TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe at TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe that gets you on to the newsletter list. And we send you an email on a Monday basically saying who's coming on today and what's going on this week? So please do that. You're gonna It's been absolutely fantastic having a few moments with you.

Jürgen Strauss 14:08

enjoyed our conversation?

Stuart Webb 14:09

Yeah, we're just chill for one and a half million there are other people out there. As they would say in all those neutral channels. There are other podcasts available. Go check them out. So yeah, good. Thanks very much for being on. Really appreciate you spending a bit of time with us today. Thanks, Jordan.

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Who is Amy?

Emma helps creative people get to their next level of business success through accountability, business and strategy coaching. Her coaching work often centres around confidence building, mindset work and designing strategies to move people from where they are to where they want to be.

Key Takeaways

If you can explain what you d in a simple way that a child can understand - you can explain it to a business owner in a memorable way
If you are unable to explain the thing you do you may feel that your work is not useful and that is not true
Embrace rejection, because we know that, sometimes when we hear something negative or something constructive, we take it as Oh, arms up, shields up! We have to fight or be defensive or run away. And really, it's about just hearing what the other person has to say, and then you can figure out what to do with it after that which is growth.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

One free week at https://www.milkcratemastermind.com/

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

Join The Complete Approach Facebook Group : https://TCA.fyi/fb

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Work with me privately

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

milk crate, talk, mastermind, programme, give, amy, business owners, feedback, elevator pitch, third grader, audience, working, great, vulnerability, coaches, coffee, question, people, messaging, words

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Amy Lanci

Stuart Webb 00:00

Hi Hi, and welcome again. It's not rocket science Friday. Coffee, I'm here actually not the topic. Right at the moment, I've got some water in front of me because I've had probably way too much coffee already.

Amy Lanci 00:35

I hope you're feeling good. If you got your coffee were there and I actually got my tea. It's a it's a, it's a mix of green tea and peppermint tea. Wow, that sounds very calming, I'm sure that's short. It's not what I need rather than

Stuart Webb 00:48

calming. So I'm here with Amy Latty. Amy is a communications consultant who has a real sent simple mission. She wants to help you to tell your story so that you can honour the life you've lived and tell the world about it in the way to activate your know, like trust factor and coal and cover the gold brimming with energy, which I think is a wonderful aim, Amy. And so let's start with my usual question to you, you know, who is the person that you're trying to reach with that message I'm trying to work with, the person that I'm trying to reach or that message are someone who's a coach or a consultant of various of any industry, really, someone who is trying to rise above the noise. And the reason why I paid to this target market is because I know that there's a lot of there are a lot of coaches, and my very first business was as a health coach, and I failed in that business, knowing that there were a lot of health coaches, and there were a lot of coaches. And it was just really hard to rise above the noise. And it was also really hard for me at the time to articulate. What is it that what was it that I really did, and the way that people understood in a way that stood out to? So the person I'm really looking for people who struggle with what do you do? Like, how do you how do you answer that? It's something that causes a lot of anxiety and people. Yeah, it's tough, isn't it? I was having a conversation only this morning with somebody that was was struggling. And you know, the, the one thing that they were struggling to do was to be succinct about what they did. They couldn't they couldn't talk. I mean, in fact, we ended up and it took him two hours to explain what he did. And eventually I boiled it down to about about three sentences. He went, Yeah, that's it, though. Okay. But it's taken you two hours to explain it. That's too long. If somebody wants to get to know you quickly, isn't it two hours is just too much. You've got to, you've got to know that it's such a way that you can actually explain it fairly succinctly.

Amy Lanci 02:49

Yeah, know, exactly. You gotta be able to explain it in you know, 30 seconds, one minute, two minutes. I mean, even one sentence, the biggest messaging lesson I ever learned was from a friend of mine, who is a voice and messaging coach, and she did this years ago, she said, Amy, if you can tell a third grader, what you do, that would be amazing. And so I remember sitting in the car with her for 10 minutes, I was completely silent. And I just finally said, I help business owners find the right words to describe what they do. And then she looked at me, she said, bingo, I was like, Okay. I love it. So that really leads us to the sort of second question around me, which is what is what is it that those business owners have tried to do on their own, and have not necessarily succeeded as well as they might with with, with that sort of help you give them they try to come up with a really impressive elevator pitch. So they will and when when I mean, impressive, I mean, you know, it'll, it'll have all kinds of flowery language. And really, when it comes down to it, it looks like a five minute commercial in a 32nd time slot. So in their mind, the more words they add, the more impressive they sound, and really, the last people within the first 10 seconds, so you know, that that's, that's an issue because, you know, if they're in a, they're in a room, you know, things are opening up now. So if they're in our actual room, or if they're in a Zoom Room, or everyone is giving the elevator pitch, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And you're one of the people who are just starting a lot of words. People are not gonna remember you, unfortunately. And then they're looking at networking groups being like, I don't know, networking groups are really my thing. I don't know if I really should be here. And you know, the truth is that, you know, depending on the group, obviously, you know, your people could be there and they could not be there. But the most important thing is that if People are not coming to you to talk to you after you give your elevator pitch, even if they end up being a business colleague and not a prospect. There's something going on there and then you end up. You end up talking about your business in a silo in a vacuum, and then you're wondering why, why is nothing working? Maybe I'm not meant to do this. And then that gets a dangerous territory. Oh, I'm gonna probably give up on my dream. It's like, no, don't do that. Don't do that. You just need to seek help. Yeah, yeah, no, I love it. So and this is where I hope you're gonna you're gonna talk us through something that's really quite wonderful here. You have got a you've got to, you've got to, you've got to, you've got to like from one of the previous guests on the on the podcast from ad lib, riada, Whirlpool, who's watching us at the moment. And she's just she's just loving what you're saying. I suspect that something that Aiden really does resonate with, because she does a lot of great vocal coaching as well if you if you're serious, but but I know you've got a great free resource that I'd like to sort of just talk about now, which is, which is now going across the bottom of the screen. And that's from milk crate mastermind. Do you want to just talk us through what's that valuable free resource that you've got to build great mastermind. So essentially, Melkor a mastermind. It's a membership programme that I started about a year ago. And it's a it's a safe space, where business owners can can work on their messaging in a group setting. And so while it is a membership programme, I allow everyone to come for one meeting, as a guest, you know, with free of charge, so that way, they can just check us out and see what our process is. And I feel like I need to take a moment Stuart to talk about why did I name them mastermind the milk crate, because I know we're gonna be real, like, that's not sexy. That's not pretty. Like, why did you name after some objects that we store things in, and that we use as a stepping stool sometimes. And the reason why I needed that is because two years before I started the mastermind, I had a vision of someone standing on a milk crate in a public square. And when they were standing on that no crate, it, they were using it as if it was the real stage. And they were speaking the heart out. And it was just, it was just an emphasis that my mission in life is to make sure that people are heard. And so I went on to create a few different other programmes before I actually jumped on this vision because I was given no instruction manual whatsoever. And then, and then I recognised that when I went to networking groups, and I noticed that people would say that elevator pitches are talking about what they did. And it was a complete, it basically is the arena, like people are going to either react or not react. And then when you're left wondering how to change elevator pitch, and when you see that people don't resonate, you don't know, you don't know how you don't know how to change it, you know, because no one's actually coming up to you saying, I love what you said about this. But I wish he had talked about this not as many people are going to do that maybe that some good samaritan will. But most people will say, or whoever they want to talk to that person. And so I created the mastermind to be that practice arena to be that place where someone can answer the questions that we asked them, and then answer to the best of our ability without judgement. And then we as the facilitators, and the other participants can give that real time feedback of, hey, you know what, I really liked it when you said this. But this other thing you said, made it really confusing. So maybe you don't mention that part. Or maybe just say this part in a different way. It said that that's the value that we bring as a mastermind as a whole because we give that real time feedback, because that's what we are designed for.

Stuart Webb

I think that's a brilliant, that's a brilliant safe space. I love those ideas. Because, you know, we so often, you know, if you can, if you can, if you can just allow yourself to be exposed to some friends who will give you that honest feedback. And so often we go to people who are friends and contacts and they won't necessarily tell us the complete truth but actually, if you get to a group of people like that, who are all building each other up and try to learn from each other, you can get some really good honest feedback that you will be able to use and so long as it's taken in the right way. I think that's absolutely brilliant. It's wonderful. And I as soon as I saw milk crate I got it I knew what you were trying to say with milk crate it's obvious when you think about it is a stepping stone it's a stepping stone for growth far far greater thing so explain why milk crate I think milk crates are sexy I really do. I love that we should make that to mean like just just is there a particular book or concept or, or programme of activities? which has really inspired you that you think you should like to pass on to the audience watching and listening.

Amy Lanci

I love that you had this question as part of the interview, because what came up immediately was Brene Brown's TED talk the power of vulnerability, because and then the reason why that popped up was because it's been so influential in my life, as someone who was always emotionally sensitive. You know, I always thought that was not a great thing growing up, because it made me it made me vulnerable to other people. And then therefore, I that was a bad thing. But then when I saw Brene, Brown's, the power of vulnerability. For me personally, it was like, Oh, I feel so vindicated. Now, like, I feel like I have a superpower. And then also just when we are working on ourselves, when we are working on a communication, it's not just words, and not just projection, not just delivery, it is all of that. But really, to be able to communicate, you have to be willing to have a certain degree of vulnerability. Because that vulnerability, you allow people to see the human side of yourself. So often, we think that, Oh, if I put on this mask, and it's a wall, then people are going to like the wall and like me enough, that we're all going to move forward. And, you know, business is business, but people don't trust you, they can't see the person that you are, they're not going to take a chance on you. And so there does need to be a certain degree of vulnerability when it comes to communicating to your audience. And also, when you're working on your message, when you're working on what do you do, you have to be vulnerable enough to be willing to accept feedback from other people, because that's another thing like sometimes feedback is hard to receive. But if it's coming from a place of truth is coming from people who are really rooting for you. And also, if you're able to embrace that rejection, then it's easier to see, okay, this is what I need to work on and then grow from there. You know, it's, it's, it's, it's sometimes difficult as business owners, for us to put our, our ego to one side and accept those, that feedback, you know, we often we often don't want to seem vulnerable, but actually, to use feedback as a positive to use it as a way to say, you know, you don't make mistakes, you just learn. One thing is, you know, if you if you ever sort of, if you ever, if you ever just allow a failure or something like that, to pull you down, you've used it in the wrong way, you need to allow failure, or you need to allow feedback to be the thing that makes you grow, once you've done that, but that's a huge step forward. It really is. And that's actually the second principle in Millcreek, you know, embrace rejection, because we know that, you know, sometimes when we hear something negative or something constructive, we take it as Oh, arms up, shields up, we, you know, we have to fight or be defensive or run away. And really, you know, it's about just hearing what the other person has to say, and then you can figure out what to do with it after that that alone is growth. Absolutely, absolutely. I like that. That's about growth. So, you know, I, I've asked you, I've asked you questions. And and I guess, right at the moment, there's one question that you're thinking, Well, you know, he really should ask a much better question than what these are so far, so. So what is the question you would like me to have asked you, which I haven't? And then once you've asked that question, how would you like to answer it? So one question that I wish you would have asked me when it came up earlier was, you know, how does someone go about talking about what they do such that a third grader would understand? And what I had to say to that is, you know, in order to put that together, you got to think about okay, first think about the audience. And when you think about your audience, what is a title you can give them that is at most one or two words. So in my in my case, it said, business owners, or you could say coaches, or you can say consultants, so that way it forces you to name the audience with one or two words. And then think about what is the ultimate problem that they are struggling with? So, for me, it was okay, people are really struggling with figuring out what they do. So describing that is tough, right? They don't know. They don't know how to say that into words. So if you're thinking about your audience, like what is the problem that there's that is number one on their mind. And so if you just go able to say I help or some verb, and then the audience and then the problem, then you get that third grade statement.

Stuart Webb 15:10

Great way of breaking it down. I love it. Amy, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. It's not rocket science by questions over coffee. I'm just going to finish by saying, If you a bit like eating just now where we're wanting to be able to get hold of advanced notice of when we have great people like Avi on the call so that you can pop in, maybe ask questions or make comments. In real time. You can subscribe to our mailing list and that's it. TC a dot FYI, that's TC a dot FYI, forward slash, subscribe that gets you onto the list so that each Tuesday when we do these, I give you an email, let you know who's coming on and so that you can prepare and you can come and listen. And you get to meet wonderful people like Amy. Amy, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us here on it's not rocket science. Five questions over coffee. Thank you so much for for telling us about some of the great tips. really look forward to seeing how many people get into that milk crate mastermind and improve their message so much better.

Amy Lanci 16:18

Thank you so much, Stuart. This is awesome. Thank you

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Who is Emma?

Emma helps creative people get to their next level of business success through accountability, and business and strategy coaching. Her coaching work often centres around confidence building, mindset work and designing strategies to move people from where they are to where they want to be.

Key Takeaways

you've got to find your audience, and market to those people. You can't please everybody.
Your greatest success is likely when you share work that was very personal to you and had a very strong message that you are passionate about. But that takes quite a lot of courage to show up like this, because obviously, you leave yourself vulnerable to somebody saying, oh, that's awful. I hate it, which rarely actually happens.
"I was firefighting effectively with my business until I got to the point where I kind of hit a wall and I knew I needed to change something but I had absolutely no idea what to do. And I got help. Within six months, I had literally tripled my business income and was actually doing some really good work". That help got my business where it needed to be.

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

people, business, creative, work, coach, emma, question, problem, big, brilliant, niche, authentically, market, point, valuable, run, important, person, specialists, julia cameron

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Emma O'Brien

Stuart Webb 00:00

Okay Hi, and welcome back to it's not rocket science. Five questions over coffee. I have my coffee here with me. It's been a good morning so far. Mr. I know you're you've just had a quick slow bustle that just before we started here was great and it took us about a dog. I'm sure we might get into some of that. But anyway, welcome to the to the podcast, Emma is a is a professional photographer and has been for the last 18 years, and is now also coaching other creative by helping them build sustainable, successful businesses around their unique passions, talents and skill sets. And I'm really excited about this. Because I think that's a really great subject, Emma, welcome to It's not rocket science. Five questions over coffee. Thank you very much for having me stir. It's lovely to Lovely to meet you and connect with you. Terrific. So so let's start with the obvious first question. So what is the sort of the describe those sort of talented, creative individuals that you're helping to coach at the moment? Yeah, so I think I'm obviously as a creative myself and haven't been doing it for so long. And there are a few kind of key things that come up for creative people, I think a lot of, you know, photographers and musicians and writers decide to start a business around their talents. And they're super good at the creative bit, but not so much at the business part of it. And it's almost something that gets in the way about, you know, now I have to work out how to market my work. So I think given I've been running a business for so long, that's where my my expertise comes in and been able to support creative people to run the business side of things. And also to get past the mindset blocks that come up with being a creative and then selling your creativity effectively for a living, which can be very challenging for people that brings up all sorts of impostor syndrome and all sorts of other things, which I coach people around as well. So I've kind of it's quite a multifaceted

Emma O'Brien 02:31

skill set that I've developed in helping other other creative people with their businesses, I think you've kind of gone into it, but you're starting to sort of explore those, those those problems about sort of somebody who has a creative view of of their business, about the things they try and do to market. And I know, it's often something that my own background being as a scientist, I deal with people who are probably very technically competent. And they they suffer with the ability to sort of not understand how the rest of the world can't understand the way they see their business. And to help them to explain that you need to put it into language, which other people necessarily sort of uncertain. Do you want to just give us a little bit more background on some of that sort of, you know, where are those those hurdles that they try to overcome and somehow don't quite manage in the way that you can help them to unlock? Yeah, so I think a big thing for for creative people, is the kind of taking up space almost and the belief in themselves that it's okay for me to share my work and sell my work. And it's okay for me to make a decent living from from what I do. That's one piece. And I think it's this slight lack of confidence that holds people back, I see a lot of, I'll have people come to me, and they'll say, I'm stuck. And I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do. First, you'll have people who tend to try and market blanket market to everybody, which is you'll be able to relate to with your techy people, you've got to find your audience, and and kind of market to those people. You can't please everybody. And I think it's helping people to understand how to do that. And for me, I think the best way to do that is to actually just show up and authentically Be your Self. And that's actually quite hard to do because it involves being quite vulnerable and involves kind of really creative work is often very personal stuff that people are making. And sometimes it's easier to make work that's like other people's because we can kind of hide behind that but I know from my own in my own creative career, my own photography career. It really started to take off when I started to make and share work that was very personal to me and I had a very had a very strong message that I was passionate about. That's what connected my work to people. But that takes quite a lot of courage to show up like this. Because obviously you leave yourself vulnerable to somebody saying, oh, that's awful. I hate it, which has never actually happened to me. And I'm so it's so it doesn't happen, you know, but it's a big fear that we all sit with. Yeah, no, I think there are two things immediately struck me as you were talking about one of which is, you know, I think the one thing that, you know, all business owners, whether they be creative, or technical or whatever, often say, and I find very frustrating in my own

Stuart Webb 05:39

mentoring career is the fact that you turn around so So who's, who are the person who is the person who is your ideal customer, and they'll say, anybody, and we all know that anybody is always the wrong answer, because it's far too broad. And that and the closer you can niche down, as you were saying, the closer you can get to the one person that you're trying to speak to, the closer you will be, and the easier you'll find it to market your business to them. And the other thing, which I find so frustrating, actually, about all of this is people who sort of insist on, you know, I'm just trying to get the word out to everybody. And if I shout louder across the noise, I'll eventually start picking up the customers and you think it's never it's never that problem. It's never the sort of revenue type problem there. It's nearly always sort of, you know, if you can actually sort of clearly identify the problem the person has that you're trying to reach. And then you could just just offer them that solution to the problem. They're gonna snatch it out of your hand, you're gonna stop selling, and they're going to be begging you for it. And people start to looking at you go, but that might only be sort of five people. I go, Okay, well, actually, those are the five people that you've said you want for your business, all we've got to do now is find them. And that's it. That's the problem, isn't it?

Emma O'Brien 06:54

Yes. Yeah. It's figuring out I think it's, and it'll be what you're doing as well with your your coaches is helping people figure out where the market is, and how do we speak to them? And how do we get in front of them. And I think sometimes people are afraid to niche because they're afraid that they're going to lose customers by specialising and I think, so I'd be interested to hear your experience with it. But I found that the more specialists you get, the more you are seen as an expert, and then you become sought after. And then you can actually you can charge more, because you are the go to person. And it takes time to do that. Sorry, I've got a dog rustling round in the corner. She's still now and I think it's but it often takes I think it takes a period of time to get to that point. And you've got to be prepared to, I think go with the flow of the business and allow it to unfold a little bit, there has got to be a stretch always got to be a strategy. But I think there has to be a degree of flexibility with it. You know, so I've been doing it for a long time. And it took me by accident, finding my niche, actually, as a photographer totally, totally by accident. And once I found that I kind of hit the ground running. And actually, if I look back on my my career, it also took me over a decade to start working with a coach and it would have been so much easier if I'd done it sooner.

Stuart Webb 08:27

I've come across that so often. And so many people turn around and say, Why didn't I do this at the beginning rather than at the end? And because you know, I've spent 15 years I know somebody said it to me recently, I've spent 15 years trying to build my business. If I could have done this 14 years ago, I'd have had 14 years, much easier life and you go Yeah, that's kind of like everybody, but we all, you know, somehow we all sort of somehow think that we can solve the problem on our own, don't we? And we just need to. And you know, I'm a I'm a business coach, and I've got a coach and I only realised I needed a business coach after I started coaching somebody and thought, I need somebody to talk to him. I need somebody to sort of critique some of my stuff. And hey, why have I not thought of this before? Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It's been invaluable to me. I mean, I kind of look I was doing okay for a decade, but it was it was it was meandering along, but there was no,

Emma O'Brien 09:23

I was firefighting effectively with it until I got to the point where I kind of hit a wall and I knew I needed to change something but I had absolutely no idea what to do. And getting that help. Within six months, I had literally tripled my business income half my client base and was actually doing some really good creative work. Because I think a lot of people get stuck in almost this starving artist myth of you know, it has to be difficult and I have to take on every job and this comes back to that point of we were talking about specialists I think sometimes you have to pick a lane and get in it and get on with it and stop trying to, you know, have clients everywhere, because, you know, it's kind of that that phrase, you know, jack of all trades master of none. And then there is another part to it, which nobody quotes but, but I just think it's, it's so true. And sometimes we need a little bit of help to, to be brave enough to kind of to really, to really go for it,

Stuart Webb 10:30

I love I love the way you putting it, I love the way you putting it. So has there been a particular book or concept or something which has enabled you to sort of crystallise all of this and really sort of move your business forward.

Emma O'Brien 10:46

I am a very big reader so I could share a whole library of books with you I'm forever reading stuff so I think for creative with creative people in mind the artists way by Julia Cameron is a very a very nice book resource to have because there's a lot in there she talks about nurturing your creativity which I think is super super important for if you're effectively earning a living from your creative vision another two here that I have got is your you're a badass at making money by Jensen Cerro she does have an acquired humour taste. But I think she's brilliant and the way she writes this is fantastic. And also an Ariana Huffington thrive. And because I think another thing might, from my own personal experience, I I was at the point of burnout and I started working with a coach, I'd let myself get to the point of working myself into an oblivion. And, and actually think it's so important to remember why we run our businesses. We don't, we shouldn't be living to work, we should be working to live. And I think it's, it's so often forgotten, especially when you run your own business, you can get so engrossed in it, that nothing else exists. And it's if you wear yourself out, you you reduce your ability to make a living, so we have to look after the earthly vehicle. And and we'd be mindful of our of our health and everything as well.

Stuart Webb 12:21

You've given us some great content, Emma, and I'm really hopeful that, that there's a valuable free action that we're coming to that you're gonna be able to, I think, I think it's here at at your website, and I just, I just say it, it will be in the show notes for everybody. And it'll be it'll be attached to it. But then you can describe to us what is the valuable for resource at creative success dot coach forward slash confident hyphen creative. So as creative success dot coach, forward slash confident, hyphen, creative, tell us what's a valuable free action or valuable free resource that we can we can pick up there, which will enable us all to sort of understand a little bit more how to push our businesses forward.

Emma O'Brien 12:59

Yeah, so it's a free mini a free five part mini course that I've created, literally addressing the big issues that I have a lot of my coaching clients come to me with. So it's tips on defining your ideal client pricing your work properly, how to show up authentically as you and why that's important for your business. There's a module in there on dealing with procrastination, because that's a big one for a lot of people. And just have a bit of care of my notes. Yeah. And it's just just about how to kind of push to use these tools to push your business forward. And, and the value of being you and how you know how saleable that is, when you're running your own business.

Stuart Webb 13:42

I love that. I love that. And I'm going to, I'm going to be very cheeky, I'm going to go on to that page any minute. Now. I've had a look around already this morning, as you can imagine, but I should go to that page, I should get something myself because I think it's a valuable, really valuable free, free resource, which is a hugely, hugely valuable for those people that are doing exactly what you're describing. Well, I've done I've done a little bit of asking questions at the moment, Emma and I, I guess there is one question right at the moment, you're thinking he's failed to ask me this, because that's the real key that I need him to ask in order to be able to sort of to explain my thinking and to get across what it is that I'm here about. So what's the question that you wish I had asked you? And then once you've asked the question, what do you want answer it for us?

Emma O'Brien 14:29

So this is this is very, very interesting one to ponder on. So I think the question is, what is the key to creative success? And there's a question and my answer would be you have to just start where you are. So often, people are like, I'm going to wait until I've got a bigger better camera or I'm going to wait until I've done another course or I'm going to do it next month. You will never be ready. Just start What

Stuart Webb 15:01

do you know, it's a very, that is a brilliant, brilliant lesson. And I think it's one that we all need to take on board. A mentor of mine many years ago, said to me, a poor sales message out in the world is better than the brilliant one that you're still crafting Three years later, you will always, always find some reason that you're not ready to start. And I guarantee that you're never quite as good as just giving it a go and starting to learn from the experience of having given it a go. So I know it's a brilliant message ever. I love that absolutely love it. I thank you very much for reminding us of it again.

Emma O'Brien 15:42

It's important, it's it's just, it's it's kind of how I've managed to do stuff is is to just go I've had an idea I'm going to execute and I'm there's something I'm very good at. Not always so good at the finishing, I'm very good at the kind of executing, then halfway through. I'm like, Oh, is this a good idea.

Stuart Webb 16:05

So always, you know, it's very, very important to remember, you'd never ever fail, you just have an open job opportunity to learn, you know, if something doesn't work, well, okay. What did you what worked and what didn't and just do it again. You never fail, you just have another opportunity to learn.

Emma O'Brien 16:25

That's the I love that that piece of, of using failure as a signpost rather than a means to beat yourself around the head is to look at it and go, alright, this didn't work this time. It's working for other people. So what do I need to change here? And to just incrementally change something and keep going, because if somebody else is doing it and making it work, it's it's a proven idea. It's a proven product, it's a proven, whatever. You're just missing something missing. And it's just you've got to keep tweaking, and it's a journey. It's and I think that's how you've got to we've got to see life and business. It's a journey. And you know, you guys gotta

Stuart Webb 17:09

absolutely love it. Listen, no, this has been a really fascinating discussion. Thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us talking. I think I think some of the stuff you've got absolutely fantastic. And if you're watching this and thinking, Well, I'd love to sort of spend a bit more time listening to some of these interviews, we do get onto the mailing list, and then you get an email on a morning of the talks that we do so that you can join live. And what's really interesting people like like the creative success coach that we've got in front of us this morning era, and you can get onto that mailing list by going to TC a dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, that's TTA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe. Emma, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us today at it's not rocket science. Really appreciate some of the stuff you brought to us. I look forward to seeing people downloading that, that that cheat sheet that you've got that mini course that will give us so much valuable insight into the way in which we can run our businesses and and we will really will love to see some more I've just seen here. Ivan has just sent us a comment. He's got another book that you might like to check out the win without pitching manifesto, which I should go check out that that's a really interesting one. Thank you either very much for that. Emma, thank you so much for being on with us this morning. Really looking forward to to seeing some of your stuff and see you again soon.

Emma O'Brien 18:39

Thank you very much for having me. It's been great to do it.

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Who is Sian?

Sian is a Sustainable Success Coach and her mission is to support female business owners to create a sustainable business where People, Planet & Profit are key and to do that we know aligning yourself personally is the only way you can lead. We also know that it has to be FUN!! so we have created an exciting fun-filled journey of discovery to help you get curious about the benefits of aligning you and your business with a sustainable future and the SDG Goals

Key Takeaways

Increasing numbers of customers (up 330% ) are looking for proof you as a business owner are acting sustainably.
A recent survey of over 70 Female business owners say they feel overwhelmed, not knowing what would be the best place to start. This is a major problem for them proving that they are sustainable.
Sustainability can save money - a water hippo in your system reduces the amount of water that you use by 30%. And that reduces your water bill. That's one quick, easy win.

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

sustainable, small businesses, business, sdg, journey, survey, business owners, sean, sustainably, discounts, goals, solve, love, hippo, tca, inspired, problem, water, shawn, sustainable development goals

SPEAKERS

Sian Young, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb 00:24

Hi, and welcome to another episode of it's not rocket science, five questions over coffee. I've just taken a big swig of coffee and very nearly spilt it. So that was probably a bad thing to do immediate before recording one of these. I'm here today with Sean Young Sean runs a sustainable business coaching business, which we're going to get into in a little while. Shawn, welcome to the podcast. Oh, you're looking forward to this? Yeah, thank you. It's no problems. So Shawn, just just in a few short words, who were who were the people you're trying to help? Well, the people I'm helping our ethical business women, basically small businesses, entrepreneurial females who are killing it out there in business. And what's the problem that those ethical business women face that they try to solve without any help? And you've seen them make those, those those errors, which they're sort of not quite nailing?

Sian Young 01:26

Well, the problem is the need to prove that they are operating in a sustainable way, especially in today's market. It's like 300. What's it 330% of customers, increasing customers looking for sustainable proof you as a business owner, and it's just like hit businesses. It shouldn't have hit businesses, because sustainability issues have been going on a long time. But small businesses have kind of been out of the loop for so long. It's all been big, high strategy, corporate stuff. And now, like, where do you start? I am I done a survey recently of over 70 Female business owners and overwhelm, and then overwhelming to apathy. And not knowing what would be the best place to start is a major problem for them proving that they are sustainable.

Stuart Webb 02:21

I love the fact that you've done a survey, that's really good news, because too many people do this by gut feel you've actually got some some actual hard evidence that this is a, this is something that is a problem and needs solving. Yeah, it's not just that I done that survey that I've completed. But I'm also co founder of the Centre for Sustainable action. And we done a survey with American Society for Quality. And this survey as well showed that less than 3% of business owners have a sustainable strategy. Like, and like you said, like, it's hard evidence that I work from is research that I work from. So I'm not just coming up with all these fantastical ideas and saying, let's do it. This is this is real research now and other research I've done as well shows that if you can prove you're sustainable, you can reduce your costs by being sustainable, which we can go into further.

Sian Young 03:23

I've saved 21,000 pounds a year, no, in three years by living sustainably, and you can save costs in business by running sustainably, you can attract more loyal customers. And you can also interact green investment because there is a lot of money being put into green investment now and I don't want the female business owners that I know run ethically minded businesses to miss out on all that funding and all that opportunity. So that's why I'm doing what I do. That's really good evidence. You can give us some more of that that information about how you save that money. I think that would be something of great interest to to the audience. So what do you see in business that's helped save money by operating sustainably? Yeah, I'm gonna tell you something, right. And you're gonna be like, Oh my god, that is so simple. Like, why didn't I think of it? Like some of the things are very simple like a water a hippo? Have you heard of water hippo?

Stuart Webb 04:24

I have. I have.

Sian Young 04:26

Yeah, so a water hippo in your system reduces the amount of water that you use by 30%. And that reduces your water bill. That's one quick, easy win that

Stuart Webb 04:39

do you just want to explain what a water hippo is for anybody who doesn't know what they are? Yeah,

Sian Young 04:43

a water hippo is. It's a bag basically essentially a bag. In the olden days we used to just put a brick in a plastic bag in the toilet. It's you put it in the system where you flush and it displaces a lot of the water. That means when the water fills up again It doesn't use as much for each flush. So imagine if you have a small business and you have small offices, and you multiply that effect. I mean, that statistic I said was one toilet if you're working from home. But if you have a small office, and you do that in every system, you've saved a lot of money by the end of the year. And then there's simple things like switching out your, your light bulbs to all energy saving ones, I'm sure we've heard of this one. But this one actually is a big win and saving money on your electricity costs.

Stuart Webb 05:34

That's brilliant stuff. I love it that you've already given us two valuable free resources that we can sort of were two valuable free actions that we can all take. Is there more at your website, and I'm just going to put the website across at the moment at the bottom of the screen for people that want to see it. And this will be in the show notes as well. But there's there's some stuff here at Sean's website, which chart please tell us what's there?

Sian Young 05:57

Well, that is actually my landing page. Because what I have is, I have a workshop that I do that's 90 minutes. And if you're questioning, like how valuable is it for me to put business resources and time into proving I'm sustainable and being sustainable, because most business owners are like, well, I don't print much. So I'm fine, especially small businesses, then this is a workshop that you can come and do with me, where you'll not only learn why you'll learn the value in it, you'll also learn steps to move forward into it. And also, you can get your first ESG policy done, because I have a template there for you. And by coming into my ecosystem system and joining me, I also have an awesome links page that I send out. And that has discounts. I mentioned earlier where you mentioned earlier about fun. Like, it's gotta be fun doing this, it's got to be fun, because we got so much hard work to do. So I also have sustainable products. discounts off of that I have freebies, I have eco journey to go on. There's just so much. So this is a starting point, if you come along there and join us.

Stuart Webb 07:13

Terrific. Love it very much. So has there been a particular book or programme that's really inspired you on this sustainable journey?

Sian Young 07:22

There has been an inspiration to me. And there's only recently I realised how long in 2005, I joined over 200,000 people in Edinburgh, to hold hands around the city of Edinburgh, to protest to end poverty. And end poverty is SDG. Number one, that sustainable development goals. Right, the UN have Sustainable Development Goals, which were agreed by multiple countries as a underpinning way that we could all come together collectively, and solve some of the major issues on our planet today. And number 17 is partnerships. So I'm always open to partnerships and collaboration towards this aim. But the SDG goals, they inspire me, because if we all just looked at that, and we all started operating under that we would move faster forward in our climate crisis. So yeah, that that has inspired me and it inspired my husband and I to create an online tool for small businesses to to start that journey into SDGs. And get get us all together.

Stuart Webb 08:36

I keep a postcard of the sustainable development goals on my desk. Actually, it was getting to the I know their top, top top top like they get no. No poverty. That's that's number one. Number two being Zero Hunger, which I think two really important goals. But yeah, that's that's on my desk to remind me constantly to be striving towards those 17 goals myself. So

Sian Young 09:00

yeah. And I find small businesses are so in silos, you know, and that's why my husband and I co founded the Centre for Sustainable action, which is a cooperative for small businesses. Because we realised that while we're in silos, we were not having access to all that green funding that's out there. We're not collaborating together to one one SDG aim. And so that's what my work is all about. It's all about bringing ethical business women into a way where we're all collaborating together for the good of people planet and profit, basically.

Stuart Webb 09:38

I love it. I love it. So there must be a question right at the moment, you're thinking, Well, I wish he'd asked such and such or why hasn't he so far asked me this question. So what is that question, Shawn, that you wish that I had asked? And I'll give us the answer, please.

Sian Young 09:55

So it's, it's about what tools to use and where to start. So basically, starting is the first step, right. And that's why I've created an eco curious journey. Because like I said, it's gonna be fun. And this journey is a chance to earn awards and badges and discounts and prizes, and do activities, all towards a sustainable lifestyle and business. And one of the tools we use is the SDG assessment tool, which is our online app is on Android. And that helps you, I help you go on a journey. And so if you want to start the journey, and I know from the research, so many people are in overwhelm, and that means they're in apathy, and they're not taking the first step. So I'm saying to you, take the first step with sustainable success coach or with my network in my cooperative as well. Just take the first step, and we'll make it a fun journey towards getting these STG goals completed, together collaboratively for the good of us all.

Stuart Webb 11:05

Terrific. Love it very much. Love it. Shawn, it's been wonderful having you on the on the it's not rocket science, five questions over coffee this morning. I really appreciate everything you're doing. I hope that we get a lot of people going to sustainable success coach.com Green hyphen, money hyphen, one, in order to see the stuff that you've got there. Just to remind you all if you would like to get onto our mailing list and come on and watch live, as some people have been doing today, as Sean describes the wonderful things that she's doing, get onto that mailing list by going to TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, that's TCA dot FYI. Forward slash subscribe, join the list, and then you can hear about what we're doing here on the podcast. Sean, it's been absolutely fantastic having you here this morning. Thank you so much for coming on. I really wish you success with what you're doing. And thank you again for your time. Thank you

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Who are Ted and Leigh?

Ted and Leigh help Parent Bosses extract themselves out of the day to day, so they can run a successful business and have time for a rich family life.

Key Takeaways

Many business owners have a indset that they need to be good at everything to be a succes
A business owner needs to get the business right so that they canhave a family life without worrying about the business
Free-up time by making the best person for the job responsible for it.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Tools to get an extra eight hours a week at paretnbosslife.com

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

parent, work, stressed, business, person, spend, business owners, mindset, suffering, resource, week, concept, ted, terry, whack, give, brilliant, coming, care, clean

SPEAKERS

Leigh Matheson, Stuart Webb, Teriann (Ted) Matheson

Stuart Webb 00:19

Hi, I'm welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I'm here with a mutual back as you can all

Stuart Webb 02:33

no problem. Listen, we're, we're, we're, we're having fun. That's the I'm really grateful to you, Ted and Lee, for taking some time today. We're just going to do five questions about your business. And let's try and let's try and have a sensible discussion as to to business owners. So what's the ideal client? And how are you? What What problem do they have when you first meet them.

Teriann (Ted) Matheson 03:02

So generally, when parent buses come to us, they are tired, they are rushed, they're stressed, they're not living a life that feels good to them at all. They're not spending any time like proper quality time with their kids or their partner or their friends. Their health, or their mental health, like physical or mental health might be suffering. Or they might find that they're not getting results in their business like they want just because they're trying to keep up with every single part of life.

Stuart Webb 03:33

Yeah, and I know as a parent, but at least now a much older person. But that difficult balancing act is almost impossible to make happen, isn't it? So what what problems do you see them having and making before you try and sort of help them to to do what you do?

Leigh Matheson 03:53

Well, I think they sort of I guess they're out of whack, you know, that they're feeling like they're not achieving what they want to in their business. They've they're not being present as parents, as Terry mentioned, you know, the stress, the health, suffering, you know, their work, performance is not great, their sales might be suffering, there might be turning over staff because they're not paying enough attention in that aspect as well. All these things are sort of contributing and piling on to them. And it's just building up building up and building up to they have to do something. And I think some people you know, then go well, businesses with me and they go back to a job or, you know, or something else has to give yeah,

Teriann (Ted) Matheson 04:33

sometimes a relationship will suffer. Yeah. You know.

Stuart Webb 04:36

And so what's, what's the what's the intervention you bring? What's the thing you do to try and resolve some of those issues?

Leigh Matheson 04:46

Well, I guess we try and change their mindset a little bit. So we get them out of the mindset of having to do everything themselves. They shouldn't have to be, you know, attending to every single job doing everything day to day, at home and at work. It's breaking that mindset of, you know, it has to be me only I can care as much as anyone else sort of thing. So it's breaking that mindset. And again, to understand that there's help out there for them to do, you know, you know, survive better and get along better and thrive better. Yeah.

Stuart Webb 05:19

Sorry, Terry, you were gonna

Teriann (Ted) Matheson 05:21

say quite often when we've been brought up, I don't know about you. But you know, we were brought up with if you if you want to get somewhere, you've got to work hard. If you want something done, well, you've got to do it yourself, nobody's going to care about your business or your money the same way that you do. So then when you take that into a business, you've got all those things playing in the background. And so you, you try to do everything, because that's how you think you'd be successful. And same at home, you know, a good parent, make sure you get nutritious meals, the house is clean you there for all the events. So you try and do that, because that's what you've been shown a good parent is. So when we sort of talk to them and say, you know, that was when we're all balled up in, you know, 70s 80s, whenever you were brought up, that was sort of the mindset, we're 20 years into the next century now, where, with COVID, and even before that, there is so many different support things that you can get the same benefit without you being the person doing it. So we just sort of take them out of that might have worked back then when there was one parent at home more, maybe one more person who goes out to earn more, whereas now most people tend to have both people working in the household. So it's just changing that mindset. So that they understand that they can still get where they want to go. But maybe it doesn't have to be it does not have to be them doing every single thing themselves.

Stuart Webb 06:41

It's a great mindset to try and change as well, isn't it because, you know, I, I speak a lot to people in businesses. And it worries me that so many business owners often try to do everything themselves, as you say, because they never ever believe that anybody else can care as much as they do. But also, they have to recognise that very often, they are not the very best person to do their accounts. This person to write the copy for their website, because actually, there are people who are highly skilled and better at it, and they would be much better off giving those jobs to the people who are good at it. And as I often say to them that, you know, they they do what I call, they use the path of least assistance, because they do their very best to sort of say, well, I'm the only one that can possibly care enough. But actually, they're not very good at it. So they're pressed about things which they don't actually need to get stressed about. Yeah, exactly. You're

Teriann (Ted) Matheson 07:38

exactly right. That's, that's not their areas of strength, right. So it's not the best use of time, a job that can be done by someone where they might pay themselves less frees them up then to earn more. Brilliant. Yeah.

Stuart Webb 07:51

So what's the valuable free resource and free action you bring to the audience today that will enable them to grasp some of these concepts a bit better?

Leigh Matheson 07:59

Okay, so if people go to our website, parent, Boss, life.com, and there is a free book there, that is the five quick ways to get back eight plus hours in a week. Yeah. And that just goes through, you know, that's more of the home base, sort of, you know, outsourcing resources that people can use. And we go through a lot more, you know, in other areas for your business as well. But with this freebie, it's just gives you quick and easy ways to get those eight hours back per week. And we've done Yep, perfecting.

Stuart Webb 08:33

rolling across the bottom of the screen at the moment is that website, which is parent boss live.com. And that's a free resource that gives you back eight hours a week. Yep. Which I think is a whole day if I remember.

Leigh Matheson 08:46

pretty much exactly. But it's all the stuff you end up doing out of your your regular workout. So it's you know, you have your workout plus all this extra stuff that you have to do. So

Stuart Webb 08:56

if you were if you were having to work Saturdays in order to keep your your, your your business going. But now you can spend Saturdays with the kids, this is the way to do it. This is the way to get your Saturday back so that you have Saturday watching the kids play footy or whatever it is they go into gymnastics or swimming, you get the opportunity by doing this to actually spend that quality time even with your spouse if you have to. You can even do that. Work is so great. So that's that's that's a great free resource. Has it been a particular book or concept that has really sort of helped drive your drive your thinking or the way in which you manage your your your business?

Teriann (Ted) Matheson 09:41

I think for us it was more about not a book per se but it's just we through experience for so many years of being business owners and being parents we just could not make this concept of the equal 5050 work life balance work. You know in reading that everywhere you're supposed to be able to have equal time In each side, and you might just get the balance, right, and then one of the kids will be sick or you lose an employee, you know, and it gets thrown out of whack again. So we could never make it could never make that work. And we realised that it was us running backwards and forwards between work and life and work and life and work and life, it was more like a pendulum. You know, we wanted to be able to spend time, like proper time, focus time on one side and not worry about what's happening on the other side, because it was taken care of. So I guess the concept that we sort of took was the work life balance 5050. And we just sort of turn it on side a little bit, if you get what I mean,

Stuart Webb 10:37

I do, I do, I have to, I have to be honest with you, I do get a little bit upset with the words work life balance, because they should never be in balance. For me, I've always, I've always thought you know, if you hold a small, sweet, that's yellow, up arm's length, it can look like the sun, but I can absolutely promise you one is very much more powerful than the other. And, you know, to be honest, if you think of your business, it's that small, sweet candy and, and the sun has been this big yellow ball, which is actually your family, one of them is one, the thing that you should be spending more of your time worrying about. So it is not about is it it is supposed to be making sure that you keep the important things important.

Leigh Matheson 11:19

Exactly. And they just lead to so much stress. You know, everyone's cuz it's a buzzword and whatever I should be doing. And all that sort of thing is what you know, the pressure is on you, you know, both sides of a partnership. And that's where the stress comes from. So if you sort of, don't give yourself a break, it's about managing your time and as Tarun said, making sure the other side is taken care of. So you don't have the worry on that side.

Stuart Webb 11:40

Terrific. Well, we've had a great discussion, but I bet there is one question that you're currently thinking, I wish he were asked me this really important question which he hasn't yet asked. So I'm going to give you the opportunity now, which is where I relaxed, I think I've done all the questioning. So I'm going to give you the say the question now. So what is it that you wish I had asked you? And please, once you've asked the question, and then also answer it, otherwise, we won't get the value.

Teriann (Ted) Matheson 12:09

I think for us, one of the key things is who are the most important people to us to help us live a good parent Boss Life. And for us, you know, in the business, we personally wouldn't go into business. Now, if we didn't have a bookkeeper, if we didn't have a person who did our social media, if we didn't have staff, who were trained in law, all the different jobs. So if someone came out, someone else can easily slot back in. And it's not us having to feel the house. So, you know, they're the most important people on the business side. What about on the last time?

Leigh Matheson 12:44

I think in the home side, it's you know, it says, honey do list sort of things as well, you know, whether it's out doing the lawns for an hour or two and the garden everything on the weekend or, you know, is it someone to clean the house so that someone's not slaving over the toilets every every week for, you know, all this countless hours. It's those sort of things that we just sort of do almost non negotiables. Now that, you know, that's our time, we want to protect it. We don't spend that time doing that sort of stuff. Yeah.

Stuart Webb 13:11

Brilliant. I love I love both of those concepts. This has been a fascinating discussion. But my apologies that we had so much so much technical issues at the beginning, but really fascinating discussion. I love what you're doing Ted and Lee, I think it's absolutely wonderful. It's so important for people to start recognising that work and life needs to be put in the right balance. Let's not pretend it's 5050 it's the right balance. And, you know, to be honest, I think the message you're giving is absolutely the right one for the times, particularly for those stressed bosses, stressed business owners who are currently trying to do everything and believing that they should be able to manage everything. Listen, if you're watching this and you would like to be able to receive an email we send an email on a Monday morning and let everybody know who's coming on to the to the podcast and for the interview this week. And get on and watch these live because they are brilliant teachings people have got some fantastic stuff to cover bring to you. So get on to the to the to the newsletter list and that's TCA dot FYI forward slash subscribe, that's TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, you'll get you'll get a notification of when the notes from the from the podcast come out. And you can see the links that people Lee at Terry Terry, give with those free free resources which are just brilliant. And if you do like this stuff, well tell all your friends to subscribe because you'll get more value from it. Terry Angley I can't call you Ted, you don't look like Ted, thank you so much for spending some time with us. I really do appreciate all you doing. And I look forward to watching watching all the stuff you do on social media and everything else in the future and everything you're doing with So that's really great. And thank you very much indeed for spending some time with us. Thank you very much. Thank you really appreciate it. Thanks.

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Who is Jen?

Living your Legacy while you are building it!

Jen is recognized as an Influencer in her industry as the best-selling author of LAUNCH-How to Take Your Business to New Heights, top podcast host of Mortgage Lending Mastery, and highly sought out and charismatic speaker; speaking on stages with such icons as Darren Hardy, Tony Robbins, and Les Brown.

Key Takeaways

Our mess becomes our message,; it's the glorification of our busyness,
Core values are convictions. What are your core values? What are the boundaries you've set and are you living up to them? Do you have the discipline to do that? Who are the mentors in your life, sometimes when you climb a ladder, you have to let go of people that help to get to each rung because they're not ready to go to that next level.
Keep it simple by taking the time to slow down long enough so that you can speed up later instead of speeding up now so that you slow down everywhere.

Words to live by :

"We flatter those we scarcely know, We please the fleeting guest; And deal full many a thoughtless blow, To those who love us best.". ― Ella Wheeler Wilcox.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

A free pdf at jenduplessis.com/7strategies

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Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:6906980373092548608/

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

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Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

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————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

life, core values, book, business, question, strategies, building, love, missing, jen, clarity, tire, living, clients, reading, tca, luxury, podcast, legacy, thought

SPEAKERS

Jen Duplessis, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb 00:22

Hi again and welcome to It's not rocket science. I questions over coffee. I'm really, really pleased to be here with Dan do. Pettis is going to be talking to us about building our legacy was living it, which I think is going to be a great subject. Really looking forward to this. Welcome to the show, Jen, looking forward to having a conversation.

Jen Duplessis 00:43

Well, thank you, Stuart, I am absolutely delighted to be here today.

Stuart Webb 00:47

That's terrific. So let's start with the first question, which is, so who is it you're trying to reach and teach? And what is the problem that they have got?

Jen Duplessis 00:57

Yeah, so people that are most attracted to working with me are high level achievers who are missing something in their lives. They have the achievement. But now they're turning around and going, okay, something's missing, I thought this was going to be it. That's, that's the biggest thing that they're doing. And so that's what I help people with is find that something that's missing so they can find happiness. So can

Stuart Webb 01:22

you give us some examples of those things that are missing in the ways that they just sort that out without getting any help? Because, you know, we so often think that we can do these things, and we so often fail. Yeah, you know,

Jen Duplessis 01:35

I think, you know, for me, and I'll give you my example, too, because this was my problem, our mess becomes our message, we know that, you know, it's the glorification of busyness, you know, and the way that I always describe it as if you think about a wheel on a car, you know, the steel, most people focus on the steel being their business, I've got to have this great business, and it has to be what great and perfect in my career, and I'm climbing the corporate ladder, and it's all about, you know, crawling uphill in sand, right? And then the outer part of it, the tire has its flat, it has nails in it, it's been treaded on right? And that becomes our personal lives. If we could just refocus that right and say, Okay, let's make the steel, our personal lives, let's make everything about our personal lives. Beautiful, like living a life of luxury. And I'll tell you about that here in a minute, the luxury of making the choice to have you first instead of your business. And then instead of just saying, Oh, well, I'll let the the business have the flat and the holes and all that stuff in it. What if we put a big four wheel tire on it? And it was just massive that business is Surette? You know, our personal life is surrounded by this massive business, it's ready for any terrain, on our way to success. And that's really what it's about is that we are so focused on success being a monetary and of course, we love making money, success being monetary, that we fail to look at what we're doing to hurt our personal lives. And so when we get to that success, we're like, that's not really what I wanted, I thought it would be different.

Stuart Webb 03:12

You know, you hit a real chord, in my, in my thinking, where you sort of mentioned the, the need for the sort of the personal life to be at the centre of things, because you're right, we so often push that to the extremity, we often look at it and think, well, that can come later, after I've got the business. But you know, in building, you have absolutely destroyed the ability, you've got to rebuild that personal life, haven't you unless it's let it's the strong core, your business will always suffer, it will always be the thing which is suffering, because you haven't got a strength or rely on when you reach those tough times or when the tide does go flat.

Jen Duplessis 03:49

Yeah, and I think that's where people are, you know, that's why I say they're missing something in their lives, you know, and this is why I always say, to build your legacy, while you're, you know, or live your legacy while you're building it, because so many of us I love that you said you know if this when that then I will you know those types of things and, and that really is about the life of luxury as well. And though I say it in that way, instead of a luxurious life, there's a different anecdote, anecdote that happens there, you know, living a luxurious life, people think of boats and cars and watches and you know, all these fancy things, but living a life of luxury. The picture that you would see is reading a book to your child, going on a date with your spouse, right? Having dinner with your friends, all the things that we always say, Oh, I you know when love going to dinner, we should do it again. And then nothing happens, you know, or taking a nap or reading a book or in my case, I'm a dancer, right? I'm a competitive ballroom Latin and swing dancer. So for me, I I want to get out I want to go and dance. I want to enjoy those things. And I want to live my legacy while I'm building it. I don't want to wait. And that's why what happens a lot of times people build That legacy, and then they're just not happy at all. They're they're missing something in their lives, they're missing a spouse because they went bye bye, right? Or their children are saying, hey, now we're too busy for you. So I want people to be able to make that choice every day to be, you know, have the luxury of spending time with your family, the luxury of having dinner with your spouse.

Stuart Webb 05:22

Yeah, it's interesting, you say that, and it once again, just sort of something which you said then, which really resonated, because I remember a chief executive saying to me not very long ago, he was struggling in his relationship with his wife. And he began to realise that Unfortunately, he couldn't cope. couldn't cope with balance sheets. And I thought that was really interesting saying that he said, I can't hold my balance sheet.

Jen Duplessis 05:49

Yeah, yeah. And, you know, and and, you know, at what price? At what price? Right. And for him, it's both sides. No.

Stuart Webb 06:01

Yeah, so so. So I guess, I guess there are things that you have got, which are valuable free actions that we can all take. And at this stage, I'm gonna hope that I'm going to click onto the right banner and show something which might just help us discussions. That's it.

Jen Duplessis 06:16

Yeah. Yeah. So so this is a free, just quick PDF, but in seven strategies to break through your business mindset. And it starts with because all of this starts with well, how do I get going? How do I make this? You know, not rocket science? It's easy, right? How do I make it easy? And so these seven questions, it's really an exercise a thought provoking exercise, where you'd want to spend some time, not just go in and fill it out. But thinking about, hey, what are my core values? Because all of this starts with if you're going to make you first, instead of second, all of this starts with what are my core values? What are the things that are important to me my non negotiables? Because when I asked my coaching clients, you know, tell me about one of your core values, they'll respond with family, as if it's a question. Well, I don't know, is that a core value? Because for me a core values conviction. And if my family is a core value, then I have to say no to my clients, and yes to my family. And I'll tell you about a quote when we finished, but you know, I have to be able to say no, to some clients, and yes to myself. And so identifying those core values to to really sort of phone a friend, you know, when every business decision, I make every decision even to be on this podcast, everything is does this affect my core values? Does this inhibit my core values? And so often, I could have said, you know, and you guys don't know or anything, but that isn't the case. But, you know, if my husband said, hey, you know, let's go to breakfast together this morning, right. And I had that scheduled. And the only time you could meet was this morning. Most people will say, Honey, I can't do it. Because I have a podcast, I would say, Hey, I can't do the podcast today, because I have appointment with my husband. Right? And I think that's a key differentiator. So that's what these seven strategies are is just for you to go through and say, Okay, what are my core values? What are the boundaries I've set in my living up to them? Do I have the discipline to do that? Who are the who are the mentors in my life, you know, sometimes when you climb a ladder, you unless you're a monkey, you can't be at the top and the bottom, you have to let go of people that help to get to each rung because they're not ready to go to that next level. Or maybe you hired a part time assistant, and now you need an executive assistant. Right? And so you have to look at all of those aspects. And that's really what this process is through those seven strategies just to make you think, start thinking about really are you doing on a daily basis?

Stuart Webb 08:54

Yeah, you know, it's interesting, and I don't want to take away from you seven strategies so slightly down if I'm saying wrong, but I remember many years ago, one of my mentors saying to me, the first thing that I should put into my diary every week is time with my family so that I've got it reserved before anybody comes and books a silly meeting that I really don't need. Yeah, that's a really that was a really key thing for me when I was when I was building my corporate career. It was I would have meetings already either with myself or with my family. So don't book me out for something that I didn't really need.

Jen Duplessis 09:28

Yeah, and I think so often we feel guilty and so you know, so I'm going to tell you this quote now because it's all about this but it's yeah, we feel guilty telling our clients you know, I have We flatter those we scarcely know we please the fleeting guests. But we deal many thoughtless blow to those we love the best. Oh, we don't think even one second about saying sorry. I can't make it to your recitals. Sorry, I won't be home for dinner. Sorry, I can't this but boy Do we please those fleeting guests and like we'll do anything jump through hoops for our clients. And the people that are really important in our lives, we just poopoo them away, right. And we have to reverse engineer that.

Stuart Webb 10:13

I love your mom. I think that was a brilliant quote, I shall find a way of getting that one on the wall later on this afternoon that will be over there in my jet. So let's go to the something that I think I can see over your left shoulder, which I'm hoping you're going to talk to us about now. The one

Jen Duplessis 10:35

on my left, where's my luck during

Stuart Webb 10:38

the Great the books and programmes that have affected you most? They it looks like that's one of them.

Jen Duplessis 10:44

One? Yes, that's one of it. Well, that's my own book. But, you know, books that have affected me the most, you know, Sharon Lechter, wrote Outwitting the Devil, which is part of Napoleon Hills, they found they found the manuscript not too long ago, it had been stored away for over 50 years. And he never published a book because he felt it was too much of a disrupter. So she went through the book, and then and then, you know, created her own thoughts behind it and stuff. I think, waiting the devil is probably one of the best things, it's not the devil you think it is? It's yourself. I think that's a really good one. And the compound effect by Darren Hardy. You know, I'm a priority management expert. And that is really what that's about is how do you manifest more out of the time that you have, instead of creating more time writing working longer hours? And, and I've had I perfected that, you know, I have four businesses that I run, and I still have a life of luxury.

Stuart Webb 11:45

Wow. Well, you just mentioned a book I haven't heard of, and that's pretty unusual. So I'm really, really intrigued to get hold of that one and have a look at that one. Because that is that's gonna be one that's gonna be on my reading list now. And I spent some time every day reading something. So that one's going to be on my list to get the edit as soon as possible journeys been real. It's been a great time having you and I'm not going to make you do the work. So there's a question that I guess you're thinking at the moment that you wish I had asked, and I haven't done so so far. So what's the question I should have asked you. And then obviously, once you've asked that question, would you answer it for us?

Jen Duplessis 12:19

Um, oh, my goodness. Yeah. And I, you know, I was thinking about this this morning. But it's funny, when you get into this, you're like, Oh, well, the he asked those questions. And those are questions. Um, what question Haven't you asked? Uh, you know, I, I don't think you haven't not asked a question right now that, you know, this is the message I wanted to share with people is that you know, we make life too difficult. We make business too difficult. Like you're saying it's not rocket scientists, you know? And I would say, the question is, how do you keep it simple, right. And, you know, for me it is you've got to have clarity. It all stems around clarity, it can come back to Oh, the why behind and the who and the what, ensuring the vision, all of that is important. You have to have clarity of what you want in this life, to help you stop eating soup with a fork every day with all of your activities. And that's what we tend to do, we're just eating soup with a fork and we're exhausted, and we're not filled or fulfilled at the end of the day. So keep it simple by taking the time to slow down long enough so that you can speed up later instead of speeding up now so that you slow down everywhere.

Stuart Webb 13:42

Jen, not only do I love your mom, I now think that you have just hit the nail on the head. I am all about clarity. I love clarity. And you have just made that wonderful Jen that has been such and it's an insightful and really wonderful few minutes spending time with you. Thank you so much for coming on and talking to us. Really appreciate your insights into this and not only have you given me a new book to read, I'm obviously going to have to get into gender classes book and really enjoy that because that sounds like a really wonderful read. Listen everybody listening if you weren't able to join us live today get listen to the to the podcast later and please rate and subscribe it but but if you would like to get on to the newsletter so that you get an A notification every Monday of who we've got coming on this podcast who's going to be here so that you can listen in live and ask questions if you want to get onto that newsletter by going to TCA dot FYI forward slash get scribe. That's TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, Jen. It's been a real pleasure having you on. Thank you so much.

Jen Duplessis 14:45

Thank you so much. Thank you for what you're doing. It's fantastic. I love it.

Stuart Webb 14:49

I love I love your insights. That was absolutely wonderful. And I just encourage everybody get out there. Remember, you've got those seven strategies that you can go and get at and ask us those questions there are some hard questions you need to ask yourself about what you're doing to build your steel rim before you build your your business tire. So let's let's get out there and make sure we've got the right way around. Jen, thank you very much for your time. Really appreciate it.

Jen Duplessis 15:14

Thank you so much. Bye bye

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View Details

Who is Joseph?

Joseph provides personalized financial coaching & planning

Key Takeaways

There is no financial education for children. They are poorly prepared for life
Einstein said, compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world!
The anonymous online advisors of Reddit and Facebook may not have your best interests at heart, you need to be sure you are taking professional advice

Valuable Free Resource or Action

the budget template on https://www.hadawayfinance.com/landing-page

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6904451521996574722/

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

Join The Complete Approach Facebook Group : https://TCA.fyi/fb

Join our Success to Soar Program and get TIME and FREEDOM. : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Success-to-Soar

Work with me privately

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

joseph, budgeting, invest, book, great, spend, landing page, debt, clients, personal finance, budget, chasing, broad base, people, total money makeover, work, barber, money, compounds, moment

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Joseph Hadaway

Stuart Webb

Hi again and welcome to It's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I'm here today with Joseph Hathaway. Joseph does personalised financial coaching and planning. So this is going to be really an interesting discussion. I think it's on everybody's minds at the moment, we're all worrying about how we're going to manage our finances in the future. Joseph is going to give us all those great tips. So hi, Joseph, how you doing?

Joseph Hadaway

Doing? Well, thank you for having me on Stuart.

Stuart Webb

No problem. So So tell me what's the what's the the problem that most of the people you're dealing with, meet when you when you first get involved with them?

Joseph Hadaway

Definitely the problem everyone faces at first is just really where to begin on getting their finances in order. Definitely here in the US, and I've heard in other countries as well, personal finance is not taught it all, in you know, your K through 12. School and your primary schooling. And even in most cases, if you know, go and get a college degree, a personal finance class is not required. So, so many people come out of school out of college, get their first job, second job and how everyone have no idea how to budget, no idea how to invest in the stock market don't really know good debt, bad debt, why can't I just charge everything to my credit card? They, they need help getting some of the terminology and really just knowing where to start?

Stuart Webb

Yeah, schools are great for teaching us quadratic equations, but not what real maths does. Oh, yeah.

Joseph Hadaway

Amen to that. I don't think I've used the quadratic equation once since high school.

Stuart Webb

So So what's the sort of thing that most of these people do without help, which, which gets them or doesn't get them out of trouble?

Joseph Hadaway

Let's say you're most people, I would definitely say you know, they don't budget to say the least is where it comes down to. And that's not free, no lack of training and more so lack of knowledge. And if you don't know where your money's going, you don't track it, you don't know where it's going. And then you can't really control it. Which usually leads on to credit card debt or debt that stays on for years, a lot of debt. And then you know, you get up or an age you get to your 50s 60s looking to retire. And suddenly you don't have enough money because you didn't really invest enough or you didn't know how much you were supposed to invest. And it all it just it compounds and it snowballs.

Stuart Webb

Yeah, compounds is a great word in that case, isn't it? Because the earlier you get these things sorted out, the more time you've got to sort it, but also the interest of savings and planning that builds and builds and builds. So, you know, I'm always talking to young coders who are thinking, you know, retirement years and years and years away, the sooner you plan, the sooner you get in, get into it, the less you have to do it just does it all for you. You just don't have to spend a lot of time worrying.

Joseph Hadaway

Oh, yeah, like Einstein said, compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. The more time you can leave your money in the market to sit the better.

Stuart Webb

Yeah, absolutely. Right. He was a wise man if he knew a thing or two.

Joseph Hadaway

Well, yeah, that's for sure.

Stuart Webb

So tell me, Joseph, you've got a you've got a great landing page, which I'm just showing on the on the screen now, which is how do we finance.com forward slash landing hyphen page? What's what's on the landing page? What is it that you think would be of great use to the audience watching at the moment,

Joseph Hadaway

so landing pages, I just kind of introduction, the website will get you into my full website. But the main link on there that I recommend to everyone is my free resources tab. And my main free resource being I have a bit of a budgeting, investing debt pay off template, it's the exact same sample that I use for myself, and I've been using for myself for several years now. And it's the exact same template I bring up to my clients when I do coaching calls or coaching sessions. And, you know, I feel and I've heard from others, it's, you know, intuitive enough to figure out what some instructions on there, but it is completely free. And in my and in my opinion, several people opinion, I'm willing to even call it a fact, budgeting is your first step toward financial independence. And my tracker can definitely say it's it's a broad base, but it can definitely get you started.

Stuart Webb

Yeah, that's a great tip. You know, you're absolutely right. Budget is the key thing. You know, if you're your business owner as well, the first thing that I actually say to people is, well, what are your budgeting to spend on something? And the answer is often such such answers as well. We haven't really done a budget where you How can you even know whether or not you're going to be successful? If you don't have to try and budget you don't decide what money you can spend on things. You know, if you don't know how much money you've got, how much you spend on a car, how much do you spend on this? It all just becomes guesswork, and then you suddenly find you've run out before you started.

Joseph Hadaway

That's an absolutely great way of putting it to think so. Sorry, if you're not tracking it, you can't control it, because you don't know where it's going. Yeah,

Stuart Webb

absolutely. Right. Okay, so was there a particular book or concept which really sort of brought you to the realisation of how this have budgeting was so important? to you and your clients.

Joseph Hadaway

Oh yeah, definitely. The first person to help me out a first person to get me listening is Dave Ramsey course got a great podcasting like number two, three in the world. And on top of that his book The Total Money Makeover. My preachings aren't exactly the same as Dave's, but he'll definitely get you started. He's definitely great for helping people and he's done quite a lot. And then as I got a little more into it, I also highly recommend never the name of the book. It's the millionaire barber or the rich Barber. It's by David Chilton. Yeah, absolutely phenomenal book budgeting, investing, and it tells it all on a storytime. So it never gets boring to read.

Stuart Webb

Yeah, no, it's good. It's good to get some of those stories out, particularly if you're going to be dealing with sort of younger people, you know, just coming out of the colleges they need, they need books that are sort of going to be easily digestible only. And that I think, is a really good one. Really good one to recommend because you need that sort of story format don't like,

Joseph Hadaway

oh, 100% it's extremely easy to read, provides great tips. I mean, whether you're a barber or you're a doctor, you need a budget, you need to invest all the same.

Stuart Webb

Yeah, terrific stuff. Joseph, this is this has been been a great start to our budgeting discussion. But I guess there's a particular question right at the moment that you're itching for me to ask you. And, you know, as I always say, these things, I've asked the four questions before now I need to take a break and sit back. So what's that fifth question you would have liked me to have asked you, whilst we've been talking that you're really itching? And then you know, obviously, once you've asked the question, the easy thing for me to do is make sure that you answer it as well.

Joseph Hadaway

Oh, yeah, of course, you know, I get this question asked a lot to myself and interviews and even just one on ones with clients is I what separates me and other people such as myself, from online from you know, I guess in your kind of here are slash Reddit, Wall Street, that's kind of people. And, and the difference is myself and several other people in my local community, not local, excuse me, online community. We do this, we do this all day, we legitimately want what is best for you and what is best for your money. And we try to share advice that works on a broad base level, unlike you know, some other people who may not be as qualified, whether that be through degrees experience, work, whatever it may be, who end up on say, you know, Reddit or Facebook group and are chasing your meme stocks and your meme coins. They're chasing me, they don't really have your best interests at heart. Nor do they have the same experience that someone like myself and several other in our community do.

Stuart Webb

Yeah, it's an interesting point you bring up there, which is, you know, sometimes you don't know, online, exactly what they're trying to push and why they're trying to push it. And you know, that can lead you to me making some fairly risky decisions based upon no real evidence, isn't it? That's the thing, which you've got to be so careful to avoid nowadays, it's just chasing after that thing that you think sounds good. But hey, how do you tell the rubbish from the not rubbish? Yeah, how do you how are you sure, it's only by getting some really trusted information from some trusted people that you know, are trying their best to get the word out for working for you, which is, which is going to help you sort of grow your capital?

Joseph Hadaway

Oh, yeah, definitely agree there. And I think, you know, separating the rubbish from the not rubbish is an absolutely perfect way of putting it. Because I mean, I personally, I'm not the only product, I'm pushing as myself. You know, whatever you invest in is all on you. I see no kickback from that.

Stuart Webb

And, and you're, and you're doing it, because you've got that insight, that knowledge that you've brought from your professional life, which actually makes sure that people are making the right sort of decisions for their money.

Joseph Hadaway

Oh, definitely. Yeah, I've got several years experience in this and doing nothing but sitting down and helping clients. I tell people, I'm here for a purpose, not for profit. And that purpose is to help you win with your money.

Stuart Webb

I love that message. That's a terrific one. Joseph, this has been really great. Thank you so much for spending a bit of time with us. Oh, thank

Joseph Hadaway

you very much for having me on.

Stuart Webb

No problem. So listen, everybody, I'm just going to suggest to you that if you would like to be able to sort of see the information that people like Joseph bring to us here, it's not rocket science, five questions of coffee. If you get onto this, this newsletter list, you will get notifications not only when there's these, these come out, but also you'll be able to see the results of it when they're broadcast as our podcast. So I really encourage you to get on to TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe. Also rate and support and rate us in the Apple Store and subscribe to us there. Joseph, thank you so much for being with us today. Really appreciate it very much. I hope you have a really great time

Joseph Hadaway

saying to you Thank you for having me on.

Stuart Webb

No problem at all.

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View Details

Who is Steve?

Do you know anyone that’s worked with Sir Elton John or Elon Musk, sent people down to see the wreck of the Titanic on the sea bed or closed museums in Florence for a private dinner party and then had Andrea Bocelli serenade them while they eat their pasta – you do now Quoted as “The Real Life Wizard of Oz" by Forbes and Entrepreneur Magazine,

Steve Sims is a best selling Author with "BLUEFISHING - the art of making things happen”, sought-after coach and a speaker at a variety of networks, groups and associations as well as the Pentagon and Harvard – twice!

The Book – Bluefishing – The Art of Making Things Happen - https://www.stevedsims.com/book/

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/stevedsims/

Website: http://stevedsims.com

Join my inner circle – The Sims Distillery - https://simsdistillery.com

Key Takeaways

What is your number? How many clients can you actually take on and give the standard of service that you want to be known to be brilliant for.
Stop being a grown up, become a child again and attack it with childlike curiosity. If you first of all understand the simplicity of what's necessary, the rest of it is just tactics and strategy, that's the easy stuff.
How do you handle failure. I have never failed in my life. I've just become educated on how it didn't work. failure leads to education, education leads to experience, experience leads to credibility. Credibility leads to you being able to invoice people for lots of money..

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Join Steve on his private FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/stevedsims/

or follow on

IG: https://www.instagram.com/stevedsims

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

Join The Complete Approach Facebook Group : https://TCA.fyi/fb

Join our Success to Soar Program and get TIME and FREEDOM. : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Success-to-Soar

Work with me privately

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software (and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

people, steve, question, book, problem, clients, overcomplicate, brilliant, elon musk, andrea bocelli, stupid, goals, rocket science, elton john, aggravated, absolutely, billionaires, person, florence, work

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Steve D Sims

Stuart Webb 00:21

Whoa. Hi, everyone. It's Stuart Webb. Welcome to It's not rocket science. Five questions over coffee, not coffee at the moment. I've got a I've got some very nice water because I'm well Caffeined up. I'm here with Steve decend. Steve is, well, this is gonna be fascinating. Steve's bio says he's worked with Elton John and Elon Musk said people don't see the wreck of the Titanic. And somebody else has done that as well, Steve, actually, so maybe, maybe we know some of the same people, close museums in Florence for a private dinner party and then had to add Andrea Bocelli, serenade them whilst I am that I think is a real, that's the real key to be stable, what you can do. You're the real life was over there was by Forbes and Entrepreneur Magazine, I think you're going to be a brilliant guest. Welcome to the podcast. Really looking forward to speaking to you, Steve.

Steve D Sims 01:09

Well, that's a bit scary, because you put me up on a pedestal. Now I wish he would have aimed a bit lower. And we could have surprised him.

Stuart Webb 01:15

Let's go down to the Titanic level and see whether or not you can come up. Yeah, let's

Steve D Sims 01:18

do that.

Stuart Webb 01:20

So Steve, look, you're you're obviously you're obviously a multi talented guy, who's, who's the person, the ideal client that you have for the business ideas that you've got that you're trying to work with

Steve D Sims 01:30

at the moment? Well, for 25 plus years, I run the largest experiential concierge firm, only for billionaires. And then about five years ago, we launched the book blue fishing, and then Sims media. So we've gone from working with the richest people in the planet to taking that mindset. And now we run a media organisation. There's word with everyone as you save them from Elon Musk, and Elton John, how to brand market communicate with that target market. So my ideal client is any entrepreneur that's pissed off and aggravated of where they currently are. And they're sick of getting the clients they get, and they deserve the clients they want.

Stuart Webb 02:12

That's a really interesting target market. And I would imagine there's a broad spectrum of people in that particular market. So what are the sort of problems that you think they done? The way they've tried to solve that problem themselves? Because I can think of a million things that, that the entrepreneurs I work with have tried to do solve that problem, all of which you think, okay, I wouldn't have started there. If that was the way I was trying to do it. What what do you come across?

Steve D Sims 02:35

So okay, so a lot of people and we joked about this, before we started, a lot of people care about what they look like, okay. And they take a lot of time worrying about that, and you start a job, I'd know as a plumber, and you start competing by looking like all the other plumbers, you want to be a financial expert, you start looking like all the other financial experts. It's not about you. It's about your client. And absolutely your look at me, I don't have a car, I ride a motorcycle, I've got piercings and tattoos, you don't work with billionaires all over the world. Because I was the solution to that problem. Well, brilliant, when you're the solution of someone else's problem. They don't give a rat's ass what you look like how you sound, they just care that you're there to solve the problem. So the first thing you got to focus on is not marketing. It's branding. And a lot of people start a company go, Hey, I've got to start doing Facebook advertising, I got to start doing marketing. I got to start doing promotions. No, you want to start focusing on your story, your solution, why you and then market that if you don't do it that way around, you end up marketing, a lot of confusion. And that's where people go wrong.

Stuart Webb 03:49

Steve, you and I have got so much in common despite, you know, I don't have any time in your life. But yeah, but But you know, and you're a better looking guy than me. But you're absolutely right. I love that because I was talking to somebody only less than a week ago, who was telling me they had to start looking around and trying to get their first social media manager. And I said, Well, why are you getting a social media manager? Now you've been in business for a few years, what's what's the story? And they said, Well, I just feel as if I could just shout a bit louder, I'd get more leads. And I said, you don't need to shout any louder. You just need to identify the perfect the person that you're trying to reach and the problem they've got. And if you've got the problem solved, you reach across to them and whisper in their ear, I've got the solution to your problem. And that person will not try and buy it from you. They will beg you to take it out of your hands at the highest price you've got available. And I said so stop shouting and work out who that person is and what their problem is and how you're going to solve it and just start telling them and he looked at me and he went, Well, that sounds very easy, but it's difficult to do. And I thought actually it's not it's just not

Steve D Sims 05:00

That's where people go wrong. They think everything is scary and frightening. Whenever we consult with the client, the first question we ask him is washing number. That's the first question. We asked them every sheet and they look at us and they go, What do you mean? What? What is your number? How many clients? Can you actually take on and give the standard of service that you want to be known to be brilliant for? And no one unless they're doing an online course, says 1000s of people, they go? Well, I could take on 20. In fact, last last, two weeks ago, I was doing a speakeasy event in Scottsdale, Arizona, for chiropractors. And it was all about how do I scale my social media? How do I get 10,000 likes on my YouTube channel? How do I get this amount of subscribers over here on my, my Facebook? How do I see Well, okay, how many can you take on watch your number? And the number actually came up for most of them to be anywhere from like, eight to 12? You're that's how many clients they could take on my son. Okay. If I gave you 12 clients, tomorrow, they walked into your office tomorrow, would that be a problem? And they will like, yeah, I wouldn't want 12 at a time. So what do you want? Well, I could take on three. So the number three, so who gives a s**t if you've got 4 million followers, when you're actually only looking for three, know your number, and reverse into that?

Stuart Webb 06:22

I love it. Absolutely love it. And this is just a brilliant conversations. You've got some great stuff on your website, what's the really valuable free resource or action other than know your number that you'd sort of pass over to the audience watching now? And saying, Look, guys, this is what you really got to do now.

Steve D Sims 06:39

Yeah. And there's two ways that you can do it. And I'm shitter upsell, so I'm not upselling you to any of my hair products, or anything, both of these things, I'm giving you now a free of charge. I've got an Instagram page, Steve de Simms, which I do loads of videos on. I've also got a private Facebook group, which is free of charge, he just tell us why you want to be in there called an entrepreneurs advantage with Steve Sims. And in the I do live amas. And I literally go, Hey, what's your problem? Someone posts what their problem is. And then we do a live ama feed ama asked me anything. And we just go, Hey, I heard from Johnny is having trouble with this. What should we do about and we literally hotseat it for 30 minutes, because quite simply a my age and my position. I want people to dare to challenge the way they do things. I want them to do more. And I openly say I want you to go for stupid goals. And that's what I push.

Stuart Webb 07:36

I think that's brilliant. I love that I'm a great fan of those sort of ask me any things. Because you get people that you know, I sitting at the back of the room, daring not to ask the question. And then one person asset and everybody looks and goes, Whoa, yeah, I want to know the answer to that as well. You know, sometimes I keep saying this to people, there are no such thing as a stupid questions. There really aren't stupid questions. The only stupid thing that you can do is not ask the question and be quiet because you'll always regret it. You'll always regret it.

Steve D Sims 08:04

In working with some very, very powerful people all over the world. I've noticed that Absolutely. All of them are curious children. Every single one of them from Elon Musk, John Porter, Julia, Richard Branson, they are all curious children. How can we do this? Why does it work that way? Why does it have to work that way? And they literally catify absolutely everything. And so being in those meetings working with these people, I've adopted that. And the first thing I tell everyone is stop being a grown up, become a child again and attack it with childlike curiosity. What would you do? Example, Elon Musk worked out that the most expensive thing and it didn't take a rocket scientist to do this, the most expensive part of a rocket with the fuel cells, because not only would it throw him up in space, but then they would fall off and fall in the ocean. If he could get those back, fuel them up again, and attach them back to another rocket. He saved two thirds of his launch costs. And that was the simplicity. Now all he had to do was to work out how we could do it. Yeah. So if you first of all understand the simplicity of what's necessary, the rest of our just tactics and strategy, that's the easy stuff.

Stuart Webb 09:16

We do do that. So don't we stay with we find ourselves trying to overcomplicate it I you know, the name of this is it's not rocket science. The reason it's not rocket science is because so many people think to themselves and doing some of the stuff that I talk about. They sort of go around. Well, that doesn't sound clever enough and you go, it's not supposed to be clever. That's the point. It's not supposed to be. It's supposed to be done.

Steve D Sims 09:39

This isn't this isn't a this isn't a pitch, although it's probably going to sound like a bloody pitch. Five years ago, I released this book, blue fishing, the art of making things happen. And I released it, because two reasons One, I was paid very well to release it, which means I didn't care if it sold any copies. I think it that didn't worry me. I was already paid. But I was aggravated how people do overcomplicate things. And that's why I wanted to be on your show, because of the title. People overcomplicate or try to try to purchase a solution, when they really shouldn't. Your Guide is talking about how does he get a social manager? Don't just expose what it is you do. And the problem you solve. And those people with the problem will find you. Yeah,

Stuart Webb 10:27

absolutely. Right. I love it. I absolutely love it. Listen, we're getting towards the you've kind of already pitched in the fourth question. I was gonna say, is there a particular book or concept or something that you'd like to sort of expose the audience to, which would sort of give them some valuable content? So other than your book nasty? Yeah, yeah,

Steve D Sims 10:45

I've done that. I would say there's a few things I like, I love hooked by nyet owl as a book, that's a phenomenal book. I also like Trust Me, I'm Lying by vion long and Ryan Holiday. That's a fantastic book. I love those books. I also love anything by Jay Abraham, because I love his art of communication. But the the tip I would give everyone is to go for stupid goals. Never go for anything impossible. Forget that word exists, never use it, strike it from your vocabulary. But if you're trying to make a million dollars that year, then your stupid goal should be five and your file and achieve two. So go for stupid goals when I had a client that said, hey, I want to do an Italian dinner, Steve. And what's the most amazing you could do? I actually took over the academia, the Galleria, at nine o'clock at night, the gallery of the houses Michelangelo's David, and a set a table of six up at the feet of Michelangelo's David, because I thought that's the most incredible Italian meal in Florence you could ever have. And then while the guys have eaten their pastor, I promised them a local entertainer disseminate them. And as you've already said, I bought in Andrea Bocelli, because you know what happens when you go for stupid goals? You risk obtaining them. And it's amazing how many times I've gone for stupid goals, and actually achieved them and gone. Oh, and then as soon as you start achieving them, they become your new normal. That's now your new benchmark.

Stuart Webb 12:21

And then you've got a completely different problem, which is actually a really good one to

Steve D Sims 12:24

have. Isn't it? Just it's a lovely one to have, isn't it?

Stuart Webb 12:28

David, I've made you work really hard. And I'm gonna do it again. Now. There's a fifth question that I've got for you. And the question is, what's the question I should have asked you, which I've not yet asked you. And don't leave us in the dark answer it as well.

Steve D Sims 12:41

Steve, what whiskey should they send you as a gift? I think it's either Blanton's or Buffalo Trace. Actually, that's true. But the questions

Stuart Webb 12:52

you're missing out on Lagavulin, but that's another story. I guess.

Steve D Sims 12:56

I did quit. That's that's actually a good and a bad a horrible question to ask. But I like to, I suppose people, one of the questions that pops up are things like, you know, how do you how do you fail? Or have you failed? Or, you know, how do you handle failure never failed in my life. Okay. I've just become educated on how it didn't work. failure leads to education, education leads to experience, experience leads to credibility. Credibility leads to you being able to invoice people for law money. That's how it goes. And it doesn't start anywhere else than that education from failure. So how I view failure I find very important was probably the number one lesson I learned from all the billionaires I dealt with.

Stuart Webb 13:40

Steve, I love I love your I love your fifth question. I have often said to people, you know, how does a baby learn to walk they get up, fall over and go, Well, I'm not gonna do that. Again. I'll do it another way. You have eventually, eventually you'll see them sprinting down the track. That is the way you learn. You just fall over, pick yourself up and have another crack at it because Oh, yeah. Just learning to get up off your bottom. Steve, this has been an absolutely fantastic discussion. We've had people watching nodes ask the question, I don't know why they're not asked the question. But that's, that's, that's their last. I'm not gonna I'm not gonna force them to ask questions. Listen, people, I really, really appreciate Steve coming on. If you want to get onto our mailing list and then here so that you could come join in live where people like Steve, come on, get insights like this stuff. This stuff is absolute gold dust, you won't get this out of a book, you won't get this out, you will get that Steve's book. But you'll get insight like this from all sorts of things that get onto my mailing list, which is on TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, that's TCA dot FYI, forward slash guide. Steve, you have been an insight I've loved having you on. It's been absolutely brilliant. Listen, if we could go on for another two hours are worth but I'm not entirely convinced that that you'd run out of anything to say so I need to stop you before you before you run out. That's brilliant. Thank you so much for being on with us. today. I look after yourself. And you

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Who is Kim?

Creating Authority assets for women in Entrepreneurship. Authorship to Speakers videos. Supporting Women who have had to pivot or are slow to grow, and need an understanding of how to grow local authority, to moving into authorship and speaking by providing the Resilient women Book Series of niche topics and both virtual and in-person events.

Key Takeaways

If you're not investing 7%, of whatever you want to make, you're not investing enough. If you're investing a few $100, to do something on the cheap, and you want to make $100,000, you're not going to make it people see cheap. To generate wealth, add value.
Nobody's going to magically find you. What you what you put in is what you're gonna get out, so put a lot in!
Find the right questions, listen to the people out there and ask the right questions.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Six months free access to resilient series at resilientgift.com

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

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Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

mel robbins, kim, question, talking, women, poverty mindset, listen, spent, book, ideal client, programme, love, clients, resilient, mailing list, trailer park, poverty, coffee, assets, olympics

SPEAKERS

Kim Hayden, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb 00:22

Hi again and welcome to It's not rocket science five questions over coffee I have in front of me, my favourite grizzly bear mug, which I love. I remember seeing those in Canada, so they were a great experience. I'm here with Kim Kim Hayden. Kim, I know it's very early for you. And I guess you've got a coffee in order to keep you going.

Kim Hayden 00:41

I have I have my tea. Actually. I don't drink coffee. I'm not old enough for coffee yet. But yes, this is my phoenix mug. Because in the last few days in Calgary, we have dropped in this wicked Deep Freeze with lots of snow. So I'm just pretending inside it gets a little warmer underneath my feet and blanket from my legs. And I got my phoenix bug.

Stuart Webb 01:07

I don't blame you. So Kim Kim is here to talk about her programme she she creates authority authority assets for women in entrepreneurship. She and talking about speakers and videos. I'm really looking forward to this conversation, Kim. So I hope you're ready to go. Let's start with the first question, which is, what is the sort of ideal client you try and work with?

Kim Hayden 01:33

Alrighty, so our ideal client is going to be female, more likely in the 30, between 30 and 55, kind of 35 to 55, she will be a practitioner, or a coach with some sort of education background within that, right? She is or a professional speaker. And these women are all going to be just that next level into, you can actually see the six figures like you know, with that little added a tweak to their business with their presentation, they will actually land in the six figure range. So the average female in that classification in North America is $46,000 a year. And so our goal is to take the ones that are ready to move into the hunter K year.

Stuart Webb 02:27

That's a really interesting nation. So how do you find that the people who are in that sort of space who are ready to go to that next level? What have they tried to do on their own without, without help that hasn't quite gotten there?

Kim Hayden 02:41

So for women, we have three key objections, okay, I don't have any money, I have to talk to my husband, or I think I may have already tried that. Okay. So the first one you don't have anybody will you don't make money without actually investing money in assets. And I'm not talking about, you know, a new shirt or something like that, I'm talking about things that you can actually send to people who will potentially hire you pay you to do something. And if you're not investing 7%, so if whatever you're investing, as long as it's 7%, of what you want to make, you're investing enough. But if you're investing a few $100, to do something on the cheap, and you want to make $100,000, you're not going to make it people see cheap, they don't people know quality. So we come in and do that the challenges is most women are, are especially women who are in solid relationships, or marriages or partnerships, laptops, they don't want to talk to their partner, because they think they've already tried something like that. And so they're afraid to broach the conversation of financial investment or putting money into this. So they then try and do it on the cell, say, you know, yes, it's okay, if you're already known to do all the videos, you know, on your phone and stuff. But you could do a video on phone, but if you don't edit it, right, you don't cut it right, if you don't light it, right. It's just a video on phone that anybody else can do. So what are you doing that's above the grade? That's, that's, you know, the biggest challenge is they, they're like, I already did it. It didn't work. It's like he didn't do it. Right.

Stuart Webb 04:25

It's interesting, isn't it? I was having a conversation with somebody only two days ago. And their conversation with me was along the same lines. And it was very much along the sort of what I would describe as the poverty mindset, their their their attitude was very much one off. Well, I don't want to I don't want to I don't want to spend that much because I don't want to look too expensive for my clients because I want I don't want to increase my prices, because I'll end up putting the people off that I want to reach and my answer to them was Well, to start with nobody buys cheap and hope for the best. They always look around and say what's the most I can afford to start off by peeling To that, and use that step that expense it, you know, to make that investment in yourself to value and to justify the value that you're going to bring. So it's sometimes it's a poverty mindset, isn't it?

Kim Hayden 05:13

Oh, absolutely. I think of it like this, the reality and I because of in watching the Olympics, by the way, the UK snowboarder, that little girl's story is awesome. But she didn't get to the Olympics with the coach that she started with when she was six years old. But she started with a coach when she was six years old. So you need to start somewhere and escalate upward if you want to make it to the big games. Otherwise, you don't get there. You don't get there. And, and nobody, I want to make this very clear. I'm looking RED camera, you are not that special. I am not that special. Nobody's gonna save you. And nobody's going to magically find you Brene, brown spent 30,030 30 years and hundreds of 1000s of dollars in her messaging, before she was discovered overnight. So you know, what you what you put in is what you're gonna get out?

Stuart Webb 06:14

Yeah, no, you're very, you're very right. You're very right. Now, I'm gonna hope that the next question is going to be the answer to some of that stuff that we've just doing. Is there a valuable free asset or valuable free resource that you are, you're hoping that people will be able to come away from it. And at this point, I hope what I'm going to do is click on your website, and that's scrolling across the bottom of the screen now. So tell us is a thing to go and see where we can actually sort of get the help that we're sort of looking for?

Kim Hayden 06:39

Absolutely, I so first off, I do live streams all throughout the week, podcasts all throughout the week, I'm constantly talking. And the best resource is finding the right questions, listen to the people out there and ask the right questions. That's it. That's huge. I get a lot of that information. There are, you know, so much, there's so much you can learn from there. I do give everybody I always have six months free with no credit card information or anything like that. I have six months free to my membership. So you know, get in there and that includes if we're going to do a book launch, they can come to that for free. Like it's all included. So it's Yeah. Yes. Nice point with the poverty. You know what I want to share with you my mom always said so I was raised very, very, very poor. I am from a trailer park originally from a trailer park in Wichita, Kansas. I dropped out of high school and was a hairdresser at a single mom by the time I was 20. So the reality is my mother would always say and she'd have us put our skirts on a straightener tops and clean ourselves up even though all of our clothes are secondhand. And she say Kimberly Joe, poverty is a state of mind not a state of economic setup straight. And, you know, we were the charity case at school. We weren't that we were we were everybody knew, Oh, the McFadden girls, right. Everybody knew that. But we didn't look it. We didn't act it because we walked in with pride because we were good people. And we invested in ourselves, and we invested in the relationship with our family.

Stuart Webb 08:23

I like that, Kim, I really do. Listen, I really recommend people go to resilient series.com Listen to some more Kim's doing in terms of the podcasting and the live streaming. There's some great stuff on there, I poked around, I'm not a woman, so therefore, it's not necessarily your target audience but but I've had a good look around and there's some really excellent stuff in that even I decided I can pick up on so get into resilient series.com and have a look around what's going on what's going on. There's some really interesting stuff in there. Kim, listen, I'm hoping that the next question is going to be equally fascinating. Is there a particular book or concept or programme which really you think drove your thinking and also can add some value to the audience? We've got watching at the moment.

Kim Hayden 09:02

Oh, you know, that's a that's a good i. I'm like used to or I learned from every person I come across, right. I learned from all my clients. I will say that one of my favourite people that I follow that I've been following for a few years now is Mel Robbins I can really understand a lot of what she's gone through the you know, the near bankruptcy of the the loss of business that the fear of financials, the male even talks about how she was afraid to even get out of bed because it was rough. Right? And if you're sitting in that spot, I don't have a book for you. But I will tell you go and listen to the Mel Robbins five second rule because she gets really raw and gritty and we have all been there.

Stuart Webb 09:54

I love I love Mel Robbins five second rule is a really important one if you're struggling to get out of bed can't f5 Just do it. It's it is such a great way of overcoming that resistance and stopping that thought of, I can't do this or I'm not good enough. 12345 go. It's a really brilliant way of just breaking through all those barriers, isn't

Kim Hayden 10:15

it? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

Stuart Webb 10:18

Terrific. Now, Ken, I guess there's one question. You're currently sitting there thinking, I guess I wish he'd asked. I wish he'd asked. I wish. Yeah. So what's the question you wish that I was going to ask you at the moment? And then once you've asked that question, you're the best one to do it, you answer that question for us.

Kim Hayden 10:35

Okay, what's the one question? So why? Why the resilient series? Why the authority accelerator? That's the question I would love for you to ask. Why? Because we it's, I'm, I'm good at producing, I've produced lots of TV shows, and for CTV and Shaw TV here in Canada. So these are broadcast level. And I love seeing an amazing story, wait to unfurl. And that's what I see all my clients as these, these incredible stories that people need to hear. But I take it seamlessly from their digital TV documentary, which is a six to eight minute series, all the way through to their sizzle reel from their speaking. So it literally, you know, TV book, speaking, and all the digital assets to promote them in that. And that's what I love to do. I love to produce amazing women.

Stuart Webb 11:35

Brilliant. I love it. I absolutely love it. Kim, it's been fascinating having you on. Thank you so much for getting up in the cold. And getting out with your tea. I've still got like, this is my, this is the grizzly bear that I remember seeing just off the coast of Vancouver. So I was I was really impressed by doing that. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for being here with us. Really appreciate you being here for a few minutes. I'm just going to just remind you all listening, if you would like to get on our mailing list so that you can to join us as Leila did. And watch these recordings live and be able to ask questions and make comments. Go to https colon forward slash forward slash, because I think most people know that nowadays. So just concentrate on the real bit which is TT a dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, that's tcaa dot FYI. phototype subscribe that takes you to the mailing list, sign up, get on it so that you can see us tell you in an email at the beginning of the week, who's going to be on what we're going to be talking about and how you can get in and join with them and ask those sort of questions and listen to such inspiring stuff such as Kim's done this morning, talking to us about this really brilliant stuff. Kim, thank you so much for being on. I really appreciate the time you spent with us. And I hope the rest of the day is going to be good as you look into it.

Kim Hayden 12:55

Thank you Stuart.

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Who is Charles?

Payroll, HR & Timekeeping solution for small businesses

Key Takeaways

Taxes are complex and complicated and ever-changing. Business owners - Unless they're in the industry, they're not up to date, they'll never be up to date.
your wife may forgive you, your children may forgive you, your parents may forgive you, the Internal Revenue Service will never forgive you.
if you take a businessman, a chef, a mechanic, a manufacturer, an artist, a doctor, whatever, and you say, Okay, now deal with the IRS. They're totally lost. So that's where it goes wrong. They don't know what they don't know.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

The resources page at getpayrollbook.com

discount code PODCAST

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6896844212713644032/

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

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Join our Success to Soar Program and get TIME and FREEDOM. : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Success-to-Soar

Work with me privately

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

payroll, charles, business, clients, discount code, book, irs, paper bag, tax, small businesses, market, question, stuart, listen, slash, entrepreneurs, problem, person, podcast, bear mug

SPEAKERS

Charles Read, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb 00:23

Hi and welcome again to It's not rocket science. Five questions over coffee, I have my my favourite bear mug with me today with my drinking. I'm here today with Charles Reed who is a compliance and tax experts from get payroll, and we're gonna have a chat about some of the issues associated with compliance within small businesses. Hi, Charles, how you doing?

Charles Read 00:48

I'm doing well, Stuart, thank you for having me.

Stuart Webb 00:50

No problem at all. So Charles, let's start with my first question, which is, you know, what is your ideal client? Who is it you're trying to help and, and give us a short description of them.

Charles Read 01:04

Our basic clients are employers with under 50 employees that need they'd have employees, I mean, we do payroll. So they have to have somebody that works for them, or they have to be their own corporation. And we handle one Z's all the way up to several 100. But our target market is under 50 employees.

Stuart Webb 01:28

And one of the problems that you find that those those employers have gone into trying to handle sort of payroll, or sort out some of those issues without getting help from somebody like yourself.

Charles Read 01:41

Yeah, I mean, they don't, they don't know what they don't know. Taxes are, are complex and complicated and ever changing. And so unless they're in the market, like we are, unless they're in the industry, they're not up to date, they'll never be up to date. They can't be they've got their own business to run. They're specialists in their business. They're successful. And they're driven. They're entrepreneurs, for the most part, but they're not tax people. It's a whole different world. And it's something we do for our clients inexpensively, and provide, you know, a level of compliance that they're not going to get on their own no matter what.

Stuart Webb 02:23

And the last thing you want to do is fall foul of the tax authorities don't don't no matter which, no matter which jurisdiction, you're in, the last person you want knocking on your door at any stage of the day or night is somebody from some sort of tax office,

Charles Read 02:35

your wife may forgive you, your children may forgive you, your parents may forgive you, the Internal Revenue Service will never forgive you.

Stuart Webb 02:44

I had a conversation with an accountant only this morning that went something along the lines of my engagement with my client started with the tax people knock on his door, because they hadn't filed properly for two years. And it took two years to sort out but it was two years, he does not wish to relive

Charles Read 03:01

more when we first started in business. I started with my wife some 30 years ago. And we would get certified letters from the IRS. And it would upset her to know when she would call me she'd be worried about clients because we got copies, because we take a power of attorney. So she'd get these I said no, no, no, don't worry about it. There's nothing like a certified letter from the IRS to bring clients out of the woodwork.

Stuart Webb 03:30

I hate to think they're your recruiting system. But okay, if that's the way it works. That's marvellous news. So Charles, I get from the from the link that we've got scrolling across the bottom of the screen here, that you may have some really interesting help that you can provide to small businesses along the lines of a book, possibly by the looks of things.

Charles Read 03:52

This is the payroll book a guide for small businesses and startups published by Wiley just recently, it's 30 years of wisdom distilled down to 95,000 words. And if your listeners go to the website that scrolling underneath, and in the discount code and our podcast, we'll send them a free book.

Stuart Webb 04:11

That's fantastic to do is how do we get hold of that discount code?

Charles Read 04:17

Discount Code is podcast.

Stuart Webb 04:19

The discount code is podcast, I will make sure that that discount go goes in the notes chars so that they get a copy of that free book. So if you're listening to this, the discount code is podcast. And the link that you need to go to is the payroll book.com. That's pretty simple. Just the payroll book.com discount code podcast. You'll get a free book out of that.

Charles Read 04:42

Yep, we well, we wrote the book on payroll.

Stuart Webb 04:47

Somebody did, I'm very pleased somebody did. So so. So Charles having having given us given us that valuable free, free insight into that. What's the thing which has most driven use some concept or or programme that's really inspired you to that you want to pass on to his wisdom to the people that we're talking to today.

Charles Read 05:09

Well, one of the books that really made my business was the E Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber, I bide by the dozen, and give it to my clients, I have every new employee read it as part of the hiring process. To me, it teaches people how to work on their business, not in their business, which is a mistake that most of us entrepreneurs make is we work in our business, not on our business. And that's, that's really changed my life when a friend of mine gave that to me, some 25 years ago,

Stuart Webb 05:45

I'm gonna have to agree with you chances are obviously as a business mentor, who makes most of his living from working with entrepreneurs who have found themselves forgetting that they actually need to spend some time thinking about what their business is about, and getting some clarity on that. The most important thing, most important lesson I can ever pass on to people, is just take a little time, I say daily, weekly, where you just book an appointment with yourself to clear the diary. And have a little think about what your business is about not trying to chase that latest action that you've got to get done or chasing somebody to get into that thinking time is the most important thing. For me. I don't first thing in the morning. I don't know about you.

Charles Read 06:24

I do it first thing in the morning, also, and I'm with you. I agree that what you're saying is, literally you should do it every day, you should think about your business, and where you wanted to go and how you wanted to get there not your to do list for today. You need to do that, too. I do that every evening. But you need to think about your business every day.

Stuart Webb 06:46

Absolutely. Absolutely. So, you know, this has been interesting to hear even somebody that has the experience of 30 years in payroll or stills needs to do that. But But what's that? What's that one question? You're sitting here at the moment thinking to yourself, I'd love Stuart to ask me this, but he's not got around to it yet. What's the question you most would like me to ask him? And what would the answer be?

Charles Read 07:09

Well, why do people get into problems with the Internal Revenue Service? What What, what, what causes businesses to have that problem? And it's again, back to them not knowing what they don't know. The analogy I use is what I grew up. Paley was the world's best soccer player, maybe best soccer player of all time. Wonderful athlete. But if you put him in a New York Yankees uniform at second base, he's lost. Okay, he doesn't know the game, the rules, the equipment, are he still a great athlete. So if you take a businessman, a chef, a mechanic, a manufacturer, an artist, a doctor, whatever, and you say, Okay, now deal with the IRS. They're totally lost. So that's where it goes wrong. They don't know what they don't know, again, and wow, betting,

Stuart Webb 08:06

you know, something, I think I got a steal that matures, if you don't mind, I am going to steal that because it's not, it's something which I find is really dear to my heart. I love working with people who are technically very, very good at their job, they're very good at what they do. But unfortunately, they don't understand how running a business is different to doing what they want to do. And I constantly reach out to them and say, Do you know, and this is why this is why I got into this. It isn't rocket science, what we do as a business person, but it is it does need some external thinking it needs you to suddenly sit down and say I need some help with something because actually, I'm not the expert at understanding marketing or payroll or anything else. Just get the help. And too many of the other people I work with, try to use what I call the path of least assistance, because they'll go it's gonna be too too much effort for me to explain. Actually, it kind of isn't.

Charles Read 09:03

One of the biggest mistakes I made my business was I thought I could market Okay, and I could market my services and so on. And then as we got bigger, I find it hard a marketing person to take over the details that I didn't have time to handle. And it only took about two weeks for me to realise I can't market my way out of a paper bag.

Stuart Webb 09:23

I love that story. I love that story. I'm thank you so much for that. I really appreciate that that is worth the 10 minutes we spent alone and that that was a great quote for love it. That one is going to be the headline of this talk. I'm going to I'm going to remember that for forever. You can't work your way out of a paper bag. Charles, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Listen, I'm going to make sure it goes on to the notes but it's the payroll book.com The payroll book.com offer code podcast you can get a free book a free book as a wonderful offer. I can't believe somebody is giving away free books. That's brilliant. Charles, thank you so much for being with us. Really pretty. It's

Charles Read 10:01

my pleasure, Stuart, thanks for having me.

Stuart Webb 10:03

Listen, if you would like to get on our mailing list so that you hear about upcoming talks with people as interesting as charts so that you could get on and speak with them and ask questions if you need to get onto the subscription list at HTTPS, colon, forward slash forward slash the way I always do this, but that's the way it's set out https colon forward slash forward slash TC a dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, that's TCA dot FYI, forward slash, subscribe. And please come and listen to really interesting people like Charles talk, Charles, it sounds like you have got a great book, great business. They're really looking forward to getting into that book and listening. Listening to to what you've got to say in it. I should be I should be on there later on with my free offer code, podcast to the payroll workflow. Just put that on backup to make sure that everybody's got it. So that's a payroll book.com Get on and get yourself a free copy. Charles, thank you so much for for being with us this afternoon. Really appreciate it. My pleasure.

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Who is Raj?

Raj runs Goodman Lantern specialising in creating content that helps businesses to sell better and grow faster. They help clients create strong brands by establishing them as thought leaders in their industries. This enables them to build trust with prospects and steadily scales their businesses through content that converts.

Key Takeaways

You must have a very well defined content strategy, if you have $10 to spend on content, spend $5 on strategy
Don't write content for the bots, don't create content for the algorithm, don't like content for the AI, write stuff, which is genuinely helpful for your target customer.
Delegation can change your life

Valuable Free Resource or Action

The resources page at http://goodmanlantern.com/

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/posts/stuartwebb_at-goodman-lantern-we-specialise-in-creating-activity-6894300367291514880-3iZI

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

content, content strategy, delegate, raj, customers, spend, write, person, number, website, great, question, create, google, grow, tca, mailing lists, very fast growing, coffee, listening

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Raj Goodman Anand

Stuart Webb

Hi, and welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee. Not coffee today for me, I've already had more than enough coffee this today, so I'm just got some water with me Raj is with me Raj Goodman inand is here, Raj runs Goodman lantern specialist in creating content to help businesses sell better and grow faster by creating a really strong brand and establish them as thought leaders in their industries. I think it's gonna be really fascinating discussion, really looking forward to spend some time with you today. Right? Welcome to the five questions over coffee.

Raj Goodman Anand

Thank you, Stuart, I'm assuming having coffee either, but the water it is and thank you for having me, it's a real pleasure to get to see you and have a chat with you have a virtual water with you? No problem. So

Stuart Webb

let's start with the the ideal client, right that the person that's got the problem that you you try to help.

Raj Goodman Anand

Yeah, so our our ideal customer tends to be somebody who is typically very fast growing company, potentially just going going public very soon, or have raised a lot of cash recently, and want to scale up their the content actions, so maybe they want to grow their SEO as the ranking on Google and Bing cetera, Cetera, or they're looking to kind of tell their story in a better way. So a better content strategy to get the word out there in the form of, you know, blogs, website content, white papers, videos, podcasts, whatever that might be. And they come to us to really help them with their corn, the content strategy, the voice, and how to grow their ranking potentially on Google as well put, for example,

Stuart Webb

so what are the things they've done before you get involved? Whether the the the mistakes, if you like, that they've done when they've tried to do this for themselves without your help?

Raj Goodman Anand

Well, you know, it's, it's bizarre, you often think that companies are doing you know, 50 million to 10 billion in revenue have got all sorted out, right. But the reality is, it's far from where they want to be. So that they you know, typically when they come to us, they feel that the content is not resonating with the customers that there is a mismatch of misalignment with their content strategy and where they are currently, the competitors are growing very fast on Google, for instance, or their, the brand is not strong enough in on overall on digital and, you know, in person space, they need some help to really place the brand properly, and equally, also get them easily searchable on in different ways, whether it's LinkedIn, whether it is you know, Google as I mentioned before this Twitter, they want to be found quickly so they can actually convert customers faster, because this is a time when they're growing super fast, and they want to capture more audiences and you know, go ahead of the competition,

Stuart Webb

and one of the sorts of things you help them to do

Raj Goodman Anand

so first thing we do is to have a very well defined content strategy. The strategy comes first is to really understand the tone the audience the competitors to really understand where is that they will be placed in the competitive landscape landscape as well. That's number one. Number two is to figure out what are the objectives for them say they work with us for next two, three years? Where do they want to be placed that and what how can we help them to achieve that number two, after the these two Saturday part is to actually create content to help them reach their so might be in the form as I mentioned, before, you know, ebooks, white papers or videos or website content, we will actually help them create these things right from the planning, you deciding on the content styles, write the content, and then help them with distribution, that's number three, to really help them to distribute their content to to the press for example, on arm, put them out down on the website, for instance, if that's what they want to do at the rebound the site itself or to put out there on YouTube or the other distribution channels as well so we can actually help them do all three parts of them as they content partner.

Stuart Webb

It's good stuff so So Roger, I guess you've got A lot of experience you'd like to sort of, you know, pass on to some of the audience listening today, many of whom are probably thinking about some of that stuff. Where can they I'm going to show now the, the website, Is there stuff on your website that you can point to to give people sort of a leg up on some of that stuff that need to be thinking about now about their content strategy?

Raj Goodman Anand

Absolutely. So if you go to our website, look at the resources, we actually give out a lot of free stuff out that to talk to you about, or think of strategy in the first place, like strategy is a very important part. If you have $10, to spend, I say spend the first $5 on strategy, get that part, right? Don't just jump right into it. And such, you know, write content or write blog posts are going to help you book books on a Saturday first, as the person you do is some really interesting guide there about content strategy. And how do you think about content strategy? banality? SEO strategy? How do you plan these things? Step by step, it's for free. You don't have to give your email address, either it's all that on a webpage, go there, click on it and check it out.

Stuart Webb

Brilliant love that sort of stuff. Is there a particular book or or a programme or concept that's really inspired, he writes that you think is worth giving us a tip to the audience listening today?

Raj Goodman Anand

Well, a lot of different things on this. I don't know who said this thing. But this is one thing to mention. Don't write content for the bots don't create content for for the algorithm don't like content for the for the AI, write stuff, which is genuinely helpful for your target customer. That's the number one way to rank better. Number one way to build great content to bite for real people, real customers thought the bloody pain. And if you do that properly, you will get a tonne of customers, I promise you I love

Stuart Webb

I love that road. Because I think too often we forget that they're actually human beings at the at the other side of the screen, don't worry, we forget that they're there and ready to read stuff, we sort of you know, think well, this will rank higher, but actually, unless you get somebody who clicks on it looks at it and actually takes action. You could be shouting into a void. I think that's a brilliant tip. Thanks so much for that one. So, I mean, you must be sitting there at the moment thinking to yourself, you know, there's one question that I'm really wishing he would ask me. And so now's the opportunity for me to stop asking you silly questions and get you to ask a good question. And then give us the answer of what was that one killer question that you think I should have asked you?

Raj Goodman Anand

So I think the question, which I'm gonna ask, if Raj was my sort of guests on the show, that's the one is that? What is the one single thing which watch dead? will change his life for the better as a business person, business owner, marketing manager, Content Manager, whatever that is more than might be? That's the question. And the and the answer is delegation. Loves is the number one thing, which is G knife completely, it is to be a time it should run like a headless chicken all the time, like literally just doing everything on my own. But the day I changed my mindset to bring in great people in your team, and delegate them hard, challenging opportunities to deliver to, that's when things change doesn't penny dropped for me personally, and it's changed my life, change my business. And as I was saying, earlier, I came in a bit. I've been a couple of minutes late and never leave any meeting. But it's because things are really busy right now. And it's only happened because there's so much on thanks to the hard work my team puts in and if them that's helped me get where I am. So thank you team for listening right now.

Stuart Webb

Yeah, no, I love that tip. Right? That's a really good one. I think it's a run that so often I say, too many business owners, entrepreneurs think to themselves, they want to follow the path of least assistance don't leave, they really do because they think it's going to be so hard to delegate that because only I can do it. And yet once you've done it, once it's done once and it's done, right. You never have to do it again. And in actual fact, you may find that somebody in your team is actually better at it than you and they're the people you should be relying on anyway. So absolutely delegate I love that word. Roger really do look. Right. It's been a great pleasure having you on I really appreciate you spending a few minutes with us. Thank you so much for the tips on where to go and get some of those really great resources as well. I know I'm going to be sort of diving into that immediately after this. Listen, everyone. Look, if you would like to get onto our mailing lists so that you hear about great people like Raj, coming on and talking to us about these hugely enormous chips and things like that, go to the website below etc. dot FYI, forward slash subscribe. So that's just a short TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, get onto the to the list and allow us to highlight your stuff to people and such like, and please rate and subscribe to the podcast because we get such a lot of value out of the people that come on. Right. I really appreciate you spending a few minutes with us this afternoon. I know you're absolutely pushed around. You got so much to do this afternoon. So I really appreciate it. Thank you so much for spending some time and I wish you all the best with government with good momentum because I think you've got some great stuff we're going to really enjoy watching and getting on to those resources later

Raj Goodman Anand

on. Thank you, sir, for the opportunity and good to be on no problem at all.

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Who is Liz?

Liz Drury, a professionally trained voiceover artist, broadcaster and actor, has been working as a voiceover artist since 2013, and has worked on projects for films, radio and TV commercials, documentaries, telephony, corporate narration, e-learning and audio tours. Learn how professionally delivered voice-overs can enhance your business growth.

Key Takeaways

Businesses with a voice to present as the message-taker are more successful. If there is just silence. 60% of people will hang up and 30% of people won't bother to call back another time. With a targeted message from the company 15 to 20% of people who hear on hold messages will go on to make a purchase because of what they heard.
You need a voice-over to add to any videos. 15 plus million people in UK alone are unable to engage with just text on your videos
When recording your own voice-over for e-learning you need

a. A room where hard surfaces have been covered by pillows, curtains, carpets.

b. Make a pillow-fort with the microphone in the centre and speak into that to deaden sound

c. Smile. A smile can be heard in your voice

Valuable Free Resource or Action

https://lizdrury.com/blog/your-questions-about-voice-over-for-e-learning-answered/

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

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Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

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It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

voiceover, recording, professional, museums, liz, customer, country, people, voicemail, voiceover artist, message, engaged, learner, elearning, podcast, phone, speaking, pillows, included, job openings

SPEAKERS

Liz Drury, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb 00:21

Hi, and welcome again to It's not rocket science. Five questions over coffee. I'm here today with Liz Drury. Liz is a freelance voiceover artist. She works across all kinds of voiceover genres, including commercials, corporate videos, telephone systems, and announcements for events. But she'd been looking for lots of projects in the Learning Centre just recently. Online training has boomed over the last few years, I'm probably aware and having a professional home studio mean, Liz has been able to record projects for clients all around the world. And I'm really looking forward to discussion because it's a really fascinating and interesting person. Great background. We may get into that. I don't know. We'll see how it goes. But please welcome to the podcast and good afternoon. Welcome to you from North Lincolnshire.

Liz Drury 01:07

Thanks very much for having me.

Stuart Webb 01:09

So let's start by just understanding who those clients are that you're working with at the moment and, and the sort of things that that that you do for them.

Liz Drury 01:19

Yeah, so as you said, I work across a lot of different voiceover genres. So kinds of people that I work with would be video production companies who are looking for voiceovers for their projects. I work a lot with elearning providers, as you just said, Who creating online courses and need any people to narrate them. I do a lot of work in for what all sorts of businesses really that want voicemail greetings and unhold sales messages to play to their clients while they're waiting for them to pick up the phone announcements for events. Not that there's been too many events over the last couple of years. But hopefully, those will be coming back soon. And audio tools, museums and art galleries, which are probably my favourite things to do, because those are always so interesting. So yeah, real wide range of things that I do.

Stuart Webb 02:06

And you know, a lot of us don't really think about the need for a horse. Do you find a lot of customers of yours? Try to sort of do their own thing, what sort of troubled and they get in with get into by trying to do something when they're getting a professional? Aren't you involved?

Liz Drury 02:20

Yeah, well, let's let's take the the telephone system as an example. And people might not bother to to have a recorded message on their on the voicemail. And you know, and just just leave it with what came with with the phone when they bought it, which is fine. But if you're running a business, I think customers want to know that they've run the right place. So you're when they ring you and you can't answer the phone, what the customer would like is a message that says Thanks for calling Joe's plumbing, let's say sorry, we're out on a job at the moment. But please leave it leave us a message. And without that they're thinking well, how about have I run the right place? Even worse than that is if you get put on hold, and there's just silence. And I read a statistic last week that said, I think it was 60% of people will hang up if they're just faced with silence and 30% of people won't bother to call back another time. So that's a big mistake to leave people hanging on and not listening to anything. So it's better to have music in the first instance, or even better have some pre recorded sales messages that you can play to peep while they're on hold. And I read another statistic last week that said that 15 to 20% of people who hear on hold messages will go on to make a purchase because of what they heard. So when it's a great marketing opportunity that they are missing out on

Stuart Webb 03:41

terrific stuff, terrific stuff. Now I know that education is something that you you're really interested in, you talked a little bit about e learning and such like that. And I know your background is somewhat sort of related to that, isn't it? You started off in an attempt to sort of do something else with your career. Where did that Where did that come from?

Liz Drury 04:01

So I have a PhD in archaeological science. And when I was when I was doing that, what to start off with I thought that I wanted to go into academia. By the end, I knew that I didn't. But to during the course of my research, I also worked at Eureka, which was the Science Museum for children based in Halifax and I became interested in museum education. So that was something else that I thought of going into which didn't work out because we we found ourselves living in North Lincolnshire, there aren't too many museums in this part of the country and none of them had any job openings when I moved to the area anyways, I ended up having to find something else to do which turned out to be working for a local cable TV station, which included a bit of voiceover work so that's why first started a long time ago.

Stuart Webb 04:51

Wow. Interesting. So what free resource can you give to the audience which will enable them to understand how you using VoiceOver in something like elearning, could be useful to them.

Liz Drury 05:03

So yeah, so let's, let's take the elearning as an example. So a lot of people who are creating online courses might narrate them themselves. And that that can be fine. But it's rare that they would have a proper environment for recording in. And I've a broadcast quality home studio here, which is where I where I work from. And so if you're just recording into your phone or your computer, it's going to be okay. But if you've got a learner who's listening to that recording for a long period of time through a pair of headphones, it's not going to be very good quality, is possibly going to turn that learner off. And so a couple of tips for people who are recording their own material is to try and make the environment as good as it possibly can be. Now, I'm not expecting to have a home studio like I do. But there are a couple of things that you can do to make the quality a bit better. The first tip is not to record in a room like a kitchen or a bathroom where there's lots of hard surfaces, because your voice is just going to bounce around. And you're going to get lots of echo. So choose a room where there's lots of soft furnishings where there's carpet, where there's curtains where there's cushions, because all that's going to help absorb the sound. The other thing is, is if you can to build yourself a little what we call in the in the industry, a pillow fort. So basically a pile of pillows around your microphone, to deaden the sound, and you sort of speak into the microphone, it's in the middle of all these pillows. And that's going to get a much better sound quality. And the other tip that you can have a free is that when you're recording, smile, because people can hear a smile. And it makes such a difference to to the listener, if they can hear that smile in your voice and think oh, this person is actually engaged with this information that they're giving to me.

Stuart Webb 06:58

That's lovely, I really enjoy them. So we come to sort of the question about one of the things that's really influenced you your, your book, or concept or programme that's really sort of helped to engage you. And I think that you'd like to share with the audience. What's that? That book or concept for you?

Liz Drury 07:15

Yes, this is a book that I that I've really enjoyed. So I'm building a story brand by Donald Miller. And it's all about making your customer the hero of your story. So a lot of people in business make mistake of making themselves the hero of the story and saying, Yeah, I can do this. And I can do that. But what your customer wants to know is how can you help them. So you need to position yourself as the guide. So whereas you know, Luke Skywalker would be the hero of the story. You want to be Obi Wan Kenobi who's guiding him on the way and pointing him in the right direction. So that's what that book is all about. And it really helps, I think, when you're creating content for your website, or your social media to bear in mind that your customer is the person who's the hero of the story.

Stuart Webb 08:03

That's a brilliant tip. I love that one. Because so often we try and keep saying to people, too often people trying to sell the drill, but they don't sell the hole but the drill makes and it's the hole that you really care about, isn't it, you don't care how good the drill is. Sometimes it makes the hole you want in the place that you want it in the size that you want it. Everything else is good to you. So yeah, brilliant Tip Make your customer that story, is it? Well, that's brilliant. So there's obviously sort of ask you four questions that I wanted answered. But there must be a question that you're currently thinking. I wish you'd asked me. And so what is the question that you would have liked me to have last year? And then please also answer it? Well,

Liz Drury 08:43

I was having a think about that. I've put some notes down here to remind me of what I wanted to say. So we've talked about voiceover fit for elearning. And you know, maybe it's obvious why an elearning provider might want to have a professional narration tone to keep their learners engaged. But why do people want voiceover for for other reasons, we talked about that the voicemail. And make sure that your your voicemail might be the first impression somebody gets your business, you want to be as good as it possibly can be. And maybe if you're a sort of person who really hates hearing the sound of their own voice when it's recorded. You You don't want to be recording that voicemail greeting because you hate the way it sounds. So why not get a professional then but also, I was thinking about voiceover for videos that are going to be on people's websites or social media. And maybe people think that they could have a video and not have a voiceover on it and just have some text instead to explain what's going on in the video. And that's fine, but I did a bit of research about how many people would not be able to access that sort of content. So if there isn't a voiceover and there's just some On screen text, well, there's about 2 million people in this just in this country alone who are living with sight loss so they wouldn't be able to see What was going on the 6.3 million people in this country who are dyslexic to some degree, they might not be able to read those captions quickly enough before they've disappeared off the screen. And also, and this is, this is terrible, actually, 7.1 million people in this country have a very low level of literacy or are illiterate. And they wouldn't be able to read what was going on, they can perhaps read things, when they know what they expect it to say. But when it's something unfamiliar to them, they can't read it. So that's 15 plus million people in this country alone, that wouldn't be able to understand your video, if it didn't have somebody actually speaking to the viewer. So that's another reason why you might want to use voiceover artist.

Stuart Webb 10:44

That is unbelievable. And I have to be very honest at this stage and say, I know I've used videos, which don't have any voiceover. So we might be having a conversation list. Okay, that's brilliant list. I've been fascinated particularly by that. And I think it's a really compelling argument, why people might need to get in touch with you. And they could do that, not only by looking at the blog that you've put on the screen here, which is questions about voiceover for elearning. But also at your website, which I think I just put up earlier, which is Liz drewery.co.uk. That's li Zed d r u r y.co.uk. And it's a fascinating discussion. Thank you so much for being on and speaking with us this afternoon. Really appreciate you taking the time. And I've thoroughly enjoyed talking about it. So let me just remind you, if you would like to be watching and engaging with people as interesting as Liz, can I ask you to get onto our newsletter website, subscription list. You do that by going to https colon forward slash forward slash, TC a dot FYI, forward slash subscribers, TCA, FYI, forward slash subscribe, then you get an email, which basically introduces who's going to be on the podcast this week, so that you can see live on YouTube and on LinkedIn. And please, if you do, enjoy what we're doing, subscribe, and like and rate us on Apple podcasts and YouTube and LinkedIn, because that really helps. Liz, thank you so much for being here this afternoon. Really appreciate you being here. And I hope that we're all going to be going out there and getting those professional voiceover artists to help us with the things that we really need to communicate. Thank you so much.

Liz Drury 12:28

Thank you. I hope so too.

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Who is Veronica?

Veronica helps impact-driven small business entrepreneurs expand their impact and income by stealing the principles of start-up scaling.

Key Takeaways

A person in business might be stellar at whatever it is they do but it doesn't necessarily mean they have the tools to scale the business.

2.. One of the major tools is to create systems.

To grow your business, hire people different to you, not "mini-me's"

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Veronica has a roadmap at https://veronicakirin.com/roadmap

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

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Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

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Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

veronica, empire, scaling, business, hire, toolbox, small business owners, roadmap, book, multiple income streams, systems, realise, today, people, expand, hamster wheel, order, starting, brilliant, life

SPEAKERS

Veronica Kirin, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb 00:23

Hi, and welcome once again to It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee. That's five questions of coffee. No coffee today, I'm already caffeine out and the you don't want too much, or whatever I've already had for too much. So this is just a nice water with a piece of lime in it to keep me hydrated. But I'm here today with Veronica Kira, and I'm really looking forward to this conversation. Veronica helps real with real small, small business entrepreneurs to expand their empire. She talks about empire building, oh, it's gonna be a great conversation because I think empire building is a hugely interesting concept. So, Veronica, I'm really looking forward to this conversation. Welcome to It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee.

Veronica Kirin 01:06

Hi, Stuart. Thank you. And I actually, I'm drinking tea, not coffee as well. Well, over.

Stuart Webb 01:13

Yeah, years. So let's start with the first question. So can you describe those, those small business entrepreneurs who really want to build their empire? In a few sentences?

Veronica Kirin 01:25

Yeah, definitely. So I, you're going to be somebody who is ready to build your empire. If you've been in business for over two years, and you're starting to feel like you're hitting a ceiling. You don't know what that ceiling is. But for some reason, you can't seem to get to the next big leap, you have a bigger vision than what is happening right now. And it feels like you're constantly spinning your wheels. It's a hamster wheel that you're on, you can't get off of it. And it's actually really exhausting. And you're starting to wonder what the heck you were thinking in the first place?

Stuart Webb 01:52

Yeah, well, I think we've all had that feeling at one stage in our life. And we so So what sort of things do you think that most of those people have done to try and help themselves to overcome those sort of challenges before before they reach out for help?

Veronica Kirin 02:07

Yeah, so I have met a lot of entrepreneurs who dive into the books, take the courses, might even go on a retreat or two, they might hire a marketing director or a social media person to try to get the word out more because they think it just, it's about getting more customers and clients that if I can just get more clients and customers in, then everything will be okay, because it's actually a revenue problem. And in fact, it's not a revenue problem. The problem goes much deeper, which we'll talk about I think next.

Stuart Webb 02:40

Yeah, that's interesting. Because, because a lot of the time a lot of the a lot of problems. It isn't about the sort of the, the way in which you're presenting yourself, it's understanding your customer or something like that. It's getting into those sorts of things, isn't it?

Veronica Kirin 02:54

Yeah, well, it's about the scaling toolkit. So if you imagine that you have a toolbox of your business knowledge, you might be stellar at whatever it is that you do, like you're a photographer, you're an artist, you're really, really good at messaging and content development. That doesn't necessarily mean that you have a really big business toolbox. And to add to that, if you don't have scaling tools in your business toolbox, then that's where the hamster wheel starts to release. So

Stuart Webb 03:23

this is where we this is where we come to your valuable free action, I guess, which I'm going to display on a ticker beneath you now, which is, which is this is where we get interesting information from you the the the toolbox are a sight into that toolbox. Tell us about that. Yeah,

Veronica Kirin 03:40

yeah. So I am a skilling coach for small business owners, I steal the startup scaling tools and give them to small business owners because I was that small business owner, who was languishing in burnout, and had no idea that scaling was even allowed for small businesses, because they make it sound like it's only for Fortune 500 companies, which is just wild to me. And so I in the roadmap that you described that we see scrolling below, I've taken the three pillars of business scaling the three simple things that small business owners need to do in order to scale and can start implementing now. And I've put them into a guide that will identify where you are on the roadmap and what you need to do next in order to start to relieve that hamster wheel pain.

Stuart Webb 04:31

And, you know, you're talking about small business owners who don't have access to that. What are the sort of what are the sort of tools that you're talking about?

Veronica Kirin 04:40

Yeah, so I'm, I'm talking about things like creating systems for every actionable step within your company. So anything that's repeating in your company should be systemized and laid out a lot of entrepreneurs and small business owners that I meet are trying to hold everything in their heads. They haven't externalised their tasking, they haven't externally realise their systems or processes. And so when it comes time to take an action in the business, there's a lot of thinking that's going on and is exhausting them instead of leaving them in the creative space of the visionary CEO that they're trying to become. So one of the major tools I instal is to create systems, and then I help my clients. I've done a lot of the systems already, because I've had several businesses. So I'll show you the shortcuts into creating the system so that you can get into action and growth rather than into the just creating the things,

Stuart Webb 05:32

right, if you're talking my language, it's a lot of the stuff that I do, I sort of I spent a lot of my time scaling businesses, I took one business from 60 to 600 people. And the last thing you want to do is have absolutely no systems in place for 600 people because you would just never get anything done. You've got to have system to get to this.

Veronica Kirin 05:51

Even the hiring the hiring process. Like if you don't have a system and process for that you're hiring blind, and people don't realise that you need more than just a list of skills in order to hire someone.

Stuart Webb 06:01

Brilliant, brilliant. So what's the book or concept or talk that's really inspired you and that you think would be great value to the audience listening at the moment, and we have

Veronica Kirin 06:13

what's up everybody? Of course, you though, because you do such a good job with the show. So actually, I give one book to every single client when we start working together. And it's called the success principles. by Jack Canfield. Yes, he's the guy who wrote Chicken Soup for the Soul that threw me for a loop when people were recommending it to me way back in the day. But it is, I kind of call it my my Bible, like, it's one of those books you can crack open, it's actually right here behind me. You can just pull it open, flip to a page and have incredible impact in your life that day. And even though I've read it, and I've read it several times, it's still something that I pull open regularly. It truly, truly, truly changed my life. It's a whole story. I don't think we have time for it. But I can I can fundamentally say my life would not be what it is today without that book.

Stuart Webb 07:10

Oh, brilliant. I love hearing about books that have done that to people. I know that that changed my life. And it's actually by the founder of McDonald's, which actually is another great book along exactly the same lines. It's a really good book.

Veronica Kirin 07:21

Is that the Golden Arches book that you can about? Yeah, I have that on my e reader. And I haven't read it yet. Okay,

Stuart Webb 07:26

you gotta read that one. That's another one. That's your fundamentally, it's really inspiring for small people that are thinking to themselves, can I make this business bigger? And the answer is yes, you can. But you've just got to learn to let go of things delegate, which is another one of the things that I think people need to learn more of delegation is a key skill that so many people just, you know, they think it's going to be easier to sort of keep doing it myself, because it's difficult to learn how to delegate and I teach people just, it's four steps to delegate something. And once you've got those four steps, you can actually expand your environment here, expand the universe, because you can do so you know, this is a task I need you to do. Well, I can go and do something which I'm, you're better at than me. I can go and do something that I'm good at. You could do what you're good at, let's do the things together.

Veronica Kirin 08:08

Yeah. And a lot of business owners, I noticed try to hire, like many me's, they keep trying to find someone who can do what I do, but just like do it within this other area. And that's not what you want to be doing. You want to be hiring specialties in fragment yourself. So this area of the business gets better and this area of the business gets better and it just expands and expands. Oh, yes.

Stuart Webb 08:32

Yes. key skill for me actually dropped down. We spoke about this for many hours, I suspect is hire those people that are actually better at it than you are. Because you're creative. The last thing you want is another creative person. You need somebody who's a great Completer finisher, you need somebody who's great at a camp. So you go hire a great person, a captain leave the camps alone, because they no longer you what you're good at. Right?

Veronica Kirin 08:54

You're the visionary in your industry. That's why you started the business, you had a vision for your industry for your specialty. And that's where you need to stay. That's the lane that you should be staying in as founder and CEO.

Stuart Webb 09:07

So we come to what is probably the most important question here, which is what is the one question that I should have asked you, which I haven't yet that you would like me to have asked? And what's the answer to the question?

Veronica Kirin 09:21

So I think you sort of asked me what an empire is. And the answer to that question is a business that has multiple income streams and widespread impact. Basically people who want to leave a legacy but not just not just by staying in one lane, they want to be able to have impact through multiple income streams and multiple offerings.

Stuart Webb 09:43

I love that. I love that definition of an empire. I'm fairly sure that the Romans would have agreed with you and I know you've I know you've got a connection to two empires in places like Croatia, they probably have multiple incomes seat stream models. So what a great definition We're reaching the end of the podcast. This has been a really fascinating discussion with Ron, I'm really grateful for you spending some time with us, Veronica giving us this, this just a small insight into the idea of building an empire, which I think is absolutely brilliant. I really encourage you all, go to Veronica's website, which is Veronica kirin.com. Forward slash roadmap. That's Veronica v, r o n, IC, a k i n.com. Forward slash roadmap and go have a look at some of the stuff she's got on a website. It's really a fascinating journey into empire. And a fascinating journey to the sort of things you can do. There'll be, Veronica, it's been really brilliant spending some time today. If if you'd like to sort of hear from what we're doing here at the complete protein. Maybe you could to be watching today, because you'll have seen me send out an email yesterday with everything that's going to happen today with Veronica, go to TCA dot FYI, that's TC a dot FYI, real short, forward slash subscribe that gets you on to the newsletter. It also gives you an opportunity to find out what's going on. And if you're watching this and enjoy it, listen, tell your friends. Tell everybody you know about the podcast and get them to subscribe so that we can help the rest of the world to understand how to get their businesses scared as well. Veronica, it's been really brilliant spending some time with you. Thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us.

Veronica Kirin 11:21

Thanks, Stuart. It's been so fun.

Stuart Webb 11:23

No problem. And now we're going to try and find the right thing to leave us on the accurate I'm gonna have fun

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Who is Simone?

Simone is a multi-award winning serial entrepreneur and author who helped to lunch more than 500 profitable businesses before he was 30 through his company GTeX. He is passionate about building thriving community-led businesses where the members are the core and essence of the decisions and development of ideas.

He works with startup entrepreneurs and experts who want to grow their existing business as well as multi-millionaires who want to launch new ventures, bringing ideas to fruition at lightning speed

Key Takeaways

Human beings come together into communities, and o interact in communities. Community-led leaders want to stand out from the crowd and build something meaningful for society
Too often community-led business leaders cannot build an audience, service customers and build offers all the same time and to do that consistently needs help to develop a way to do it
If you are a community-led business and care about your 'tribe' you need to care about money and cash flow so that you can stay in business and continue to help them

Valuable Free Resource or Action

See getx.org.uk has many free resources, podcast and training courses to help

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Help us get this podcast in front of as many people as possible. Leave a nice five-star review atapple podcasts : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/apple-podcasts and on YouTube : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Itsnotrocketscienceatyt!

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

Join The Complete Approach Facebook Group : https://TCA.fyi/fb

Join our Success to Soar Program and get TIME and FREEDOM. : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Success-to-Soar

Work with me privately

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

business, simone, community, realise, build, work, running, people, book, absolutely, customers, spending, question, client, podcast, purpose, ideas, launch, service based businesses, money

SPEAKERS

Simone Vincenzi, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb 00:22

Hi again and welcome to It's not rocket science. Five questions over coffee. I haven't actually got a coffee today I'm already over caffeinated. So this is just a water but I'm here today with Simone vincenzi. I don't know if you've got a coffee with you, Simone.

Simone Vincenzi 00:40

I don't I'm I'm over caffeinated as well. Same. The same thing.

Stuart Webb 00:44

Simone is, is a multi award winning serial entrepreneur and author, he helped to launch more than 500 profitable businesses before he reached the age of 30, which sounds really impressive. His his company is GTEx. And he's passionate about building thriving community led businesses when the when the members are the core and essence of the decisions and development of ideas, Simone, I'm really looking forward to the discussion today. And welcome to the podcast

Simone Vincenzi 01:16

that thank you for having me here. And I cannot wait to get started. Thank you for

Stuart Webb 01:20

Well, let's start then with my first question which is So describe your your ideal client, the the perfect person that you help with your with your business, Gtech?

Simone Vincenzi 01:29

Yeah, people that we work with are people that are generally running service based businesses. And what they are, they are very driven by a sense of community, they're very driven by making a difference and better driven by making an impact. And they've got a core expertise or something that they are doing or something and want to be known for. And they want to get their voice out there, they want to get seen, they want to get known. They want to make a difference with their voice, because they realise that they have some skills that can definitely help other people. And, but having a voice and I mean a story or running a business, they are two different they're two different things. Right? So then they stumble across to say, I want to run a business. And they might get a few clients, and then at some point, they get stuck. And so that's the that's where we come in. And that's the kind of people that we work with.

Stuart Webb 02:25

Yeah, I know, I know exactly what you mean. And and that leads us very nicely on to the second second question, which is those people that have got stuck, they've often tried things themselves, what are the mistakes you see them making? And how do you help them to overcome some of those mistakes?

Simone Vincenzi 02:40

Yeah, I think that the biggest mistake that they make is that they only realise what they need when it's too late. For example, they work on their offers, and they work on creating a launch. And then they realise that actually, they don't have an audience, or they don't have a community that is ready to buy their offers. And they realise it often after, because I think that when you're running a business, in particular, if it is your first time, or if it is a new industry now is easy to get caught up into doing doing doing and there are millions of things to take care of, there are millions of hat that we are wearing all the time. And it's easy to lose, focus on really what's important, or what's gonna make my launch successful, what's gonna make things work. And I think there are three things that can solve this problem. One is a community. So the focus, having a focus on building your own community and people that they love what you're doing, they respect you, they want to buy from you. They want to listen, they share what you create, and they are your biggest fans, then the second part is lack of visibility and actually becoming really visible to their audience. Because if they don't know that you exist, then how the heck are they going to be part of your community or even buy? And then the third part is your recurring revenues. I think that a lot of people get stressed with that like to get my next client and my next client and my next client and my next client and the debts why they forget to build their community and be visible and is like a self fulfilling prophecy. But if you focus on your recurring revenues, what's happened is that now you have like a good basic income you have a good stable business and then you have more free thing long

Stuart Webb 04:36

yeah, having a stable business or having stable things that you can offer is so much easier and so much sharp. So it's easy to sort of relax into that which you built the audience with. You built the people around you who you know, were there to become the prospective customers don't they?

Simone Vincenzi 04:54

Exactly. Absolutely. Absolutely. And, and and it is a it is a consistent work is not something that you can do day in and day out, I can do one month in one month off.

Stuart Webb 05:06

Is it something you see often with, with with people who are starting a business, so they work really hard in order to be able to sort of generate all the ideas. And then they have, then they get a client or they get customers and they get busy doing things for them. And then they forget, they have to go back and start generating new customers. Otherwise, they have a month off, where they're suddenly thinking, I've delivered all those projects, where are all my customers, again, you spend the next month building all those customers back up, don't you that feast and famine is a very common early stage problem.

Simone Vincenzi 05:37

100%. And I believe that I think that can put things in perspective, in business, often you get paid three to six months down the line for the work that you're doing today. And so the work that you're doing today is what is going to prepare your business for the next three to six months. Not for the revenues. Now, as if you suddenly were today you don't sell for today, but you sell for three to six months down the line? Yes, well, if you do the work today, and day after day, then you can future proof your business in this way by being visible, build your community have a system with the recurring revenues, and then it increase organically. And now you have something that you actually really solid that gives you space that gives you freedom to do other things that or invest in your business or grow it hire more team members and so on.

Stuart Webb 06:24

Absolutely. Right. Absolutely. Right. So we have scrolling across the screen at the bottom that your website. And I'm hoping that there's some valuable free resources at the website@gtex.org.uk, which community based leaders and the people you're talking to at the moment could go and get those valuable resources from?

Simone Vincenzi 06:41

Absolutely, there's plenty of free resources out there on their on their website, starting from our podcast, the expert to authority show that everyone can listen to, as well as our we have a training on understanding how to build your community and visibility and recurring revenue. So check it out. And there are and have a look around for your debt training is going to be incredibly valuable.

Stuart Webb 07:06

Brilliant. So is there a particular concept programme or book which you have found most impactful in your experience? And what is the what's the impact it's had that you'd like to share with us?

Simone Vincenzi 07:18

Yeah, so I'm Italian, right? No? Yeah, exactly. I'm sure you're being Italian, you know, I'm very family oriented. That's why I'm a big believer in the power of communities. So I'm a big believer in the power of building a circle that is closer than just a following the two of them social media are a number on your mailing list. That is a very tighter network of clients, partners, people that are really there for you and your business, and you're there for them by in return. And there is a great book from Seth Godin, which I absolutely love. And it's called Tribes. Yeah. I don't know if you ever if you read that book, or you heard of it. Yeah.

Stuart Webb 08:07

Definitely, yeah. Yeah. Very good book. Very, very good book.

Simone Vincenzi 08:11

Yeah. And it is great, because it talks about how like human beings come together into communities, and our leaders can interact in communities. So then they can stand out from the crowd, while creating something meaningful for society. Incredible book and with big influence in the world that we are doing.

Stuart Webb 08:28

Yeah, very good. Very good book. Very good book. So Simone, I am sure there is a question that is on your mind at the moment, you're thinking I wish she would ask me this question. So what's the question you would like me to have asked you during this interview? And then answer that question for us. Otherwise, we're going to be spending the next several hours wondering why you asked that question. And I have no answer for it.

Simone Vincenzi 08:48

Okay, the question is, what are the two main reason the only two reasons why businesses go out of business? They own hands.

Stuart Webb 08:56

And I would guess that that's it's not for lack of ideas, and often for lack of potential customers, is it?

Simone Vincenzi 09:05

Mm hmm, exactly. So one is actually they do something illegal. If you do something illegal, you're out of business. The second one is they run out of money, cash

Stuart Webb 09:16

flow. Cash flow, is the key reason that so many businesses run out of steam, isn't it? I've watched it myself many times. And you know, something, Vincent Simona. I often say to people that I'm working with, and they will tell me and this is particularly true of those community based leaders also, but I don't I'm not worried about the money, the money will happen. And I should turn around to them and say, the money is what you have to worry about. You should be thinking about that. Because if you don't have the money, you can't serve your community.

Simone Vincenzi 09:48

Absolutely. 100 100%. And that's why in particular, if you'd like if you're like a your purpose and your heart is not going to pay the bills. No, I'll let So you make it into a business, which now you means learning about sales and marketing conversions running the community becoming visible. And that's the game. And that's why a lot of people don't succeed a business, because instead of they are too in love, with their purpose and their passion compared to being the love of running the business. And I think that if you do need to combine both to have a successful business, otherwise, there is nothing wrong to do your work for charity. I'm not saying that there is something wrong or that everyone now needs to a business or you're wrong for that. But if you want to have a successful business, you need to fall in love with money, you need to fall in love with running a business and implement your purpose into it. And now you have full personal fulfilment and financial fulfilment together.

Stuart Webb 10:44

You're absolutely right, Simone. I love that. I mean, yeah, absolutely, you're absolutely spot on with that. I do. So worry about those people that that don't worry about the money because they can't continue to serve the purpose that they have the purpose led life and the purpose led business that they have, if they're not able to pay the bills that will cause the business to fail. So yes, people do you do need to worry about the bills, you do need to worry about whether or not that invoice has been paid. And you need to ring the person and say, that invoice hasn't been paid, I need the money because otherwise I can't keep helping you. That's a really important thing.

Simone Vincenzi 11:20

And 100%

Stuart Webb 11:22

Simone, this has been a really brilliant to chat. I really appreciate you spending some time talking to us. That, folks, this is this is why we do these things because we love to get people like Simone who's got really great ideas about how to build really important businesses. And if you want to hear about the people we've got coming on if you were on the on the newsletter list, yesterday, you got an email from me saying join today's call to listen to Simone talk about his business. Get onto our newsletter list by subscribing to it at t ca dot FYI, very simple TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, that's TCA dot FYI, forward slash, subscribe, get onto that list and get on to hearing about some of the wonderful things that people like samode are doing. And if you like some of what we're doing here on the podcast, can you can you rate and subscribe on Apple podcasts and Spotify tell everybody what a great job people like Simone are doing and tell the world that we're trying to help expose more of the sort of great businesses like Simone's doing Simone, thank you so much for coming on and spending a few minutes with us. I really appreciate it. And it's great to hear some of the stuff that you're currently doing with GTEx

Simone Vincenzi 12:35

Thank you very much do I really appreciate and it's been a pleasure being here.

Stuart Webb 12:39

No problem. Thank you.

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Who is Aideen Ni Riada Wolpe?

Aideen is an Intuitive Voice Coach, Mentor and Singer. She unlocks the mental and emotional blocks to being seen and heard so that you can speak up, Sing OUT and step forward in life with renewed faith in yourself.

She blends her knowledge of psychology, spirituality and voice training to uncover the hidden treasure within your unique voice in music, life or business.

Aideen can help you to sing & live joyfully by transforming your self doubt into self confidence!

Key Takeaways

We need to remember that we're here to serve others. And if they don't know about what you do or don't understand what you do and how you do it, because you don't speak up, you're letting a lot of people who could use your help down.
Use positive affirmations to engage your thinking in positive thoughts - you become resourceful when you ask a positive question. So why is it becoming easier to use my voice? Why is my voice worthy of being heard? Why is my message important for my clients? Why is my confidence growing bit by bit?
The reason that singing and music improves your confidence is because of the way our brains work. When musicians are tested on how they use their brains, it's actually been found that instead of just thinking logically in a linear way, you're more likely to actually problem solve with your whole brain, if you have studied music, or you've done singing.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

A free online consultation and community for a free video series on building confidence in singing. All available on www.confidenceinsinging.com

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

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Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Help us get this podcast in front of as many people as possible. Leave a nice five-star review atapple podcasts : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/apple-podcasts and on YouTube : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Itsnotrocketscienceatyt!

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

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Join The Complete Approach Facebook Group : https://TCA.fyi/fb

Join our Success to Soar Program and get TIME and FREEDOM. : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Success-to-Soar

Work with me privately

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

singing, voice, question, book, resourceful, people, confidence, consultation, brain, bit, clients, dad, speaking, spending, podcast, exercise, hear, called, mailing list, minds

SPEAKERS

Aideen Ni Riada Wolpe, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb 00:21

Hello, and welcome back to it's not rocket science by questions over coffee. I'm not actually with a coffee at the moment, I've got a nice glass of lime water he has

Aideen Ni Riada Wolpe 00:37

great minds think alike.

Stuart Webb 00:38

So I'm here with AD newbie other Walpa I'm not going to try and pronounce anything better than that. 18. So if I've got colleges, but ad is a well, what can I say 18. She's an intuitive coach and singing coach, and I'm really looking forward to this particular discussion, because I think a dean has got such a great personality and such a lot of stuff to say on this, I think is gonna be really great. So you're an indeed, mentor, singer, I'm hoping we're going to get into how to unlock mental and emotional blocks to being seen and heard, so that you can speak up I think, is really a great thing for people who are running businesses to know about so 18 Welcome to It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee. Thanks very much for being here.

Aideen Ni Riada Wolpe 01:23

It's an absolute pleasure. And thank you for having me. And I'm Hello to everyone watching.

Stuart Webb 01:28

Brilliant. So let's start with the sort of person that you try to help what's the what's the, the person you're trying to reach? And how do you sort of what are the problems they got? You're helping them to overcome?

Aideen Ni Riada Wolpe 01:39

Well, I think we've all been there. But um, my I, the people that I help generate a bit frustrated, right? Because they have something that they want to they want to do with their lives, but they feel that they're being blocked in some way. So what happened for me was someone asked me 18, what's your dream? And I said, Well, I want to be a singer, but I can't do that. So basically, I shut myself down. And the reasons were many buttons, mainly because my dad felt that, you know, a career in teaching or marketing would be far more suitable, and gave me some advice, you know, that, you know, money without music, they don't kind of go together. So I am I had this block myself. So I understand when people come to me that they have this kind of wish to do something with their voice, whether that is to to work in their business, or whether it's to sing. And because I do a bit of both. And if they can unlock that part of themselves that's holding themselves back, then they can actually start to step into the spotlight or put their business into the spotlight, so they can help more people.

Stuart Webb 02:53

Tonight, it's it's so often that I look back and I hear this from clients of mine, we're trying to please our parents and our parents have somehow managed to stop us doing something that they're trying their best to protect us from doing. And yet at the same time, they've managed to protect us from doing it in such a way that there's really ruined us. So it's not unusual to hear somebody turn around and say my dad tried to help me, but somehow messed me up. Yes. I know, as a parent, I do my level best not to completely mess up. But I guess eventually, in a few years time, my son will be here on a podcast saying well, it was great, but my send your candour on path. So I'm so glad to come out of it. So So what are the things which you found that that people like entrepreneurs, or business owners, and even people in their personal life, have tried to do themselves to help before they eventually found you and found what you're trying to help them with?

Aideen Ni Riada Wolpe 03:47

Well, I think for me and for many of my clients is we try to do other things and, or we try to take steps towards what we want, with the mental block still in our minds. So what I did was I started to think of my dad's advice as negative reinforcement. So think of positive reinforcement. Negative reinforcement is a bit like when someone says, I can't do that, and you go Halliwell, you know, so it's a bit of that, you know, push pull. And when you think of your parents, you know, they create this beautiful nest for us to live in, covered in feathers. But the Eagles actually put thorns around the edges of the nest. So when we get to a certain, a certain stage of our development, the parent parental view is actually at something that we have to fight that we're like, oh, this is annoying. This is like I don't want to be here anymore. So we have these things going on in our minds all the time. We have parts of us that are very reassuring to ourselves on parts of us that are giving us a hard time. But the it all is leading us to expand and to to figure it out. A new way of doing things, we're very stuck in our ways. And if we try to do something on our own, and it hasn't worked by doing it on our own, then sometimes getting support is an answer. If you've tried to do it, but pushing through, and it hasn't quite worked, then maybe you need to start being more in a receptive mode, which can mean you know, maybe internal beliefs changing rather than taking a lot of action. So there's there is looking at where you were, what you were doing, and, and, you know, having a conversation about something like that, like about, oh, my dad said this, or my teacher said this about my singing, I was told to lip sync, you know, just smell the words. So when we go back to those situations, and those, those crucial points, and even talk about them, and I learned to kind of accept and forgive those situations, then you can move forward in a new way. So doing it on your own doesn't always work

Stuart Webb 06:02

like that. Let's, let's move into so what is it the that you tried out to do? And I know you've got a great website, I'm going to sort of just display it now, which is the confidence in singing.com. So what do you help people with what is there on that website that will allow people to start accessing some of that help that you've just talked about either self help or pushing through those sort of barriers that they know they've got, and they just want to be able to sort of release them?

Aideen Ni Riada Wolpe 06:28

Absolutely. Well, I have, um, I have a video series for those those of you watching that maybe you want to enjoy singing and have a secret wish to sing. My video series is five steps to confidence in singing, you just sign up for my main my newsletter to receive that. I also do a free voice consultation. So if you're struggling to express yourself in other ways, and you feel like you may want to get support around that come and do a free consultation, it's you don't there's no obligation at the end. It's a short consultation, I'm very happy to offer whatever free advice I can. And then I am going I'm writing a book at the moment stewards Would you believe called start singing, so that I'm hoping will be out in the next few weeks, and hopefully, the next few weeks, so I have a goal to bring that out by the fifth of February. And I also one thing that I love is I do love reading. So I have a blog post on my website of the my my five favourite books or books that changed my life. And if anybody is interested in finding out where I've developed my philosophy, then those books really can reveal a lot.

Stuart Webb 07:39

Do you know something? I was just as you were saying that I think that that consultation you mentioned, you know, for people that, you know, they have to stand up and speak about their business, they have to stand up and just talk about what they do, it's a difficult thing for a lot of business owners to do. So it's you know, it's the one thing you hear, isn't it that many people sort of would prefer it, when it comes to the public eulogy or whatever, at a funeral, they'd almost fit, they'd almost be more fearful of that than their own being in the box at the front of the church. So, so just having a consultation, to enable them to get some tips on how to release the voice so that they're not afraid of speaking. So they're not actually caught by that fear that they're not going to sound strange, it would be a great way to sort of just start the process of being able to talk more confidently about what they do and down the business growth path.

Aideen Ni Riada Wolpe 08:29

Absolutely. Because really, we need to remember that we're here to serve others. And if they don't know about what you do, I don't understand what you do and how you do it. You're letting a lot of people who could use your help down.

Stuart Webb 08:42

What a great philosophy, I love that you mentioned. So those books, and I'm not just going to come back to that one there. The the question that I asked everybody is was the book or concept or, or programme that really has been impactful for you that you want to share? So I suggest, you know, maybe that's one of those books, or is there something else you'd like to tell us about?

Aideen Ni Riada Wolpe 09:00

Oh, I have to tell you about this, this, I have a whole new way of using, you know, affirmations, and it's something that I discovered only about a month and a half ago. So yeah, this is really life transforming. It's been transformative for me, and I've been sharing it with everybody I can imagine. So I'm going to explain why it works. So well. Our brain tends to answer the questions we ask us. So if I ask myself, Why am I so crap and speaking in public, it will find answers to that it will find the answer that well, your dad said that you were you know that you should just shut up. And or, you know, well I don't like the sound of my own voice or, you know, I maybe I'm you know, tooting my own horn or I'm too big for my boots, right. So we find the negative answers to the negative question. So this is a way to actually turn those things around. What I did was I made a list of all my negative questions. These include things like why don't I love living with my mother? All right, for instance, why is my husband indecisive? All of these questions, but two pages worth? And then I turned them into positive questions. Why is my husband so decisive? Why do I love living with my mother now here in Michigan. And what happens is your brain then searches for positive answers. And say in terms of living here, I realised that I hadn't put my own stamp on, on even this little office that I use. So I ended up in a local shop, I bought myself a few nice little trinkets, like a little globe globe to put in the, it's a beautiful sea green colour, I got one of my affirmation cards and framed and my beautiful sticker on the wall here. So you become resourceful when you ask a positive question. So why is it becoming easier to use my voice? Why is my voice worthy of being hurt? Why is my message important for my clients? Why is my confidence growing bit by bit? So any, any negative questions? You've been saying to yourself? Like, why would I be terrified to go on a podcast? Or switch it around to? Why would it be comfortable for me to go on a podcast, and you'll find that certain interviewers might be might be someone that you would be comfortable, or maybe it'd be more comfortable on an audio podcast and not a video. So we become resourceful. These are called App form, Asians. And the, the person who told me about it is a woman called Denise Duffield Thomas, who's Australian. But the book is written by Noah, St. John. And he is on Amazon, I got his audio book called The Great little book of affirmations. And I listened to that. And I am just loving it. Brilliant.

Stuart Webb 11:50

I love that. Well, that's that's one to stick on the on the list to go and get it immediately after this. Yeah, I'm aware that we're taking up valuable time. And I know you've got a singing lesson to go to pretty soon. Yes,

Aideen Ni Riada Wolpe 12:02

yes, I'm actually going to teach my mantra class. So I teach mantras like, on and on Manny paddling on some of the spiritual side of things. So I have a class two classes a week that I teach like that, and I have one coming up.

Stuart Webb 12:18

Really? Well, we're gonna let you go to that. But not without first posing to you the the question that I should have asked you, which I've managed to sort of get out of asking this is work the way I only have to do thinking for four questions I made you do the question for the what is the question that I should have asked? And then please answer the question so that we don't end up in a situation where we're all wondering what you would have said.

Aideen Ni Riada Wolpe 12:41

And I think the question you could have asked is, why is the singing improved confidence. And the reason that singing and music improves your confidence is because of the way our brains work. So I'm very interested in this, I studied psychology. And when musicians are tested and how they use their brains, it's actually been found that they integrate the right and left side of our brains more with more interactions. So instead of just thinking logically, and linear in a linear way, or just thinking creatively and in a random way, you're more likely to actually problem solve with your whole brain, if you have studied music, or you've done singing. So that's one way that I feel that singing really helps develop our confidence. It makes us more resourceful.

Stuart Webb 13:32

Well, with that I'm, I'm going to get immediate into into my singing mode. And I won't actually get you to it now. Although I do actually sing.

Aideen Ni Riada Wolpe 13:43

I would love to do singing exercise with everybody.

Stuart Webb 13:46

Do you want to do that now? Yeah, why not?

Aideen Ni Riada Wolpe 13:49

We all have to use our voices during the day. And we generally wake up pretty croaky as I did this morning. So homing is my favourite singing exercise because anybody can access it. And you can hum along with any song. So try this. Hmm, Mm hmm. So it's like exploring the higher notes. Mm hmm. Good eye wherever you get to it was perfect. And then down the way and then the second one that was good, down, you've probably got a few really good low notes down there. There you go. And then the second one is meow sounds meow sounds help move the larynx so that you can access high notes. So it's just like a scrawny little kitten meal. Yeah, there you go. And you do that new, high, medium and low. And you if you do even two minutes of those kinds of exercises in the morning, you will be able to speak more clearly your voice will be ready to deal with clients. If you're speaking in public it will help you to get your voice working.

Stuart Webb 14:54

Oh, hey, what a wonderful tip. That's, that's I think that's the first time on this podcast. Anybody has forced me to Meow sounds so what we do is on a regular basis, listen, this has been a fascinating discussion. Thank you so much for spending some time with us. I'm just gonna remind everybody if you would like to get on to the mailing list so that you hear about when people like eating, it's gonna come on and force you to do singing and speaking exercises in order to improve your voice. Get onto our mailing list by going to https colon, forward slash forward slash TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, that's TCA dot FYI, forward slash, subscribe. 18. Thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Really appreciate you putting some some time aside to do this in your room with you're now much more comfortable in it because you've got the colours around you. Really appreciate this. And thank you so much for spending some time. I really appreciate that. Thank you very much for watching us. John Connolly says hello. Thank you, John.

Aideen Ni Riada Wolpe 15:54

Thanks, John. Bye, guys. Bye bye.

Get full access to It's Not Rocket Science! at thecompleteapproach.substack.com/subscribe

View Details

Who is Minter?

Minter Dial is an international professional speaker, elevator and a multiple award-winning author, specialised in leadership, branding and transformation. An agent of change, he's a three-time entrepreneur who has exercised twelve different métiers and moved country fifteen times. Minter's core career stint of 16 years was spent as a top executive at L’Oréal, where he was a member of the worldwide Executive Committee for the Professional Products Division, and previously MD of L'Oréal PPD Canada and MD Worldwide for Redken. He’s author of the award-winning WWII story, The Last Ring Home (which is a documentary film and book, 2016) as well as three business books, Futureproof, Heartificial Empathy and his latest book on leadership is, You Lead, How Being Yourself Makes You A Better Leader (Kogan Page).

He is passionate about the Grateful Dead, Padel Tennis, languages and generating meaningful conversations.

Key Takeaways

The issue we have today is a big problem around talent, and motivating the people who are working in the teams considering the environment we're working in
iI you look at the issue of transformation programmes they are set up as a one-time solution, which will lead to disappointment. It needs to be a mindset change more than a programme. It takes a concerted effort and executives need everybody participating and feeling like they're contributing, feeling like they're being heard as well.
Transformation requires five 'E's

Engagement, how are you engaging your team and making them feel like they're part of it.

Exchange. And this idea is how do you make sure that you're listening as much as you're talking, and make sure that there's a two way flow, people feel like they are contributing, people feel that they are being heard.

Emotion, where is the emotional link? How are you making things fun? Where do people feel like they're part of a team.

Experience. it's through experiences that people learn. It's through experiences, like on a rugby pitch with a team that you bond together. So you must create experiences.

Essence, - purpose. What is your essence? Who are you? What do you stand for?

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Minter has a bi-weekly newsletter: https://www.minterdial.com/subscribe/

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Help us get this podcast in front of as many people as possible. Leave a nice five-star review atapple podcasts : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/apple-podcasts and on YouTube : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Itsnotrocketscienceatyt!

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

Join The Complete Approach Facebook Group : https://TCA.fyi/fb

Join our Success to Soar Program and get TIME and FREEDOM. : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Success-to-Soar

Work with me privately

Get full access to It's Not Rocket Science! at thecompleteapproach.substack.com/subscribe

View Details

Who is Mollie?

Mollie works with creatives, coaches, and brands who struggle to answer the question: how do I talk about my business online? She helps them figure out what to say, where to say it, and how to "wow" their clients with their online presence and client experience. Her goal is for them to feel confident about the content they're creating on their social media, website, and other marketing channels because it "feels" like their brand.

Key Takeaways

Many business owners assume that our prospects have a lot more knowledge about what we do; our services, our products, and they don't and so we speak to them as if they do. We need to remember that
Remember to speak to the client's problem, Focus on the client, and what they're really wanting or needing or the thing that they're struggling with. This will have a bigger impact for them than if you're talking about what you do and the features of working with you. That's all part of a good message
What's one thing people can do to improve their online presence? You need to be on video, Your prospects need to see your face, they need to get an idea of you, they want to see your energy that is what's going to attract people to you.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

https://mollie.mykajabi.com/social-content-ideas

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

and on linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/posts/stuartwebb_mollie-works-with-creatives-coaches-and-activity-6874038909647646720-vcPt

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Help us get this podcast in front of as many people as possible. Leave a nice five-star review atapple podcasts : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/apple-podcasts and on YouTube : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Itsnotrocketscienceatyt!

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

Join The Complete Approach Facebook Group : https://TCA.fyi/fb

Join our Success to Soar Program and get TIME and FREEDOM. : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Success-to-Soar

Work with me privately

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

molly, client, talk, work, ideas, mistake, give, people, resource, dreadful, content, question, inspiration, hear, brilliant, conversation, problem, speak, expert, helped

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Mollie Marrocco

Stuart Webb 00:22

Hi, and welcome back to it's not rocket science by questions over coffee. This is a fight. I'm here with Molly Morocco. Maura, Molly Lou, Molly works with creatives, coaches and brands who struggle to answer the question, how do I talk about my business online, so she's really helping them to figure out figure out how to say what they're gonna say how to how to make it Wow, with their clients, and I'm really looking forward to the conversation we're gonna have today, Molly, welcome to It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee.

Mollie Marrocco 00:50

Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here. Terrific. Well,

Stuart Webb 00:53

I hope you've got your coffee ready, or you've got some sort of warming drink, have some nice lemon water there just to keep me going. So let's start with the first question. I always like to start with Melissa, you know, what is the problem that your clients face that you're you see every day when you're working with them.

Mollie Marrocco 01:15

A lot of my clients don't really know how to talk about their business online, they really struggle to separate kind of what they're doing from what their client actually needs. So they end up kind of bragging about themselves a lot and talking about what they are doing. And they're not necessarily hitting on the certain notes that their clients or their audience actually needs to hear to get them to want to pay attention. Most people end up kind of talking about themselves. And they're not kind of saying those pieces that their client needs to hear to feel like they're understood, and that they actually understand the problem and therefore can solve it.

Stuart Webb 01:51

Yeah, it's that dreadful thing about the fact that you know your product really well. But you've forgotten the benefit it has to somebody buying it for the first time, don't you, you just you fail to see that because you're so close to the product, you're so in the in the woods of fail to see the trees around, you

Mollie Marrocco 02:07

know, that's entirely true. And especially what happens kind of what you're saying is that whole Curse of Knowledge idea, which is where we kind of assume that our client has a lot more knowledge about what we do our services, our products, and they don't and so we speak to them as if they do, we kind of speak to them as if they're in college, as opposed to being in like sixth grade, which is really where most of them are. And so we speak over their head a lot. And so really bringing down what we do at its most basic level, so that a middle schooler could understand it is going to help you reach a lot more people because chances are if they understood it at the level that you understand it and could speak that same language, they wouldn't have the problem that they're looking to you to solve anyways.

Stuart Webb 02:48

So what's the thing that you see them do so often, that actually doesn't help them to solve this, what are the things that you're sort of seeing them do, which, which are the mistakes that you're trying to help them solve?

Mollie Marrocco 02:59

So the biggest thing that I think that they do is that they're not actually speaking to the client's problem, they're not outlining it for them, if they're focused on the client, and what they're really wanting or needing or the thing that they're struggling with, then that's going to have a bigger impact than if they're talking about what they do, and the features and benefits of working with them. That's all part of a good message. But most people tend to focus heavily on that side of things and their own authority, instead of kind of focusing on what their client and what their audience needs, because here's the thing, people don't care about you, they care about what you can do for them. And so if you're really focused on that piece of things, then they start paying attention. And there's, I learned this recently, and I thought it was so fascinating. The first person to kind of teach you something ends up owning that information. And a lot of times, they end up being the go to expert in there, or you want to be the go to expert in their mind. So they want to work with you, you kind of have this like weird, you know, monopoly on that piece. And so that is where like, if you are educating your clients, and you are spending time doing that, it makes a massive difference, because they're going to go to you to get more of that information because they actually trust you, because you were the one who has made it obvious that you can solve their problem.

Stuart Webb 04:19

You know, I love that. I love that, that that message there that, you know, if you're the person that teaches something, something to somebody, you're the go to expert, that's a really great message to sort of get there. So, you know, taking it down to the simple level. So everybody sort of recognises you as the expert because you're the one that speaking clearest, you're the one that's speaking it in such a way that nobody can get that wrong is a great way of encapsulating what you're talking about. That's absolutely wonderful.

Mollie Marrocco 04:43

Yeah. And I think too, like a lot of times we think well somebody else has already said this, you know, we're not reinventing the wheel, but I think we've all experienced it in our own lives where you know, we will go and we'll have someone say something and it won't click and someone else will say The exact same thing and it's the energy or something about the way that that other person said it work hits for us, or we've heard it, and then we get new experiences and those new experiences, then make it land in a different way for us and make it make more sense. So I think for people who are kind of like, well, I don't have anything to add to this conversation. I mean, you might not, but that doesn't mean that you're not providing value. And that doesn't mean that you're not going to help your audience. So you know, say it, because the way that you say it is what's going to attract the people who really need you and want to work with you.

Stuart Webb 05:34

Love it. Absolutely love it. So I guess that takes us on to the to the valuable free action or the valuable free resource that you've got, which is, which I presume is something to do with? We've got scrolling across the screen belief that at the moment, can you describe to us exactly what we'll find when we go to molly.my kajabi.com, forward slash social hyphen, content, hyphen, ideas, I think I've got that right, I should make sure it's in the notes. Anyway,

Mollie Marrocco 06:00

great job, I know, I probably should have shortened that link. So I created a PDF, it's a 17, page PDF. And really, what it is, is, it's all different content ideas broken down for you by what your client needs to hear how you can talk about yourself. You know, I think there's a lot of different lead magnets and resources out there for people. But what I really like about mine, is that I took the time to kind of think about things that are going to be very specific and almost granular to your business. But at the same time, they're going to apply to a variety of different businesses, because I think sometimes it can, you know, people tend to be a little bit more general, but I really wanted to give people resources that they could use. So it's pretty much over a month's worth of content ideas. So yeah, so you can just kind of go through it and like, Put your finger on one and say, This is what I want to talk about today. And I think the other thing is, there's, there's a good amount of prompts one of the things that always happens to me, and it irks me, and every time I make the same mistake, when I get inspiration, I have to write it down immediately. So like I have a note on my phone, and I write stuff down. But what inevitably ends up happening is I only write a phrase or a couple of words. And then I'm like, full of all this inspiration. And I go back to it, no idea. No, I like couldn't even come up with a post about I couldn't even come up with a sentence about it. So I feel like when you have those inspirations like bonus tip, write down as much as you possibly can even if you voice text it to yourself, because that's what's gonna, like spark that inspiration. So that's what I tried to do in this resource was give you enough kind of prompting and enough examples of what you know, you might want to talk about. So it doesn't feel like I've got nothing with that it really kind of is robust and can give you some content ideas.

Stuart Webb 07:49

You know, I think I'm going to download that now. Because it's gonna be really a 17 pages. That's a lot of information. Yeah, that's, that's brilliant. Thank you so much for that. So let's just get on to Question for at this stage, which is the What's the concept or book which really inspired you and you think would be most impactful for our audience to hear about.

08:08

So one of the things that has always been really important to me, and also kind of frustrating for me on the kind of consumer end of things is when people tend to sell to you a lot, and they're not doing it from a place of serving first. And so my mentor is Rachel Peterson, and she's incredible. And one of the things that she has kind of taught me is you just want to serve, you want to do everything with an open hand, when you have a discovery call with a client when you are, you know, offering someone something, you want to give them as much value as possible. And they're going to want to work with you. And if they take what you have to offer, and they run with it, and they're successful, that's fine too, because they are still going to remember that you were the one who helped them get there. And I think a lot of times we can kind of like want to hide things behind a paywall, and make people have to, you know, pay for our good stuff. But at the same time, if you are like giving a tonne of free value and providing you know, value to someone, they're going to see that and say, Well, this is what this person is giving me for free, well, then I totally want to work with them. Because I know that if this is how much value and you know, amazingness I'm getting here, I'm going to get even more once I actually go to work with someone. So I just I hate sitting on a webinar and having someone waste my time with all these like sales pitches. It's like give me value. And if you help me, I'm going to want to spend my money with you because you've helped me so yeah, that's kind of my my biggest fear. I think

Stuart Webb 09:35

that's brilliant. And it's something that a mentor of mine has also drilled into me many years ago, which is, you know, when you're starting those calls with somebody start with being interested in them rather than try to be interesting to them. You know, start with that open hand as you said, be be interested in what they have got to say and what their problems are rather than trying to be interesting and kind of come up with the sparkle that somehow just doesn't quite meet their level and, you know, misses the point. So I think that's a brilliant message. I love what you've just done with that. And I'm going to be going to that that link in a few minutes time and making sure I've got that downloaded because I think 17 pages of value. So let's, let's come to the to the fifth question. And this is, this is the point where I can relax, thankfully, I don't have to think anymore. That's great. What's the question that I should have asked you? That I haven't yet? Once you've asked that question of yourself? Would you answer it for us, please?

Mollie Marrocco 10:26

Sure. So I think they the question that you should have asked me would have been what's one thing people can do to improve their online presence or like that? Yeah. So it's video, I think, you know, talking all of that stuff, like we need to be on video, people need to see your face, they need to get an idea of you, they want to see your energy like that is what's going to attract people to you. And like, I've had clients who, you know, I get on a call with them, they're like, I know, I want to work with you like, because they've taken the time to see the value that I've provided on video, and they feel like they already know me, you know, there's a relationship that kind of happens, where people see your face, they see your eyes, they hear your voice, they get to know who you are, and they feel like they know you because they're having this conversation with you face to face and looking in your eyes through a screen. But you know, it makes them feel like they know you and so then they want to work with you. And it kind of builds that know, like and trust factor in a way that, you know, doesn't happen if somebody is reading a blog post or an Instagram post or an article about you, they want to actually see you so a lot of people are scared to get on video, but it's really kind of like the way of the future and you just have to go out there and practice. It's, it can be intimidating. But if you practice and put yourself out there and start to figure out your flow, like you'll be great.

Stuart Webb 11:46

Yeah, I was gonna say, Well, you know, we're here on a video call today, we're doing this on video. It's, it's out there on the internet forevermore. And, you know, to be to be honest, you know, there is there is nothing wrong with making an occasional mistake in these things. Because people don't look at that. And, you know, I think that's what stops a lot of people. A lot of people are really worried about what if I make a mistake, or so while everybody else makes a mistake, we all occasionally do it. Nobody's gonna think very much of it. It's just a small mistake, just move past and, and do it and I I agree with you. You know, I started doing my blogs videos, and the first two were dreadful, and they're horrible to look back on. But hey, I've got better and I'm so well, you know, we all expect it.

Mollie Marrocco 12:31

Yeah, it's so true. And I think a lot of times we can kind of feel like oh my gosh, but they're going to be terrible. Yes, they should be and if you don't look back and say like, oh my god, I'm like cringing at myself over that then you haven't gotten better. You know? So it's really it's something that's super important to do. And I think not a lot of people are you know, taking as much time as they should and kind of putting that into video because you know, you can take a video piece of video content and share it you know, as opposed to you can like pull it down into smaller things make it a real make give you like it's there's just so much that you can do with the video

Stuart Webb 13:08

on your right is that they tap touch we you know, we we see the person we hear the energy we get to know whether or not that's a good energy for us. It works really well it works around particularly nowadays when none of us can see each other anyway because we've got these viruses and such like But enough of that we won't get there there. That's conclude the conversation by just saying you thanks so much for being with us. Molly, really appreciate everything you've said. Looking forward to seeing some of that stuff that you've got on that that site. Listen, people if you would like to get on the mailing list, which allows us to email to you on the day before we do these live so that you can actually watch people really interesting discussions like people with real expertise like Molly, go to this link which is https colon, forward slash forward slash TC a dot FYI, forward slash subscribe at TCA dot FYI fossa, subscribe, and get on the mailing list and then you can hear about these wonderful conversations. Molly, thank you so much for being with us. Really appreciate you taking the time. You've just delivered massive content and I really appreciate the time you've taken.

Mollie Marrocco 14:12

Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it and enjoyed myself. Okay,

Stuart Webb 14:16

thank you very much.

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Who is Alastair?

Alister Esam was a frustrated CEO and Founder who felt so passionately about his business he was working 80 hours a week trying to make everything perfect. At the same time he drove his employees up the wall. Disempowering them to the point that they could no longer contribute to the business, demotivating them and heaping more stress on himself. He found salvation in a surprising place. People associate process with control, monotony, routine, the status quo and with an overall death of creativity. It's a Dirty Word they try to avoid. Alister discovered that if implemented correctly it provided empowerment, autonomy and creativity for employees and delivered business freedom for himself with total reassurance his business was running itself. It also enabled him to massively accelerate improvement in his business by harnessing his team's collective brainpower. In his book 'The Dirty Word', Alister looks at why process is so important, why people get it so wrong and make it so horrible and how to put it in place in a new way which can change the whole culture of a business.

Key Takeaways

Process is an effective way to grow your business and staff
Critical to the success of adding process is to ensure there isto get people to want to improve and give them the empowerment to improve
Process is useless if it does not 'live' with the business as it changes

Valuable Free Resource or Action

See

https://processbliss.com

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

business, people, process, question, staff, empower, thinking, book, run, realise, improvement, documentation, shelf, work, empowerment, point, employees, bit, mistake, drove

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Alister Esam

Stuart Webb 00:21

Hi, and welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I'm here today with Alastair Easson, who is the author of the dirty word, that work that fills people with dread. That's the key to business freedom. So Alastair, really looking forward to the conversation, I know you've got a great offering, I'm really looking forward to to hearing some more about what you've been doing.

Alister Esam 00:43

Thank you. Thanks.

Stuart Webb 00:44

Yeah, no problem. So let's start with the with the the obvious first question that I was asked, What's the what's the problem that you're trying to help your clients overcome.

Alister Esam 00:55

So I always kind of go high level on this. But the problem is I see it. If I describe a typical client, they're typically a CEO, or founder, or they can be a head of operations, but they are massively passionate about their business. And they are typically frustrated because they can't get their business to do what they want it to do. And that's limiting their ability to scale. And they probably they probably feel like they're the only ones with good ideas in the business. And the trouble is, they're suffocating their staff with their passion. And if I can tell you my story, because I was this person, and I basically was, was in the business working 80 hours a week. And I just wanted everything to be perfect. So I was policing quality. I was everywhere I was on top of everything. And when your business is really young, that's okay. But at some point, you've got to let go and trust your staff. And, and I kind of eventually found that the way to do that. It was a surprising place. For me it was it was within process. So I initially put process in to try and control my business. But then actually found that if I just passed over the process to my staff, and let them run it, I suddenly they weren't trying to do a bad job, they were trying to do a great job. But once they got process, they got the tool we needed to help them do it. And they took ownership of it and ran with it. And I suddenly had this massive amount of trust in them. And they love the empowerment and the autonomy that they got. And so it's amazing how this little thing just provided the key. So that mean that that's the background to to why I developed process bliss, which is the tool that helps you do this. And why develop the dirty word, right, the word dirty word, which is the book that kind of explains a bit more about this concept.

Stuart Webb 02:31

That's a really interesting story asked, and I guess it leads me to the second question, which is the common mistakes that you found people were trying to solve, without any of that process in place in order to sort of, you know, help to bridge out promote, provide that framework?

Alister Esam 02:46

Yeah, so what happens is, people get to a point where, you know, and it could be anything between five and 25 employees where you are, you're wrestling with your business, yeah, and you're trying to make everything happen. And they know they've got to do something because they want to get bigger, and they can't do any more hours. And that's where I was. And for me, it was about 10 employee mark. And what they first of all do is they try to document their processes. I've seen this done before. And it's just such a pointless exercise, because it's not totally pointless. But people come in and they write down what the processes are, they put them in a file on a shelf, or in a file share, no one ever looks at them. And there's no point looking at them because they're immediately out of date, because everything evolves. And people change the way people are changing the way they work constantly. So it just doesn't work. So the common mistake they make is they do that. And then it doesn't work. And I knew that the solution there had to be to embed the process somehow in the business. But then the trouble then that is the second mistake they make if I can have two answers to the question is they they just make processes and extenuation of their control. So they put process in for them to control the business. And they see it as their tool to make people do what they want them to do. And that's so disempowering. So demotivating, you're not getting the best out your staff. And you're still you're still the one that's out there, writing all these things and managing it. And the solution really is to see processes, something that's theirs, not yours, that's there to help them do a good job. And then to give it to them, and let them run with it, and allow them to kind of evolve with it and do what they want. Because they're not trying to do a bad job. People are smarter than process. And if you combine the two, it gets really powerful. So yeah, they're the common mistakes. But yes, that's why we're here to help.

Stuart Webb 04:32

And I think I think you're absolutely right. I've seen it so many times myself, you know, these documentation. I think documentation is great, particularly if you're trying to sort of, you know, get the ideas and if you want to sort of, you know, package your business in such a way that you can explain it to somebody else. Documentation is really useful. But you're right, too often documentation sits on a shelf, nobody looks at it, nobody refers to it. It's a living document, but nobody updates it when something changes. It's all still buried in somebody's head. And then when that person goes off sick it all falls apart what you have to do Is have to turn that documentation into something which actually is the breathing embodiment and the sort of the spirit of the business don't you have to make it the thing which people live and, and work through. And those processes and systems then become the thing which actually drive business value.

Alister Esam 05:15

I couldn't agree more, you've got to exactly it's so it the fall in the shelf is so disconnected from the business, but what but it's so difficult to work out how to make it the living breathing part of the business. And there's one way of doing that, which is training. And that that kind of works to an extent, there's only so much you can keep in people's heads, and they still forget things. And they forget the bits that are really important, not to them, but to other people like the communication. And so, yeah, that's exactly what process busters is effectively, it's kind of like check with software that allows you to embody it in the business. So people live and breathe it to do list. And actually, it's an interesting point, because your average person in the business doesn't really see process, they just see a list of tasks. They just see a list of stuff to do. And they don't necessarily think oh, they probably know at the back of their mind, but they don't think it's part of a process. So it's about having this process, but then presenting it to people who are doing the work in a way that it's just, it's just like, This is what I need to be doing next. This is this is these are the jobs I've got to get done. So. Yeah. And that that's, that's where I'm where we fit in. Yes,

Stuart Webb 06:18

brilliant. So I guess that brings me to the third point of this, which is obviously there are people who will be watching this in the in the recording and thinking well, that's that's kind of rings a bell with me, what's my first step towards that? And I know you've got a sort of really valuable free offer that we can talk about.

Alister Esam 06:34

Yeah, so. So we like to introduce people to this concept, kind of, and have a bit of a background to the thinking behind it, which is you know, what I'm here to talk about today. Because it's it's not just about putting a software product is about changing your paradigm, it's about letting go. It's about those sorts of aspects. And so what we've devised is a bit of a kind of a journey around that. So yes, you can just contact process person, and we'll give you a look at the software, but where we'd like to start is something called the dirty word assessment. So my book, The dirty word, is all about the theory behind this. And the dirty word assessment really takes you through I think the 30 questions, just score them really easily. And you'll get a report. And the report will tell you exactly where you fit on the scale. You know, how you rate with regards to the four key components we see for from a business's implemented process correctly? And they are, you know, consistency Have you got? Have you got these processes? Have you got things been done consistently in your business? Improvement? Have you got a mechanism that's making sure that things evolve and improve over time, and you're not just accepting the status quo, but you're, you're capturing people's feedback from throughout the business? Empowerment? So have you created a culture where it's not you driving all this from above, but actually, the people who own the processes are the people that are involved in them. And trust and trust is, you know, the bit the deliverable for you? You know, have you got a business where you just, and this is what I call it process bliss when we develop the product. Because for me, once I got that trust, and I could see everything happening in my business, and people were doing a far better job than I could ever do. It just that was where the bliss came from. And that's kind of why we named it that way, even though Yeah, learning process was bliss. But yeah,

Stuart Webb 08:16

it's brilliant. I love the fact that you sort of made the middle to those that the improvement and the empowerment, because I think those are absolutely critical to making this a company wide process of improvement, isn't it, there's no point in it just sitting in the top table or up in the CEOs head. unless everybody lives improvement unless everybody's empowered to make that improvement, it just once again becomes a dusty thing that sits on a shelf that nobody's taking notice.

Alister Esam 08:40

When I when I sold my business, I had about 75 employees. And the best part about it was all those 75 employees were providing input. I had all their brains working on the business. Yeah, right. You know, it 10 People, it was just me doing it. And it's just that was rubbish, there was no way. There's not the diversity of thinking there's not the kind of I don't have the sight of everything. So much more powerful, and it really accelerates.

Stuart Webb 09:02

You've mentioned one book, but I'm gonna ask the question, I guess I guess another book might come in here after but what's the the concept or the programme or the book that's most impactful in your experience?

Alister Esam 09:14

Do you know what I think it's more of a concept. And it goes back to something my father said. I didn't appreciate how important this was until recently, but he said, I realised that it played a part in this journey. But my father said to me when I was young, and if you only said it a few times, he said it was one of them when I'd made done something wrong and it made an error. I said if you make if you make a mistake once you human, he said he made the same mistake twice. You're a fool. And I always stuck with me and what what that drove was when I got when I was running my business now sort of doing things what drove me up the wall and I didn't realise it was his in his influence at the time, was you know, we'd make a mistake. I could screw up for clients. I mean, we'd go wrong. But we do it again and again and again. And I'd be like, how's this keep happening? Why are we not? You know, what are we not learning here. And that's where you get drawn in to try to kind of make everything perfect. And, you know, I wanted a mechanism where I could put something in the business said, you know, okay, that's fine. Every time we get something wrong, we look at it, we learn from it, and we make sure that thing never happens again, and we'll move on to the next thing we get wrong. And the next thing and eventually we'll, we're just striving for perfection. So I mean, that's that was probably the, in relation to this topic and where it came from, I thought, why I thought, Well, where does it go back to? I thought, well, that's actually probably the key or where all this comes from, you know, so yeah.

Stuart Webb 10:43

Love it. Love it. I'll still we're kind of coming to the end of the conversation. And I always leave this one till last, because it's my ability now to relax and allow you to do my work for me. So there must be a question you're thinking, I wish you'd asked me. It's never come out. So what's the question you would like me to ask me? Ask you have you? And then once you've done that done the asking, Would you mind doing the answering as well, so So I don't do any work at all.

Alister Esam 11:10

I love I love the empowerment very process faster.

Stuart Webb 11:14

Let's go with Empower dialysis.

Alister Esam 11:19

Guys. Wonderful, very precious. But I think I think what in all of this, the thing that we we run up against, that people really struggle with is how do I get my staff to see something like processes are positive? You know, because because as soon as you say the word basic, I put it in my book, in the first chapter of my book, I talk about a story how people started associating me with process. And even though it's not what I am, they suddenly invented this persona for me, of Mr. Boring, Mr. Routine, Mr. organism, actually, I'm chaos. And, and the reason I needed this process thing was because I'm chaos, you know, so. And, and so I think it's now the staff scene, you say, Oh, we're going to do something around process stuff, just go, Ah, you're going to control me even more, you're just gonna make this business more miserable, more palatable. So how do you get them set as a positive? And I think, for me, from day one, it's all about getting them to do it and handing it over to them. So the answer to that is, if you want to put processes in your business, don't just don't try to control your staff empower them to Yeah, it's a bit to be their tool for them to control for them to improve the business and for them to have their say, which is what it effectively is. So I see it all the time. I say in my it's kind of about letting go. But I mean, you see it all the time. So the evening meeting this morning, my weekly meeting, something happened with one of my team, and they suggested an idea, and I just my initial reaction was, well, I look, you know, I wanted to control it from above, I wanted to say no, we're not gonna do that, we're gonna do that. Let's just do a, you just, if you say that you're just killing, you're just killing their their enthusiasm and value, it's the worst thing you can do. And you will, it will reverberate for months. So remember that comment. And be, maybe they've got a good idea. You know, maybe you don't know it all. And so actually passing over, if you're going to implant process, really pass it over to them that remember that. And actually, you'll think they're doing it wrong, and they're doing it badly. And they're not looking at the important things, but they won't be they'll probably be looking at the important things you don't realise they're more important than the things you think are important. So it's, it's kind of, yeah, it's all about letting go and delegating, this got to do so.

Stuart Webb 13:32

I, I've used this analogy on a couple of occasions, obviously. So you don't mind me sort of, you know, coming in and supporting what you've just said. But, you know, I've said to people in the past, you have people working for you who run very successful businesses outside of this, but they call them skank groups, or they call them church groups, or they call them families, they manage negotiation, they manage budgets, they work out scheduling and planning, they resolve issues. And yet you expect them to put all of that down as they come in through the door to come to work and not bring any of those skills. If you can turn around and go Well, look, you can really effectively run something outside of this place. Go do it for me, for goodness sake, because, you know, you've got all the skills I really can't. I couldn't I couldn't scout group if I tried. So why don't you do what you do at home here? And if you can get that spirit, if you can empower them to think, Okay, I've done it before, why not? You've got a workforce, which is 2050 times more effective than you've ever had before. So just let them go.

Alister Esam 14:30

Yeah, you remind me of actually why I gave up employment. Going down years ago, I remember thinking, I'm doing this great job for this employer. And you know, I'm adding all the value to them. You know, they're getting all the value of the hard work that I'm doing. I you know, I should be getting that I'm going to be getting that value. I wouldn't be getting all working for myself and getting the rewards myself not just getting a salary. Well, they get they kind of get massive profits. And I remember thinking, you know, so if I turn that around, and I think about Got it. Now just think, you know, if you run a business, you actually have got all these people who are creating value for you. Yes, you can let them do it and find a way to let them do it and not not get in their way. And so many CEOs and founders do that. So yeah, it's, it's wonderful. Yeah. Brilliant stuff.

Stuart Webb 15:15

Allison love the discussion. Thank you so much for taking the time to come and tell us about process place. And, and that book and I really do encourage people go on to Aster, esa.com, dirty hyphen, word, hyphen assessment, that's dirty, hyphen, word, hyphen assessment, and get that, get that assessment, find out where you are on this journey. And yeah, go towards the the trust and empowerment and input and improvement that you need in order to see your business grow. Alison, thank you so much. I would just encourage you, if you want to be on the mailing list, we send out a mail an email every Monday telling you who's coming up on these sessions. So that we weren't coming out on Monday with who's going to be here next week. Go to HTTPS forward slash forward slash I don't know why give all of those because I think they're now standard but it's a TC a dot FYI. Forward slash subscribe. That's TC a dot FYI. Folks, I subscribed get on the mailing list and find out who's coming up join in live so that you can ask questions of the of the presenters that we have here on it's not rocket science questions, coughing, honestly, thank you so much for being here. Really looking forward to sort of following people getting in touch with you and finding out how to go about making their business more effective by putting in some of that process that you've been talking to us about? Thanks to No problem. Thank you very much.

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Who is James?

James Bolle is helping small business owners attract the best team members and make them more loyal, engaged and motivated by inspiring them to discover Purpose - and live it authentically.

Key Takeaways

We live in a society where there's this kind of culture around leadership, they might believe that it's just about them. And they believe that they can come in and engage their team through sheer force of personality. So they're going to try and inspire everybody individually, they think it's up to them to provide perks to provide meaning to everybody, they think it's all down to them. And it's just not sustainable.
The fundamental problem is that they're working in an environment where they don't believe that what they do matters, the only people that benefit from their success are the people that own the business. And the only benefit that's delivered to them is that they get richer. So the fundamental underlying problem doesn't get solved by these solutions.
We define purpose as having four 'A's, an authentic aspirational call to action for an organisation and its stakeholders that advances the cause outside the organisation. So when you pursue your purpose, when you run your business day to day, you benefit other people just by doing your business and purpose can make people 30% more productive. 40% more engaged three times more loyal, it can attract customers to your business, it can attract the right team members to your business.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

https://www.prpsfl.com/purposequiz

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

and on linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/posts/stuartwebb_james-runs-prpsfl-to-help-small-business-activity-6869004903658991616-jfZL

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_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Stuart Webb 0:22

Hi again and welcome to It's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I'm standing by with my coffee, which is in my beer mug today. And James, I think you've got some water there in front of you.

James Bolle 0:34

So we're water from a plastic cricket ground. Yeah.

Stuart Webb 0:38

We're ready to go James Welcome to it's not, it's not rocket science by questions of COVID. James, it runs a consultancy organisation called purposeful. And you'll see that slightly differently spelt to the way in which it's spelt in the dictionary later on. But purposeful is an organisation which gets people to under stand, how their organisation builds purpose into what they're doing, so that they can retain stuff, etc. So we're gonna have a fascinating discussion. And James, welcome to the podcast.

James Bolle 1:08

Thank you for having me, Stuart. It's great to be here.

Stuart Webb 1:10

Terrific. Well, let's start with the the first question I always start with what's the, what's the the problem that you're trying to solve in your ideal client.

James Bolle 1:19

So when I think about my ideal client, I actually picture somebody who I helped before. And I'm going to call him, Paul, because that's his real name. And Paul is a as a leader of a team, he has a team of 15 people. In this case, he's actually the managing director of a computer games company, but he might be leader of the team in a services organisation or software business or recruiter, he might be a leader of a team in a larger manufacturing organisation, even but what he's got is a problem because he wants to be a good guy, he wants his team to be happy, not least, because it is taking up a lot of his time to manage and keep them happy. But he wants his team to be happy. He wants people to be living good lives, and he wants to be successful. But he's got a problem. People just aren't his hard work running the team. And actually, most of the time, the majority of his job is spent trying to lead his team to do things rather than actually growing his business or growing the team. People keep leaving, people need constant motivation to get anything done. The initiatives that He's launching, keep falling flat, people do them for a couple of days, and then fall back into old habits. And when he's not around, people either don't make any decisions, or even worse, they make the wrong ones things that aren't good for customers, things that aren't good for business. And pool just wishes that there was something to bring everybody together to make it slightly easier for him to run his team. So they can all get on the same page, and they can be more effective. And so that's the that's the challenge that the pool was facing. And I think it's a challenge that a lot of leaders will recognise when they hear.

Stuart Webb 3:04

So what's the thing that Paul or hope or Pauline, or whoever has been trying to do to resolve that problem without getting out.

James Bolle 3:14

But I think that's an important point. Stewart, it could be, it could be Paul, it could be Paula Paulo, however you want to however you want to pronounce it. And what Pauline, or Paula has been doing wrong is like many leaders, I mean, you see it and government surveys, there's lots and lots of small business owners lots and lots of team, they just feel like the performance of their team is going to inhibit their growth. And unfortunately, because we live in a society where there's this kind of culture around leadership, they might believe that it's just about them. And they believe that they can come in and engage their team through sheer force of personality. So they're going to try and inspire everybody individually, they think it's up to them to provide perks to provide meaning to everybody, they think it's all down to them. And it's just not sustainable. When you've got a team of 1015 people, you can't spend all of your time motivating everybody, you need to find something that enables them to motivate them selves from within. So the first the first challenge, or the first problem, the first mistake that poor will make is that she will try and solve everything herself that the other thing that she might do incorrectly is because one of the symptoms that she's dealing with here is the team don't seem happy. She may buy an app, or a perk scheme that on the surface should deal with some of the symptoms she's facing, but actually doesn't get to the underlying problems. So she might find a great system that enables them to get discounts or team to get discounts at Alton Towers, or to get access to a mindfulness app. So and then these things undoubtedly will make a small difference but don't to deal with the underlying fundamental challenge, which is that her team, in order to be satisfied in their lives and their work, want to feel like they're getting better at something that matters. And the fundamental problem is that they're working in an environment where they don't believe that what they do matters, the only people that benefit from their success are the people that own the business. And the only benefit that's delivered to them is that they get richer. So the fundamental underlying problem doesn't get solved by these, by these by these solutions that the poor poor undertakes.

Stuart Webb 5:34

And that is a fiendishly difficult problem to sort of crack with papering over the surface, isn't it the, you know, the, I remember a very clear example of somebody in my past where they decided they could solve the problem by giving everybody a slightly better car, and they got a slightly better car, and for a week, they were happy, but then they started getting to the Yeah, but you know, now that car requires more fuel to make it go. So I need an increase in pay, because I'm spending more money on fuel because, and it became one of these sort of downward spirals and no matter how hard they tried, that was never the answer. There were always other problems that that encrypted sort of incidentally created around the edges.

James Bolle 6:15

There always are more problems. And ultimately, if the only thing that you can fall back on to try and motivate people to work harder is money, there's always going to be somebody else that can pay better, better money or offer a package that that is more suitable for people, you need to enable them to find their intrinsic motivation for doing a fantastic job feed for your business and your customers. And a nice car helps being paid a lot of money helps, but it's it's window dressing, if the fundamentals are in place.

Stuart Webb 6:46

Right. So I'm hoping that there's a solution to this and James, that you can sort of point us in the direction with a valuable free action or free resource that people listening at the moment can actually take and work through on their business.

James Bolle 7:01

So if you accept the premise that what people want to be happy in their lives and to be motivated, just to feel like they're making progress, if something matters, what we need to do is show people that the work that they're doing matters in and of itself, not because it's making you money, not because it's making them money, but because it makes the world a better place. That is what I call purpose. And its purpose is a term that you will hear bandied around a lot purpose in in an extra in a nutshell, not in an extra that'd be weird. In a nutshell, purpose is this idea that the business the organisation you're working in, has a reason to exist beyond just making money. We define purpose as having four aces, an authentic aspirational call to action for an organisation and its stakeholders that advances the cause outside the organisation. It's authentic, is aspirational, action oriented, and it advances others. So when you pursue your purpose, when you run your business day to day, you benefit other people just by doing your business and purpose can make people 30% more productive. 40% more engaged three times more loyal, it can attract customers to your business, it can attract the right team members to your business. And organisations that authentically live a purpose are several times more likely to be profitable, and they grow more quickly than organisations that don't have purpose when it's authentically left. So the solution here is to focus on the benefit that your organisation delivers to society by being in business that helps you differentiate it helps you attract the right team members and attract the right customers and a virtuous circle grows. The challenge is, do you have purpose. And the free resource that I'm offering people today is my quiz. The my purpose quiz, which you can take on my website, which is coming down the bottom of the screen now as if by magic purposeful.com. That's PRPs fl.com/purpose quiz. You can complete that quiz. And it will help you to assess whether you have purpose today in your organisation in line with those forays. Is it authentically lift? does it drive action? Is it aspirational? And does it advance others? Once you've taken this quiz, we'll send you an email report to help you understand how you can maybe drive a more authentic purpose or improve the understanding of your purpose within your organisation and yield some of those great results that will solve your problem. Paul, Paula poorly of people leaving your organisation people not making the right decisions, people not working hard enough.

Stuart Webb 9:44

Brilliant and as I said at the top, that is how you spell the name of your organisation isn't it? It's purposeful, but it's PRP SFL purposeful is just missing all of those that are really things that just get in the way and trip us up.

James Bolle 9:59

Like Like profit led businesses vows a very 20th century steward we're worth we're trying to take them out wherever, wherever we can, also helps you to register a unique URL if you take them all out.

Stuart Webb 10:12

So I guess you've come to this understanding through sort of having read and been influenced by a number of things. And so I'm gonna ask you that, what is the book or concept or programme that's influenced you or brought you to where you are today that you want to share with us, James?

James Bolle 10:28

Well, this spark was really lit by Simon Sinek. Start with y, which came out in 2009. And I know that you're not surprised by that I suspect people watching this won't be surprised either. It's a very famous book, his TED talk, the Golden Circle is the third most watched TED talk of all time. Simon Sinek, in this book says people don't buy what you do, they don't even buy how you do they buy why you do it. There's not the book I'd recommend. However, the book I would recommend is his follow up, find your why. Which is a great guide to actually figuring out what your WHY might be his, you know, it's a book that has inspired me in how I talk with organisations and do so yeah, check out Simon Synnex. Find your why. Because there's lots of great tips in there to help you find a purpose for your organisation or for yourself personally.

Stuart Webb 11:18

Brilliant. So, James, there is only one question left. And it's the question that I make sure that I've not had to do any research or thinking about which is, what's the question that you would have liked me to have asked you should we have had this conversation with on your terms? And please make sure as I often say to people, don't leave us in suspense, answer the question for us, as well. So, so the floor is yours to tell me what you would have liked me to have asked. And I'll marvel in the fact that we're probably a better question I could have thought of,

James Bolle 11:49

well, I don't know that it will be a better questions do I mean, I like I like a good debate. And I would have liked you to ask me. Why does this? Why does this matter now? Like, why are people getting excited to this idea of purpose now? Because it, you know, I've talked about some of the business benefits of authentically living a purpose, an organisation of the greater engagement, greater loyalty, greater motivation, greater productivity, these things are brilliant. But it's not why I'm inspired by purpose. I'm inspired by purpose, because in the UK, our productivity is completely stagnant. And there are lots and lots of people who do jobs to make money to pay for a lifestyle outside of work, they're just surviving, and they spend 910 hours a day, doing jobs that suck at their souls. And I firmly believe that we will reach a happier place as a society and in our communities, if we can find a way to connect people to the benefits that is brought to society in the jobs that they do. If you are happy at work, you go home, you're more likely to be happy with your family or with your friends, you're more likely to contribute positively to your society, your community and your local economy, you are more likely to be a good citizen. Having a job that 10 hours a day sucks the life out of you is torture. And I know there are some people who would love to have a job that pays them for 10 hours a day. And we should be grateful for the jobs we have. There are lots of people less fortunate than us, I appreciate that. But once you're in a job, you should be able to feel like you are making progress at something that matters. It is an aberration in modern society, that we have set up organisations whose only benefit whose only purpose is to make money for their owners. And actually, if we can connect people to the purpose of their jobs, and make them feel more connected, and that they matter more, we are going to get a happier society by default. And that's why that's why we should do this, our society will be better. And I think we have a moral obligation actually, as leaders and as business owners, to show the people we're working with that they matter, and that we are making the world a better place as we work. And I'll be honest, most 21 year olds coming into the workplace believe that as well today, and so you need to get on this bandwagon now. lest you be left behind. I really think we can. We are at a crossroads and we can together make our country a better place to live. And that's why I think it really matters now.

Stuart Webb 14:31

I think it's an interesting point change and I will only add to it that I think too many leaders of organisations or team leaders, those calls and poor leaders that we've just discussed to perhaps forget that the people who are working in the organisation run perfectly good organisations when they leave the office floor or wherever they go. Because at home, they run church groups, they run Scout groups they run family budgets that balance they're capable of resolving difficulties within The scout group. And yet, whenever you ask them, you know, to take on responsibility at work, they'll go, well, that's not what I'm paid to do, you know, we've don't tap into the latent talent of people because we don't inspire that purpose within them, do we, we allow that latent talent to just be left at the factory gate. And all of that, that they bring with them, there's personal points that they could actually contribute to work is left at the factory gate, because they don't believe the purpose that they're serving is enough to inspire them to bring all of that to the fore and say, I'll take a step up, I'll take on that I've done it before I've even if I'd haven't done it before. I know it's something I want to try. And we just don't, it's fine.

James Bolle 15:40

You're absolutely right, because, subconsciously, the question that they're asking themselves, when you're asking themselves a problem is, I could do that. But the benefit of that will be maybe you get a slightly nicer car at the end of the year, or a faceless shareholder will get slightly richer, I don't really see why that would benefit anybody. And so you're relying on finding those people with personal pride and personal motivation to do it. And everybody has that personal motivation if we put them in the right circumstances. So yeah, I couldn't agree more.

Stuart Webb 16:10

Brilliant. Listen, James, this has been a really fascinating discussion. And it's a fascinating topic. You're absolutely right, the people who are currently at university that we as business leaders need to grow our businesses in the next 10 years, are sitting there wondering what's going to inspire me to join your organisation less, we are going to come up with something other than you'll get a nice pension, which you know, let's face it is something they're probably thinking that's a long way down the road. And frankly, the world will have heated up by then and I won't be able to make use of it. Let's be honest with them. And let's start looking at things that we can say, we have got a purpose for you being here and it will benefit society will benefit the world. And let's drive at home. So James, thank you so much for your for your time today. Really appreciate the time you've had with us. If you would like listening to be able to join people like James alive to see the messages that they gave here on it's not rocket science five questions over coffee I do. Make sure that's the hand action that that we don't use anything else five questions over coffee. This is the need to go to go to https colon, forward slash forward slash TC a dot FYI, forward slash subscribe. That's TC a dot FYI, forward slash, subscribe, get on the mailing list. We send you an email on a Monday morning saying who's coming on this week? You got the time you can get on Listen, interact as necessary. James, thank you so much for being on. We wish you purposeful, all the best. And I look forward to speaking again to to your next week. Thanks very much. Thanks, Jeff. Bye

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Who is Dr Troy?

We talk about strategic planning, aligning teams and getting them to their One Destination.

Key Takeaways

Too many leaders don't know how important it is to have a singular culture to drive the organisation to one destination
Leaders must engage in this process and need to make personal observations in three areas.

Greetings. How are people interacting with each other? What are they saying? Who are the people who are actually talking to each other?

Listen for laughter. We're talking about the light-hearted spirit within the organisation. Is there a lot of stress or burnout happening? Can you tell whether individuals are feeling comfortable? Do they feel relaxed, they feel confident?

And then lastly, affirmations. How are you affirming people? How do people affirm each other? Do you have individuals who are complimenting other individuals in their own department or in other departments? What are the colleagues and peers relationships?

Valuable Free Resource or Action

https://DrTroyHall.com/services

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Stuart Webb 0:20

Oh, well, brilliant. Hey, welcome to It's not rocket science five questions over coffee I'm, I'm here with Dr. Troy, Dr. Troy Hall. Dr. Troy just had a huge few technical issues, which is the wonder of the internet. And I was just a little bit concerned. But we're here today, I'm really glad to meet to have you on the podcast. Dr. Troy, welcome.

Dr Troy Hall 0:42

Thank you so much for having me.

Stuart Webb 0:44

And my apologies for the fact that we have that sort of new few moments of technical issues, it's gonna be good. It's always better when we have technical issues.

Dr Troy Hall 0:53

What Yes, it is, normally most people want to meet me, not us. So.

Stuart Webb 0:58

So Detroit offers consulting, coaching and speaking engagements of our culture, leadership, strategy change with a huge area of experience, you just have to try and really enjoy a conversation. So let's start with the obvious first question. So who is your ideal client? What was the problem they got that you're helping them to solve,

Dr Troy Hall 1:20

or most of the clients that I work with, believe it or not, have, have made progress toward creating this very important aspect of culture within the organisation. So my ideal client is the person who understands that culture is important in an organisation who believes that their employees are their greatest assets, and wants to make sure that they do everything possible to create the very best culture experience. And I work with small companies, again, 50 employees and less, and I have a companies I've worked with, with 1400 employees. So the idea is about the not the number of people or the asset size, it's the mindset of the leaders that really make the difference. And so part of my work is helping them create cohesion cultures, which is safe workspaces, where people have a sense of belonging are valued and sharing mutual commitments.

Stuart Webb 2:13

And that's a really important element, isn't it? The mindset, the the leadership, have translating that into the actions that people see in the behaviours that they model, those are really big area there have work to be done?

Dr Troy Hall 2:26

Absolutely. Because here's the deal. For people who really need me, they tend to not not call on me, the people who have things already put together and are doing really well. They're the ones who call me because they understand that they are teachable, they need to know some more information, they want to take it to the next level, those are the individuals that that typically I get an opportunity to work with. And I'm very clear, I only work with organisations when the CEO is behind the project. If the CEO is not on board, then there's no point in even going any further because my reputation and the company's reputation remains at risk.

Stuart Webb 3:03

Really important stuff. Let's let's talk about that next thing, then, which is those people that you know, have tried to solve these problems, maybe the CEO is aware that they need to do something to bridge the the mindset culture gap. And they've tried to solve it without calling Dr. Troy to start with what what is the what is the sort of symptom of the organisation that you first go in and see where they're thinking, we need to do something here, we're just not sure what it is?

Dr Troy Hall 3:28

Well, the first thing I do is I ask the leaders to engage in this process, because I think it's very important that they have a perspective, you know, to guide people toward perception. And perspective requires us to really see things from the same point of view. So I asked them to look into their organisation that they think they already know a lot about. And I want them for two to three weeks to really make personal observations in these three areas. One is Greetings. How are people interacting with each other? What are they saying? Who are the people who are actually talking to each other? Do individuals just walk in in the morning and go directly to their desk? They have some greeting? Do they have some sort of way in which they connect? What's the relationship? What's the report happening? The next is listen for laughter. Now, let's not the heart heart heart hit unique kind of laughter that we're talking about here. We're talking about the light hearted spirit within the organisation. Is there a lot of stress or burnout happening? Can you tell whether individuals are feeling comfortable? Do they feel relaxed, they feel confident? And some of that comes within that lightheartedness that happens within the organisation in the relationships of people. And then lastly, I look for affirmations I asked them to say, tell me, how are you affirming people? How do people affirm each other? Do you have individuals who are complimenting other individuals in their own department or in other departments? What are the colleagues and peers relationships? Do you even have an internal process that allows you to, to really celebrate the small wins of individuals who are within the organisation. So it's greetings. laughter and affirmations.

Stuart Webb 5:10

That's really interesting. I love the way that you've broken it down there. Because for me, actually, it is those first few minutes particularly now is we're in organisations where we're dispersed, we're no longer necessarily meeting together, face to face, we sometimes hear on these calls and such like, it's whether or not people have got the ability to just for the first five minutes of a meeting, just greet each other and say hello and build a rapport. See, the real strength of an organisation, isn't it, that's when you really begin to understand if people value each other, or whether it's just, I just come in, I do my job. And I want to get away from here as soon as I can.

Dr Troy Hall 5:46

Yes, I was on a field engagement in Prague, and I had an opportunity to meet with some of the leadership of Duke manufacturing there. And that is a key component greetings are a key component of that organisation. And they make sure that the senior leadership is engaged in that process of greeting individuals, wherever they see them, whenever they see them. They don't just look at them or, or not, or, or even look down sometimes when you when people pass each other in the hallway, do they actually make eye contact? Or do they look down to the look away? How do they extend some sort of communication that really is going to tell you a lot about the real, the real underpinning of values within your organisation. And for Duke manufacturing, that was extremely important. And that came that resonated through within their production work within their core values and how they really integrated everyone into their team.

Stuart Webb 6:37

So I suspect them to try we're going to learn something about the next question with with what scrolling across the bottom of the screen here at the moment. But But what's the sort of valuable free resource or valuable free action that you provide to the audience that would help them start their journey?

Dr Troy Hall 6:52

Well, they can go to my website directly, which is on the screen there. And it's Dr. Troy Hall calm, and they can take what is called a culture quiz. And so they got 10 basic questions that they can answer very quickly, that gives them maybe a feel for what their organisation is like, I respond with an email with an attached PDF. And in that PDF, I give you some tips that you can actually put in place immediately right now get started. And then you can connect with me to actually build out your programme. And then we can do a more expansive, what I call culture assessment within your organisation to give you a benchmark, and a series of things that will make sure that what you're creating is your unique culture. Everything I do is all customised to the company. We take the strategic framework of belonging value and shared mutual commitment, overlay that to the organisation, and then figure out how to customise what that organisation wants to do to bring their culture to life.

Stuart Webb 7:53

Brilliant, love it, I'm not to coach a quiz, I'm going to probably going to plug in and get some of my clients to do as well. So do try hall.com. That's Dr. Troy hall.com. And that's a great, great offering. Thank you very much, Dr. Troy. So my last question at this section is, is what's the great book or concept or talk that's really affected you that you think would would value the audience hearing about and and turning to a better their own practice?

Dr Troy Hall 8:22

Well, aside from self promoting my own book of Asian culture proven principles to retain your top talent,

Stuart Webb 8:28

well known as a given we're expecting,

Dr Troy Hall 8:31

oh, wait, yeah, that'd be a given. Right? So aside from that, I have had so many books that have made a difference in my life. And it's really hard to put my hand just on any one of them. But I will tell you that something that really helped me expand my thought was a book called Generation I Y. And it was written by Dr. Tim, something I forget his last name right now. But the book what he did is it talked about this transformation of the digital world and how the millennial generation was the first generation to surpass its parents, not only in the knowledge, but the use of technology. See technology is the great equaliser when it comes to all businesses. It's that that that technology, and what we're seeing today is so different than what it was before. So I think that generation i y was is one of the books that I would definitely, I mean, there's so many of them. There's the Dale Carnegie book that I've read, Tim Ross, strengths finders, and there's a lot out there.

Stuart Webb 9:42

That wasn't great. There are some great books out there. I must admit, you know, it's a great, great pleasure I have I spent about half an hour each morning, just centering myself on what I'm going to be doing for the day which involves some sort of units of thinking and planning, but I actually spend about 1520 minutes just going through a few choices. Some texts, yes, key things and and that's what I'm now going to add what other than your book, obviously Dr. Troy will put that one on the list as well. But I'll add that one to my list to make sure I pull on that one. So it's a great recommendation, thank you so much.

Dr Troy Hall 10:14

Well, you're welcome. And you know, one of the things I want to give a tip to your listeners is this, you don't have to read a book from cover to cover to be able to acknowledge it or quote it, find the pieces, find the gems that are there for you in the book, like look through the index, see what sparks your interest, fill your mind with that. Also inspirational information that will come through podcasts that will come through messages where you might follow someone or LinkedIn and follow a leadership programme. And you know, and I fail to mention, you know, Simon senex, work and Brene Browns work, which is really great in this whole area as well. So don't be afraid to find a collecting pieces here and there from the books. And if you do choose to quote it, give credit to the author. But it doesn't mean that you've had to read the whole book or take a test on it to be able to say I've read the book, or I've quoted something from the book that meant something to you. So don't cheat yourself out of it. Go ahead and experiment.

Stuart Webb 11:12

I love that I am a real fan of the idea of skim, skimming, taking pieces. Because you're right, you can take one or two paragraphs. And they can be the thing which you can take from from a chapter or from a section of a book. And you can really get the sense of the book. Yeah, it is it but it's still the time to take and read that which I think is important because too many people are waiting for the film to come out so that they can avoid the hard work of having to do some, some thinking, you know, take the time to sort of think about some of this stuff. I think it's important thing, isn't it? And that allows you to to centre it and get it properly embedded in your own experience.

Dr Troy Hall 11:50

Yeah, absolutely. And Audible is another good opportunity as well. Absolutely.

Stuart Webb 11:54

Absolutely. So that gives me my final question, Dr. Troy. And this is what I always call my Get Out of Jail Free card. So I've asked you some questions. I'm sure there's one question that you're thinking I do wish he'd asked me. And now here's your opportunity. What is the question you think I should have asked you? And don't leave us in suspense? answer that question for us as well.

Dr Troy Hall 12:13

Well, I think you should have asked me What is something that is not on my resume, so that I can share information with people that they can't get when they go to LinkedIn or they go to my website like that one. So you What are you going to ask me,

Stuart Webb 12:28

I want you to answer it. Now. You know, what is this piece of information that's not on LinkedIn that we're going to find fascinating?

Dr Troy Hall 12:36

Well, I've had this very unique opportunity. I've travelled to 45 of the US states, six over 60 countries and six continents. I've had the opportunity to kiss the Blarney Stone, thinking of course, that when I kissed the Blarney Stone, I would lose all the Blarney that I had. But my wife assures me that is not a problem. I'm still okay. I've been chased by an albino peacock. When I was travelling in some of the country land of France. I have shopped a water mall in a boat where you don't even get out of the boat that was in Thailand, written an elephant, a camel and a hot air balloon.

Stuart Webb 13:14

Wow, what an experience. Those are. And I can I can tell you having written the camel, it is not it's not a comfortable ride, is it?

Dr Troy Hall 13:22

No, it's really not. So I'll just tell you, you know, there's something about the one hump. Yeah, right.

Stuart Webb 13:29

Absolutely brilliant. Dosatron, it has been a really fascinating insight into your work. Thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Really appreciate you doing this. I'm just going to switch banners briefly now and tell you that if you would like to find yourself listening to really interesting people like delta try. If you get onto our newsletter mailing list, we send out a mailing probably on the Monday or the Friday before each one of these recordings, letting you know who's on so that you can watch live if necessary, even ask questions of the of the guests we're talking to so you can get some first hand knowledge and people like Dr. Dre. Don't try. It's been a brilliant, brilliant interview. I'm so grateful for you coming on and spending some time with us. Thank you so much. Appreciate all you've said. And I'm going to be going and sort of getting a copy of your book now. And making sure that that's on the next reading this that's a cohesion culture by Dr. Troy Hall. You're we won't be on your reading list. Thank you so much indeed. You're welcome. Thank you very much.

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Who is Anthony?

We talk about strategic planning, aligning teams and getting them to their One Destination.

Key Takeaways

Organisations can fall into the multiple destination trap, both the CEO and their leadership team and the rest of the organisation, are moving in different directions. And the challenge is getting their entire organisation not only aligned to where they want to go, making sure they're going to the right place, but setting up the structure systems, processes, and strategies in order to get them there.
You only control half of the communication, the receiver controls the other half.
One of the challenges that CEOs have, is that their job is to be visionary, and to be ahead of their people, so they can lead them. But if they are too far ahead of their people, their team will actually regress

Valuable Free Resource or Action

https://www.smestrategy.net/strategic-planning-consultant-strategy-facilitator

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and on linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/posts/stuartwebb_we-talk-about-strategic-planning-aligning-activity-6866377938296803328-SPTs

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Stuart Webb 0:22

Hi, and welcome back to ah, not rocket science five questions over coffee today I have with me a actually, it's lemon scented water, which is not quite the same as coffee, Anthony, I hope you've got something as a refreshing forever beverage in front of you.

Yes. Good, man. Good, man. So I'm here today with Anthony Taylor from SME strategy. I'm really looking forward to this. Because I think this is a really big and important topic. So welcome to the podcast. Anthony.

Anthony Taylor 0:50

Thanks for it. Great to be here. I'm very excited to chat.

Stuart Webb 0:52

Okay, terrific. So, you know, I'll start these off with just the simple question, I hope sort of kicks everything off. So can you just in a few words, a sentence or two Anthony describe your ideal client who you're trying to help?

Anthony Taylor 1:05

Yeah, absolutely. So our ideal clients are CEOs of companies that are between 10 and 100 million, which in one way is a large range, and another not so much. And those CEOs are trying to grow their business, they want to have a legacy. They're entrepreneurial, they care about people, and they want to grow and move forward. And those are the people that we've been really helping the best over the past 10 plus years of doing what we do.

Stuart Webb 1:30

I mean, is there a is there sort of, you know, you say that they range is there a particular stage in their growth that you really find is the ideal one?

Anthony Taylor 1:39

I'd say from you know, everybody's got like, sort of, it's more the the growth stage, so 10, to 2020, to 5050, to 100, they all have a similar problem, it's just as a different flavour at the time.

Stuart Webb 1:52

Okay, so that brings us to the second question there, really. So what is that problem? What is the thing which they're struggling to do, which they try and do on their own without help?

Anthony Taylor 2:01

Yeah, so I was trying to save it for that. But, you know, we call it the multiple destination trap, you know, gotta be good guess. We call them multiple destination trap, it's that both the CEO and their leadership team and the rest of the organisation, they're moving in different directions. And it's not necessarily that it's their fault, it's, it's actually a byproduct of their success, because after getting to a place where they want it to go, now they're placed with a whole new set of options, a whole new set of opportunities, a whole new set of concerns and needs and wants. And the challenge is getting their entire organisation not only aligned to where they want to go, making sure they're going to the right place, but setting up the structure systems, processes, and strategies in order to get them there. And so they call us to help them get aligned, move forward, and, and set the team up for success.

Stuart Webb 2:55

Really important stuff, Anthony, because I know, you're right, this is not something which people sort of set themselves out to do. It's a byproduct of everything else that's going on the fact that they're building a business, and they just, you know, you get lost in the fact that somebody has decided there, they grill over here, there's somebody else that's growing over here, getting that alignment is so difficult when you got everybody pulling, you know, in so many directions, trying to make the company grow as quickly as you can. It's just one of those problems. It's a byproduct that you have to sort of try and fix.

Anthony Taylor 3:24

Absolutely. And some might say it's not rocket science. But the ability to actually do it properly, in addition to your full time job is really challenging, because you're in it, and you can't see all of the challenges, and you've got your day to day going. So you're trying to you know, build something over here, while you've got to maintain, you know, keep your eyes on the road in front of you. So it's, it's challenging. But you know, it just requires a lot of focus, but then the benefit is that sort of next stage of growth. That's why some CEOs are great at certain stages, because they have that experience. It's when they have to get to a new stage, a new transition that has a whole new set of growing pains, and we just complement and add to that.

Stuart Webb 4:08

Yeah, that's a great point. I think it's a great point. So many CEOs do have that sort of slightly different skill set, don't do that. You just need to, I just need to know where to compliment and where to use that energy to sort of help them to bounce off somebody else in order to get there. So So what's the valuable free resource you offer those CEOs in order to be able to take them to that level that the audience might be interested in?

Anthony Taylor 4:32

Well, there's actually two so one, you know, I put the put the link to the website SME strategy down, man. There we go. And so on there you can see a link to our scorecard. So as a scorecard to be able to assess where your team is at to see if you are you stuck in the multiple destination trap or if you're moving towards one destination, then the reason why we wanted to give this scorecard away and there's also a chat bot if you want any other tools and resources is that sometimes it's hard to have those conversations, it's hard to say, Hey, are we on the same page, but by using a survey that just one out of 10, it takes, you know, seven minutes to do, you can begin the conversation with your team of saying, oh, you know, we aren't clear on where we're going, or we don't have the right communication or our, you know, our tracking isn't sufficient for us to get to where we want to go. And so it's a really easy intro to have with your team, but also a great self reflection to say, oh, maybe I'm not as aligned as I thought I was. But you're too busy moving forward to actually look backwards to see where the rest of your people are at.

Stuart Webb 5:35

I think the other thing that those sort of things help most CEOs do is the fact that they're fairly sure that they were very clear in their last communication of what the direction is. And so only when you get that feedback to say, wait a minute, where did they get that idea from? Or Good grief? That was That was eight months ago, when When did when did I not update everybody on the fact that eight months ago is beyond? Beyond the history of this, there's this organisation that that's when you begin to realise that actually communication is a very long process. Sometimes there's no,

Anthony Taylor 6:03

yeah, it's, well, it's, you only control half of the communication, the receiver controls the other half. But one of the challenges that CEOs have, it's sort of the bane of their work is that their job is to be visionary, and to be ahead of their people, so they can lead them. But if you're too far ahead of your people, your your team will actually regress, because there's too much of a gap. So you have to maintain a healthy distance between you and your team, but also not take for granted the fact that your brain is a couple steps ahead. And you think what you're saying is very clear, but everybody else wasn't privy to your thoughts. Like surprisingly, they can't read your mind. And then that's when the gaps that's when the frustration that's when the uncertainty happens, and it plagues leaders everywhere.

Stuart Webb 6:47

Brilliant Santini that sort of really brings me to my fourth question. So is there a particular concept or book or programme that's affected you and you've used as a source of inspiration that you'd like to leave as inspiration for the people listening and watching at the moment? Yeah,

Anthony Taylor 7:02

I mean, there's so many great books. So for me to choose one is a challenge. I really like so I'm gonna say from good to great. That's probably the best book about like thinking about that. But I'll say the caveat that that book is just awesome. And it really gets you that understanding. But I think for me, it's the complement of the sub skills, a complete approach, dare I say, I'm trying to, you know, put as many plugs in there as possible. But because you got to understand the people, you got to understand where they're thinking, you got to understand the culture, you got to understand change management at that level. So if all you have is, and I'm going to say like, there's a book called Scaling Up, great book, but if all you have is the tool to lead the strategy, you miss the people part. And the people part is really what's going to make the biggest difference, because I can give you a strategic planning template, which you can get from a website for free. But if you don't know how to engage your people to move forward, you're going to have more challenges.

Stuart Webb 8:07

Brilliant. So look, this has been a great discussion, Anthony. And I guess there's one question that you're currently thinking, I wish you'd asked me this one. So I'm going to give you the free the free pass here. What's the question? I should have asked you that I haven't. Yeah. And don't don't leave us in suspense, answer the question as well.

Anthony Taylor 8:22

Well, you know, I would say, where do people where do people fail? Doing? This is probably the biggest question. And I kind of alluded to the people side. But I think the biggest thing, the biggest failure and the question you didn't ask, it's where people fail? And the answer is that they're too damn busy to do the work. And the best way I've heard this explain, was the time irony of the urgent is that CEOs and leaders will spend so much time dealing with what's on fire, that they don't take the time to step back and look at root cause or look at systems or look at process and, and they react. And so you know, what we do we facilitate strategic planning sessions for organisations, we do those two, three day off sites, but it allows you to pause, step back and actually look at the system because you're not going to fix the problem using the same approach that got you to the problem in the first place.

Stuart Webb 9:19

I think I think that is absolutely brilliant. I love what you're talking about. I think it is so important. So many organisations fail to understand the need to engage and fail to understand that the curve that you know, the communication is, is passing through the organisation. I think a lot of what you're talking about is so valuable. I really appreciate you having conversation with us. Listen, if you want to get on to watching these live so that you can ask questions of people like Anthony when they come on and talk about this. Please subscribe at TC a dot FYI, forward slash subscribe over to the HTTPS thing, but it's TTA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe. Get onto the mailing list so that you can get an A notification that we got people are going to be coming on. He's going to give some brilliant advice like this. Anthony, thank you so much for just spending a few minutes with us. I know you're off to go and do something really very much more important than this. Now you're going off to watch a soccer game, which I think is gonna be so much more important than that, than there. So really, thank you very much for taking a few minutes out of your day and spending a few minutes with us. Let's never get onto this website, get onto Anthony's SMA strategy dotnet website because there is some really valuable stuff there. I really highly recommend you get on and have a look at some of that. Some of those strategic planning frameworks that he's been talking about. Really great stuff. Anthony, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Really appreciate it. I look forward to watching some of this stuff. Developing the real into into some of the businesses I know you're gonna help.

Anthony Taylor 10:46

My pleasure, sir. Thanks for having me and folks, your audience watching

Stuart Webb 10:49

No problem. Thank you

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Who is Rob?

A sought-after speaker and best-selling author, Rob Jolles teaches, entertains, and inspires audiences worldwide. His keynotes and workshops attract many diverse audiences, from Global 100 companies to growing entrepreneurial enterprises, from parents to professional negotiators. His best-selling books, including How to Change Minds, Why People Don't Believe You, customer-centred Selling and How to Run Seminars & Workshops, have been translated into more than a dozen languages. He lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Key Takeaways

Master the process which you have spent time developing!
When developing sales training, think about the feedback needed to ensure that process is learned well
Can anyone sell. Yes! The best sales people create authentic conversations.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

There are valuable resources on www.jolles.com including Rob’s podcast at https://www.jolles.com/podcast/

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Stuart Webb 0:42

Hi again and welcome to It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee. That's far too many words to say, after you've had too much coffee, so let's just get straight into it. I'm here today with Rob. Rob jollies. Rob is, is going to give us some great tips. I know today Rob such a fantastic website. I've been on how to look at some of the stuff he talks about, about how authentic you need to be. So Rob, welcome to the podcast. Welcome to Five questions over coffee. Looking forward to the conversation very much indeed.

Rob Jolles 1:13

I'm ready for the challenge to work.

Stuart Webb 1:18

Let's see what we can do to challenge you then. So just tell us in a few sentences, what your ideal client problem challenge they have that you try and sort of help them to solve?

Rob Jolles 1:28

Yeah, you know, I in a sense, I have two clients. And I think we all have two clients. We have our client and then the client that client serves. So my clients when I thought about thinking about your question, first client is I'm a sales trainer, I typically teach sales to your classic sales groups, financial industry, things like that. But I wrote a book called How to change minds, which brought me into hostage negotiators, polygraph examiner's police departments, nurses, hospitals, that's my client. I'm trying I teach persuasion. So you know, they, the biggest challenge they have is, a lot of times it's budget. And it's real odd in my industry, when business is bad, and they need a sales trainer. Instinctively, they don't have the budget for it. When Business is great, and product is flying off the shelf. Now they have the budget, they don't really need me as much, I'm happy to take their phone call. It's odd, it should be complete opposite. You bring in a sales trainer when things that when you're struggling. But I think that's one of the biggest challenges is to kind of get them on the right side of that issue. But Stuart, that's one client. The other client that I believe I serve are the people that they're selling to Xerox, former Xerox guy, we call that the end user person who's using the box. And it's important that what I'm teaching salespeople is ethical. It's not manipulative, it under it focuses on the fact that people will struggle to make change. And you're going to have to ask more difficult, difficult questions, but getting into the whys in the house. So those are kind of my, my two clients, if you will, that struggle.

Stuart Webb 3:11

Robert, I love I love the idea. I mean, we could talk for many hours about the fact that too many business owners too many businesses, when they're things are going well fail to dig the well that they need, when the rain stops. There are so many business out there that that just forget the fact that things might change. And, you know, I love the I love the analogy you put there about you know, the time that they need a sales trainer is when they're in real trouble. But, you know, for me, I love hearing about sales trainers who talk about ethics, because it's such a sales is getting such a dirty, dirty word nowadays, but natural fat is all about ethics is about helping people at the end of the day.

Rob Jolles 3:50

Yeah, and you know, something, it's not always pretty. It you know, people don't understand that. I mean, the easy thing to say is and the tagline on one of my books is the art of influence without manipulation. So I'll draw a line and show them. But But Stuart, really, sometimes sales, you get your hands dirty. In other words, I do have to ask questions that don't always make you feel great listening to him. That's my responsibility. So what I've tried to do in the second half of my career is not necessarily drill down on you know how to do this, believe me, I'll tell you how. But I think we in the sales training industry, have a responsibility to teach people why we're doing this, so that they understood so that I don't just lay a process on you, but let's look at why.

Stuart Webb 4:37

Great, love it. And so that sort of takes me to the second question, Rob, which is, what are the common mistakes people make when they're trying to solve that problem with without help?

Rob Jolles 4:47

Well, it's odd because you're talking to an author, right? And I'm very proud of my books, etc. But I hope no one's listening. But but one of the issues is I think they're reading too many books. I really do. I think People think I've met sales managers who have proudly told me, I have my team reading a different book each month. And I'm thinking, Oh, my goodness. So you're basically teaching them golf lessons, and you're changing on the golf pro, every month. Let's assume all the golf pros are good for a moment. They're certified. They're good. They're all good. But what would your swing look like 12 months later, with 12 Different golf pros. So I think one of the biggest issues is, and it's like I say, it's tough for a guy who writes books to, to look my client in the face and say, if you have a process that's repeatable and predictable, and you're implementing that process, I don't think you want to read my book, don't read my book. There's there are plenty of other clients out there. But they struggle with that they want to listen to different tapes. So they listen to, you know, watch different videos. And I would, I would prefer that they stick with the pro they have, and we're not done by the way, and demand from that Pro. Okay, I've taken your lessons now what helped me and helped me work this strategically. I've got the process down, but get better at what Master what you're doing stop jumping off the ship.

Stuart Webb 6:09

Yeah, it is. It is a it's a tough lesson, isn't it? The the the fact is that, that go back to the golf swing. You can you can you can watch as many YouTubes as your YouTube videos as you like. But until you actually get out on the court on to the driving range and practice, practice, practice and work out what's going wrong. You do not improve. And that's so often what's going wrong in so many people sales and marketing businesses, they just don't just don't try and repeat and have a repeatable system that actually they've worked through and fine tune. Yeah, I know that. My background is as a as a research scientist. And I actually thought that, because I was taught when I was a scientist have a repeatable process in order to get to an end result that that when I went into the world of business, I had to throw that away because business people didn't have those. They were all flying off the cuff and they were trying to do things differently. And I it took me a long time to come back and realise actually, what I learned about having repeatability was the key to having business success.

Rob Jolles 7:11

Yep. And Stuart, sometimes it's not all your fault. I wrote a piece one time called shoot the sales training. Remember, I'm a sales trainer. But it's mistakes I've made too. I think that we fall in love when we when we have a process. And thank goodness, already, I'm giving a Goldstar to those that motivation and inspiration is nice, but actually have a process. But when we teach it a lot of times how well conventionally we teach the process, it kind of feels like a straitjacket. And if that doesn't feel like a straitjacket enough for you, then we're gonna roleplay it in a straitjacket. We want every piece hit everything hit, we'll we'll catch you off if you miss a piece within the process. And I'm not saying that at some point, we can't listen for all the steps in the process. But what happens? Why aren't we leaping off those roleplays to case studies where we allow people to strategically pick through the process, which is really just the path to walk on. And let them learn how to strategically use the process, maybe even move to simulations, which is Utopia to me, which are role plays that have multiple endings and repercussions. And but normally we don't get that far. So So we're talking about the biggest pushback one of them is, while we're training people, people think we're putting him in a box where we're reinforcing that by rote by having management sit there with a job aid and tick every mark that they're making. And I love when we can get to let people out there and and let them work through case studies and answer questions like looking at this case study. What don't you need that you learned today? And and really give them the freedom to use that model. That's how we teach it and keep it taut.

Stuart Webb 8:59

Just just we've got we've got a comment that's come in from Alfred. Now Fred was on the podcast a little while ago, Alfred so decided it's easy to start, but it's much harder to follow through and incorporate the learning in your actions. I think it's a really key point that that so many times people people start doing something but but they don't they don't necessarily keep learning from what they've been doing. Do they

Rob Jolles 9:20

know they don't and again, some of that's because the company they're working for shifts the process every couple months or every year. The Whispers are don't worry about it. It'll be over soon. And so we lose them that way. I'll tell you one other thing that's I think unique that I've done and I'm happy to share this thought with every sales trainer out there. I don't I usually typically work with big companies a lot of Fortune five hundreds. In my contracts. I rarely will sign a contract now. That doesn't within the contract. I don't want to say force but encourage the customer to allow me to spend a half a day with management Teaching them implementation benchmarks how to use job aids, Stewart how to give feedback so they don't damage a person who's trying a new golf swing. And guess what, when you're trying new golf swing, first, you're going to lose a little distance, and then you'll gain the distance. So we have to teach people how to compassionately deliver feedback that's balanced. When we don't do that, when we just blow into town, teach a new process, management frequently sitting back there on their iPhones or their smartphones, not really engaged, but observing the training. Now, they go through it just like everybody else, they're taken aside and taught how to implement it, how to evaluate and give feedback. And now we can support the process. Now we can teach it and keep it taught.

Stuart Webb 10:46

You know, something, if if somebody teaches me a new, a new golf swing, Rob, I'm not going to lose distance, I'm going to be losing ball. So I need somebody who's going to get very gentle feedback and probably a large bucket of balls as well. So so let's get to the to the thing that probably goes through people's mind at the moment, which is what's that one valuable free action or free resource, I've sort of got sort of queued up that will come on the bottom now that might help them with sort of going through when they're thinking about some of this stuff. And I'll put up about something here where you might be able to find some of that free value valuable free resources that Rob is talking about?

Rob Jolles 11:17

Well, there's, there's a couple and I have to in a thought so too are a valuable resource that I try and offer is, one I have a podcast, you can find that on my website, too. I actually write something called a blog article. I trademarked that 12 years ago, I I have no intention of hogging the word. I just didn't want to build a brand and have somebody trademark it and take it from me. But I love the ideas of a blog. My problem with a blog was always they just you had a tuna fish sandwich. How does that help me? What did I learn from you eating a tuna fish sandwich? So I like that personal nature of a blog. i The trainer in me said, Where's the wisdom? What's in it for me? Where's that piece? So I actually created trademarked and got a circle on it of something called a blog article than writing for 12 years, I write once every two weeks, in a very compulsive fashion. And it's my way of dripping out information slowly. And I will tell you a story of how I had a wonderful conversation with Stuart. But that story won't end without something that Stewart and Rob found together, that will be a value to you. And that's what makes sense that blog article. That's something I'm very proud of. So those are some things that I offer, you know, and books and things like that. But I guess the only other thing is, and it's just a word of advice. And and I slipped it out, I'm just going to repeat it. Don't just learn, Master. So and that is that's the that's like the kind of unfun part, it's fun that initial learning. But mastering it. That's the That's the challenge. And that's where you hear a musician put in, you know, 1000 hours on a song, and things like that, with a musician puts in 1000 hours to play a song, why can't we put in half that much and master a process. So let's let's really, once it's taught, it's, and it's taught right? And you liked it, don't fall out of love with it, because you're doing it a lot for the first time they've ever seen.

Stuart Webb 13:22

That's a brilliant point. Thank you, Rob, tell me Is there a particular concept or book or talk other than your own books, I guess that has really been influential in your in your career that you'd like to sort of inspire other people with? Well,

Rob Jolles 13:35

I've six books, but I'm only going to lightly highlight just two of them quickly. One of them I wrote the great American sales books, I'm going to choose to publish the law. It's great and people love it. But I always had this dream of talking to everyone, not just card carrying salespeople, parents, we you know, we I want to teach people how to take an idea and put it in somebody else's brain and make them feel like they thought of it. And I really thought Why are we just talking about salespeople on that? How could that not help a manager? Anybody? So for me, I there's two books one is how to change minds the art of influence without manipulation. And and you won't see dollar signs and you won't see the you know, the banner, I'll make you more money and now it's a cat and a mouse. It's it's how we communicate, and the ethics and the responsibility to help people who fear change, change those minds before it's too late. And then the other book, which I just completed, is really a departure for me. I've been in a space helping people who are challenged in career transition. And I after 10 years of meeting and coaching and mentoring. I saw certain patterns so I wrote a book called why people don't believe you. And it deals more with you. Think about it as a trilogy. We teach people how to sell we teach them why now to sell, but we've got to teach them The tune, you know, a lot of times we say, okay, we write something down, somebody will look at and go, okay on an elevator pitch or whatever it is. So I'll just say that and then people will believe me, and we don't spend enough time with. But what about the pitch of your voice? What about the pace of your conversation? What about where you place your pauses? What about getting into character? What about all the other things that surround? I don't like the word soft skills? If you don't mind? It means the process, let's call them performance skills. But for you and me, what about all those pieces around those performance skills? So those are two books, and they're the most my most reason I'm very proud of all the books are like my children. But those those are kind of where the action is for me these days.

Stuart Webb 15:41

I think that's a really valuable point. Actually, Rob, because I, much earlier in my career went off because I thought that I needed to learn how to be a better speaker, because it would help me when I was in front of people, but not only in certain situations, but also when I've motivating staff and such. And I went off and I joined organisations that helped me to become a better public speaker. And I think you're right. I learned a lot from that about not only where to put your hands when you're talking to somebody, but but how to pace and how to react. And I learned a very important lesson of, not to use the word, but when you're talking to them, because that becomes one of those confrontational things, I was taught very carefully, that you have to use the word and, and and there's a building word, but is a is a conversation stopper. And those lessons stayed with me for you know, for a long, long time stayed with me till now. And so often those are not brought into conversations that people need to have around selling.

Rob Jolles 16:39

Right? You're right. You know what, you know what the operative word here is, in my opinion, and it really sums up a lot of things we're talking about right now. Authenticity, how do you become authentic? You know, at the end of the day, even when if I'm interviewing for a job, I may not get all the words, right. I may, I may fumble here and slow down there. I didn't even bring the document I wanted to bring. But if I'm authentic, and you believe me, all that begins to fade a little bit. It's it's strange when I asked people to tell me the characteristics of salespeople that you know, that they really admire. A lot of times they'll talk about, well, they get people to believe them. And they, and there's trust, and they're honest, and and but when you ask them, Well, what do you think they're doing that makes people feel that way? They actually struggle. And it's the oldest Lesson in the Book. They typically ask questions, and they listen. And when we ask questions, and listen, and then use the information we're getting, so not just say, I really liked this coffee mug that I brought, but rather say, you know, Stuart, when you had said earlier, we wanted to have an easy conversation. I brought a mug, I'm tying it to our conversation, it becomes more authentic now. crowbar in information in. We're having a cup of coffee together. And I liked it. Yes, yes. Cheers to you, sir. That's not just between you and me. We want that out there with our clients, with our families with our friends, we do that everything else will fall in line.

Stuart Webb 18:14

Terrific. Rob, I know give you the easy the easy ball here. This is the this is the undergrad softball. I'm throwing out you know sliders here. What's the question that I should have asked you that you would have preferred me to ask? And then tell us tell us the answer.

Rob Jolles 18:32

Question. Let's see. Um, how about this one? Because I'm asked this a lot. Can anybody sell? You know, I am the sales, sales trainer of the stars. Can anybody sell? And the answer is, absolutely. And I'm not just saying that. I'm telling you that I could show you case studies. I'll give you one person right off the bat. Someone you probably never heard of name of Ben Feldman, I think the greatest salesperson who ever lived. Rarely do I bump into anybody who outside of the insurance industry was ever heard of him. And that's interesting to me because he wrote some books that just didn't sell. He was definitely afraid to sell in public, not sell to speak in public. He sold plenty in public, but I got to meet him and just real fast, but when I'm telling you the greatest, I mean, win with a pool of a quarter of a million insurance agents. And the number two person across the country selling $52 million worth of insurance, which is good year, Ben Feldman was selling 153 155 million he would triple number two now think of that statistically. So we all imagine what he must look like this powder keg of a human being somewhat like this rocket ship, Rob Java's people aren't looking at videos of me or like and but but Ben Feldman stood about five foot three, I got to meet him. He had hair like Larry on the Three Stooges. He he spoke with a distinct pronounced lisp. He didn't possess one attribute You'd associate with the stereotypical salesperson. And by the numbers he sold more than anyone else. So I get to say, he may have been the greatest salesperson who ever lived. What that reminds inspires me to remember is that as long as I commit to who I am, what I've got, I may mumble, but I'll mumble better than any other human being. As long as I commit to what I have, and not try and be something I'm not. There's nobody who can't sell or present or run a podcast, or any of the other things that people think there are barriers to because they don't have the classic, you know, attributes. Not necessary.

Stuart Webb 20:41

You know, something that one of the greatest salesman I came across, never sold me anything I bought from him, largely because I thought this guy cares about everything I do. And that was the secret to whatever he did. He never ever tried to sell. He just helped me understand what my what my need was, and then when I can help you satisfy that need, would you like me to help you? And I kept saying, yeah,

Rob Jolles 21:04

and Stuart, I know what he did. And I wasn't even there. I'm telling you. He said back, he created an authentic conversation. And he listened. And he asked questions, probably many of which he already knew the answers, but he let you paint the picture. And by doing that, you walk away going, I don't know, I but I really like the god. Yep. Yeah. It's amazing. But anyway, cheers to him.

Stuart Webb 21:28

Absolutely. Rob, this has been a brilliant conversation. Thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us talking. Listen, if you want to get in, like a cow for it, who was who was watching as we sort of did this live, let me encourage you to just go on to our website, what we do is if you go to this link, which is TCA dot, FYI, forward slash subscribe, that's TCA dot FYI, folks have subscribed. And you put yourself on the newsletter list. We send out an email at the beginning of the week, and basically say who's coming up on the on the podcast this week. So you can join live, you can sort of come in with your comments, you can ask and you can get here. So people like Rob, giving us brilliant advice that you just can't get in well until such time as you bought his books, which I do encourage you to go do but even if you don't buy his books, come and listen to this podcast. Again. Listen to some of that great advice that Rob's got and really appreciate your time. Rob, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us.

Rob Jolles 22:22

It was an absolute pleasure. You're my con interviewer because what did we do? We had an authentic conversation. We shared a cup of coffee.

Stuart Webb 22:31

authentic conversation. Thank you so much data. I really appreciate it. Bye bye

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Who is Marisa?

Marisa Guthrie is a business coach who is on a mission to put money in the hands of the right people. She works with small business owners and solopreneurs who want to do good and get paid their worth, defining success on their terms. A serial entrepreneur, Marisa has been in business for 25 years and has set up and run three social enterprises, as well as several other small businesses and a cross party think tank. Marisa now runs her coaching business and a membership programme for small business owners called Doing Business Differently.

Key Takeaways

Business owners have a scattergun approach to marketing which isn't targeted or efficient
Marketing can make business owners feel exhausted without a strategy and can cause them to run out of steam before they become effective
Without a strategy they can always feel like they are in 'selling mode' and this feels wrong if they wan t to be doing good.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

https://doingbusinessdifferentlymembership.thinkific.com/courses/the-doing-business-differently-experience

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Stuart Webb 0:21

Hi, welcome to It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee this time with no massive amounts of feedback, which is great news. So welcome to Marissa. Marissa is a business coach who works with people who are doing good. And she wants to help those people that were doing good. get paid for doing what they're doing and do the right thing. So Marissa, welcome to It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee. I hope I've described what you do accurately. But if not, I'm sure you're going to have plenty of fun over the next 1520 minutes telling us exactly what you do and who you help.

Marisa Guthrie 0:56

Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for having Mr. It's really good to be here. And yes, not withstanding technical issues, but there we go. That's what happens, isn't it? Brilliant? Marissa, start with the question, one that I always start with. So can you describe the problem that you, you help solve in your ideal client? Yeah. So quite rightly, as you said, Stuart, I work with small business owners and solopreneurs, who wants to use their businesses, for good to solve problems for people and planet, but who also want to make money. And often they feel that those two things are mutually exclusive. So typically, the things that those small business owners and solopreneurs struggle with most often is having a strategy, particularly when it comes to marketing themselves. So they often feel like they're doing all the things that they feel they should do, but they're never really getting any traction.

Stuart Webb 1:55

And so what do they do for themselves without help that you commonly see in those people? Marissa?

Marisa Guthrie 2:03

Yeah, well, it really comes down to three things. So first of all, they tend to use a scattered gunning approach when it comes to their marketing, and especially social media. So they feel like they have to be on all the platforms, and they're trying to be on all the platforms, but they don't really have any clear aim or goal or objectives. So they ended up getting exhausted and exhausting their efforts. Secondly, they'll hear about something that's supposed to work and they think, great. So they run with that for a little while, and get really enthusiastic about their marketing. But then they often run out of steam and give up. So they end up not posting and sharing consistently, not really engaging with their, with their audience. And then the third thing is typically, they feel like they're in selling mode all the time. So they feel frustrated, because that isn't really translating into sales. And they come to absolutely hate their marketing, because everything they do sounds very sort of two dimensional and boring. And so it doesn't really reflect who they feel they are at heart.

Stuart Webb 3:11

Brilliant stuff, Marissa, and often the main source of problems for small businesses, isn't it the fact that they believe they've got to sell and an actual fact, as I keep telling my clients, the thing you have to do is explain what you do, and then find the person that has that problem. And then you won't have to sell to them, they will request that you solve their problem. And then it's just a meeting of minds about whether or not you're working together. It's no longer a selling conversation. It's about how do you help me solve my problem conversation, isn't it?

Marisa Guthrie 3:41

Absolutely. It is all about problem solving. And we're going to come on to that I think Stewart in this conversation. So yeah, absolutely, completely 100% with you. So let's talk about that in the valuable free action or valuable free resource that you bring to the party in order to help those people that need those problems being solved for them, or to help them solve those problems. Well, I'm just like you, you know, we're just here to solve problems for people, aren't we so because this is an issue that I see all the time in the small business community, and I see all the pain and frustration and you know, exhaustion, frankly, it's it creates. I have a free ebook, which you can download from my website, which is Marissa Guthrie coaching.co.uk. It's, it's all there. And that is to help people create a simple and effective marketing strategy in three easy steps. So that you'll always have something compelling and original to say, and you'll start seeing followers converting to customers. So that that's one thing. But the other thing is too is that I'm also running a free 10 day training event which is starting next week, the 17th of November. And again there's a link to it here and it's called the doing business differently experience and that is for purpose led small business owners

Who really wants to do more of what they love and do that good in the world, and make money, but just can't figure out how those two things are going to fit together. So it's a really deep dive into the things that they need to know. And, you know, what I think is crucial with trainings is, it's all very well being told what you need to know. But having the time to implement so that you can actually make those changes and start to see results is what's really important. So that's how this training is really going to work. It's a series of webinars and q&a, there's also a nice Facebook community to really dive in and to, you know, to use me and lean into the resources that I'm creating, so that within those 10 days, people can really start to see changes and and you know, have time to implement the things that they need to to get the results that they need to see.

Stuart Webb 5:55

Brilliant stuff. So

is there a particular book or concept or programme that sort of helped you come to you to your, to your realisation of how you put together those sort of courses? Marissa?

Marisa Guthrie 6:07

Yeah, well, I mean, I'm pretty, it's pretty long in the tooth. So I've leaned into quite a few things in my time, but so there are lots of people and books that I could cite. But right now, I'd say that there are two books that have had a huge influence on me and my work. One of them is called The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks, and the other is called the calling by raw goddess. And the common theme that both of these books share is that really, we are often our own worst enemy when it comes to our attitudes to success and creating abundance. And it's often down to early life experiences, not exclusively. But mostly we take on an attitude to life that was set down by someone else, typically parents, but often family, in general, school, teachers, society, and so on. And we end up carrying that attitude into our business life, for better or worse. And what I love about both of these books, and both these writers is how they sort of skillfully demonstrate that with a little bit of self awareness, and a willingness to change, that actually, you can achieve anything. You just have to choose not to buy into those self limiting beliefs, and you have to do the work.

Stuart Webb 7:20

Brilliant. I must admit, I'm not familiar with either of those two books, Maurice, I've written them down on my pad notes me, I will be knocking them out. Because I do think that is a really big thing about most people, particularly when they enter any business, let alone the small business where you're doing, you're doing the work for yourself. But, you know, often I see people even in you know, starting out when they're working for a company, they believe they can never get anywhere because they were told by mom or dad or a teacher, you're never going to amount to anything. And that actually is the thing that guides their thinking they will be convinced they will never amount to anything and yet they've got great potential.

Marisa Guthrie 7:55

You're in for a real treat them Stewart because they're both Corkers, I can promise you, I will look forward to digging them out of a library later on today. So variously here's my here's my Get Out of Jail Free card, as I often say the the final question, which is the one where I've got to hand over to you what's the question that you think I should have asked you? And please don't just leave us wondering what the answer is answer that question for us as well. Well, it's always a great questions to it. So what you should have asked me is what the real secret to marketing yourself and your brand is that has nothing to do with self promotion. And I would have told you that the secret is to tell your story. I love the answer.

Stuart Webb 8:38

Question, but I do like the answer.

Marisa Guthrie 8:40

So storytelling is powerful, not only because it conveys enables us to convey concepts, ideas, and information. But importantly, it's how we invoke emotion and create emotional connection. So our human brains are hard wired for stories as they help us figure out our place in the world, who our tribe is where we belong. So no wonder it's used as such an effective marketing tool. So I just want to give three, three insights into, if you like, into what storytelling does. When it's done well, it demonstrates our values as business owners, and what's important to us. Secondly, actually, it tells the customer something about themselves that they might not have been able to articulate themselves. And thirdly, because all stories are unique to the storyteller, that uniqueness helps the customer differentiate, differentiate between you and your competitor. So it creates clarity as to why they should work with us. So all of that is a total win win. And that has nothing to do with selling or self promotion. It's just about turning up as yourself and telling your story.

Stuart Webb 9:53

Authenticity. Even this morning I was on a call with somebody and we were talking about the importance for authenticity. See, it's a it's a, it's a well overused concept at the moment, I think. But actually, I think the way you've just explained it is a brilliant way of breaking down what authenticity really is. It's about being being yourself in such a way that you're not selling. But being yourself in such a way that once again, we come back to that you help somebody with a problem they have, and you help them solve that problem. And I think that's a great way of putting it. Marissa, thank you so much.

Marisa Guthrie 10:25

Thank you.

Stuart Webb 10:27

I really appreciate the time you've been here, the time you made and We've obviously had a few technical difficulties, but I'm so glad we were able to get together and do this. And the course that you're running starting next week is still scrolling across the bottom of the screen, but I'll put that in the notes to today's episode. But listen, if you or anybody listening at the moment would like to find out when we do these, these talks so that you could join live and comment and ask questions or people go on to our newsletter website, which you can get to by going to TC a dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, that's TTA dot FYI, forward slash, subscribe, get onto the newsletter list. And then you'll get to hear about things like this Marissa, and also in the notes, you'll see there are links to where you find this on Apple podcasts and Spotify, etc, etc. So please like and subscribe to that as well. Marissa, thank you so much for being with us today. Really appreciate it. I'm now just going to play our outro music which gives you a few minutes to sort of relax and before I stopped recording, so thank you so much for being with us. Really appreciate it.

Marisa Guthrie 11:38

Thank you very much do it.

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Who is Romesh?

Romesh is a Portfolio FD with a great track record in growing start ups, scale ups and high growth organisations.

Key Takeaways

Don't be afraid to contact and leverage external expertise. You don't necessarily have to spend money. Iinitially, you don't lose anything, by having a chat with a few people who have experience in that area, you know, you're not committing to anything
What do business leaders not do too well that an FD can help them with - running out of cash is the biggest risk in SME forecasting well, and giving it the appropriate priority can help mitigate this as well as driving sales and profit
Poor forecasts can lead to constantly trailing behind set targets, which can lead the team to start running out of steam, - a real shame

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Romesh offers a free chat which may go a long way to sort out your issues. See his website on www.thefdconsultant.com

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Stuart Webb 0:42

Hi and welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee on here today joined by Ramesh who is I guess the CEO of the FD consultant. I know this is a fast growing organisation Ramesh, I'm really pleased to get you on to talk about this subject because this is an important topic that I'm sure a lot of small businesses don't think nearly enough about. And so I'm sure we're gonna have a really brilliant conversation. Ramesh, welcome to It's not rocket science. Five questions over coffee, although today mine is a slightly warm cup of lemon scented. So that's, that's a bit of a cheat. What about yourself?

Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam 1:22

Thank you very much to Yeah, well, I've got I've got my got my hot drink here. Thank you very much for that introduction. Yes. So hi, everyone. I'm Ramesh. I've been a full time FD for many years. Over 12 years for startup and scaleup organisations, I've now set up a business called the FT consultant where basically I like to help companies grow.

Stuart Webb 1:47

Brilliant. So, Ramesh, let's start with the first of my obvious questions, which is, can you describe in a few short sentences, the problem that your clients face when, when they're working on their business? Sure, so

Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam 2:07

So the clients I tend to work with are growing businesses, you know, startups scale ups, they can be new entities or established entities, effectively, they're all looking for high growth. There are lots of big challenges that these kinds of businesses can face. But the biggest are probably, number one forecasting and managing cash flows. And secondly, raising investment funding.

Stuart Webb 2:35

Okay, and what are the problems that they try and solve when they're working on their own?

Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam 2:44

I suppose there are a lot of pitfalls that you can fall into, if you're not used to following a process, you don't have a lot of experience in that. So starting first with cash flow management and forecasting, often, you might find that the management team don't fully understand the importance of the task. So you know, when you're managing cash flows, I mean, essentially, running out of cash is the biggest risk in SME forecasting well, and giving it the appropriate priority can help mitigate this as well as driving sales and profit.

Stuart Webb 3:22

I think that's a really important problem. Isn't it wrong if people don't forecast very well, and they, you know, and I've said this on so many occasions, too many businesses, businesses don't run out of ideas, they often don't run out of clients, but they do run out of cash. And that's the thing which kills most business owners, it's not the lack of ideas, the lack of concepts, the lack of customers, it's the fact that they run out of cash, and they didn't realise that was going to happen.

Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam 3:49

Absolutely. Right. Absolutely. Right. And, you know, not having a forecast at all is something that we've seen, you know, or the forecasting is generally poorly executed. And you know, that that can lead to unexpected cash flow, or sales and profitability issues, you know, because something has arisen that that management hasn't foreseen. Whereas have they, you know, thought about this a bit more in advance, then they can prepare for that. You know, they, if you don't have a good forecast, it can mean setting incorrect or unrealistic targets, which will only demotivate your team if they're not achieved. So there are a lot a lot of kind of things to think about. In terms of the importance of of such a task. I think

Stuart Webb 4:38

that's a really important point. Unrealistic things are probably more difficult to cope with them than ones which are plastic but stretching, aren't they?

Unknown Speaker 4:52

Absolutely.

Stuart Webb 4:53

Something which something which you know, is realistic, but it's hard to achieve. You can strive for something which you just Look at go, I have no idea where that came from is almost always demotivating.

Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam 5:05

Exactly, exactly. And if you're constantly kind of trailing behind set targets, you know, and you don't feel you're going to get to them, then that I feel will kind of you know, the team can start running out of steam, which would be a real shame you know it?

Stuart Webb 5:25

What's the valuable free action or valuable free resource that you can offer the listeners now who are probably sitting there thinking? How realistic is my forecast? Is my team ever going to achieve stuff? Which am I going to run out of cash? What's What's the valuable free resource you can offer them now to get them to start thinking about some of this stuff?

Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam 5:47

Well, I think, um, you know, don't be afraid to contact and leverage external expertise. I mean, you don't necessarily have to spend money. You know, initially, you don't lose anything, by having a chat with a few people who have experience in that area, you know, you're not committing to anything. If you speak to an external advisor, you'll find that many of them are very happy to give you direction for free to build a relationship. You're very welcome to get in contact with us at the FT consultant. And we're really happy to help you know, we, we want to help come, you know, businesses grow, we want to help and support this space. So you know, why wouldn't we want to kind of give you as many pointers as we can, and you know, have the opportunity to build that kind of relationship.

Stuart Webb 6:35

Ramesh, it's why I love getting people like you onto this podcast, because you talk language that I talk, I am so happy to hear people talking about just offering free advice to people who are still struggling to understand the thing that I spent some time is, you know, doing things like part time strategy for people just helping them work out whether or not their business is going right direction. And it nearly always starts out the general chat over a cup of coffee or something like this, where you just say, Do you know something? I've got a few ideas, if you're interested, let's talk about them. But that doesn't cost anything, does it having a carrying a brew with somebody having a few minutes with somebody? Doesn't doesn't do anybody any harm doesn't cost anything and often sought out the problem on its own?

Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam 7:20

Exactly, you can certainly make significant steps in the right to actually buy sort of makes that kind of move. Absolutely.

Stuart Webb 7:28

And I know we've put your website down here below. So the FT consults got loads of really quite interesting stuff. I know, I know, because I went onto the website earlier and hadn't look at it. So there's a lot of good stuff on there as well. So rubbish, like just rubbish, just just on the, the the idea of sort of getting ideas and bringing them is there a concept or a book that's been useful to you to generate your ideas and make you aware of what you need to think about?

Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam 7:56

Yes, that's a really good question. I did have a good think about it. I'm kind of getting

Stuart Webb 8:02

questions from it.

Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam 8:06

You've done a good job. See, I can't I can't complain about that at all. No, really good. So in terms of a concept or book, I'm gonna refer to an old classic, which I found very helpful. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Yeah, I'm sure you've you've heard or seen it or even read it. What I like about it is simple messages, which are easy to understand in terms of their impact. And they're straightforward to execute. Concepts like you know, begin, you know, be proactive, begin with the end in mind, think win win. First understand, before trying to be understood, you know, in other words, be a better listener, you know, there are lots of great examples and concepts in the book. And I've used those, those quite simple concepts throughout my career, actually. And hopefully, that's helped me become, you know, more effective in terms of what I do. There's one in particular that I, I really like, and I found useful, and that was, I don't know, have you ever read this yet? Ah, I have. Yeah. Okay. So you might remember the the Circle of Influence calm? Yes. Yeah. So I, I really liked that analogy. You know, a good, proactive and effective person will only worry about things they can influence. You know, there's no, there's no point in worrying about the weather, for example, or being upset by the weather, because there's nothing you can do to change it. You just have to accept it and move on.

Stuart Webb 9:43

I know, I know what you mean, I wish that I spent some time each morning reading about sort of two general concepts. And this morning I was reading about the fact that even at the outset of the Normandy landings, the Eisenhower wrote to his wife and said said we've done everything we can we prepared. We have we have the men are as trained as they can possibly be. Now it's in the lap of the gods, because the most effective commander still recognises he doesn't have control of everything. All he could control was, have you got the right plans where the men trained? Were they as ready as they could be? He'd done everything he could. He then had to just trust that that training would carry through. You're right. Somebody who is worrying about whether he's going to waste a lot of time worrying about the weather.

Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam 10:32

Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah. So so that that that's that's a recommendation for me. And I'm really glad you're familiar with that as well. Something I'm reading right now, which is really interesting as well is the serendipity Mindset by Dr. Christine bush. I find this fascinating concept actually, it's, it's the art and science of creating good luck. I'm only partway through the book. Yeah, it's a good one. Yeah. It's something I I, you know, I think has some real relevance actually. Yeah, it's all about having how to create favourable opportunities, wherever you are, you know, if you take the right steps, if you recognise the right signs, you can make more good things happen. And I'm a real believer in that. So yeah, I'm enjoying that. And I do recommend that as well.

Stuart Webb 11:29

Love it. Right. This is this is a fascinating discussion, we could go on all day, but we better not because somebody somewhere will be will be wanting you to do some actual work. So final question to you is, so what's the question I should have asked you. And obviously, don't just leave us hanging with saying, you know, what's the answer to two plus two? Please give us the answer to the question as well. So what's that question? What's the answer that I really should ask you?

Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam 11:55

Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thanks. So, I think the question, a good question would be, how can an FD or an FD consultant help your business? Many founders and CEOs of growing businesses don't understand fully the value that an FD can bring to their business until they start working with one, many won't have the budget for a full time CFO, that consultants like us at the FT consultant are out there, and we can help. And how can we help. So we can save money, we can save money for the business. Good example of this. One of my clients I onboard is and within three or four months, having, you know, got to know them a little bit, I made some suggestions, which basically covered my costs for a full year, which they were very happy, we are very happy about, we can help produce better management information to enable the management team to make better and more informed decisions, which will drive the business forwards, we can implement good processes to help with risk management and compliance. And also effectively to service your customer needs. We can set up and recruits a good finance team if you need one. And we can manage and develop staff to deal with the volume of transactions and activity that your growing business will, will will will be experiencing. We can help you raise funds effectively, you know, put, put your company in the best position to attract investor interest and tell a story that is effective, puts your company in the spotlight and in the correct way and adds credibility to your message. If you were to utilise the services of the FT consultant, you'd have the advantage of our network. You know, we have good links and proven relationships with other good individuals and good companies in areas like recruitment, it HR, which can be really valuable to your business. There's nothing like a strong long term partnership. And that's something that we believe in. Outside of finance, an FTE can offer good critical thinking with strategy. For example, the implementation of a sustainability policy, which is something I'm doing with a client right now. Analysis of competitors, you know, identify other growth opportunities. And in my mind, really, there's nothing more effective than implementing big company best practice integrating companies, that's our specialism and we found that that's a winning combination really.

Stuart Webb 14:41

From its That's brilliant, and I was just thinking as you're doing it. You know, I've been talking to people about some of the stuff I do, which is sort of part time strategic stuff. And the value that people bring just one day, a month, one day, every so often just coming in and just pointing people in the right direction. In the management team, because that outside look that that pair of eyes coming from the outside saying, you know, I think I've spotted something over here, which you can't see because you're busy in the wood, dealing with the felling of the trees, rather than seeing the whole of the forest around you is so valuable to people because you can see some of that advantage, you can see some of those opportunities that people often miss, when you have that ability to step in, step away from the business a little bit, and then come back and say, you know, I think there's a opportunity over here. All of that stuff is incredibly valuable. Raj, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us today. Really appreciate your insights really appreciate some of what you said. I just like to remind everybody watching, if you would like to hear about some of the stuff we're doing on this on this videocast his podcast, and you'd like to get in to be able to comment and TPMS giving such valuable advice live and going onto our newsletter, subscription lists where to do it. You do that by going to https colon forward slash forward slash TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, a really must ask the internet authorities to stop having to make us put all of those letters in the beginning. So for Facebook, if you go to TCA, FYI, forward slash subscribe, you can get into the newsletter list and you can get in and know about people like Ramesh giving brilliant, brilliant and valuable advice like this. Live in onto the internet. Always thank you so much for coming on to It's not rocket science, five questions on coffee. Really appreciate everything you're doing. I know, when you talk about you know, you've got a deep network. I know some of that network. I'm part of that network. So I understand the sort of value that you bring to sort of organisation. So thank you so much for spending some time ago.

Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam 16:48

Thank you so much. Thank you so much.

Stuart Webb 16:52

Thank you, bye bye. Take care. Bye bye

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Who is Janene?

Janene is a highly trusted Value & Profit Expert, working with small businesses, startups and entrepreneurs across industries and the globe...and she’s a Certified Pricing Professional. Her mission is to empower small businesses to sustainably grow their revenue and profit. By showing them how to use the pricing strategies and tactics that help them confidently create, communicate and charge for the value they deliver. Watch out, her passion for pricing is contagious

Key Takeaways

When people start in business they under-price. They're trying to cast a wide net, and attract anyone. They need to target.

2.. Pricing is rooted in a deep understanding of the customer. Because the customer is the final judge and jury on value. It's about making sure that your offer is pitched to the right audience.

Show Me the Money matrix. Four questions to help determine value to your customer offer.

How do I help my customers reduce risk?

How do I help them be more competitive?

How do I help them improve quality of their of their business

How do I help them bring economic efficiency?

Take those four questions, not only about apply, write down your answers, and then try to quantify them. And then you'll be on your road to understanding better the quantifiable value but that your offer delivers customers,

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Janene has a free webinar - details at her website thepricinglady.com

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

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Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

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Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

prices, pricing, question, business, customer, janine, great, offer, talk, coffee mug, quantify, spend, wide net, profit, webinar, generalist, common mistake, startups, differentiation, brilliant

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Janene Liston

Stuart Webb 00:42

Hi, and welcome back to another episode of, it's not rocket science, five questions over coffee. I have my coffee mug here in front of me. I'm here with Janine, who is the pricing lady? This is gonna be a really fascinating discussion. Because for me pricing is something so many people get wrong. So many people are afraid of pricing, they're afraid of what it does. I think it's a real differentiator. It's the thing which sets you apart. If you are even a small business, even a solopreneur, your pricing can really set you apart. So I think Janine is going to give us some great tips to great points today. Get your coffee ready. This is going to be a great discussion. Hi, Janine. Welcome to the podcast.

Janene Liston 01:22

Hi, Stuart. Thanks for having me here. Hello, everyone.

Stuart Webb 01:25

This is this is going to be absolutely fascinating. So Janine, let's start off with the obvious thing. What's the biggest challenge? And I think we've sort of started to get into this already. What's the biggest challenge your ideal client has faces today?

Janene Liston 01:39

Right. So I think there's two things for the startups, the solo entrepreneurs, that group of people, it's really about, how can I understand the value of what I'm charging and set the right prices. So it really comes down to a confidence piece for more established businesses is really about optimising profitability, not chasing after profits at all in any cost, but optimising their profit.

Stuart Webb 02:07

I think that's a really good point you need the word optimising profit is something which I think a lot of time people forget the profit element of system, they're afraid of really understanding the profit margin. So, you know, that leads me on to the next question, what's the common mistake people make when they're trying to solve that problem of their price, without

Janene Liston 02:30

without help? Right. So I think one of the common mistakes that people make when they're first starting out, is under pricing. And usually, a lot of times that will come from trying to sell everything to anyone. They're trying to cast a wide net, and attract anyone. And in doing so they position themselves as a generalist. And when you're positioned as a generalist, your prices, quite frankly, if you're lucky, will be average at best, but you usually they're below average. So casting a wide net for most businesses isn't going to be the way to get enough traction, to be able to get going on a profit context. And quite frankly, profit is how you're going to grow your business later. So without that profit, you basically won't be there to serve your clients later on.

Stuart Webb 03:24

Janine, that's really interesting, because I think you've said something really interesting, which is this generalist point. And, yeah, I just like to, you know, we're going to expand a little bit on this, because I think it's really important. What you were saying is a differentiator, I've said that I think differentiation is a real key issue for many small businesses, many business, it's differentiation. But you've just sort of talked about the fact that that it, if you're trying to Castle wide that you become too generous. Can you expand a little bit on what you think that means in terms of what that does to your pricing?

Janene Liston 03:56

Right. So basically, what happens is, there are lots of people who want your product or service or who could use it, and different people will have a different value to it. So this guy over here may think it's nice to have, but I'm not going to spend a whole lot of money on it. This one might think, Oh, that's good value for money. And this one might really think, Wow, this is the best thing ever. And I'm going to give all my money for it. Now, if you're going to price for all three of them, then basically you're going to average those prices. And in order to capture a sort of majority of them, you're going to have to be on the lower end when it comes to an average price or target price. So in reality, what you either want to do is focus on one or segment them have different offers and therefore different price points.

Stuart Webb 04:49

You know, I was I'm reminded of a story and we could develop this but of a an experiment, a social experiment that we run by I think it was New York University where they put a virtuoso violinist outside of the New York subway station. And he played for 45 minutes and counted the number of coins that were thrown into his violin case. And the answer at the end of that, at that time were a few, a few dollars, He then played a 45 minute concert at a concert venue in front of an audience that had paid to come in here and play. And he gained something in the region of 1000s of dollars for that particular performance. The difference was the audience. It wasn't his playing. It wasn't his his performance, it was the audience he was playing to second audience paid to hear him play because they appreciated his art, his craft, whatever, that's what we're talking about, isn't it? It's about making sure that your offer is pitched to the right audience.

Janene Liston 05:56

Yes, I always say pricing is rooted in a deep understanding of the customer. Because the customer is the final judge and Judge Jury on the value. And the value is going to determine in the end with the prices. I think also in your story, you can say Location, location, location, also makes a difference. But you're right, it really pricing comes down to the customer. And if I may, this leads me to another mistake that people make. It's that they I lost my train of thought there. Oh, yes, I know what it is. So your service based businesses, when they tend to set prices, they go, Oh, I do this really great thing. Let me see what everybody else is charging. And let me price a little bit less. And your product based businesses tend to go, Ooh, I developed this really cool widget. Let me add at my costs and add a margin. And that's where I'll put my price. Now, if your were listening just a moment ago, then, you know, there's one problem that these two methodologies have in common. And that's both of them completely ignore the customer.

Stuart Webb 07:08

Brilliant, absolutely. Love that. I love that. And you know, the thing, it just there is it's highlighted, is that that value is that what is the value? What's the value to the customer? Just Just one other thing I was talking to somebody yesterday about a landing page, question that I had for them is how many additional customers and customer and customer value will that bring to your business, because that determines how much you want to put into the cost to develop that landing page. If it's going to bring you one extra customer, they spend another $1 a pound, then you don't want to spend a huge amount on that landing page. But if it's going to bring in 10,000 customers, and they each spend 10,000, you need to spend more on testing and proving. So it's all about the value it brings to your business as well as the value it brings to the customer. Absolutely. Terrific. So, Jenny, we could talk for many hours, I'm sure and we get and we won't, because otherwise this podcast will not be called five questions over coffee. But 10,000 questions over coffee? Well, let's just get to, you know, you have got some great ideas. You've got some great things teach us, what's the way that we can get hold of that knowledge from you, and hopefully, at great value to us.

Janene Liston 08:25

And so in terms of you're asking, like

Stuart Webb 08:29

free action or free resource that you're going to be able to sort of pass to us.

Janene Liston 08:33

Excellent. So there's, I'm running a webinar this weekend next week, which is Is it time to raise my prices and how to do it confidently? Twice? Yes, this time of year that is on top of everybody's minds. What am I going to do with my prices next year. And of course, this year, we're in really unprecedented sort of set of circumstances, right?

Stuart Webb 08:59

I think I think there's I think there's a drink there. If you've used the word unprecedented, I think we will have to take as long

Janene Liston 09:05

I don't have a coffee mug, I have my water bottle. Yeah, so this is a hot topic. And everybody is you know, a bit sensitive about what to do wants to know what to do. So I'm going to share with people how to know when it's time and give them some tips and strategies on how to raise prices really effectively.

Stuart Webb 09:28

Brilliant. I love it. I think it's gonna be a good webinar. So the details of that if you can see scrolling across the bottom of the screen, it's the pricing lady.com forward slash raising, raise prices sorry. Exactly. The pricing lady.com raise prices. Brilliant. Thank you so much to need. So what what contact book or talk has really been impactful in your experience.

Janene Liston 09:54

So one of the books that I read years ago well before I ever started my own business was called the E myth, and it has stuck with me for a day. And well, there's a couple of things. So first of all, it's really great for young businesses, startups, entrepreneurs. And what stayed with me one was a, it's an easy read. So pretty much anybody can read it. Being an American living in Europe, a lot of people hear English as a second language. So I recommend also for people who's you know, who are, maybe English isn't their strongest language, but it's also published in many languages. And there are two things that I like about it. One is its simplicity. And the two things that stuck with me are one that your business is about creating experience for people. So a lot of the value that you provide beyond the service or beyond the product is actually related to the experience that you create for people. And that can bring as much value as the service or the product itself. And I think that that's really such a strong message to keep in mind. And then the other thing is that when you start your own business, you think, Oh, I can do this better, or I can do this differently. And you think that what you're an expert in is what you're going to spend all your time doing. But those of us who have have a business now, that's not the reality of the case, you do have to be the salesperson and the marketing person, the accounting person, the finance guy, and so on and so forth. And there's a time and a place to do those things yourself. And there's a time and a place to outsources things.

Stuart Webb 11:31

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Right. That is a really key thing. I often say, to many entrepreneurs, I come across us what I call the path of least resistance, and they really should understand the value of their own time to their business because we get it wrong so many times. Jenny Lister fast, fascinating discussion, we could go on for hours, but I'm gonna come to question five. Okay, question five is my Get Out of Jail Free card, which is where I can't think of any good question. So I throw it over to you. What's the question that I should have asked you, that you think would have really delivered great value? And, and then please don't leave us hanging? Give us the answer to that question. back for another one of these in just a few days.

Janene Liston 12:12

Yes, of course. So I think that the the question is probably in people's minds right now is okay, you've told us we need to focus on value. How do I do that? Yeah, so I use something. I love the question.

Stuart Webb 12:25

I'm hoping we're gonna get a brilliant answer.

Janene Liston 12:28

Yes, you're about to get a good answer, a great answer, maybe even a really an answer. So I use something with my clients, I call it the Show Me the Money matrix. Okay. Okay. And what we do is we ask ourselves four questions, to help us quantify the value that comes out of our offer. It's not the features in your product, that brand, that is the value, it's what those features do for you. It's not the type of service that you offer. It's that experience that you have and what it brings. So there are four areas that we look at. The first is how do I help my customers reduce risk? How do I help them be more competitive? How do I help them improve quality that can be of life or of their business of their offer? And the last one is how do I help them bring economic efficiency? Take those four questions, not only about apply, write down your answers, and then try to quantify them. And then you'll be on your road to understanding better the quantifiable value but that your offer delivers customers,

Stuart Webb 13:35

gee, I love it. Sell the benefits, not the features sell the whole not the drill. We've always said it. Haven't we quantified a brilliant way of actually capturing what the benefit is in those four great questions. I love those questions. I will be writing those downloads and I shall make sure that I get it getting bedded into some question matrix that I use. Don't think I can steal your name because it will surely come shortly copyrighted. But those are four great questions about what it is benefit. Yeah, this has been a fascinating discussion. Thank you so much for spending some time but I think I think pricing is such an important topic. It's such a such a difficult one for people to get right. I think you've given us a really great highlights of how to get pricing right. I hope we can get people to come along and get onto that. That webinar. Yeah, just repeat it's the pricing lady. That's that's Janine she is the pricing lady the pricing lady.com forward slash raise prices get along to that webinar, see what you can do with your prices to help you to get the right price based upon the value you deliver to clients and and this is a great topic. So I think there's gonna be some great stuff coming out of that. Just to remind everybody if you want to see in the future, we send out an email before these to try and make sure that you know what's coming up if you want to get onto the newsletter list so that you can see what who get whose guests we get coming up. Get almost going and subscribing to TC a dot FYI, forward slash subscribe if you got to TCA FYI folks have subscribed to before filling your details. Let us know that you want to be told that we've got great interviews with people like Janine coming up, and we will send you an email on the Monday of the week coming up, so that you know who's coming up that week. Janine, thank you so much for being with us today. Really appreciate it. Really appreciate the stuff you've told us. I hope people come and come and populate that webinar. Myself, I'm gonna I'm gonna see if I can get on there and steal some great ideas from you because you've got so much to say about this. Thank you so much for being with us.

Janene Liston 15:34

Thanks for having me here. It was a real pleasure.

Stuart Webb 15:36

It's a real pleasure. Thank you

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View Details

Who is Pavel?

Pavel Verbnyak is a professional speaker on personal development, goal-setting, the law of attraction and leadership. He is a success expert, life coach, Vice President of JCI Russia, Brian Tracy Academy's expert and partner, the founder of “Successful Thinking”, the author of several books, seminars on unlocking human potential and personal efficiency. Pavel specializes in training and development of individuals and organizations, helping to set and achieve personal and professional goals faster and easier, to eliminate limiting beliefs and fears, increase sales etc. Pavel Verbnyak is an award-winning speaker and an internationally recognized leader in personal development and peak performance strategies. For over 15 years, he has been teaching entrepreneurs, educators, corporate leaders, and people from all walks of life how to create the life they desire.

Key Takeaways

Too many entrapreneurs, leaders, managers, doesn't see the difference between goals, wishes and dreams. And don't set goals, which should be specific, clear and written down.
We are all unique, we can all learn from each other, our clients, our colleagues and those we meet. Nobody was born a great productive leader or manager or public speaker or lawyer. Everything starts from zero. And you decide exactly who you are, what you want to achieve in your life.
Don't be afraid to ask for help. Don't be afraid to go forward. And don't be afraid to fail. There's no fail there are just lessons.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Facebook.com/verbnyak

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast athttps://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/subscribe-podcast

Help us get this podcast in front of as many people as possible. Leave a nice five-star review atapple podcasts : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/apple-podcasts and on YouTube : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Itsnotrocketscienceatyt!

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

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Work with me privately

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

people, stuart, programme, success, achieve, works, life, question, pavel, goals, nice, russia, read, limiting beliefs, held, mentor, beliefs, affirmations, fear, mindset

SPEAKERS

Pavel Verbnyak, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb 00:43

Hi, and welcome back to it's not rocket science, five questions over coffee. It's not coffee for me this afternoon. I'm already Caffeined up. So this is just some nice warm water with a piece of lime in the bottom. But it's enough to keep me going for this afternoon. And I'm here with Pablo, vermin. Yak. Pablo is a professional speaker, consultant coach, really very impressive background. And I've allowed him to sort of tell us a little bit about his background now, and how he got into what he's doing. And hopefully we're going to have a really interesting question. So welcome to, it's not rocket science. Pawel, thank you very much, Stuart. It's very nice to see you in to meet you. And thank you for the invitation to be on your show. It's great. This, it's my pleasure. It's my pleasure, Pavel. So to tell me Pavel, what's the what's the common problem that you see people have that you're trying to help them to solve? Yes, as you mentioned before, I'm professionals, speaker, coach and trainer. So I'm specialising on soft skills. So goal setting, mindset, and habits are the main expertise. And some of my clients coming to me with different kinds of questions how to

Pavel Verbnyak 02:00

achieve much more in their professional and personal life. So I'm helping to eliminate some limiting beliefs and fears that holding them back. And most of them are subconscious. So we're fixing our mindset with fixing our limiting beliefs with with our clients. And it's very, very interesting process. Stuart, I'm sure you know, how it works, and habits and mindset. I think it says essential for our own success and goal achievement.

Stuart Webb 02:33

You know, Papa, I've been so aware of how often we have limits in our own beliefs, which stop us from achieving the potential that so many people have. So it's an important topic to solve.

Pavel Verbnyak 02:48

Oh, yes. Oh, yes.

Stuart Webb 02:50

So So what are the common problems that you find that people have tried and ways that they tried to solve some of these problems without you, your with help from people like yourself?

Pavel Verbnyak 03:02

Yeah. Most of my clients, even if intrapreneurs, leaders, managers, doesn't see the difference between goals, wishes and dreams, oh, when we set goals, when we write them down, when we make it specific, clear, when we find the resources we need, and find some blockages and limitations, it's getting much more clear. And why a lot of people doesn't doesn't have goals in their own life. There are a lot of information about that. There are different answers to that question, Stuart. First of all, most of them doesn't see the value of goals, nobody taught them. And nobody teaches them how to set goals, when they were kids, when they were at universities and so on. And also the main reason that a lot of people doesn't set and achieve goals, because because of fears and limitations in as you said before, in their own beliefs in on their own subconscious mind. What kinds of fears fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of new and fear of different kinds of fears, that helps us to to be alive and most of our fears and limitations now, not are not serving us or holding us back and when we find that these limitations are not good to us. We can change them we can put something good on our on our programmes because this is very, very important and powerful computer we have between our our years and we can we can reprogram our subconscious mind because 80% sense is psychology, you know exactly how it works. Because if you're successful in profession, if you're successful in relationships, that's because of your subconscious, and psychology, beliefs. And if you don't, that doesn't see the difference. Or if you don't like what you have, change your thoughts, change your mindset, change your programmes, change your beliefs, and you will see the difference in that in your life. And steward. That's how I started. That's how I started developing myself in this field, learning how it works, because I've got enough limiting beliefs and fears. Because you remember, in Soviet Union, it wasn't easy, it wasn't too easy to, to talk about money to talk about finances. I was born in 1987, for years before Soviet Union collapse. But in 1990s, in Russia and CIS countries, former Soviet republics, it wasn't easy to build businesses, or becomes financial successful. And because of because of that, and, and it's very nice to, to know how it works. And I decided, or I decided to find the answers. What's the difference between successful people and others? How do they think how do they act, and I found that that was my transformational point, that success is predictable is not an accident steward. And we have an abundant world, it doesn't really matter, you are in India, in Russia, in South Africa, or in Brazil, you can you can become successful if you know exactly what you want. If you take 100% responsibility for your own life for your results. And when you develop yourself constant and never ending professional and personal development, I believe is the key to success, long term success. Here,

Stuart Webb 07:09

probably I love some of what you're saying. And I'm just gonna just gonna circle back on a couple of things. I mean, you identified brilliantly there that some of the limiting beliefs that hold people back are in the fear of success, which I think is a wonderful way of putting it. And I think it's a great thing that you've said, and the fact that you base a lot of what you've just said in the fact that you've come from not not not just a sort of an organisation that's held you back, but but a whole system, a whole country that somehow held you back and you found fruit through your own personal perseverance, the way you can strive for success, I think is is a great backstory. And I think it's really something that a lot of people can relate to, because they're held back by family, they're held back by school, you're held back by so much more than just family and school. You were held back by society.

Pavel Verbnyak 08:01

Yeah, yeah. Yes, you are. And my mother visited me here in Moscow. Now I live in Moscow, my mom stayed in my hometown. And I hear from here steal some some words, like, oh, it too expensive, doesn't buy this. I can have I can afford that right now. But I still sometimes hear that voice in my own head. And it's, it's very, very nice to realise that I can change it. It doesn't matter where were you coming from? It's very important where you go in. And when you have these beliefs, when you have these dreams and goals, that's a stepping point. That's something show you where you should go because we all unique, Stuart, you and me and billions of people all over the world are unique. Nobody was like you and me, and nobody going to be in the future like us. So it's great to find what we are good and develop these points. Because we are something we are something for on this planet. And we can do something great we can create a masterpiece from our own life. And when we develop ourselves when we read books, when we talk with nice, interesting, successful people, because I believe that everyone is a better than, than, than me in some subjects in some thing. And I can learn from them. And I can learn from us too or I can learn from my followers, I can learn from my clients. I can learn from the waitress and something like that. And when we when we see that the universe and nature and life is happening for us it's helping us to grow is helping us to realise something we can achieve something wonderful.

Stuart Webb 09:52

Your enthusiasm is infectious. infectious, I love it. I love it. We have we have your Facebook page on the scroll at the bottom of the page. There are there are many free things that I know you're trying to help people with. Can you tell us about where you can get some of that from?

Pavel Verbnyak 10:10

Yeah. Stuart Yeah, I'm posting some articles. And I'm author of several books. Most of them aren't really Russian. But in India, some of them are, I am English. And also I interview some great people as, as you are Stewart. I like interviewing called my private radio show Olympic champions coming to my show and sportsmen intrapreneurs. And this is something common. When we ask questions, we can see that it's, as I said, before, their success, sports or professional or financial success is predictable. They did something every single day for several years, 510 or 15 years. And they achieved that. And when we can, we can model them, Stuart, you know that that success leaves clues. And when we do the same when we think the same, the law of attraction, the law of cause and effect works all the time. And we I saw that in my own life, Stuart, because I was born in small town close, close to Finland, in St. Petersburg and northwestern part of Russia. And nobody was wealthy in my family, in my peer group, group. And I decided, wow, I can I can create my my own life experiment. If that book, if that author if that person suggested me to form this habit, suggest me to read Jenny 10 pages every single day, suggest me visualise or meditate or use affirmations. Broadly that works. I can do that. I can I can create my own experiment. And I did that steward. For two years, I didn't see any difference. I thought, Oh, nothing changes. But when I saw back when I, what I what I thought, Oh, I found some nice, nice things that changes in my in my, in my personal and professional life. When when we become better inside our life, outer life become becoming better step by step. It's not easy. It's not fast. It's not quick, but I felt very passionate about that you are dead, I found that it works very well.

Stuart Webb 12:32

I think I think you're I think your point about repeatable, modules, repeatable, repeatable behaviours, you know, those, those things that we do frequently actually do shapers don't they have, I'm a great believer in, in, in getting up first thing in the morning and reading a chapter of a book or something like that, where, where I've learned from that because I believe that as a, as a as a business mentor, my job is to give respect to the profession that I that I wish to be a part of and and to and to better myself so that I can better other people. So you're right, this modelling behaviour modelling the the success of others, is absolutely important so that we can actually understand how they got to where they are, and then just take on board those lessons and apply them to our lives. Because, you know, we can model behaviour and see change even though we don't recognise it in ourselves.

Pavel Verbnyak 13:28

Yeah, thank you very much for your comment, Stuart, I believe that we can create something great from from ourselves. Nobody was born, great productive leader or manager or public speaker or lawyer. Everything start from a bottom everything starts from zero. And when you decide exactly who you are, what you want to achieve in your life, and do something step by step to that. And you mentioned morning routines to work. I love that very much. And I take my morning meals. So I am in 5am club. So I wake up at 5am and I invest my first couple of hours in myself. So I I do some exercises in the park. I'm very blessed. I live in the park close to the park in Moscow. And I do some activities exercises. Even if it's dark, it's dark at five or 6am and I do something for my body. I listen audio tape, I audiobook or a podcast, or listening affirmations with my own voice. So I programmed my subconscious mind. Then I visualised my future, my goals and meditate. So I take this morning meal, meditation exercises, affirmation learning, so I do something. I do something for my body. I do something for my mind. I do something for my emotional state. And it's great. It It's Kaizen philosophy kaizen. So step by step it doesn't really, it's, it's some, some people say, Oh, I cannot find one or two hours, start from five minutes, five minutes, you can invest, you can find five minutes for yourself, when you invest five minutes in a year is going to be

Stuart Webb 15:21

powerful. I love I love. First of all, I love your I love your your acronym meal, I think that is absolutely brilliant. I should make sure we capture that and put that in the notes. And the idea that you say, yes, you're absolutely right. The journey of 1000 miles starts with the first step. Yes, nobody can find two hours until they decide they want to create some time. So I was talking to somebody very recently. And they were saying, How do I concentrate, and I said, start concentrating for five minutes, you can concentrate for five minutes. And then tomorrow, concentrate for 10. And then tomorrow, and the next day concentrate for 15. Eventually, you will concentrate for an hour, but you cannot concentrate for an hour today. You have to concentrate for five minutes and start small.

Pavel Verbnyak 16:04

Yeah, absolutely. And the same with waking up a little bit earlier. You shouldn't wake up two hours earlier tomorrow, start from five minutes earlier, to after tomorrow, 10 minutes earlier. And your your self esteem self confidence will grow up. And because of your self esteem grows, everything in your life start to be better. So your relationships will become better. Your financial situation situation will become better because of your self esteem and self confidence.

Stuart Webb 16:37

I love it. I love it. I love it. Tell me what is the and I think I know the answer to this. I want you to contact to a book which you are finding the most useful and impactful in your business at the moment.

Pavel Verbnyak 16:48

Yes. I'm very passionate about psychology of success. Your before our podcast I show you I showed you my book I'm reading again. That's one of my mentor is Jack Canfield. I'm certified trainer with him. I took his train the trainer programme back in 2014. I went to the United States. And I think they're just three people in Russia, who certified with Jack. It was it was expensive for me that time Stewart, it was around $20,000 to pay to be involved in that programme. But I decided I want to learn from the best. I want to become a trainer as well. And, and I earned that amount of money. And I applied for the programme. And it was great transformational year for me. And another mentor Stewart, I'm part you're an expert of Brian Tracy Academy here in Russia. So Brian Tracy is my another mentor and role model. I know him personally I know his family. And He's great. He's also great. So I'm in psychology of success and in the success principles. So how to form new habits, how to improve your mindset, how to be productive, how to achieve much more you're capable of and how to unlock your potential. So that's soft skills. I'm my expertise will not

Stuart Webb 18:15

brilliant? Listen, I'm sure you could teach us so much more. But there is a question that I think you wish I was asking you which I haven't asked you so far. So what is the question that I should have asked you? And please give us the answer.

Pavel Verbnyak 18:31

Or store? That's very good question us. I'm going to share with our former store that you sent me these kinds of questions. But I thought, Oh, I'm not going to think about that right now. I'm going to think when I when Stuart asked me this question, Stuart. That's very, very good question. Very deep, deep, nice question. I would say, What would you say to yourself? To Pavel 15 years old, for example? Yes. That's very nice, deep coaching question, Stuart. And if you ask me this question, I would say bottle start early enough. Start read. You should like to read because to be honest, I didn't like to read. But around when I was 18. I started to read Stuart and I love that. And I think constant and never ending improvement is a key to to long term success. You can achieve anything you want. Because there abundance of information about any question you have in your head. There are about information and answers about how to achieve your own goals. And I think I would I would say to power battle I believe in you. You're great guy. You're unique person. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Don't be afraid to go forward. And don't be afraid to fail. There's no fail or there's just lessons.

Stuart Webb 20:02

I think that would be a great thing to say to 15 year old puzzle because I know many 15 year old too, don't like to read and are afraid of failure. And we need to get them to understand that failure is not failure. Failure is an opportunity to learn. And and how does a baby learn to walk? It falls down a lot. And it never ever thinks that was a failure. I'll sit here and just wait. It thinks it just gets back up and starts trying again. So we need to get people away from the fear of failure. And reading is such a good habit pub off. So glad to hear you have started reading since you were a 15 year old boy.

Pavel Verbnyak 20:39

Yes, yes, your thank you very much. Probably I have this teacher's DNA steward. My mother is a teacher, and a lab librarian. She's retired not right now. But she loves to teach a lot of people and my grandfather as well. And probably because of that I had this passion to teach to provide some workshops and my master classes and seminars, I didn't go to be to that speaking and coaching career and business because of money. No, Stewart, I went there because I had something to share. And if you if you if you do what you love, if you do what you're passionate about, the money will follow you know that exactly how it works, because the money is the same, the right proportion of value you you provide. If you go oh, I'm going to oil business, because because there are a lot of money, no, probably you will not be happy and successful. But when you decide exactly or I want to go there I want to go because I like painting or communicate with people or travelling. You can earn money with what you love. And follow that follow that you're unique.

Stuart Webb 21:57

What a great way to end pebble that has been absolutely brilliant. Thank you so much for spending some time with us. I'm just going to let people know that if you want to be on the newsletter list so that you get an email the day that we record this so that you can join and watch exciting and interesting people like Pavel come and talk to us get onto that list by subscribing. TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, that's TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe that will get you on to the newsletter that so that you can hear in advance that we're going to be introducing people like Pavel, Pavel, thank you so much for spending time with us. You have such an enthusiasm. I'm sure we could we could talk for many hours. But although this has been really brilliant, please keep keep keep bringing that enthusiasm, and letting us know how you're doing on Facebook.

Pavel Verbnyak 22:48

Thank you very much sewer. It was great pleasure talking with you. Thank you for your nice questions. And thank you for everything you do. You're you're a role model for a lot of people all over the world. And it's the law of attraction works all the time. So if I attracted you in my life, you're attracted to me because of the vibrations.

Stuart Webb 23:08

It's the pleasure has been entirely mine. Pavel, thank you so much for your time. Thank you so much.

Pavel Verbnyak 23:12

Talk to you soon.

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Who is Mandy?

Mandy is a creative genius who runs the Creative Business Academy - ‘Launch your dream creative business’

Key Takeaways

There's a concept of the poor artist and the starving artist, which is embedded through society, which means that many of the creative women have a real lack of self-confidence, and a lack of business knowledge, leading to living and working on the poverty line, creating small thinking small and not able to think outside that box. This isn't a true reflection of reality.
They are often caught in the making / marketing cycle, where they are more comfortable in the making cycle.
Don't believe the naysayers - completely believe in yourself and not let the comments of others, the naysayers of society, those people that will tell you that you will never make money from your creativity.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

See https://mandynicholson.co.uk/about-mandy/

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

mandy, programme, creative genius, question, creating, talking, creative, people, artists, spending, nice, website, women, understand, business, launch, genius, space, selling, live

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Mandy Nicholson

Stuart Webb 00:38

Hi again and welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee. It's normally coffee, but I've got a nice glass of hot water at the moment because I've had enough coffee this morning to keep me going. So I'm going to be doing this with a nice lemon in water honey. Welcome back to, to everybody watching. Welcome to Mandy Mandy is going to talk us through her creative genius author. Today. Mandy, as I said, is creative genius, artists and author, she helps people really discover how to launch their creative genius business. And I'm really looking forward to this conversation. So welcome to It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee mandate.

Mandy Nicholson 01:18

My pleasure to be here is to it. I'm always happy to talk.

Stuart Webb 01:21

Oh, well, that's what we need when we're doing these things. So let's start off with the obvious first question. So what's the problem that you help creative genius is such as yourself to solve.

Mandy Nicholson 01:34

And I think in the creative space, there's this concept isn't there of the poor artist and the starving artist, which is embedded through society, which means that many of the creative women that I work with have a real lack of self confidence, and a lack of business knowledge. And when you combine the two of them, they're kind of caught in this cycle of constantly living and working on the poverty line, creating small thinking small and not able to think outside that box. It's not their fault.

Stuart Webb 02:07

I love that I love the way that you describe that. So what are the common mistakes that those people have made when they're trying to solve that problem without the help that you provide?

Mandy Nicholson 02:18

I call it they're kind of caught in this making marketing cycle, because they're really safe in their place of making. So whether they're painting, writing, creating things, that's where they're happy, that's what they love doing. And that's where they're safe. They know they've got to do marketing and business strategy, but they don't like it. So they avoid it. And they end up referring going back and reverting to tight and creating more and more stuff, without ever selling it or without selling it in any volume to change their lives. And I see this all the time.

Stuart Webb 02:52

It's a shame, isn't it when we feel uncomfortable in a space, and I've said this on so many occasions, I've said it before, you know, we worry about whether or not putting ourselves out by by going out there and saying something somehow we're either offending somebody, or we're going to get rejected. In actual fact, there's nothing to fear or nothing to worry about being rejected. I keep saying to people, you know, selling is just about you explaining to people that you've got the solution to their problem, even if that problem is a gift or a a really nice present that they're trying to find. If you can go and say I've got this as the solution to a problem. People won't, you won't need to sell it, they'll come and buy it because they want it and it's a case of just finding the right person to present it to that's all it is, isn't it? Totally. Yeah. It's just it's just it's just understanding how you do that in the best way. So So you have got lots of valuable free stuff on your website. I know because I've had a look, let's what can you do to help people to begin to sort of break down some of that barrier of understanding how they make the thing valuable to other people.

Mandy Nicholson 03:58

I like to offer loads of free value. And I do that through my social media sites all the time. I go live every week, and I always do a lot of value posts. But on my website, I really wanted to focus on a few areas. The first one being identity because I think it's really important when you know yourself and you know your talent and you know what your area of genius is that you can really live up to it. It helps you to understand how you can show up so I created a free quiz called my creative archetype quiz. And you get to find out who you are a little bit more enough young. I've used the Jungian archetypes and for artists as avatars, so you're either going to be Van Gough, Mani Picasso or Salvador Dali. And I want you to understand why you fit into those personality types and how you can show up better on social media because of it. And I also have a free mini money mindset on there and a couple of other freebies that help you get past those mindset issues around money, but that's probably the thing that can help you the best first

Stuart Webb 05:00

To understand if you're a moron, or you're a Dali, and then use that to your advantage in order to help people find the thing that you can help them solve.

Mandy Nicholson 05:09

Yeah, and you know, showing up with confidence as the expert in your area of genius and understanding where your strengths are, is everything, isn't it when you're, you're showing up on social media,

Stuart Webb 05:20

I love it. I love it. So once the concept book or programme that's been most impactful in your experience.

Mandy Nicholson 05:27

And my signature programme, the creative mastermind helps women the best, particularly creative women, because it's a 12 month programme. And in order for a big transformation, particularly when you're in that headspace of not owning your worth, I think you need to work with someone over a period a longer period of time. So that's why I've created a 12 month programme, I see my clients coming out the other end flying, I've just taken a load of women into that programme. My next launch is in January, and I'll be launching with a five day free five day challenge on the 10th of January. So that's going to be the best way I can help.

Stuart Webb 06:06

Get that date in your diary. And we'll talk later Monday about how we can make sure that that's put back into people's memories so that they can get into that space, just at the right space of time. So So we've had a really good introduction, I think, to how you could help people in that space. But I guess there's one question you're thinking to yourself, Stuart, I wish you'd asked me this. And so I'm going to give you that time. Now, this is what I always call my Get Out of Jail Free card. This is where I don't have to think about a fifth question. I can say to you, Mandy, what's the fifth question I really should have asked you. And obviously, after you pose that question, please answer it. Otherwise, you leave us wanting to know what we should have?

Mandy Nicholson 06:43

Absolutely, I think I would always like to be asked this question. If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be? And obviously, I'm 57. Now so I know a bit of stuff. And I would go back and give my younger self one piece of advice it would be to completely believe in myself in my area of genius and not let the comments of others are the naysayers of society, those people that were telling me that you will never make money from your creativity. It's a nice hobby, but you've got to get a proper job to pay the bills, and all of that stuff that I heard and really believed because it's so ingrained in society, then it perhaps it wouldn't have taken me decades, to go back to my creativity and start helping other women and I wouldn't have spent, you know, I had some great time I spent, you know, 30 years, nearly 25 years in retail as a senior leader, which taught me a lot about business, which enabled me to show up in a better way. But for those decades, there was a void in me. And that void was caused by a lack of belief, because I believed too much of what other people said,

Stuart Webb 07:58

We could spend many hours I suspect talking about how we are limited and held back by other people's comments when we're younger. And it's such an important concept, such an important discussion that so many people are somehow held back by those limiting beliefs. But if you can help them to bust through those with some of those tools that we've got on the Mandy Nicholson website, and I think that's a wonderful thing, Mandy, thank you so much for spending a few minutes talking to us. I wish you every success with that. With that, that launch that you're talking about early in the new year. And we'll find a way of making sure that we get this in front of people so that they can hear about that. So let me just remind you all you can get onto the newsletter website, the newsletter mailing list, sorry, by going to this and then you will get an email before we record these so that you can join in live and if necessary, ask questions and hear about what's going on in our discussions here. So use the following website. If you go to https colon forward slash forward slash TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, that will get your to the newsletter and you can get on and hear wonderful things from people like Mandy Mandy, it's been an absolute pleasure talking to you today. Really, really appreciate you spending a few minutes with us. We're going to try and help get even more people to know about that launch in January so that you can help more people discover their creative genius. Thank you so much for spending spending a few minutes with us on it's not rocket science. Five questions over coffee.

Mandy Nicholson 09:33

Thank you. Thanks very much.

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Who is Jamie?

Jamie is a CRM expert. No matter what size your business is, the importance of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system should not be underestimated. Over time it will become your greatest asset for delivering more sales.

Key Takeaways

An effective CRM system means you capture the details of each customer from their personal details (with full GDPR compliancy) to how they found you, what they bought, the value, when they bought, how they use your product/service and so on. This also gives your customer the feeling that you understand their needs and show a degree of care which in turn delivers a great customer experience. This customer experience will hopefully develop into customer loyalty which will help to generate referrals for your business.
You need to think about GDPR - if you're not registered with the ICO, and you store data about people's personal details, you are subject to putting yourself in a very difficult position when it comes to being fined for breach. So yeah, that the whole GDPR process is becoming very much, much more strong.
You really need a CRM strategy, If you don't have a strategy for how to build a relationship with customers. And that comes from their stakeholders

Valuable Free Resource or Action

See Jamie's website at https://jamie-allan.com/crm/

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube : https:////youtu.be/zrPDzr2q-Bo

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

business, jamie, crm, data, problem, customers, relationship, question, people, book, talking, companies, coffee, realise, programme, clean, called, smes, database, contacts

SPEAKERS

Jamie Allan, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb 00:33

Hi, welcome back to it's not rocket science, five questions over coffee. Although today I have in front of me very nice green tea being a little bit more healthy than having too much too much coffee in the morning. I'm here with Jamie Allen, Jamie, and welcome to the podcast. I'm looking forward to this conversation very much. Jamie is a CRM specialist and has been a CRM specialist for all let Jamie decide if he wants to say how many years it's been. He's been a CRM specialist, let's just say it's more years than I want to accredit him with. But I think he's more than happy to answer any CRM questions. So, Jamie, welcome to It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee really looking forward to the conversation.

Jamie Allan 01:17

Now, thanks for inviting me, Stuart, and I've suitably complied with my coffee.

Stuart Webb 01:22

Excellent. Well done. Okay. So, Jamie, let's, let's just start by asking you the obvious first question, which is, who is your ideal client and what's what's the problem that they've got, which you help them to overcome?

Jamie Allan 01:38

Ideally, their businesses are growing, so they're at least three years old, want to develop the business, get people on board get new products and services, so very focused on that that development stage. But one of the main problems is actually finding out that they've got data that they don't know where it is. So they need to centralise that, and more importantly, need to get it clean, because a lot of companies do is they can go through their business career, it just keep on going for new business without actually understanding about the existing business, and looking after your existing customers. Because relationships are really important. So really, the biggest problem is actually realising that they need to clean the data, because it goes out of date, really, really quickly. But every six months, you should really do a review. And very, very few companies, I haven't come across a business yet, that's got an absolutely clean database. It's it's, at best, okay, which is no good. Because it's the old 8020 rule. 80% of your business comes from critics and your customers. So make sure at least that 20% is right. And that's where you build the relationships. And really

Stuart Webb 02:44

interesting you say that, because regulators are getting more and more firm at the moment with the idea of making sure that you're not just contacting people unnecessarily, the GDPR, the, the even in California, they're now getting very firm on there. So we've really got to be much more careful about how many emails and contacts we meet with people, which are just inappropriate, haven't we? Yeah.

Jamie Allan 03:06

Oh, very much. So the the ICO was started off going for the larger companies, but they're really powering down now on the SMEs. I mean, they sent out a an email to all SMEs saying, Are you registered, and it costs 40 quid a year. But if you're not registered, and you store data about people's personal details, you are subject to putting yourself in a very difficult position when it comes to being fined for breach. So yeah, that the whole GDPR process is becoming very much, much more strong. So far as the ICO is concerned.

Stuart Webb 03:41

Sorry, I interrupted you, I think you're gonna go on and say a second problem

Jamie Allan 03:45

I get the second problem was, they really don't have a CRM strategy, they don't have a strategy for actually how to build a relationship with a with their customers. And that comes really from the fact that they don't get input from their, from their stakeholders. So they buy a CRM, put it in the system and make it work with really, you've got to plan the workflow, about how everybody wants to use the system. So that data gets put onto the system and managed properly. Because if you've got Duff data going in, you've obviously got data going out, which means the reports are useless. So your CRM is never going to work. And I've been into many organisations, and they've said, look, what we've got just isn't working, can you make it work? Or should we start again? So we do that whole process of well, what have you spent, what's the investment? If we do this, what's the return on investment on a new project? So, we have to go through that phase, but more often than not, we go back to the basics was start small and keep it simple. If you keep it simple, people could then build and see value as they as they work through the the business and and develop those relationships. So you then got a centralised CRM, which is not siloed so all your data Once cleaned, is centralised, you know, sales marketing admin accounts, everybody looks at the CRM because the customer is everybody's responsibility. So everybody needs access. So that's really the second part of it. Keep it simple growers, the business needs it. So don't have all the bells and whistles, which, obviously, a lot of the online businesses, they have to offer all the options, because they have to be a one for all. But what I'm trying to do is say, look, tell me what you want, what's your workflow, and then make the business? Have a CRM that actually works for the business?

Stuart Webb 05:38

Terrific, Jamie? What are the common mistakes that people make them when they're trying to solve those problems without any sort of help?

Jamie Allan 05:47

Well, they try and do it themselves. I mean, once they do realise and accept that they may have an issue, they try to themselves. But again, you've heard the stories of companies just sending out emails willy nilly, oh, you know, we've got this fantastic product you were with with us a few years ago, would you like and what they're doing, they think they've got it right. But actually, when you try and clean a database like that, and you have been in touch, you really need to actually, first of all, say something like, you used to do business with us, would you still like us to keep in touch, you shouldn't try and market to them. Because for all you know, three years ago, whatever they could have said, we don't want to be contacted anymore. So you've got to start again. And if there's any doubt, just get rid of it and start again, just to be safe. So that's the main thing. They try and do it themselves. And they can't they fall into holes occasionally. The second thing is they think that they need to do well, they, they think that they ought to do it sooner rather than later. So they give it to some employee, like a marketing manager or somebody in the business. So go on and do that. Well, they've got the same problem. So it's passing the buck almost. So you've got to actually, if you're going to do it yourself, you've got to actually do your research, and get onto it and do it properly. And it takes time.

Stuart Webb 07:09

Yeah, brilliant. So what's that valuable free action or valuable free resource that the audience can implement that will help them solve that problem?

Jamie Allan 07:20

Well, there's so much research out there, all you need to do is punch into the, into the URL, free data cleansing, or data cleansing services, and a number of opportunities will pop up. I mean, I think you've got a link on the on the programme now. But if you go to something like data cleaning tools, you've got a plethora of options that you can tag on to where you can get some ideas as to how to do it for yourself. I mean, there are companies out there that will do up to a certain amount of time for nothing, just to give you an idea of this is what it could look like we will do a sample I mean, I work with a business that we do samples, this is what the data will look like. And then if you want to clean the rest of the data, then obviously we'll do a quote. But there are data free data cleansing tools out there. But again, you've got to learn how to use them. So you've got to invest the time. So this is balance of do I invest the time? Or do I actually do a horses for courses? They've got it what doing they're doing? I'm going to do what I'm doing? Why don't we just share the share the results?

Stuart Webb 08:28

I completely agree with you, Jamie, I'm so frustrated by so many business owners, even even very serious, large business owners, who so often attempt to do things, as I call it, using the path of least assistance. They also around say, well, that's something we could do. And often I turn around to them and say, it would be cheaper, quicker and easier to just employ an expert who does nothing but this because frankly, even if you have bought bought the the time and effort to learn how to do it yourself, they'll do it better. They'll do it so much easier than than trying to sort of learn how to do so much. So much of this yourself, it's so much easier to just get an expert and say, just make that happen for me, please and then walk away confident that it's going to happen.

Jamie Allan 09:15

Well, you're right, because again, data is a real asset. A lot of companies think data is a whole lot of numbers, words on a page. It's actually what your business is all about. It's your customers, it's the value that your business will deliver for you. So why don't you just get it done, right? What's the right people at the right time and help everybody get more business as a result? It is not rocket science. I mean, this is really what the process is. It's keeping it simple. Get it right. Talk to the right people.

Stuart Webb 09:49

Brilliant, love it. So what's the concept or or books that's been most impactful in your experience that you want to pass on?

Jamie Allan 10:00

Well, two areas, first of all a book and then a programme. But the book that has been quite influential. It's a recent book written by a Michaels V band, Zed VI, ba, MD. And his book was called success in your sphere. And what this does is it leverages the power of the relationship. So you can achieve your business goals. So the focus is on the hot the customer journey, effectively what you do from start to finish. And he's got an an acronym called capital. And I don't know if you picked up the notes that I sent you, but essentially, that the capital is the see is the consistent execution. So you need to be able to develop good habits, stronger customer relationships. So you need to have the right customers at the right level. And then the aggregate, you need to actually then curate the the database of who your professional contacts and what level they're at. And then you prioritise. So you order that database, you investigate, which is the eye, so you collect intelligence, I mean, the whole thing about a CRM is to collect the soft, the soft aspects, you know that the birthday dates, the children's names, the dog's names, so that you can go back to them and you have this empathy with this emotion, emotional capacity. Another another book, two links to this to the power of persuasion by Robert Cal Dini, he talks about the law of reciprocity. And you know, if you if you, if you give, or if you take the time to learn about others, it will be astounded, and then that, that, that that relationship gets stronger, because the know like trust in a relationship is really important. You can't get to doing except this without, in the first place, liking them. And then trusting them. It's when you get to the trust, and say, the V band book, it's all about getting through that process and building that strong relationship. So the T is timely engagement, then you add value, then you leverage the process. And you constantly doing this with your contacts that match your power.

Stuart Webb 12:14

Or make sure that that accurate and that that goes into the notes, Jamie, because I think that's some valuable stuff to try and remember there, Jenny, my final question to you, and this is my Get Out of Jail Free card. I'm happy to admit it. So what's the question that I should have asked you today? That I haven't? And please bear in mind that having told us what the question is, please answer it. Otherwise, you'll leave us hanging, waiting for part two of the of the podcast.

Jamie Allan 12:47

Well, how do I keep customers that my task my leads and maximise sales opportunities? It's a straight question. And you do that by making sure the data is out there. And it's clean. Because without data, there's no business. If you understood data, you can get more out of it. And really, it's about looking at what you've already got. maximising what you've already got. So it's actually the way we came in. It's looking at that at 20% Your customers will deliver 80% Your Business. Jamie pretty imposed profile business, and you threw a cent.

Stuart Webb 13:29

Sorry, you broke up for a minute, just just carry on. Gone. Now I'm just I'm so glad you put it like that. Because I don't know where I got to. You were talking about the fact that you can you can leverage the data in order to maximise customer value.

Jamie Allan 13:47

Yes, the data is everything.

Stuart Webb 13:51

It is. It absolutely is. Jamie, it's fascinating. I'm sure we could talk for many more hours on this, but we've run out of time, largely because otherwise coffee will be getting cold. And none of us want that. So I'm just gonna remind everybody if you want to see more of these and know when they're coming up, because we do get out and tell people when they're coming up. You can you can find us all over the social medias. But also we're on this link which is HTTPS, colon forward slash forward slash TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe. I'll just see those last few things again, t ca dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, get onto the mailing list, and then we will let you know what's coming up in the next couple of weeks. Jamie has been an absolute pleasure talking to you this morning. It's been so I'm so pleased. You're talking about this. And I think it's incredibly important that people understand how they can use those relationships use that understanding they've got of customers in order to be able to maximise the time they spend with their customers and and sell more of them. stuff to customers. Because, you know, if you've made a sale to a customer, it's probably because they really want to have more of what you've got. And just understanding the right time to engage them. And understanding more about them enables you to do exactly that. So it's been a brilliant conversation. Thank you so much. I look forward to seeing more of your more of what you're talking about on the internet. And I really hope that we get to do some of this again, thank you so much.

Jamie Allan 15:25

Thank thank you for inviting Mr. Pleasure.

Stuart Webb 15:28

Absolutely, no problem. Speak to you soon. Bye.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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View Details

Who is Hugh?

Hugh will help you to learn to make selling easy, fun, and profitable!

Key Takeaways

The only place revenue comes from is selling. . And selling is one aspect that can be extremely time consuming. Most business owners don't really want to sell, they don't want to do the selling themselves, they would rather have somebody else do it.
Our job as salespeople is not to get other people to do what we want them to do, or think they should do, or even know that they should do it, it is our job to help them do what they want to do.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

find out if Red Cap might be a good coaching service for you or whether we wouldn’t be, you can go to my calendar at BIT.LY/wizard-strategy and you can talk with me for up to an hour. There’s no charge for that.

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

selling, sales, valuable, business, problem, business owners, coaching, dot, strategy, people, salespeople, brilliant, concept, book, question, talk, explain, bringing, spending, professional sales people

SPEAKERS

Stuart Webb, Hugh Liddle

Stuart Webb 00:01

cuz that's a that's an insight to say the very least. Sales sales professionals just sounds like an interesting concept. We're all selling, we all sell at various points of the day, don't we, we have to sell ourselves to our spouses, we have to set ourselves with people. So you have a definition of what a sales professional is.

Hugh Liddle 00:25

A sales professional is somebody who helps other people do what they want to do.

Stuart Webb 00:30

Okay, brilliant, I love it. So that's the ideal client, the sales professional, what is the problem that they have when they try to do what they do without the sort of help of somebody like yourself?

Hugh Liddle 00:47

Actually, most of my clients are owners of service oriented businesses. And so selling is extremely important to them. Sales Professional as well, if they own a business, they better be a sales professional, because the only place revenue comes from selling. That's it. And I think the biggest challenge that they have is with time, there are so many things that they have to do as the owner of that business. And selling is one aspect that can be extremely time consuming. So if they don't have some professional sales people, or at least a professional salesperson, working for them, and doing the things that need to be done to bring revenue into the business, they're not able sometimes to get to other things in their business that they really need to be doing and really want to be doing. And I found that most business owners don't really want to sell, they don't want to do the selling themselves, they would rather have somebody else do it. And then there then there's a challenge with that. Because teaching that person how to sell that product or service is time consuming. And until you get that salesperson up to speed, and they're really doing a great job for you. The temptation is to just keep on selling yourself, and you're just right back in the same ballgame, except that you're spending time training somebody else to so it adds to the problem instead of taking away from it.

Stuart Webb 02:17

Recognise 100%, I have a client of mine at the moment and as exactly that problem, they they are, they are very knowledgeable about their product, they really want to get it out to the world, or they don't see how anybody else can possibly explain it as well as they can. But instead of spending some time thinking about the fact that they could be doing other things that were more important to the business as well, you know, then then focusing on some sort of fairly minor sales call that could be selling, you know, the major thing that they're focused on a very minor thing, that's something that somebody else could do. And so as a result, they read, they don't prioritise as they could. And that's a common problem for business owners, isn't it? It's the prioritisation that they fail to understand. That's right. That's, that's it, that's great. And I love the way you you really sort of isolated the real problem. Here, it's great that you got that clarity, because clarity is another great thing about sales. So So given that we've got that problem, the the lack of lack of prioritisation, the lack of time that a business owners got, what's the valuable free action that you can bring to bear on that situation to make to make business owners better able to produce that sort of result that they want to get for their business?

Hugh Liddle 03:41

Well, one free resource is that they can actually schedule a free sales strategy session with me and they can pick my brain for up to an hour. And we can talk about their business, about their sales about what's going well about what's not not going well. And they'll get some great ideas and strategies that they can implement right away. And they'll find out whether coaching with REDCap is a good fit for them or whether it's not. And there isn't any charge for the call. There isn't any obligation to do anything further if they don't want to do anything further. And there's absolutely no pressure whatsoever. It's just a fun, friendly conversation. So they can go direct. They can go directly to my calendar at bit.ly/wizard-strategy. That's bit.ly bi T dot L y slash wizard dash strategy.

Stuart Webb 04:48

I'll tell you why. I'm just putting that now as a ticker to go across the bottom of the screen. Tell me I've got that correct. Q bit dot L y slash wizard dog, the wizard hunting strategy you got terrific. People take a note of that. Because for me an hour of your valuable time here sounds like a hugely valuable free resource for anybody to take your time and to get that great advice on how they can get that priority and that that strategy sorted in their mind on it is hugely valuable. Thank you so much for that. So tell me what is the the valuable contact book or talk that's been most impactful in your experience that you think would be useful to the audience today?

Hugh Liddle 05:39

Well, the first one is the Bible. And I just think that a part of being successful in business and in sales is the spiritual aspect of things. And whatever your concept is of God, or religion, or whatever, ethics, and morality, and fairness, and all of those kinds of things, are things that are taught in the good book, and that when, when they're applied to a person's life, he upped their game in many, many ways, including in selling. And the second one that really had an impact on my life is a book by Tony Robbins called Awaken the Giant Within. And it's a tremendous book, in that it gives you a lot of valuable information. And there are also a tonne of exercises, at the end of each chapter that you can do to really make those concepts your own, and to apply them in your life. And that's, that's a valuable resource. And any book, if you have something that's not just theory, you can actually put it into practice and put it in practice right away.

Stuart Webb 06:50

Brilliant, brilliant, I love it. Not gonna not gonna criticise at all that the the idea of bringing, because I know that's a hugely difficult concept for a lot of people. They think that sales is not about being ethical and being honest, and integrity, integrity. So often, salesmen are not honest and don't have integrity. I think he's brilliant, you bring that into the coaching that you just mentioned, I think that's actually fantastic. Thank you. So who, you know, we're we're kind of wrapping up a little bit here. And I always at this stage, I always sort of admit my own weakness in this in that I probably didn't think of enough questions to ask you. So I'm going to ask you to ask yourself the question, what's the one question that I should have asked you that I haven't? And don't just leave us with the question, please make sure you answer the question for us.

Hugh Liddle 07:42

Well, that's an easy one. The question is, what's your sales philosophy?

Stuart Webb 07:48

I love it. I love it. I think your question.

Hugh Liddle 07:51

And my sales philosophy is that it is not our job as salespeople to get other people to do what we want them to do, or think they should do, or even know that they should do it, it is our job to help them do what they want to do. And that my way of thinking is the crux of selling, because people don't buy what they need, they buy what they want. Just take a look around at the people, you know, well, and see what kind of stuff they have in their lives that they've purchased and never used, or they've only used it for a little bit and got rid of it. And so people buy what they want. So when you're selling, it makes total sense to ask really great questions and find out what people want and why they want it. What's the emotional trigger underneath that that want? You know, what is it that they want? There's a reason why they want that thing. What is it? So when you find out what they want, and why they want it. And if you can provide it to them. It's it's just a matter of being able to effectively explain to people what's in it for them to do business with you. And that's really what selling is about. It's about asking questions, listening carefully with your ears and your mind and your heart and giving people what they want.

Stuart Webb 09:20

Whew, I love that. I love that explanation of selling. It is really just about bringing people back to that, you know, the servant leadership, isn't it. It's about understanding who it is you're talking to, and then just offering and not trying to push, but offering the solution you've got to the problems that they're describing. And if you can do that accurately, they will be asking you how do I get this thing rather than you pushing anything on? Exactly. That's lovely. I like it has been brilliant. Thank you so much for a few minutes together. I think I think the message you've got is great. I'm just going to put back up. Make a note of that of that where you can get hold of us valuable hour, I really do think an hour is a hugely valuable resource that you should be taking note of. But this huge website, which is red cap, sales coaching, I think I think the name is reflected at the moment on the top of his head, the red cap, sales coaching, go across to recap, sales coaching comm find out some of the really valuable stuff that he's got on his website. And

Hugh Liddle 10:24

the way Stuart I think there's a there's a link on every page, a little button that you can click, and it'll take you to my calendar to

Stuart Webb 10:35

dive in. I was hoping I was hoping that that will be the case you thank you so much for explaining that. There's everybody. If you'd like to stay in touch with what interviews we're doing that are upcoming when you see them on LinkedIn, you see them on Facebook, but you can also get an email from us, which basically explains that they're coming up and you can get on that mailing list by going to TC a dot FYI, forward slash, subscribe, that's TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe and stay in touch with people that such as you that have got great messages that are really bringing us great value to you. Thank you so much for the time you spent with us. I really appreciate it. And I look forward to seeing more of your stuff on the internet.

Hugh Liddle 11:16

Thank you, Stuart. And by the way, folks, Stewart is just doing a great job of bringing information to you that is vital if you want to be successful in business. And so share this podcast with people, all of Stewart's podcasts with people and let them know that they have a valuable resource right here.

Stuart Webb 11:36

Thank you very much. We appreciate it very much. Okay. Speak to you very soon. You bet

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

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It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

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View Details

Who is Jamie?

Jamie founded Bulletproof Business Services in 2018 to deliver high level business performance consultancy to business owners looking to start-up, accelerate and sustain high performance businesses.

His vast knowledge and experience comes from 14+ years at the helm of his own businesses, from his family's multi-million revenue specialist construction company, to consultancy services and tech start-ups.

Whether you're struggling with project management, managing the money or business strategy, Jamie and his team have solutions that can help.

Key Takeaways

See business as a system, and understand the system dynamics of that business. So how does, how do all the different actions all of the different cogs and wheels fit together? And when you change something over here, how does that affect things over here?
A big mistake many leaders make is not encouraging that from your clients, fear of negative feedback, or they're gonna say something we don't like, but actually, it's, it's that stuff you need to be most aware of? Yes. The gripes the complaints, the problems, like that's the stuff you need to go towards, and attack and do something about, because ultimately, that's what can make or break the business
Mange time by only check my emails at certain times of day. Then set another time of day to deal with the action emails at a time that's most conducive to energy levels for actually sitting down and getting stuff done.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Jamie has a app and templates at

https://www.bulletproofbusinessservices.com

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Help us get this podcast in front of as many people as possible. Leave a nice five-star review atapple podcasts : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/apple-podcasts and on YouTube : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Itsnotrocketscienceatyt!

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

Join The Complete Approach Facebook Group : https://TCA.fyi/fb

Join our Success to Soar Program and get TIME and FREEDOM. : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Success-to-Soar

Work with me privately

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Stuart Webb 00:42

Again, folks, excuse me and welcome to It's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I'm here with Jamie Keeling. Jamie is the bulletproof business coach. I'm sure he's going to explain more about what that means. And we're gonna have a great discussion over the next 1015 minutes however long Jamie was talked to us for so I hope you've got your coffee ready. You're ready for this? And Jamie, welcome to Yes, brilliant. Welcome to It's not rocket science five questions over coffee.

Jamie Keeling 01:12

Thank you very much for having me. Stuart's pleasure to be here.

Stuart Webb 01:14

No problem. So Jamie in in just a few sentences, can you give us the lowdown on who your ideal client is the problems that they face.

Jamie Keeling 01:26

I work with a lot of people who are starting new businesses, particularly over the last 12 months. It's just been interesting with all the lockdowns and the effects of the pandemic, there's lots of people who are thinking more entrepreneurially. So I've been writing lots of business plans for them in terms of helping them get startup funding, and generally create a a good solid action plan, based in reality based in numbers that can help them achieve business success. So startup business owners, new entrepreneurs is definitely a key market for me, but also established entrepreneurs, people who, generally speaking who are very good at their trade, they know they're the front facing part of their business very well. But there's holes in their knowledge when it comes to the business aspects. Because when you run a business, you've got to have two skill sets, right? You've got to have the trade the product or the service knowledge that you deliver. But you also know how to run a business. And that's a separate skill in and of itself. So established business owners from a few 100,000 turnover to multiple millions in turnover. I work with them at the director level to help them develop strategy, implement strategy, help to hold them accountable, to make sure they get the results that they want in business.

Stuart Webb 02:42

Brilliant. So what are the sort of problems that you've been, you've been helping them with one of those, those things they've been trying to solve on their own without help from somebody like yourself?

Jamie Keeling 02:53

A lot of it comes down to being able to see business as a system, and understand the system dynamics of that business. So how does, how do all the different actions all of the different cogs and wheels fit together? And when you change something over here, how does that affect things over here? So it's, I think the biggest thing is helping them to understand the numbers, and actually have some numbers have some numbers looking at you know, whether that that's traditional KPIs, or managing cash flow. KPIs are a big one, I think for me, because, you know, when, when you put a number to something, it makes it real. And it's measurable, it becomes something rather than being a concept of what you would like it to be. And you start to get very specific, because when you start to put numbers to things, you start to then be able to say, Well, okay, so how are we going to get from this number where we are to this number where we want to be? And so that's really powerful. So it's about looking at when I go in with a client or look at the business as a system. And this is true for business plans, right at the startup stage right through to established businesses is first mapping the system is looking at what are all the different moving parts, and then finding the weak links, which bits aren't working so well, or are incomplete or even don't exist at all. And then we'll start to build a strategy, that action plan around strengthening or inserting links in the chain that need to be there.

Stuart Webb 04:22

It's interesting you say that, actually, Jamie, it reminds me of a story I'm sorry to take over with a story of mine. But I worked with a business owner who was in the process of taking on a business. So it's not not necessarily somebody was establishing a business, but they were buying somebody else's business. And he asked me to just go in and have a look at what was going on in the business. And through that action. We discovered a bit of the bit of the business that just hadn't been properly exploited. And as a result, he developed a completely new service from a business that didn't even know it was there so often that process of uncovering produces not only the sort of links you need to grow the business but stuff that you didn't even know was there that was hidden under the surface. Somehow, just by asking the right questions just by going in and starting to talk to the right people, you get to the sort of, you know, even things that didn't exist. And this was just a, you know, input that was coming in from customers that they hadn't recognised was something you could use to exploit to become a new service.

Jamie Keeling 05:16

It's amazing how much data there is available in a business. Yes,

Stuart Webb 05:21

even if that data is just conversations often, isn't it?

Jamie Keeling 05:24

100% Yeah. And feedback from customers and clients is a big part of that, you know, a big mistake is not encouraging that from your clients, fear of negative feedback, or they're gonna say something we don't like, but actually, it's, it's that stuff you need to be most aware of? Yes. The gripes the complaints, the problems, like that's the stuff you need to go towards, and attack and do something about, because ultimately, that's what can make or break the

Stuart Webb 05:48

business. Each of those are opportunities. Let's face it, isn't it? So so often, we look at those as negative but an actual fact. And that's just an opportunity that you haven't yet exploited? So yeah, so we could obviously talk for this talk on this for many hours. And perhaps we should but but let's move on to the things that are, the more important what's the the valuable free action or valuable free resource that you can give to the audience that would help them in some of the problems we're discussing at the moment?

Jamie Keeling 06:13

Well, there's two things. The first is my app, I've developed a bulletproof app, which is basically a resource for business owners that contains a vault of tools and templates that they can use when it comes to business development and business management. There's also a free course on there for budding entrepreneurs, people who are new to or just getting into business, which is a free course on how to start a business. And that, that comes with the tools and resources, the templates that they will need to guide them through that process as well. And it takes them from if needed, deciding what their business idea should be based on their qualifications, their skills, their experience, and their interests, helps them to catalyse all of that in a meaningful way that then results in a meaningful and hopefully profitable business idea, and takes them right the way through then to actually launching that business, hopefully, in a successful way. So the more than welcome to go and check that out. You can get that on the Google Play Store or the App Store. And it's free to download the news. The other one would be my own podcast, which is optimised me now which I've been running for three years, there's over 100 episodes now. And it's an interview series where I speak to it's very similar to this actually, where I speak to other successful business owners, martial arts world champions, people who've been through some serious adversity and find out how they did it, basically, you know, what, what led you to where you are today? How did you overcome the challenges and the struggles that were put in your way? And what advice can you give to other people who might be facing similar things, and I've really enjoyed that, that interview series. It's been extremely, I mean, purely selfishly. From my point of view, I've learned a hell of a lot. And it's been a real privilege to speak to such amazing people in so many different ways. And I really, but I know that the listeners, the audience already has got huge value out of that, and hopefully your audience can say,

Stuart Webb 08:08

brilliant. Thanks very much, Jamie. So, Jamie, we're moving through this very rapidly. So let me just come to the fourth. My question is, what's the contact book or programme that's most been impactful in your experience that you want to share?

Jamie Keeling 08:27

I've thought about this question quite a lot. Because I've read a lot of books. I went through a phase over a period of years where I was reading 50 books a year. And I've read a lot of great books. I think the one for me that has really stuck out that's purely business related will be Ray Dalio, his principles. It's a huge book. But I've read it four or five times because it's so valuable. And the thing with books like that is, you take so much away from it the first time you read it, but then when you read it a second time, all this other stuff jumps out, and then you read it a third time, and all this other stuff jumps out. So don't underestimate the power of when you find a good book, reading it more than just once. And I think the other piece of advice I would give to people around books is there's a lot of books. You know, if you just look at the business section of books on Amazon, for example, there's hundreds of 1000s if not millions of titles. You don't have time to read them all. If you do the math, I'm I'll be 35 this year. I've got probably, well hopefully, let's say 65 years left on this planet, let's go for around 100 If I'm reading even 50 books a year, we can do the math, 65 years left times 50 books, that's 3250 books. And there's hundreds of 1000s on business alone. And that's quite a scary thought to know that you just simply cannot get through all the content out there. And I make this point because it's very easy to get drawn into the trap of thinking that volume equals quality. And it doesn't. Just because you're reading 50 books a year, doesn't mean that you're necessarily learning everything that you should be, and certainly not implementing everything that you should be. So my advice to everybody would be when you find good books, or books that keep getting getting recommended by people who you look up to who you admire, who have achieved the things or similar things to that which you want to achieve, read them and read them again, and read them again and read them again, because there's so much you can pull out of those books, and you will not get it on the first go around. But the thing is, generally speaking, people are very good at reading books, very good at taking courses, very good at watching videos on YouTube, where they fall down as the implementation is actually taking what you've taking what you've learned, and thinking, right? How am I going to put this into my world into my business? How am I going to use this to improve my results, and actually then going and doing it, and there's a huge amount of testing and fumbling in the dark involved in that. Because just because something worked for somebody else doesn't necessarily mean it's going to work for you, or indeed, that is what you need. So you've got to kind of try stuff on for size, see what works, and then do more of that. I mean, it's like marketing, isn't it, like, you throw a bunch of stuff at the wall. And then the stuff that sticks you do more often the stuff that doesn't you push to one side and try something new. And it's the same with the stuff that you read in books. So my advice is, find the good books, find the ones that are really relevant to you in your journey and where you want to be. And, you know, maybe maybe create a shortlist of 30 to 50 of them. And rather than reading 50 new books a year, just reread those 50 books every single year, but make the effort to implement the things that you're learning.

Stuart Webb 11:57

And if I can add one point, your implementation show me because I think you're making a really valuable point and that the implementation is the secret sauce, of actually getting something to happen in your business. A long time ago, a mentor said to me, if you can get up and be in your office, let's say you get into your office at eight o'clock in the morning, I get in a fair bit earlier than that, because I actually like to do what you're doing. The first part of my morning is doing some reading and just some general education because I think the profession needs that sort of approach. But if I can take that, that reading, if I can take that, that that what I want to achieve that day, and if I can not get to my emails, but if I can spend the first part of my morning achieving the one thing that day that will move my business forward, you will have achieved more than 99% of the people that you're currently competing with. Because most of the people will do their emails, and they will never have achieved the one thing that will move their business forward. So just get into your office do that one thing that move your business forward, even if that's one thing that's send an email, or write a letter, or write that accurate copy of whatever it is, if you do that one thing, you are 99% ahead of most of your competition, because they will be stuck in their emails and not implementing, they'll be thinking, and if you can implement your you'll be ahead of them. So I think Jamie's right implementation is the secret sauce to actually making your business more successful.

Jamie Keeling 13:20

And an emails I just want to add to that emails can be a real killer. And I've experienced this firsthand in previous businesses and seen other business owners suffer for it. Like I've seen people literally reply to emails all day, all day, and they've got nothing done and you walk away from the day and like you've you've slaved guts out, you've been in the office from seven till seven or however long it is. But you've not actually achieved anything apart from just having these circular conversations via email. Because of course, when you get to a certain amount of emails, by the time you've responded to them all the people you responded to first responded to you, and then you've got a whole tranche of more emails to deal with. So I think email management is, is really, really important in terms of managing your time. And I've got strict rules. When it comes to this. I've got three folders that I use, and I got this from the productivity ninja, but it works an absolute treat. I've got three folders, action, read and track. And so I can go through a list of 200 emails and deal with them all in about five minutes. And the rule is if I can, if I can deal with what an email wants in two minutes or less than I'll do it there. And then as I'm going through the list, anything else goes into one of those three folders. So action is stuff that I need to do. Read is stuff that I don't need to do anything with. But I need to assimilate the information. So I can do that in one of my energy levels. So I've just had lunch. My body's busy digesting the food, there's less energy available for my brain. That's a good time for me to sit down after I've eaten and read those emails. And then tracking tracking is hugely important my previous business As far as managing a team of 60, I had a lot of different people with lots of different tasks across all departments to keep track of and make sure that everybody else did the things that they needed to do. That was my primary role as managing director. And the tracking folder was invaluable for that every email that came through whether it was one that I sent, or one that was sent by someone outside for organisation, or someone from inside or organisation, if I needed to make sure that something got done by somebody, it went in there. And then every Friday, I'd go through that folder and ping off reminder emails and check email so that people that needed to be checked on, and I never missed anything. And they used to hate it, because I was on them for every single little thing. But it made sure everything got done and nothing fell through the cracks. The other thing that I do as well is I will only check my emails at certain times of day. So usually it's around 10am and 3pm is when I'll sit down, and I'll do that process. I'll go through the emails. And then I'll set another time of day to deal with the action emails at a time that's most conducive to my energy levels for actually sitting down and getting stuff done.

Stuart Webb 16:06

Yeah, I had a conversation, I have a similar process, I check my email three times a day. And the reason I do that is because my dad, who was a sales director, from the old days when they didn't have email, told me he said, we used to deal with letters three times a day morning when my secretary book posting at lunchtime when I needed to fire off a bunch of things that had happened that morning. And in the afternoon when the post came back in. Why is email any different to that? And I'd say to him, because it is new, but no, it's not. It's no different at all. It's the same communication. It's just been moved from a letter to a to a screen as he will put it. And I looked at him and thought he may have a point, he might have a point. And he's absolutely right. There's no need to check your email more than three times a day. I'm with you. I can I can go through my emails, and I can get them done in about 15 minutes, that's three times a day. 45 minutes a day on emails is more than enough. But let's not let's not keep going on this. Let me ask you the final question in the in the, in the few minutes. We've got that? What's the one question I should have asked you, which I have not yet asked you? And if you don't mind not only giving us that question, but the answer as well, because otherwise we'll be left hanging for the answer.

Jamie Keeling 17:14

What a great question. What's the relationship between numbers and action?

Stuart Webb 17:24

Mm hmm. I like the question. Now that I'm looking forward to the answer.

Jamie Keeling 17:34

Numbers, you turn numbers into actions and actions turn into numbers, right. So you take actions in a business. And that translates into data, whether that's customer service data, whether that's sales data, profitability data, turns into numbers, essentially. So turns actions, create numbers, those numbers, then, if you manage them, and read them, and understand what they mean properly, you can then turn those numbers into more actions. And it's that circular system of numbers become actions, actions become numbers, that it's really important as a business owner and entrepreneur to understand. And it's, it's one of the reasons why you really must have a handle on your data capture your data management, and your data analysis, whether that's from a customer service point of view, or from an Accounts point of view. Because when you understand those numbers and their relationships to each other, from that you can then derive meaningful actions that can produce more of the results that you want and less of the results that you don't want in your business. So just that one simple thing of understanding that your actions should become numbers. And if you're taking actions that don't turn into numbers, why are you taking those actions? Why are you doing it? Now, it could be one of two things either, you don't need to be doing it and you're doing it when you should really stop. Or actually, there's data that's not being captured that should be that's valuable to you, because it's an action you need to take but you don't know what the external effect of that is on the internal effects of that is in your business. So actions turn into numbers, numbers turn into actions. So understanding that relationship in the wider system of your business, I think is really important.

Stuart Webb 19:18

I think it's a really key concept and I know many consultants is that have been built upon KPIs scorecards, understanding those numbers, and often wasting the time around them. So do not waste time around understanding what your plate is about. It's really valuable. Jamie has been a hugely interesting conversation. I appreciate your time and coming on and spending a few minutes with us. I just like to point out if if people watching are interested in being able to get onto the news list, so these other lists so they can hear when we're doing these we you know, the day before we do this, we blast out on all the people we know about not social media. We're coming up with one of these conversations that hugely interesting, hugely valuable Jamie has just added huge value to you. and I hope you've appreciated it. But if you want to get on and listen to what we're doing go to TC a dot FYI, it's very simple TTA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, even somebody as simple as I can understand how to get onto that list. And then you'll get to hear great conversations with people as interesting as Jamie. Jamie, thank you very much for spending a few minutes with us. I really appreciate the value added. I think some of the stuff you've been saying is absolutely the right way to go. I know because it's sort of stuff I preach. Otherwise, I wouldn't be talking to people like you. We are to build up the right thinking yet. We don't want to take people down the wrong path. So Jamie, thank you very much for your time. Really appreciate it. Speak to you very soon.

Jamie Keeling 20:38

It's been a pleasure. Thanks very much for having me.

Stuart Webb 20:40

No problem. Bye bye.

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Who is Dr Sharon Grossman?

Dr Grossman is a qualified Success Coach, Clinical Psychologist, author, speaker, wife and mother of two. For the past two decades, she has worked on improving the health and well-being of high achievers who so often sacrifice their self-care as a result of work demands and get caught up with everyone else’s expectations that they end up burning out at alarming rates..

Key Takeaways

Business leaders either don't know why they keep creating the same results in the world, or they know, but they don't know how to break out of their pattern. So this includes recurring self criticisms, self doubt, negative emotions, like anxiety, frustration, depression, anger.

The process of changing the results need to start with beliefs - we start from the bottom trying to change our results. And ultimately, that because, emotions that lead to the behaviours and thoughts that lead to the emotions and beliefs that leads to the thoughts - the most change results is actually starting from the belief level.

You can train your brain for success through brain priming.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

See Sharon's website

https://drsharongrossman.com

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Stuart Webb 00:41

Hi, everyone, and welcome back to it's not rocket session science, five questions over coffee. Now I don't have a cup of coffee with me at the moment because unfortunately, I've had to leave my office and come outside to deal with a bit of a family emergency. But because of the wonders of technology, I'm still able to do this. And I'm still able to talk to Sharon Grossman. And I'm really looking forward to this conversation. So let me just give you a quick introduction. Sharon is the founder of exhausted to extraordinary methods you think sounds brilliant, and I hope we're going to get right into that in a minute. It's a three step method to unblock your mind reset your thinking, and return the joy to your work in 90 days. It sounds extraordinary 90 days is just such an amazing number. She's a psychologist, coach and author of an international bestseller, The 70 solution to burnout. So she worked with six figure executives in order to sort of really return that struggling executive who's got anxiety, overwhelm, and burnout. And she's gonna share her tips with us today. So I'm really looking forward to this conversation. Sharon, Dr. Grossman, welcome to It's not rocket science. Five questions. To double what is today me sitting in a vehicle?

Sharon Grossman 01:55

Well, Stuart, thank you so much, Sharon, can you can you hear me? Okay, I can hear you. Great. Thank you for having me on the show. I've got my cup of tea. It's not coffee, but nobody can really no.

Stuart Webb 02:14

I've got I'm glad somebody's got something to drink. That's the important thing. So so let's start with what is the what is the problem that you you help solve for your, for your ideal client?

Sharon Grossman 02:25

Yeah. So typically, what I find is they feel stuck and frustrated about being stuck. And the thing is, they either don't know why they keep creating the same results in the world, or they know, but they don't know how to break out of their pattern. So this includes recurring self criticisms, self doubt, negative emotions, like anxiety, frustration, depression, anger, you name it. And it can also be limiting beliefs and self sabotaging behaviour. So that's really something that they're noticing is happening over and over again, and they just don't know what to do about it. Yeah, those are very damaging self, self, self talk and self things, which really sort of get into your head and really damage your performance, don't they? Yeah, exactly. And so I suppose the question is, what is it that they've tried to do? What have they tried to do before you help them to try to break out of that cycle? What What, what are they trying? Which, which has been unsuccessful? Yeah, well, I feel like the biggest mistake is that they try to focus on changing their behaviours. So when they want to, let's say lose weight, they focus on restricting their food and their calorie intake, you know, rather than managing their emotions, which is what really leads many people to overeat in the first place. Instead of increasing their self compassion, they focus on driving themselves harder, and they end up burning out. Now behavioural change can work, but it's a lot harder to accomplish and to sustain. And that's because our behaviours are really driven by our emotional state, which result from our thinking. And that goes back to our beliefs. So I feel like there's this cascade of things, there's like this hierarchy, and we start from the bottom trying to change our results. And ultimately, that because, you know, there's like emotions that lead to the behaviours and there's thoughts that lead to the emotions and there's beliefs that leads to the thoughts the most the biggest bang for your buck is actually starting from the belief level.

Stuart Webb 04:37

Wow, that's a that's a really brilliant way of summarising it. I have to admit I, I've heard a number of people try to summarise it. That one actually hits the nail so sweetly on the head.

Sharon Grossman 04:48

Thank you so much for that. I really appreciate it. Yeah, you're right. You've got to start with that with that belief, haven't you? Yeah. If you want to have some traction, that's really the easiest thing that you can do for yourself.

Stuart Webb 05:04

That's fantastic. Okay, so what is the valuable free action or valuable free resource, which you believe you could offer today to those burnt out executives that are hopefully listening to this? And wondering Oh, wow, that's me. What do about this? Yeah. So what I did was I created a mini course, all about how you can train your brain for success. So the first thing it does is it's going to explain to you how the mind works. And then it talks about brain priming, which is a technique that I teach, that shows you how to really turn those beliefs around, once you have that turned around, then everything flows much easier. Because the way that you think is different, then you're going to create different kinds of feelings, your behaviours are going to align with those emotions. And then consequently, you're going to have more of the things that you want, resulting in your life. And so typically, this is a course that I charge for, but for your listeners, if you put in the code free gift, you will get access to that course for free. Okay, so I'm just going to display on the screen at the bottom here. Dr. Sharon Grossman comm that's the website where we can go and see that course and where we can actually put that code into that website is Am I correct? So no, actually, that is for my general website, but I will share, I will share the link with you, and maybe you can put it in the show notes.

Sharon Grossman 06:37

I'd be more than happy to do that. And if you could also make sure that you share that, that that code as well, I'll make sure that goes in. But don't take Don't Don't forget this website, people get onto that and see what Sharon has to offer. It is a really interesting website. I was I was looking around myself, I'll be honest, and I was fascinated by some of the stuff on this show.

Stuart Webb 07:03

So what is the what is the most impactful course or Bahco programme that you've come across, which you think has had greatest impact that you'd like to share?

Sharon Grossman 07:42

Yeah, I really appreciate that question. And I would say there's a book that when it comes to priming, this is really like the book that had the biggest impact on me and and really brought me to creating this whole new side of my business that focuses in on helping people reprogram their subconscious. And that book is called What to say, when you talk to yourself by shad homesteader. And,you know, I read that and I was like, you know, I've been, so I'm a, I'm a psychologist by trade, and I've been doing therapy for over 20 years, I've been working with people on their minds for so long, and teaching them how to change their thoughts, how to manage their emotions, how to, you know, change their behaviours, how to create goals, like all these things. But the whole idea of really priming your mind and changing the subconscious programming is so impactful, that after reading that book, I decided, you know, I'm going to create this programme, which I now call the priming lab, that helps other people do that. And that's a place where I get to coach my members weekly on how to do so and how to overcome their negative self talk or any other aspect of their life that really stems from from their limiting beliefs. So if anybody is really like, interested in this topic, above and beyond the free mini course, I would really recommend that book. I recommend you do both. I mean, I really do. Because I know, it's something which I have come across before limiting self belief limiting self self thinking is so it's so important, and can so easily be, you know, part of somebody's talking to themselves, the self, the voice in their head, which actually limits some of that thinking. So it needs it needs more people to be aware of the fact that they can address those sorts, so

Stuart Webb 09:17

don't get it. I'm now gonna hope that you take us forward on this one. Sharon, I've got the final question for you, which is, what's the question I should have asked you, which I haven't which is my Get Out of Jail Free card if I'm honest. Once the question I should have asked you, which I haven't and, and therefore what would you would you answer that question for me as well, please? Yeah, sure. So the question is, what is an example of what is possible with brain priming? And what I would say is, first and foremost, more self awareness, to really pause and recognises and recognise the choices that you have, instead of being on that autopilot mode.

Sharon Grossman 10:00

where your brain is just kind of doing things without really checking in with you where you're, you know, if it's self talk, where you're just having the same sign up kind of sentences, self criticisms and judgments show up again, and again, without you really recognising that it's showing up. And when you can do that, you can be a lot nicer to yourself, you can keep your emotions in check. And you can be the version of yourself that you want to be around others, I had a recent experience with one of my members who said that as a result of of doing this work, he noticed that he wasn't because he's like, kind of a stress case. And anytime there's like a stressful situation, he gets really stressed out, and then he becomes not so nice to other people. And it gets really judgmental and critical. And he started doing this work. And what it did was it slowed him down enough to recognise that, hey, I don't have to react in this way. Even if it's a stressful situation, I actually have a choice. And once he was able to get to that place, he realised that by doing this by slowing down enough, he was nicer to other people. And then he said, I get to be the kind of person that I want to be, rather than feeling like I can't help myself, right, this is just something that happened. And I have no control.

Stuart Webb 11:26

You know, I think I have to meet him. But But that's another question that we ought to address it another day. I know, I know that person. I know that person. And I don't want to describe how I know them. But But I know that person that stressed or being being unpleasant to people, when you know you, that's just not you is so difficult to avoid. And okay, I, I will be on I will be I'm going on to this, this URL, which is at the bottom of the screen. And I

Sharon Grossman 11:55

apologise because I apologise because it's a very long URL. Yeah, but if people want to find it more easily. First of all, you can just go to the Academy for high achievers and look for the name of the course, which is called the power of priming. And then if there's time, I can post in another link, which is kind of a shorter link. And maybe that that will be helpful.

Stuart Webb 12:30

Yeah, I will, I will put it across because I think I think it's an important one and, and we'd love to get these out to people. But once you're doing that, what I'll do is I'll just I'll put one up at the very end. When I do whilst we're just putting that up, I'm just going to I'm going to remind people, if you would like to spend more time with us listening to some of these talks and getting value out of them such as what, such as what we've been doing today, despite my situation here in a vehicle, you need to get onto our, our newsletter list. So that's by going to https colon forward slash forward slash I think everybody knows that one nowadays, TC a dot FYI. So it's really short TCA dot FYI, forward slash, subscribe, that TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, and that gets in the newsletter list. And if Sherif has been able to put that link into the chat, I'll put that up now. And also, when we put the put this out, later on to YouTube, and LinkedIn and other places, I will put these links at the bottom in comments, so that people are able to immediately get on and see what see what's available from from those courses. But in the meantime, what I'll do is I'll just put back up that teachable course, because I think it's important. If you go to coaching by Sharon, and no, Sharon's managed across me, so I can get that. Okay, that's much better. Thank you.

Sharon Grossman 13:53

Copy that link text and put that up now. So that we can put that across because I think these are important links. And I do like to make sure that we're giving the money to people that really want to get hold of this. Yes. Forward slash the power of priming.

Stuart Webb 14:09

So there it is, it's bit.li. Forward slash the power of priming. And that's PRI M ing if you've not able to spell priming. I know some people put two M's in there and all sorts of things. But that's the bit.li the power of priming, if you come to that link, and you can get hold of that great course that Sharon had been talking about. Sharon, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us talking about that. I really think it's an important topic because you know, that self talk. A self talk is so damaging. And I've seen it not only in people that I've coached, and I've, I've I used to manage a large number of people. And I saw these people doing this to themselves. They were telling themselves they weren't good enough, despite the fact that I just literally had a conversation with the word said, you know, I trust you to do the trick. I know, I know you're good enough, and they will immediately go into a cycle of saying, Oh, I know Ever get this done because I've managed to mess it up or whatever. So go to bit dot L y the power of priming. Remember that code to get that is free gift. Oh, one word, you should be able to remember that all one word free gift, you should be able to remember that. Sharon, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. I really appreciate this the time you spent on giving us these great insights into a topic. I do hope we get a lot of people coming along to see your course. And I think it's great. It's great that you've been able to spend some time with us. Thank you so much.

Sharon Grossman 15:30

Thanks, Stuart, so much for having me and good luck to everybody out there who's looking to really and wrap their minds. Absolutely right. Brilliant. Thank you so much. Bye bye

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

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Help us get this podcast in front of as many people as possible. Leave a nice five-star review atapple podcasts : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/apple-podcasts and on YouTube : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Itsnotrocketscienceatyt!

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_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

Join The Complete Approach Facebook Group : https://TCA.fyi/fb

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Who is Sarah?

Sarah is a former Managing Director at Accenture where she worked extensively on scalable talent management solutions. She is the best-selling author of two books: Let Your Personality Be Your Career Guide and The Road to Success which she co-authored with Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup for the Soul® fame. Sarah also created The Book of You®, which is a completely personalized book for each reader. The reader takes a world-renowned personality assessment, and with the results, Sarah is able to create a book uniquely for the reader with information specific to that reader and guidance on how (s)he can apply it to be happy, successful, and understood at work. It is like a “coach-in-a-book.”

Key Takeaways

1, Women in leadership roles really wants to get more females into leadership roles. She wants to get more females into the leadership pipeline. And the mistake that she's making is trying to do it all herself. And she's feeling guilty. And she's feeling also overwhelmed at the magnitude of the task, because all of the women in her organisation are looking up to her for help, for advice and for pulling them through. And she's actually struggling just to get her job done herself.

She doesn't have to do it herself - go engage your team in this process, and explain to them you've got limited bandwidth, but get them engaged in the process of actually coaching themselves. And you can start that by helping them to get really laser clear about what goals it is they want to achieve in their career.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

https://www.sarahebrown.com/about

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

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Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Help us get this podcast in front of as many people as possible. Leave a nice five-star review atapple podcasts : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/apple-podcasts and on YouTube : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Itsnotrocketscienceatyt!

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page

It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way

Join The Complete Approach Facebook Group : https://TCA.fyi/fb

Join our Success to Soar Program and get TIME and FREEDOM. : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Success-to-Soar

Work with me privately

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Stuart Webb 00:00

And we're live on it's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I will admit it's not coffee I've got in front of it alone. This is a cup of green tea, but that's because I'm trying to decaf my body a little bit and welcome everyone to It's not rocket science. Five questions of coffee. I'm here today with Dr. Sara Lee Brown. She's a former managing director, Accenture, and she's worked extensively on scalable talent management systems, a Best Selling Author of books, let your personality be your career guide, and the road success which you have co authored with Jack Canfield. So that must have been absolutely a wonderful experience working on that with he's the author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul. At a really great experience, I would imagine Sarah, so welcome to this afternoon's. It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee, I'm really looking forward to this discussion. Hope you get a lot out of it. So Sarah, do you want to kick us off by just explaining to us your ideal client and the company the challenges they face?

Dr Sarah E Brown 01:07

My ideal client is the most senior female executive and a company. And the reason she's my ideal client is because she is usually the only female in her position. She is what we call an only or a lonely because she has two female peers. And she's probably not the chief executive, which is a great shame as much of it, usually.

Stuart Webb 01:33

Which is a great.

Dr Sarah E Brown 01:35

Okay, so we've got we've got the ideal client, and we now understand that can you just give us a What's the common mistake people make trying to solve the problem of being a lonely in that position? Well, the the real problem that I'm addressing for her is the fact that she really wants to get more females into leadership roles. She wants to get more females into the leadership pipeline. And the mistake that she's making is trying to do it all herself. And she's feeling guilty. And she's feeling also overwhelmed at the magnitude of the task, because all of the women in her organisation are looking up to her for help, for advice and for pulling them through. And she's actually struggling just to get her job done herself.

Stuart Webb 02:25

Yeah, yeah. And I buy in 100%, of what you're saying, because I watched it with my wife who had a great female mentor in here, organisation to help her get to where she is. And she recognised that she was looking to someone for help, who quite frankly, probably wasn't, didn't have the time to help her in the way that she really needed. And it just didn't help either of them. And that's a really, that's great. So so tell us what is the valuable free action or free resource that you think you can point the audience to, in order to sort out solve that problem?

Dr Sarah E Brown 03:00

Well, what I want to do is to tell this woman that she doesn't have to do it herself. And so the valuable tip that I want to give her is go engage your team in this process, and explain to them you've got limited bandwidth, but get them engaged in the process of actually coaching themselves. And you can start that by helping them helping your team members to get really laser clear about what goals it is they want to achieve in their career.

Stuart Webb 03:34

Brilliant. Okay, how do we go about accessing that sort of that sort of advice?

Dr Sarah E Brown 03:40

Well, one of the keys to doing this is coming up with goals that are unique to the individual. So I'm going to offer as a free gift at Sarah e brown.com. I chapter of my book that you referenced before, let your personality be your career guide. And in that chapter, I have some exercises on how women can get very clear about who they are their unique interests, strengths and needs, and then how they can translate that into career goals that are equally unique for them. And you as a leader in the organisation can use this to actually begin to engage your team and thinking about what is important to them, and use that as the mechanism to actually begin to mentor them. But you don't have to then spend the time getting clear about what it is they want to achieve upfront.

Stuart Webb 04:32

Yeah, absolutely get get other people to do the thinking. It saves you an awful lot of effort and time, doesn't it? I've got a feeling that something that many male leaders could actually try and do occasionally as well. But that's another story, I suspect. So what's the contact book or programme that has been most influential, influential and impactful in your experience?

Dr Sarah E Brown 04:56

Well, you mentioned at the beginning of this and my bio that I have I've done some work with Jack Canfield. And so I'm going to suggest that the programme that has been a big influence in my life has been his success principles concept. And I've actually taking a lot of the tools from it from that process and embody that in my own process around how we can take responsibility for what it is we want to achieve, and then hand tools to other individuals to help us get there.

Stuart Webb 05:29

Oh, what a great set of principles to embed in your work. Absolutely brilliant. That must be that must make your life a lot easier to take principles like that and make it make it part of your work.

Dr Sarah E Brown 05:39

Well, it's based on 50 years of research on his part, and they're all time tested principles. So I know they work.

Stuart Webb 05:45

Yeah, absolutely. Right. Nice. Brilliant. So what's the one question that I should have asked you in the last few minutes? Which I haven't? And and before you answer, can you make sure that you also give us the answer to that rather than leaving us with a with a puzzle block thinking? That was a great question. I wish I knew the answer.

Dr Sarah E Brown 06:01

The question is, what is self coaching? And the reason I think that is that is a good question is because I believe it is the answer to my target ideal clients dilemma is how does she mentor and bring along the women in her organisation when she herself has limited bandwidth? And the answer to self question, self coaching is this. If we empower women with a process and the tools that they can use with another human being, to actually get clarity on the goals that are important to them, the right actions they can take, how to overcome obstacles and how to put the support mechanisms in place to actually begin pursuing that we can free up the women in the most senior parts of the organisation to be mentors to answer those specific questions around how do you address this particular challenge? And all of the other work the thinking about what's important to me? How do I get clear about that all the things that we historically call coaching can be done by the women as peers to themselves.

Stuart Webb 07:11

brilliant, absolutely brilliant. I absolutely love the answer. I wish I thought of the question. That's a really great answer. Thank you very much, Sarah. Really appreciate your time this afternoon. Can you just give us again the name of that website where we can go and get that resource because I think that's something that people would be really interested in.

Dr Sarah E Brown 07:28

Sarah e brown.com.

Stuart Webb 07:31

And Sarah s AR H brown br o n? No E's or no nothing?

Dr Sarah E Brown 07:39

Actually Sarah there's an E for my middle initial Sarah Brown and brown like the colour Yeah,

Stuart Webb 07:46

no problem. Just didn't want somebody to put Sarah e Brown and put the E on the end this off the age of the Sarah because they make a difference these letters. That's true. Brilliant. I love what you've done. I really thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. Sarah, thank you so much for spending some time with us. I really wish you all the success with that with that chapter. People if you haven't gone and got already to Sarah sort of website you should be on it already. You should be downloading that that copy. If you'd like to keep up with what we're doing here at the complete approach and you want a notification of when we do this and you can join in and watch live go to TCL dot FYI forward slash subscribe that's TCA forward slash TCA dot FYI forward slash scribe. And if you'd like to be a link, a book, a guest on the podcast, go to link dot the complete approach code at UK forward slash be a guest be a guest. Sara, thank you so much for spending some time with us this afternoon. Really appreciate you. I wish you all the success with that chapter. forward to catching up again too.

Dr Sarah E Brown 08:50

Thank you very much. It was a pleasure. No problem.

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Who is Anne?

Anne has helped business women and men overcome fear of speaking in public, manage work-related pressure and stress or improve how they listen and communicate with colleagues. She has worked with young adults who have school anxiety or exam nerves or have been bullied. She has worked with men and women who have experienced trauma in the past, which is still effecting them. Find out more by clicking here

Key Takeaways

Many people underestimate how long that can take to do to actually get to that point where you are able to live comfortably
Use networks, and also then set up connections with other therapists potentially, and other businesses who might serve my client group.
Remember to educate those referral partners on what to listen for, and how to ask and how to promote them.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

go to https://www.annemorrison.co.uk/courses

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

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Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Help us get this podcast in front of as many people as possible. Leave a nice five-star review atapple podcasts : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/apple-podcasts and on YouTube : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Itsnotrocketscienceatyt!

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single pageMy approach is to provide you with tools, techniques and templates which have been tested and proven by me and hundreds of business owners like you to explode their business growth; get them "investment ready"; or develop a "prospectus for sale" to enable them to plan an exit. Here is a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way. https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page
Join The Complete Approach Facebook Group : Connect with like-minded individuals who are all about growth and increasing revenue. It's a Facebook community where we make regular posts aimed at inspiring conversations in a supportive environment. It's completely free and purposely aimed at expanding and building networks. https://TCA.fyi/fb
Join our Success to Soar Program and get TIME and FREEDOM. :If you're doing 10-50k a month right now: I'm working with a few business owners like you to change that, without working nights and weekends. If you'd like to get back that Time and still Scale, check the link : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Success-to-Soar
Work with me privatelyIf you'd like to work directly with me and my team to take you from 5 figure to 6 and multi-6 figure months, whilst reducing reliance on you. Click on https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/DiscoveryCall tell me about your business and what you'd like to work on together, and I'll get you all the details.

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Stuart Webb 0:08

Okay. Okay, so are you we're live. We're live on the internet and welcome to It's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I'm delighted to be joined today by and Morrison and is well, wow. And you have such an impressive CV. It's just how good and isn't this stuff? Welcome. Welcome to the podcast.

Anne Morrison 0:41

Oh, well, thank you for inviting me, Stuart. It's so yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

Stuart Webb 0:45

Terrific, terrific. So let's just, let's just start off with the obvious first question. And and, and ask you, what's the biggest challenge your ideal client faces.

Anne Morrison 0:58

As he said, I'm a therapist and coach. So the coaching side of things is more, what I'm sort of developing and looking at, at the moment. And in that context, I'm working with other women therapists who want to grow their own thriving private practice. So that's my, my market might be a bit too niche, I don't know, we'll find out. But at the moment, it's okay. So, but now, it's helping them to really get over. A lot of them are transitioning from working part time. Yeah, as a therapist when working in a paid job, and then they want you to go full time. So that's quite a big step to do that to sort of hand in that notice and things and then it's helping them to grow their business and, and get things in place as well that they need to have.

Stuart Webb 1:43

And it's all about helping them to understand exactly how they do that, and build the confidence they need in order to make that happen.

Anne Morrison 1:51

Yeah, confident. And also, the more practical steps, you know, about how much you charge how you get clients, which is always an issue, when you're first starting out or trying to grow your business, and having that confidence to ask for referrals. Create mutual support networks and things like that. So there's all things that we look at during the coaching process.

Stuart Webb 2:12

Brilliant, so and you sort of started describe the sound, and I guess, we can get into this in more detail. But what's the common mistake that they are making when they're trying to solve that problem without getting the help of experience behind them? And, and often that sort of, you know, well, you know, if you're going to try and do that you wouldn't have started where you are sort of at a point.

Anne Morrison 2:32

I think a lot of people, myself included, when I first started that underestimate how long that can take to do to actually get to that point where you are able to live comfortably. And one of the mistakes is, I think, well, there's a lot, obviously, but some of it also is about how they think about themselves, as well as that having that confidence in their in their abilities. Because they do have the ability, they probably do know how to budget, they do know how to cost things, they do know how to manage things. But when you're working for yourself, as opposed to working as an employee, it can be a very different context, because there's only really you there. So it's about finding that ability to trust yourself, and look at the processes you need to have in place and get those basics in place.

Stuart Webb 3:17

Yeah, yeah, I often talk to my clients who are obviously business people who are trying to sort themselves out as much as anything. And you often hear people who are you are running a company, they have so many distractions, and so many things they need to focus on and so much that has to happen. They're often finding themselves going in in two or three or even 20 different directions. And I constantly say to them, Look, you need to focus. I particularly like getting an early morning routine. I particularly like having people that sort of routine that they sort of stick to, but I sort of say to them, if you can, by 11 o'clock in the morning, have achieved the one big thing that will move your business forward today, the rest of the day is yours, you can use it to fight fires, you can you can go out and relax. But you have to focus on that one big thing and getting that focus on the one big thing is often the difficult thing for somebody who's never had to sort of run a business before to get the head around isn't it

Anne Morrison 4:16

is an even you know, I had been excuse me itself and many, many years ago. And that taught me a lot. I didn't last very long because I was doing network knitwear design and things like that. And it was fun. And I enjoyed it. And I learned a lot. And I think one of the things that comes out as you say yes, though systems. One of the things that being a therapist is obviously your day is sort of plan because you have appointments. And whether that's online or face to face, so that in a way is sort of quite straightforward once you've got them but it's the rest of that but how do you fit that around the marketing, you know, the family life, that social side of things, excuse me and that sense of being the face of the business can be difficult for people, you know that people train as therapists because they want to help people, what we find is, once we've done that, we actually need to become sort of marketers, and business people. We're chasing invoices, if you're working with companies, for instance, or you are managing, if you have an any assistance of VA, possibly as you get bit a bit bigger to help with appointments and things like that, or if you have a physical office that you use, you know, you might have a receptionist. So there's all that aspect that comes into it, as well as you as you perhaps grow your business as well.

Stuart Webb 5:34

Yeah, yeah. Lots of things to think about. So, we often talk about this on it's not rocket science, it's about the valuable free action of the valuable free resource that you can use today to sort of, you know, get people to focus on something, what's the valuable free, actual free resource that you'd like to offer people listening now to help them get that thing done that they need to do today?

Anne Morrison 5:57

I have a an infographic, which takes you through the seven areas that you need to have things in place for and there's a sort of tip or an idea in each of those that might just jog people's ideas. Oh, actually, yes, I could do that. All right. Well, I hadn't thought about doing that. So that that's available from my website, and I can give you the link for that. So

Stuart Webb 6:14

and and and I guessing even though people are thinking to themselves, I want to know what that link is. So spell it out for us. Oh,

Anne Morrison 6:22

I haven't got that. You caught me out. It's, I have to I'll have to It's a

Stuart Webb 6:31

promise immediately after this. We will put that link into the comments below this on Facebook and YouTube and, and LinkedIn so that you can go straight to that link, but would just give us your website. And so

Anne Morrison 6:45

the website is Morrison coaching.com. And Morrison

Stuart Webb 6:49

coaching.com. All

Anne Morrison 6:50

one word. Yes. And Anthony.

Stuart Webb 6:54

We spell anna lorrison. I was gonna say

Anne Morrison 6:56

yes. Hey, Anthony. Morrison double, double arses mo double II s o n? Yeah,

Stuart Webb 7:03

there are names or one of those things I've learned in the past and that people will turn around and go, No, it's spelt the other way. And you think, well, they're about three different ways I can, personally so let's just make sure we get that. So what's the concept or the book or the programme that's been most impactful in your experience?

Anne Morrison 7:23

The concept? I mean, there's lots of I mean, apart from the therapy training course, which has huge impact, because you're obviously, I hadn't quite realised this when I went into therapy training that you actually do a lot of work on yourself. And surprisingly, oh, yes, I'm gonna change to be a coach and then doing other therapies. But apart from that, which had a huge impact. One of the things when I first started working as a coach in 2002 2003, a long time ago now was I joined a well known networking and referral organisation. I can't say the title if you want, I mean, I'm sure you've heard

Stuart Webb 7:56

as I'm sure we can all guess there are many of them. Now,

Anne Morrison 8:00

many of them this is this is this was the first and the biggest. And I joined that organisation. And whilst in at that time coaching, and I was living in Scotland, at the time, coaching wasn't really well known. And people were saying, People pay you for doing that. So a lot of the time was spent educating about about coaching. Anyway, I joined this organisation, and whilst I did get some referrals, what I did learn from it was actually how to hone my message, you know, get get out there, what I was wanting to work with, and who I was wanting to work with. And also the concept of, and again, this will certainly tell people about the organisation is that they've been a member about givers game, and about creating that sort of network of mutual support. And that actually has helped a lot in how I develop my business. So for instance, when I was first looking for office space, rather than just getting an office on my own, or, well, now, mainly working online, but I looked for an office that I could hire within another practice. So I actually worked in a chiropractic clinic and I used to room there. So that allowed me to get referrals from people who were coming in to see the chiropractor and from the chiropractor themselves. And and so that type of thing was informed by I suppose this idea of setting up networks, and also then setting up connections with other therapists potentially, and other businesses who might serve my client group.

Stuart Webb 9:27

And so really, two really powerful technique, isn't it to find people who are looking at the same audience or the same target market as you and work together? I know it's, I know, it's a difficult concept for a number of business people to get their head around because they'll say, Well, you know, they'll steal the customers but it was a sales mentor of mine many years ago said to me, you know, Stuart, you keep talking about the fact that we're both reaching for the same orange but I want the flesh and you want the skin so why I think work together. And I looked at him and when Potter brilliant concept to me when it's been true for years, but people don't look at it like that they don't think about how to work with other people, they think that it's a zero sum game, if I win, you lose. But in actual fact, there are so many ways in which we can both when, and it's a concept you have to get, you have to start to think more deeply about when you are trying to form the relationships that you've just been talking about, isn't it?

Anne Morrison 10:27

And certainly something that's that I work with clients with, about helping them to think about who they might, that pool of people might be, but also how they can then educate them. Because that that's that I think that's sometimes the thing, especially within the networking and referral pool, that, you know, people, yes, I can give referrals. And yes, people can give me referrals, then they almost forget about that education side of it, and helping you know, what to listen for, and how to ask and how to promote them.

Stuart Webb 11:01

Education of, of not only your audience, but also the people who can help you reach that audience is absolutely critical.

Unknown Speaker 11:10

At the time doing that,

Stuart Webb 11:12

brilliant, I love it. And I think it's a very wise thing, you know, for you to sort of focus on a little bit with people that are in that sort of space, because coaching is a difficult thing to get their head around, isn't it and explaining what it's going to do for somebody is absolutely critical.

Anne Morrison 11:26

Yeah. And we, we obviously do look at other things like money mindset, and how they, again, that issue for therapists is, I'm a caring person, I shouldn't have money for my services. But you know, no one wants to work with a starving therapist. So you know, if you're worried about where the next bills coming from, you know, that that can be an issue too. So we also work on the whole area of being self employed in a way and working for yourself.

Stuart Webb 11:55

I love it. I love it. Well, fascinating. And we could talk forever, but I guess we will not do. So the final thing that I really need to pose to you is, you know, this is my Get Out of Jail Free card. What's the question that I should have asked you? And then I haven't and? And what's what's the answer? So don't just give us the question. leave us hanging actually tell us what the answer to that one is. Okay.

Anne Morrison 12:19

Well, I was you did? Kindly let me know a bit about the questions beforehand. And I was thinking about this. Gosh, what? What could that be? And I think one of them, particularly with therapists, and counsellors is about burnout is how to prevent burnout as a self employed therapist or counsellor. And I guess it also applies to many self employed people, not just in the therapy field. And it was about pets how to avoid that. And I think that's an important area as well as to is self care. Brilliant. Because, yeah, that might, again, depends what self care is for that person. But it is things like he said about having a routine, which is helpful to have. It's also about blocking time in for you in your diary. And people go, what do you put leisure time in your diary? Well, yeah, because otherwise they get it gets ignored. Yeah, so. And that's also having things that you might like to do. And often, and this came from when I was working with clients on on weight issues, you have like a pump a list of things that they can do, if they've, if they've tried to not come to eat, there's something else that they can go and do. So that might be just reading a magazine that they enjoy, or, you know, having a nice cup of coffee and making that a nice occasion. Or it might be planning something longer term. So I was sort of thinking about that, I think will actually apply that to us as therapists as well. What are the things can you do, even if it's a small thing, and for some people that might be taking two or three minutes just to meditate, if that's what they like doing, it might be just going for a walk around where they live for a short walk. It could be you know, just changing their state signing up doing some yoga exercises and breathing or stretching exercises. And or it could be planning longer term holidays and breaks and things like that, that they can take. So there's lots of different things. But I think certainly therapists burnout or burnout as a self employed person is a real issue.

Stuart Webb 14:18

I love that and I think you're absolutely right. We far too frequently forget to book that appointment with ourselves. And we allow client administration marketing to take those time slots in eventually suddenly realise we haven't actually taken care of ourselves and you can't you know, a bit like the A bit like the thing on an aeroplane when they turn around and say put your own oxygen mask on before you help somebody else. You can't help other people if you're burnt out because you've been so busy trying to help other people. You have got to be top of your game and fresh and that means taking time for yourself.

Anne Morrison 14:55

It does and a lot of therapists because they got into it because they wanted to help people And again, it's I suppose it depends on on levels of empathy or however you want to describe it. But then when I was doing my training one of my trainers, you know, saying and telling me and those in that group, it were not, if you imagine your problems and issues and sort of black bags or a suitcase or something like that, you know, we're not there to carry other people's suitcases for them, we're there to help them empty that suitcase, and then get rid of it or carry it more likely and more easily. And I think sometimes a lot of counsellors and therapists actually end up carrying the load of the client issues. And that's really not what we're there for.

Stuart Webb 15:40

I love it. And I, I'm so grateful, you know, that it's so much discussion about mental health at the moment, you've brought that back to mind. Take time to be a friend to yourself in order to make sure that you're there to support your clients or customers. And and those people who love Brilliant, thank you very much for being on the podcast today. I really appreciate your time. And it our pan with an E Morrison with two hours coaching.com Go there, get the wonderful stuff that adequate you'll see she's got a fantastic history, and understanding of all things to do with coaching. Really quite rough, most impressive. And I've got to be honest, I've got so much admiration for the amount of training and everything you've done. I really appreciate you being on today. And thank you so much for your time. Isn't everyone if you would like to see more of what we're doing here on these podcasts, if you go to TCA dot FYI, that's TCA dot FYI, forward slash newsletter. Sorry, forward slash subscribe, you will see you've got a form that you can sign up to get notifications when we do these. And if you're interested in being guest, go to link dot the complete approach.co.uk That's link.co lat dot the complete approach.co.uk forward slash be a guest be a guest be a Gu S T. And that will get you the information of how you get onto these. And I really appreciate your time. Thank you so much for being with us today. I wish you all success with everything you're doing. And really, people I can't I can't thank you enough for reminding us to take some time out today to be a friend to ourselves.

Anne Morrison 17:24

Thank you very much for inviting me.

Stuart Webb 17:25

No problem. Thank you very much indeed. Thank you very much. Bye

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View Details

Who is Judy?

Judy runs a consultancy based on Empowering Professional Women and the Men that Champion them. She is an Executive Coach, Sales and Leadership Trainer, Speaker and Author. Her mission is to help one woman a day using her philosophy "Women Want To Be Treated Equally...Not Identically"®

Key Takeaways

Know your non-negotiables. Too often people hear an offer, which they know is going to break the non-negotiables. They are afraid to say no, we need to learn to say no more often.
The average person has as many as 50,000 thoughts a day, and 80% of them are negative. When we're trying to fix the situation, our internal chatter takes over. And it produces these scenarios that are so real, that you swear you're living them, and the majority never happened.
Know your people, and it doesn't matter who your people are, they could be your family, they could be your peers, they could be your team. If you don't know anything about them, how are you going to get them on their journey, the journey that they want to take? How do you get to understand them? It's all about questions.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

https://www.sellinginaskirt.com/skirtstrategyprogram/

A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :

Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletter

Find out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguest

Subscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcast

Help us get this podcast in front of as many people as possible. Leave a nice five-star review atapple podcasts : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/apple-podcasts and on YouTube : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Itsnotrocketscienceatyt!

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single pageMy approach is to provide you with tools, techniques and templates which have been tested and proven by me and hundreds of business owners like you to explode their business growth; get them "investment ready"; or develop a "prospectus for sale" to enable them to plan an exit. Here is a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way. https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page
Join The Complete Approach Facebook Group : Connect with like-minded individuals who are all about growth and increasing revenue. It's a Facebook community where we make regular posts aimed at inspiring conversations in a supportive environment. It's completely free and purposely aimed at expanding and building networks. https://TCA.fyi/fb
Join our Success to Soar Program and get TIME and FREEDOM. :If you're doing 10-50k a month right now: I'm working with a few business owners like you to change that, without working nights and weekends. If you'd like to get back that Time and still Scale, check the link : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Success-to-Soar
Work with me privatelyIf you'd like to work directly with me and my team to take you from 5 figure to 6 and multi-6 figure months, whilst reducing reliance on you. Click on https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/DiscoveryCall tell me about your business and what you'd like to work on together, and I'll get you all the details.

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Stuart Webb 0:00

Hi, we're live welcome everyone to It's Not Rocket second session purrito It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee. I'm here with Judy home. It's very warm, we've been suffering, but I've got a green tea. It's not coffee, it's green tea. So it's very warm. So I'm looking forward to a really interesting discussion with Judy, Judy is a runs a company which is based on a paraprofessional women and the men that championed them. She's an executive coach, and talks about sales and leadership, since a speaker and author and her mission is to help one woman a day using her philosophy. Women want to be treated equally not identically. So Judy, I'm really looking forward to the discussion. And I know that you've got some great things to say. So welcome to the podcast.

Judy Hoberman 0:51

Thank you so much. I'm excited to be here. And I'm excited to be live everywhere.

Stuart Webb 0:55

Yeah, yeah, we are, we're absolutely live. And you'll be able to tell because if I make a mistake, as I already have the duty, let's start by the first question. So can you just describe, and I think it's a hopefully, it's not gonna be a surprise you, I guess we're talking about the women you help. But what's the biggest challenge your ideal client faces today.

Judy Hoberman 1:14

So it all goes under an umbrella. And really, it's about standing out. Because whatever industry you're in, you're not the only person. And so you have to figure out a way to stand out and be noticed, and stand out for the right reason, not the wrong reason. So whether it's selling your services, whether it's selling a product, whether it's sharing your abilities, whatever it is, or selling yourself, that's the biggest challenge that most of my women have. It's, you know, they, under that umbrella, it's also comparing themselves to others and motivation and confidence. But it's really like standing out and being different and being unique. Because what makes you unique is why people want to do business with you.

Stuart Webb 1:52

Fantastic. So what are the common mistakes people make when they're trying to solve that problem without getting the help?

Judy Hoberman 1:59

A lot of times I'd happen steward is really, that, when we try to do something ourselves, we're too close to the situation. And I'm not sure if people know that the average person has as many as 50,000 thoughts a day, and 80% of them are negative. So think about that, like we talk to ourselves more than anybody else. So when we're trying to fix the situation, our internal chatter takes over. And it produces these scenarios that are so real, that you swear you're living them, and the majority never happened. So when you work with somebody else, that could be more objective to your situation, they can take some of those limiting beliefs, and they can talk about it and decide, is it real? Or is it you know, like we say, real memories? Is it real? Or is it something that you're making up in your mind? Because those limiting beliefs are the things that we show other people, we you know, this is how we show up? And if, if you have this chatter going on all the time, what do you do with that? So when you when you talk to somebody else, when you make sure that somebody else understands what it is that you're feeling? You know, when you talk through it, you realise that some of this is just pure nonsense, because we're making it up. Now, some of its real. And I get that because we've all gone through those situations. But when you have somebody else that's more objective about it, they can really pull it apart for you and see what what's really going on for you.

Stuart Webb 3:21

And the other great thing about talking that through with somebody else's your can find that person has got the ability to turn to you and say, Look, I've already been through that. And it doesn't end up the way you expect. And when I did it such such and such happened. And then you can you can then sort of realise that what you thought was going to be a really hard burn could be nothing more than a minor scold, or indeed not even a problem at all. Doesn't really.

Judy Hoberman 3:46

Yeah. And what happens is you find that it's really a speed bump. And so if I've already been there, done that bought the t shirt many times because I probably have gone through a lot of the same situations that my clients have, you know, I can say to them, Look, you may run into this, but have you thought about doing it this way, because when you make the left turn instead of the right turn or when you go straight instead of curving, whatever it is, it's a it's another way, it's another way you get to look at things. And it's also another way that you get to stand out and show who you really are authentically because that's part of this whole problem is being authentic and not comparing yourself to somebody that has a million followers who they don't even know.

Stuart Webb 4:25

Yeah, and those million followers may well be they may not be real and that that's

Unknown Speaker 4:31

that's another whole story. Absolutely.

Stuart Webb 4:34

So what's the valuable free action or valuable free resource that you want to leave the the audience with today?

Judy Hoberman 4:41

So my company is called selling in a skirt so everything is based on the word skirt, and the skirt is actually an acronym, which stands for standing out. There's your S know your non negotiables invest in your relationships, referrals and time structure. So we've created a masterclass called skirt strategy and it goes through all five of those, stretch those strategies, those keys, and we actually give you ways to implement things to get you through each one of those struggles. Because when I started my company I actually struggled with all five of them, they just happen to spell out skirt. And so that's something that you know, it's easy to do if you do it correctly so it's a it's an easy masterclass it is a free masterclass, you can go through it, and implement it. And you know, you can always ask for help. Or you

Stuart Webb 5:31

should give us those skirt acronyms again, Judy, and tell us exactly where we get that master class. Okay,

Judy Hoberman 5:37

so the SS for standing out? How do you stand out in a sea of sameness? When there's so many people doing the same thing? How do you stand out what's your unique ability, the key is know your non negotiables you have there are things that you will absolutely say no to, or absolutely say yes to, you have to know what your non negotiables are before you go into the situation. So you don't have to redo it later on. The AI is invest in your relationships, you have people that you can count on, if you don't invest in them, your competitors are going to. So you have to make sure that you do what's right for them, it's not about you, you have to take the spotlight off you and push it on them. So invest in those relationships, because they are the referrals that you're going to get from those people that you've invested in, that you you'll be getting without even having to ask because they now have a relationship and they trust you. And the T is a big one. It's time structure. And it doesn't matter who you are, what gender you are, what what generation you are, doesn't matter what business you're in. We all struggle with time structure, so why not be able to be present in a situation. So that's the skirt. And you can get the master class at WWW dot skirt strategy.com forward slash join us.

Stuart Webb 6:49

Brilliant, brilliant. That's join us one word. Yes. Brilliant. I just gonna just gonna say one thing on that, know your non negotiables. You're actually when you said know what you need to get out of something. Too often I think people apply. So when women and men, when they when they hear an offer, which they know is going to break the non negotiables. They are afraid to say no, we need to learn to say no more often. Don't we do that?

Judy Hoberman 7:17

Absolutely. We were so quick to say yes to everything. And when you say yes to everything, you're saying no to something that's really important to you. So you just have to make sure that you know what it is you have to have boundaries, and a lot of us don't have boundaries. And just last year, a lot of our boundaries went out the window. So yeah.

Stuart Webb 7:34

Just remember that saying no. To something is going to be is going to be implicit in saying yes, you're always going to be saying no to something. So what's the the book that has been most impactful in your experience.

Judy Hoberman 7:49

So I have my own books, which I think are very impactful. You know, two of them are selling in a skirt, obviously, and then walking on the glass floor. One is about sales. One is about leadership. And they are very powerful, because they give you not only strategies and case studies, it also gives you stories, because people remember stories. So I believe that both of those and they're available on my website they're available on Amazon are tools that most of my clients have. But there is one more book that I want to do share with you, Stuart because i i have been dubbed the question queen. And so because I'm the question queen, I asked a lot of questions. And you can ask anybody that knows me. Sometimes they roll their eyes because I ask a lot of questions. But there's a book called Power questions. So for the question queen, what would be better, right? And what I love about this book is it gives you questions you should ask. But it also gives you questions you should ask. And so I think it's really important. But what because I do this, and I do this in my books, and I also do it in training, and I do it everywhere else. I ask open ended questions. It's like an oral essay that somebody gets to talk to you about what's important, not that you're interrogating them with questions. And I think that's really important for everybody to understand that the only way you get to build those relationships and invest in them, is by showing somebody that you're interested in them, not interesting to them. And so by asking questions, that's really what part you know what this whole thing is about is building that relationship.

Stuart Webb 9:17

Absolutely love that Judy is one of my favourite things. And I talk a lot to people who are building their business, who are just starting out in learning how to manage people, and I say, the art of being a great leader is to turn being interesting into being interested because too many leaders think they have to be interesting and sparkle, and constantly look as if they're the centre of attention. And so often they're missing the point because what they need to be interested in the people around them and learning more about I'm going to take you over a little bit but one manager I turned to and said Do you know the names of the children of the people you manage? They said to me Why do I need To know that you ask them to stay late on a Friday night, you absolutely need to know who you're going to be interrupting the lives of. And that's the point of the interested that I think they they got, but it was, you're absolutely right. Interesting, too interesting. I love that point. I think that's brilliant. I'm so glad you brought it up.

Judy Hoberman 10:19

You know, and it's really true, because I talk about knowing your people, and it doesn't matter who your people are, they could be your family, they could be your peers, they could be your team. If you don't know anything about them. How are you going to get them on their journey, the journey that they want to take? How do you get to understand them? It's all about questions. I always knew my people, I knew their kids names. I knew everything about them. Not because I was nosy it was because I was interested in because I could say, you know, when you are able to do this trade show with me on Saturday, why don't you tell Jimmy and Susie and whomever? Where are you going to be and what what it is that you're going to do for people. So it was very different. And I totally agree with you. There's, you know, that whole concept of asking questions is really so important. And so many people will just get in, get out and get the check. That's it. That's all they want to do. They don't want to spend the time. Because if you talk too much, you're going to talk yourself out of something not true. If you talk about yourself, you will. But if you talk about others, you

Stuart Webb 11:18

won't. Absolutely brilliant. Well, this fascinating, fascinating discussion. And now I'll give you my my Get Out of Jail Free question, which is what's the question that I should have asked you? If you haven't? Give us the answer, please.

Judy Hoberman 11:32

Well, the truth of the matter is this question comes from that book that I just told you about? Because I have asked this question at the end of lots of different conversations. And it not only does it bring the conversation to another level, it continues the conversation whether that moment or later on. So the question I always ask is, what do you still want to accomplish? And most people say to me, Hmm, no one's ever asked me that. And then they tell me things that they probably have never said out loud before or something that they've been, you know, wishing and hoping. And so that's always a great question.

Stuart Webb 12:06

Brilliant. I love it. And it's one that I get to use the next time I talk to somebody, but I won't use it now. Because this conversation will go on many more hours. And probably not what either of us need at the moment, we probably need to go and get ourselves more of a drink, which is what I'm going to do in a minute. So I mean, it's been absolutely brilliant having you on the podcast so appreciate you making the time I know that you've got a lot on and I appreciate you taking the time out to do this. So thank you so much for doing it listening on it. If you want to know more about what we do on this podcast, you can go to t ca dot FYI forward slash subscribe that's TCA dot FYI forward slash subscribe that puts you on the mailing list. Every time we do one of these I send out the mailing list and I tell everybody we're getting on so that you get on watch these great interviews lined up list are really interesting people like Judy, Judy, just give us that that masterclass once more where you can actually go and get more information about you.

Judy Hoberman 13:05

www that skirt strategy.com forward slash join us. You can go onto my website and find it you know. And Chris,

Stuart Webb 13:14

thank you so much, Judy. I really appreciate you taking your time. I get it much. That's something I'm joined again at the next time we're doing another one of these. It's not rocket science by questions over coffee.

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Who is Tom?

Tom Bailey is the founder of Succeed Through Speaking and he spent the first 25 years of his life becoming an expert at AVOIDING public speaking, presenting and being in front of groups of people. However since overcoming his life-limiting fear of speaking and presenting he has experienced first-hand how people can succeed through speaking. He now helps other Entrepreneurs, Experts, Coaches and Consultants use speaking to raise their profile and gain new clients.

Key Takeaways

start getting yourself out there, whether it's doing a quick podcast episode or speaking on somebody else's show. It's a great way to just start gently getting yourself out there and getting used to speaking about yourself and your business.
clients typically hide behind their business. So what I mean by that is they're posting stuff on social media, but it's normally quotes of other people. Or they're putting faceless, inauthentic content out there. They're not putting their true self out there, which really prevents them from building a following from getting that know, like, and trust factor for their business. And it really, really does hold them back.
it's all about turning fears on their head, and thinking about how you can look at them as opportunities rather than as things that could go wrong.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Stuart Webb 0:41

Hi again, everyone, welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee, I would say coffee, but I have water in front of me because it's kind of warm today. And therefore Yeah, what until. And it's pretty important during hot weather to keep yourself hydrated. I'm sure Tom will get into some of that as he's talking today. So, with me today, I've got Tom, Tom Bailey is the founder of succeed through speaking, he spent the first 25 years of his life becoming an expert at avoiding public speaking. And will can probably sort of understand a little bit about that if we told him that was really prevented him from sort of getting in front of groups of people. But he's now conquered that and he's really understood how getting your voice heard as a an entrepreneur, business owner, consultant is so important. And he now runs courses in order to help people to understand how to get themselves out there and speaking. So, Tom, welcome to it's not rocket science, five questions over coffee. Great intro. Thank you so much for having me here today. No problem at all. So let's start off by sort of talking about what's the biggest challenge that your ideal client faces,

Tom Bailey 1:58

of course, so I'll begin by describing my ideal clients, so they're typically experts, entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants, and they're normally solopreneur. So on their own trying to launch or grow a business. And the typical challenge that they face is that they're the world's best kept secret. And the reason why I say that is because the typically amazing at what they do, they can bring some amazing value. But they've got fears around actually talking about their business or launching their business or going onto podcasts or speaking and a lot of my clients is because of anxieties or a fear of public speaking.

Stuart Webb 2:33

You know, I read a statistic that, that fear of public speaking is is one of the greatest fears. And it reminded me that actually, when it comes to a funeral, the person giving the eulogy would probably be probably prefer to be the person that's in the box, having the eulogy given about them. So, you know, that's one of your great fears, isn't it that you know, we worry so much about that? And yeah, it's so little, it's a such a such something so easy to overcome. So So what are the common mistakes that people make, when they're trying to solve a problem without getting the sort of help that you you bring to them?

Tom Bailey 3:08

Of course, I will just quickly go into my story a little bit, because you meant that might bring it to light a little bit. And I was, I was my first client. And, you know, I had that fear of public speaking. And like you'd said, spent the first 2530 years of my life with that fear really holding me back. And it was actually the moment that I decided something needed to be done about this was I was asked to speak at my Nan's funeral, and I couldn't do it, you know, I just thought 50 people in the room, I've never spoke in front of two people are can't do it. And that was kind of a kick up the bum to say, you know, you need to sort this out. You can't say no to so many things. And, and that helped with business. Then once I started saying, Yes, I started doing podcasts, I started speaking on stages, eventually, after about five or six years. And it changed everything. So just, yeah, thank you. So it's helped a lot. I just do a question there, which is around common mistakes that people have when trying to solve this problem, I find that my clients typically hide behind their business. So what I mean by that is they're posting stuff on social media, but it's normally quotes of other people. Or they're, you know, just putting faceless, inauthentic content out there. They're not putting their true self out there, which really prevents them from building a following from getting that know, like, and trust factor for their business. And it really, really does hold them back.

Stuart Webb 4:32

Yeah, yeah, you're right. inauthenticity is such a major problem, isn't it? So let's, let's talk about the ways in which you help them what's that valuable free action or valuable free resource which you bring that you can leave with the audience today?

Tom Bailey 4:47

Yes, I say free action is to take a look at what we're doing right now. So, you know, you're you're the host of your own podcast, which is helping you build your profile and I'm here, I've been invited as a expert to speak on your podcast. So again, it's helping me raise my profile. So I guess the action to take is to start getting yourself out there, whether it's, you know, doing a quick podcast episode or speaking on somebody else's show. It's a great way to just start gently getting yourself out there and getting used to speaking about yourself and your business.

Stuart Webb 5:21

And free resources you could leave us with.

Tom Bailey 5:24

Yeah, exactly. So one thing that I do is every month I'll deliver my masterclass. So it's every, the first Thursday of every month at 4pm. UK time. And it's the topic of how to become a fairly speaker and get your message to market with confidence and clarity, so that you can raise your profile or gain new clients, because everything we're talking about today is how to do it. And the best place to get that is to go to either my website succeed through speaking Comm. Or there's a URL on screen now, which is succeed through speaking.com, forward slash live demo, registration with hyphens in between the live and the demo. And you know, if you're interested in raising your profile, getting yourself out there attracting new clients, this will be a great starting point for you.

Stuart Webb 6:07

Yeah, brilliant, brilliant, Tom. And I must admit, I think you're you're right in Take, take that first step, don't you? I mean, you know, so often we worry about taking that first step, because we're afraid we'll fail or fall and, and it will become a horrendous experience. Because so often people around you were willing, doing their level best to try and help you. And if you look at it in that way, so often, that first step is so much less painful than you expect it to be.

Tom Bailey 6:35

Exactly. I think it's like any skill. So if you're learning to swim, you wouldn't jump in the deep end or go in the ocean to go for a swimming lesson. You know, you put you put your armbands on, you'd get in the shallow end, and you just start to get used to the water. And that's what I always recommend for my clients to do is not to think about a keynote speech as your first gig. But, you know, how do you get to speak in front of one or two people and just start getting used to it?

Stuart Webb 6:57

Brilliant, lovely, lovely, yes. Let's put those let's put those speaking armbands on and stop waiting about the shallow end. Exactly. That's a great way of putting it. So once the concept of book it's been most impactful in your experience,

Tom Bailey 7:12

yes, I've got it here. Actually, for me, it's this book by Daniel Priestley. It's called the key person of influence. And he wrote back in 2014. So you know, what are we about six or seven years in now. And he talks about how to fast track your influence in your industry, and how to build a reputation. And there's five ways that he talked about doing that. And that's pitching, publishing content, creating products, your profile and partnerships. And one thing that I've realised recently is that four of those all about speaking, presenting and talking to real people. And that's why I think it's just so important to actually get yourself out there and start speaking, presenting, pitching, building partnerships, and really getting yourself out there.

Stuart Webb 7:57

Yeah, you're absolutely right communication. I often say this to my clients, when it comes to things like that. I say, they, and I don't know what your your thinking is on this, Tom. But I often say, Look, when you're communicating, you have to remember communicating is what the person that is receiving the message does, it's not about what you think you've done. So if you've not done it in an authentic way, if you've done it in such a way that somehow they haven't understood it, you haven't communicated everything, you've got to get the message across. And sometimes that means changing the way in which you communicate, to get them to understand what you're saying. And I think that's one of the messages that's in that book, to a large extent, it's about, it's about how you get action from somebody rather than just sort of throwing it out there and hoping.

Tom Bailey 8:41

Yeah, absolutely. And that's one that's really important for me and my clients as well is that we need to focus on the message that's landing with the other person or the value that's being given to the person because when we were in our own heads focusing on what do I look like, what do I sound like? Am I embarrassing myself? You know, once we're in our own head, it starts to prevent us from actually doing it in the first place. So it's really important to focus on what the message is that lands with

Stuart Webb 9:03

brilliant love it love it, Tom, really, really appreciate it. So here's my you know, I've asked you my questions. Now, here's my get out of jail free card, which is, what's the question I should have asked you. And if you wouldn't mind also, not only giving that question, but giving us an answer as well, which sort of puts the pressure right back on you, which is the way I like it.

Tom Bailey 9:23

Yes, perfect. So I think for me, because of the topic, one of the biggest things that comes up with me a lot when I'm working with my clients is what do I do if I've got a fear of public speaking or limiting beliefs, you know, that that's a big one because I say, go out there and speak with and they say, Well, I can't speak because I've got a fear of speaking and, and that's so powerful. This fear of speaking it's and it really comes up is what if questions in our head? So what if I make a mistake? What if I forget my lines? What if the technology fails on me? What if I embarrass myself and and it's really powerful and it holds you in your tracks? So a lot of the answers These questions are typically irrational, they're not realistic. And, you know, you think the grounds gonna swallow you up if you embarrass yourself in front of a big audience, but in reality, it's, it's not going to happen there for you to breathe and realise you've made a mistake. So, what I do to start asking the questions, which is, you know, what, if you do forget lucky lines, you know, what could you do about it? What else could you do? How could you have prepared more to prevent that from happening? Or what could you do? If it does happen? How could you rectify the situation? So, for me, it's all about turning fears on their head, and thinking about how you can look at them as opportunities rather than as things that could go wrong.

Stuart Webb 10:41

Yeah, take it from somebody who has stood on a stage and completely gotten what they were going to say, never actually managed to get through that and survive, that the consequences are not nearly as desert dire as you actually imagined them to be a nightmare of a situation where you're standing there and thinking, I've forgotten what day of the week it is, let alone where I'm currently supposed to go next with this talk. So it's never quite as bad as you think Can you can survive, it can't be Tom.

Tom Bailey 11:08

And the opportunities outweigh the potential risks. Absolutely.

Stuart Webb 11:12

Great message. Love it. Love it. Listen, I thank you so much for being on today. Tom, really appreciate it. I think it's a brilliant message. If you if you haven't already gone on to that link, and register to get on and see Tom in action, then then I encourage you to do that. And talking about other things that you should go and do. We do these on a regular basis. And if you want to get notified in advance of when we get our people like Tom come on and talk about some really important topics, go to to https colon, forward slash forward slash TTA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, get on the newsletter mailing list that way, every time we do one of these, send out a mailing, and you will know that you can come in and see people like Tom live and if necessary, even ask him questions. Tom, I really appreciate you being on we haven't actually had any questions, but that's not the important thing. The important thing is that people now know where to go to get help from people like you to help them with their public speaking. I really appreciate your time today. Fantastic. Thank you so much for having me today. No problem at all. Thank you very much Tom speech very soon.

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Who is Paul?

In addition to being a member of the International Coach Federation, I’m a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Consultants and Advisors, an NLP Business Practitioner, Regional President of the Professional Speaking Association, a Maynooth University approved trainer, a mentor with the Irish Stock Exchange for companies proceeding to Initial Public Offering (IPO), a business mentor for Enterprise Ireland, and a trained facilitator with the Dr Demartini Institute, and have studied a plethora of areas including electrical engineering, computer programming, taxation, human behaviour, and philosophy.

Key Takeaways

You don't have to be famous to feel that you're not getting what, it touches everybody

When you're on your purpose, and you're doing work that's in line with your purpose, well, then that's when your passion increases and increases exponentially. Because it's a different type of passion. It's an inner passion, and the love and the joy what Napoleon Hill referred to, it's that burning desire within yourself to make a difference.

The secret of success is knowing your true life purpose.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

There is a community and free ebook at https://paulwilliamdavis.com/

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Stuart Webb 0:40

I'm here today with Paul Davis. Paul is an ultra popular business advisor, you get a massive amount of experience huge amount of experience. As an intuitive personal advisor, bestselling author, award winning business growth consultant speaker, and he he says that his clients regularly refer to him as a game changer when it comes to the insights that he shares with them, and results they achieve. So I'm rather hoping we're going to get some of that today as we have our discussion. It's a cup of coffee. Paul, I hope you're there with your cup of coffee major here. Welcome to the podcast, Paul. Good, good, good to be here. That's really embarrassing when you read that stuff. You too muddy? So let's just start with with with the obvious first question. So who is your ideal client? what's the what's the the biggest challenge that they face?

Paul Davies 11:22

Sure. Okay. So my ideal clients or their business owners, the vast majority of my clients will be in professional services. But I've worked with a lot of executives, CEOs, C suite individuals, celebrities, and people that we well known as well in the marketplace, and, and work with them from in a number of different aspects. But typically, what they do for comment to me, they're typically in space, that they're looking for a bit of clarity, they're looking for a direction for life. So people will, for some of them, people will perceive as being hugely successful, that they have everything that you know that either the business is going well, or that they have everything that people perceive that people should have less that way. And so people do see them as being successful. but inwardly they're saying, Do you watch, I, you know, the business is going well, but I'm not actually, I'm not getting anything from myself. And so they're looking for a bit of clarity, looking for direction, they will regularly use terms along the lines of I feel like I'm just on the hamster wheel on a treadmill. And I'm just going from day to day, and just not getting any fulfillment, I'm going to crossroads, I there's no purpose, there's no meaning in my life. And so inwardly, they will be quite sad or unhappy. That's for that way. And they're searching for more meaning and more purpose in their life.

Stuart Webb 12:46

common to many people, isn't it? Paul, you don't have to be famous to feel that you're not getting what

Paul Davies 12:50

it felt absolutely not, though, that it touches every, every every walk of life and every individual to be honest.

Stuart Webb 12:57

Yeah. So one of the common mistake people make when we try to solve that problem without without getting help from somebody like yourself.

Paul Davies 13:04

And it's, well, it's something that somebody is not going to discuss with anybody else. For the vast majority of my clients, they, they have to hold on to their persona, in terms of so the run under business order, they're very senior individual, and therefore they've got employees, they've got a team and all that kind of thing. So therefore, if they were to let their guards down, that has a huge impact on them. And it has a potential to for one bad word to their fear is that it could ruin their life, it could render business, it could ruin everything that they're seeing as being both in their family, their society, their team members, and so on. So a lot of them won't seek out help from the perspective of they don't know where to go to be quite honest. They don't fall into the category of well, I should go to a therapist or should go to the counselor or like, it's not really that it's kind of it's just just constant search for what's going to give me meaning or fulfillment. So what a lot of people do is they they go and search online, and then they do watch pretty much the vast majority of people out there do to try and find purpose and meaning. And what they find is that, you know, they'll come across things along the lines of, you know, if you take Victor Frankel's book, Viktor Frankl was was the person that survived the concentration camp during the war. And he wrote a book Man's Search for Meaning. And so if you read the book, you'll understand so you know what perfect, Frankel says, you know, the meaning of life is the meaning you give it. But it still doesn't answer the question for the individual. Because literally, really what you could say is well, okay, you could give meaning to anything. And it's the meaning that you give something that gives you meaning, but that's it doesn't answer the question doesn't solve the problem. And then other things that you find online, or people that are books or people that they read or training courses, for example, they'll say, Well, you know, you got to find your passion. If you find your passion, then that's your purpose, and turn that into Your purpose turns out into your business and so on. But it's actually not that that's actually incorrect. Because what I've discovered is that passion follows purpose. But what I mean by that is like, I'm passionate about a lot of different things. I love red wine. I love horse riding, I love everything that's to do with life related. And we've seen recently, just just in last weekend, in terms of Richard Branson going into outer space, yeah, I would absolutely be number one on on that ticket. And so they're my passion is, that's what I love. But it has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with my purpose. So when people try and find their passion, in order to find a purpose, is actually the wrong way around. When you're on your purpose, and you're doing work that's in line with your purpose, well, then that's when your passion increases and increases exponentially. Because it's a different type of passion. It's an inner passion, and the love and the joy what Napoleon Hill referred to, it's that burning desire within yourself to make a difference. So it's, it's, it's, that's what's actually drives passion. And then we would have heard terms in relation to, you know, find your why. And if you find this, why,

Stuart Webb 16:04

exactly what I was just thinking, Paul, I'm fairly sure that you were going to bring that out.

Paul Davies 16:08

It's, it's not because then again, lymphokines way you can apply of why to anything. But you got to know your purpose first, before you can apply your why. So people try and see and here's the here's the biggest mistake discharge, people try and find out why but they're consciously thinking, to work out what your why is. And as business consultant, I've come across this so many times in terms of, because we've heard so many other business coaches or mentors or trainers, not offended and talk about finding your voice. But they're talking about from a conscious perspective, your why your true why what I call your genius inspiration that comes from your unconscious. So you'll never be able to find it, I bring my clients sure way of how to find it from your unconscious, because you got to look for the evidence. But trying to work it out consciously is never going to give it but the thing is, you need to know your purpose first meaning you got to know your what your mission is. And when you know, your mission, which is your purpose, though is to wash your to do well then now to fly, make the mud, the wind makes sense to what your mission is. So that's that there's some of the mistakes that people find. But honestly, it's it's what's out there. And I'm very, very unique and in want to do very, very unique and how we do it as well. And Bush, it that's the information that's out there online and books and articles things. And unfortunately, it brings a lot of people down a lot of cul de sacs and they still end up having that sense of, it's still not giving me what I want. It's still not telling me what I need to do in this life. What What am I supposed to do? What's the direction supposed to go in? So that's typically what you find.

Stuart Webb 17:45

It's great resource, the internet is net, but it doesn't actually help you discover some of those things. Because there is so much out there, you still get that guy to help you move in the right direction to discover what you're trying to try and try to pull that has been hugely insightful. What's the valuable free, action valuable free resource that you'd leave with the audience today to sort of get them to sort of start that journey themselves?

Paul Davies 18:10

Yeah, absolutely, that there's two things that the audience can can gain access to. One is if I'm building a community of purpose driven business owners, so these are business owners that wants to, there's two for one bad word, two communities within one community. There's the community that are business owners that want to find out their budget purposes, and they want to develop more personal mastery skills. So if people go to the executive coach calm, and they find out enough, a lot more information that you can go to my website, and there's a link on the website. But the executive coach comm would bring them to the actual community itself. And then also within the community is people that I've helped him to find what their purpose is, I'm bringing through a particular methodology, you could call the pilots manual. And when when they go through the pilots manual, now they know exactly what their purpose is. And they offer those groups of people now what we're doing is we're building and scaling a business around what's our purposes. So it's a proper purpose driven business, if you follow what I mean. And that's one free resource. It's, it's freely available to join. It's not on any social media, which is absolutely perfect for my audience. And I personally don't like social media, a lot of my business owners and clients don't like social media, either. So I've actually built the community on a standalone profit platform, completely off social media. And also if people go to my website, if you go to Paul, William Davis, calm, there's a free ebook that I have on there. And that's I taught all of it, what's the meaning of life? And how to how do you actually find your life purpose? And so I debunk a lot of myths that are out there. And like what I've just said around relation to finding your why and so on. So I talk a little bit more about those in the book itself. But then I also give you the the structure of how do you actually find your true purpose and so Both freely available to your listeners. Great.

Stuart Webb 20:03

Thank you. Thank you. So what's that concept or book or program that's been most impactful in your experience?

Paul Davies 20:10

I've had a lot of time with this question before I came on the interview Stewart, and there is so many books and people that have come across over the years I've worked with, I've worked with amazing geniuses out there. And they've all be phenomenal. They've all made a huge, huge impact. But what I went back to was false. The starting point on one of my journeys, as we're going through, and the book that came up was the power of the subconscious mind, which is by Dr. Joseph Murphy. And that, for me was kind of an insight is that Oh, my god detector is much, much bigger here. And so that was, as well as the light bulb moment for pandas reading that book.

Stuart Webb 20:47

Yeah, yeah, it's interesting. One of the most beneficial concepts that I came across very early in my career was that johari window, which is a very simple thing to talk about, which is, you know, how much of what our behavior, our our understanding of myself is still buried beneath the surface that we ourselves are not even aware of. So I agree with you that that sort of concept is an incredibly powerful, it's something you must understand that otherwise, you never get to understand the way in which you behave. Other people understand you anyway. Absolutely. Yeah. So it's been a fascinating discussion. But I guess there's one question that I should have asked you, which I haven't. So I'm now going to ask you to pose that question. And please, the answer to that question. Otherwise, that will make people sitting there unfulfilled with a lack of action? I

Unknown Speaker 21:33

don't know whether I'll give you the answer, though. That's the only thing. The only question you should have asked is, what's the secret to success?

Unknown Speaker 21:42

Actually, in my view, the secret of success is knowing your true life purpose. I don't mean your true life purpose, which comes from your unconscious. And so it's not something you create, literally, it's guided from your unconscious. So when you know your true life purpose, that's the single most powerful way for you to enable to you to actually reach your full potential.

Unknown Speaker 22:01

Well, that's been an incredibly insightful interview. Thank you so much for your time on the podcast. I really appreciate the time you've taken to come and do this. Folks. If you would like to hear more of the stuff that we're doing here. It's not rocket science. five questions over coffee, I'm sure a copy of that. I've just been so fascinated. I've not been able to even take this out. But the Paul's got the time now. Please subscribe to the newsletter. You can get that by going to tcaa dot FYI, forward slash, subscribe that tcaa dot FYI, forward slash subscribe and get on the newsletter distribution so that you can hear more about what we do. Paul, thank you so much for your time today. It's been insightful. I look forward to getting the copies of getting into bold in those communities myself as a purpose driven business owner myself. Really appreciate the time you spent with us today.

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Who is Hayley?

Hayley is helping start-ups and small businesses reach their full potential, utilizing skills, tools and resources to create a fool proof strategy

Key Takeaways

People struggle to understand how they can apply generic advice to their own businesses

Business owners are distracted by the latest tool that looks great but may not fit their strategy

Investing in yourself, investing in your own personal development as part of your business growth is an absolutely key strategy. People who fail to do that fail to understand the the power of developing your understanding to sort of apply to your own business growth.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Hayley has free resources at

https://www.myriadservices.co.uk/

A video version of this podcast is also available at

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Stuart Webb 0:40

Hi again everyone,

Webb here at the complete approach with another one of our five questions over coffee. It's not rocket science, five questions over coffee. I'm here today with Haley Smith from myriad Business Services. Haley is a champion of small businesses. She's provided consulting, education and support to startups and small businesses during their first five years, and that's because she's worked as someone who helps businesses to grow when 70% of businesses fail during that period. And she's passionate about helping businesses get pass up periods. So I'm delighted to have you on the podcast today. Haley, I hope you're doing very well.

Hayley Smith 1:18

Hi, Stuart. Yes, thank you for having me today. I am actually doing quite well actually, at the moment, it's actually quite surprising to see how many people are trying to reach out for help their due date. So let's start with the first of the five questions, what's the biggest challenge your ideal client faces?

It's simple. It's growing their business, it's knowing where to start, what processes to use, and sort of who to go to for that advice. There's a lot of free advice out there, which is great. But often, because it's very generic, people struggle to understand how they can apply it to their own businesses. And that's sort of one of the biggest things that I see from from my clients. And it's also a lack of planning as well, they don't know how to plan out their business and how they should and will be putting certain steps in.

And I think you should have started getting into the second question they're having. So I'll ask it, and you can expand to that the common mistakes that people make when they're trying to solve the problem with actually getting the help that often helps them through those periods. Yeah, so a very common mistake actually is, is shiny object syndrome, actually, they look at all these different things and these techniques and they go, Oh, that can help pay for that, or pay for that or pay for that they should all help me and solve the problem. But it doesn't actually solve the problem. And what really the people should be doing is looking to one person to talk them through different processes, tell them what they need, tell them where they should be and where they are now, and then go right, okay, who do I know, they should then be asking, Who do I need to work with? Do I need to bring in to make everything work as it should be? Yes, we're all distracted by that sort of that latest tool that looks great. In fact, I was actually dealing with, with somebody yesterday that was complaining to me about the fact that their website wasn't working to bring them leads. And I said, Well, okay, so what made you think that that was what your website was going to do? And they said, well, somebody contacted me on LinkedIn and told me that and I went, Okay, and how does that work with your overall business strategy? And they looked at me as if say, Well, I'm really thought about that. And I went, Okay, what made you think that website was going to be the main lead generator that and it was one of those can see where we got into this problem? We we've just gone after the first shiny solution to a problem without thinking through the consequences?

Stuart Webb 3:37

Yes, definitely. And so it's just it's just trying to rein that in and take a step back first to say, Okay, I need to talk to somebody who can look at the entire business and see what gaps are there, what am I missing, but without having their own agenda to say, Oh, yes, I need to sell your new website, I need to sell you this new lead generation tool. And that's essentially what I do. Yeah, brilliant. So what's that one valuable free action or what's one valuable free resource you can direct people to for further help with that problem.

Hayley Smith 4:08

So I actually do have sort of a mini ebooks with a nine page ebook, which is all about tips for growing your business. And it looks at things like your business plan, making sure that you've got to set that sales strategy and and your marketing and some top tips for for selling without being salesy. So it's just some free free tips there, anybody who might need it, and through my website, I do have online courses that people can, including some free resources there as well, that they can access with some free webinars. And just to help anybody that's watching at the moment can probably see scrolling across the bottom of the screen at the link, but that will be in the show notes as they say. And also when we posted podcast, I'll put that link in there. But if you want to make a note of it now, that's the link to go to, which is which Haley's just talked about

Stuart Webb 5:00

So how are you I'm really, really keen to find out what the concept or book that's been most impactful in your experience.

Hayley Smith 5:13

So me in my experience, it's been, I go out there and I talked to other experts, I go out there and I find other experts to talk to, I go to exhibitions, listen to what other people are saying. And then I go back, and I do the research. And I look into other things. So I mean, the first thing that was most impactful for me, was actually somebody called Natalie trice. And she has a book called PR school. And reading through her book, that actually helped me realise what I needed to do, to create my name more to go out there, and meet me the expert in my field. And I, you know, since reading that book, I now have a speaking gig at the PA show in London, at the excellence, which I'm very excited about. If I've been it talked to their conference delegates, and there are more coming through thick and fast, which is great to hear that I can hopefully pass on some knowledge, some information to other people growing their businesses.

Stuart Webb 6:18

Haley I present with you, I think investing in yourself, investing in your own personal development as part of your business growth is an absolutely key strategy. People who fail to do that fail to understand the the power of developing your understanding to sort of apply to your own business growth.

Hayley Smith 6:35

We should never stop learning every day, we should be learning learning something new, even if it's one youth today, one new task or one new way of doing something, we should always try and learn one new thing a day.

Stuart Webb 6:46

Yeah, I'm a great fan. It's part of my morning ritual. Nowadays, I get up for 30 minutes. First thing in the morning, it's very quiet, I don't have the email on I don't do anything about that. I sit there and I just read through our user, one of the services that sort of reduces the speed that the time it takes me to read a book, but I can absorb somebody else has 20 years of experience in 1520 minutes, why wouldn't you take on 15 or 20 years worth of somebody else's experiences and try to apply them in your own business? I absolutely applaud you for doing that. That's brilliant. So what's the one question that I should have asked you up to now that would give great value to our audience? And if you don't mind not only answering the question, what's the question? Give us the answer to the question.

Hayley Smith 7:30

Probably, you know, it probably would be surrounded like, you know, who, what do I do in terms of managing my own business? How do I manage my own business? Because obviously I help other businesses, is how do I manage to do that for myself as well? And the answer to that is I outsource. So I outsource to experts. If I need somebody to do accounts, I'll do I'll get somebody to do it. I wouldn't try and do it myself. Because at the end of the day, I'm not an expert in that. So why would I do it? It saves me time to work on those valuable aspects of my business, those lead generating tasks to source tasks, like some social media, or accounts, you know, email marketing, yeah. All right, he sent it over, can you just stick that out to me, please, you know, these are amazing. So much so that I actually have a VA agency now because there is such a core that I now have specialists in different areas that are helped businesses I work with, I would say to any, somebody who resonates your business, and outs what you can, so you can concentrate on bringing in those money making activities and doing what you do best, lets them take care of the rest

Stuart Webb 8:41

to brilliant strategy, Haley couldn't couldn't back it more myself. I mean, the one thing that I've often said to people is, you know, I speak to a lot of business owners who turn around and what I use what I call the path of least assistance, because their thinking is, if I if I have to spend time explaining this to somebody, it's quicker and easier if I just do it myself. And you know, why spend 10 pounds on something when I can actually do it myself and it only cost me nothing. Both of those are absolutely false economies. Because if you've explained it enough to somebody you can let them do it again and again and again and again. You never have to worry about it again. Even if you take take time to explain it twice. You never have to explain it again. And for goodness sake, it's not free Your time has a cost. You've just paid down

Hayley Smith 9:27

debt that people do forget that a lot. You know, if you're going to pay 10 pounds to do something, what could you have made in that time? a hell of a lot more than that in spy spent 10 pounds on somebody else to do an hour of your time.

Stuart Webb 9:42

Yeah, too many people think their time is freed their time is not free. It is an opportunity wasted. So well done for taking on that and making sure that we're all reminded once again that we should be valuing our time and making sure that we're outsourcing to other people, the things that actually you don't like but They do, which is a benefit to them as compensation. Thank you so much for your time. I'm just gonna remind everybody I'm now going to put on the screen below. If you want to get more of these videos, you want to hear more about what we're doing. If you go to this link, which is HTTPS, colon forward slash forward slash to know I have to keep saying that post ITC a dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, that's tcaa, your FYI, flash guy that gets you onto the mailing list that allows you to sort of we tell you about what's coming up who we're talking to people like Haley, come on to give us great and valuable business business advice like that. Haley, it's been great talking to you this morning, I really hope that you have more and more success with that. And that's Hawking September. Well, if I was able to go to that conference, I can. But unfortunately, right at the moment, I'd have let me in I'm not a very good virtual assistant. So probably not be there. So but I wish you very much success with it. Thank you very much.

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Help us get this podcast in front of as many people as possible. Leave a nice five-star review atapple podcasts : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/apple-podcasts and on YouTube : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Itsnotrocketscienceatyt!

Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:

Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single pageMy approach is to provide you with tools, techniques and templates which have been tested and proven by me and hundreds of business owners like you to explode their business growth; get them "investment ready"; or develop a "prospectus for sale" to enable them to plan an exit. Here is a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way. https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1page
Join The Complete Approach Facebook Group : https://TCA.fyi/fb Connect with like-minded individuals who are all about growth and increasing revenue. It's a Facebook community where we make regular posts aimed at inspiring conversations in a supportive environment. It's completely free and purposely aimed at expanding and building networks.
Join our Success to Soar Program and get TIME and FREEDOM. : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Success-to-SoarIf you're doing 10-50k a month right now: I'm working with a few business owners like you to change that, without working nights and weekends. If you'd like to get back that Time and still Scale, check the link above.
Work with me privatelyIf you'd like to work directly with me and my team to take you from 5 figure to 6 and multi-6 figure months, whilst reducing reliance on you. Click on https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/DiscoveryCall tell me about your business and what you'd like to work on together, and I'll get you all the details.

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Who is Alfred?

Alfred Poor is a keynote speaker, writer, and virtual event expert with an international reputation. He has been involved in presenting at and producing online events for more than 8 years, long before the global pandemic changed everything. A graduate of Harvard, he has written 15 books. While he gets excited about what technology can do to help make us more productive and effective, he is not one to be distracted by shiny objects and always starts by evaluating the practical applications for anything new.

Key Takeaways

Virtual events are not going to go away that a lot of people were hoping that we just get through the pandemic, and then we could go back to going on stage. And that's certainly going to happen.

One of the big pieces of advice I have for people who want to do online presentations, is don't look at stage performances. TV presenters newscasters, the hosts, look, what they do, they sit still. See how their images are framed on the camera, and their hand gestures are more subdued, so you can learn a lot just from watching the television news shows.

Standing makes a huge difference in your presentation. Not just what you're talking about the fit of your clothes, but also energy, it's hard to get pumped up when you're sitting in your chair. So I definitely encourage people to stand if, if their situation will support that.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Speaker Springboard System Demonstration: a free session held monthly on the fourth Thursday – https://speakerspringboard.com/demonstration

Alfred Poor’s speaker site: https://alfredpoor.com

A video version of this podcast is available on

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Stuart Webb Alfred Poor 2:28

And we're live welcome once again to it's not rocket science, five questions over coffee. I'm here today with Alfred poor. Alfredo is a presenter and speaker. He has. He's a world class event expert. And let's face it, we all need an expert event organizer at the moment given that the pandemic has affected everything. You've been producing events for a long while Africa, we can get into some of that. And you're a graduate of Harvard University and have written a good number of books, 15 books, I think in total. So that's a really great sort of biography to have behind you. But as somebody who understands a bit about technology, but you're not too driven by it, I hope you're going to guide us through sort of what the speaker springboard is all about this afternoon. So welcome to it's not rocket science. five questions over. I have a coffee but today I have got a green tea in front of me. And I know you're sitting there in front of the moment. Yes, with Alfred's got a cup of tea as well. So at least we'll we'll read it up. So, Alfred, welcome to the podcast.

Alfred Poor 7:57

Thank you so much for the invitation. I'm thrilled to be here,

Stuart Webb 8:00

no problem. So let's talk a little bit about what the biggest challenge your ideal client has, and faces.

Alfred Poor 8:07

So my ideal client is somebody who speaks as part of their their job. They may be a professional speaker, but they could be an industry leader, they could be a corporate executive, talking to internal external audiences. And and the biggest challenge I think that they're facing right now is that virtual events are not going to go away that a lot of people were hoping that we just get through the pandemic, and then we could go back to going on stage. And that's certainly going to happen. But I believe that they're, they're facing a real challenge in learning how to make quality presentations online. Because it's a very different skill set than what you need for on stage.

Stuart Webb 8:53

You're quite right. You're absolutely right. There are a host of different problems you've got with real estate, you on estate, you've got a you've got a got a captive audience, but when you're online, there's the email pinging and there's the phone ringing and you there's nobody there to keep the attention is that

Alfred Poor 9:11

now Well, I have to say that I have been in events, where live events where the audience went to their email and their Facebook and everything. So you know, you're not immune from it even even when it's face to face. But yeah, you're the being virtual doesn't make it any easier.

Stuart Webb 9:30

Okay, so so what's that common mistake that those presenters at the moment doing other than sort of trying to assume that the world of online is the same as being being on the stage? Or what's the problem they're making without trying to solve the problem without actually getting any help?

Alfred Poor 9:47

So I think the biggest problem they have is thinking that they can do this that you know that they've got it, they can, they can wing it, they can, you know, they can do it on their own. And I think what They're not seeing is that when they're on stage, they're professionals who dress the stage, they're professionals who set up the lighting, the professionals who set up the sound system, you know that all you have to do is walk on stage and start talking. But when you're virtual, you have all those responsibilities and more that you have to take care of on your end. And so I think that a lot of them don't recognize that or figure that, you know, well, just me sitting at my desk will be good enough.

Stuart Webb 10:31

And let's face it, we all know that a large number of dogs wandering into the background of your shot, and kids screaming in the background don't help your presentation to be any better than it. It could have been on stage, does it?

Alfred Poor 10:45

No, no. And and another point that I'd like to make is that just about everything we've been taught about how to speak on stage is wrong. When you're speaking online, I mean, you know, we're taught to own the stage to strike over here and anchor yourself and make your statement and then come back over here to talk to this part of the audience and anchor yourself and then make another point. And, and you're gonna make your audience seasick. If you try to try to do that online, the one of the big pieces of advice I have for people who want to do online presentations, is don't look at stage performances. Just ignore that the people you ought to watch our I guess you'd call them presenters in the UK, the TV presenters who Yeah, yeah, do the news shows, in newscasters, the hosts, whatever you want to call them, Look, what they do, they sit still, you know, see how their images framed on the camera, and it's not a big close up on their nose. And, and their hand gestures are more subdued, you know, and hopefully more on point than the flailing about, that some people do on stage to, to be big. And so you can learn a lot just from watching the television news shows.

Stuart Webb 12:06

Yeah, and I was listening to a to an interview with a CEO who quote is, obviously absorb some of the lessons you're talking about here, Alfred. And they were saying that during the pandemic, she was she was female. So she sort of probably more aware of it then than many men around here. But she was saying that she spent a lot of money on lighting in order to give the best light, she'd rethought her wardrobe, because she knew that the wardrobe she normally wore on a stage wouldn't look good on camera. And she'd spent a lot of time thinking about sort of how to make sure that when she was on camera, people were able to follow what she was saying. And it just it was it was the lesson that you've just sort of said to me, without without sort of help, I would not have thought about even considering my wardrobe. And yeah, I can remember when I was I went through some presentation training in my corporate career. And I can remember being told that the cut of your jacket had to be different. Because if you sit in a jacket, normally it rides up. And that looks bad on a camera. So there are a load of things that you really do have to rethink when you move from the online to the offline and back again,

Alfred Poor 13:15

well, actually, I'm standing, yes, I have, I have not sat at work for either presentations, or for my just my day to day work. probably in about seven or eight years, I was early convert to standing desks. But standing makes a huge difference in your presentation. Not just what you're talking about the fit of your clothes, but but also energy, it's hard to get pumped up when you're sitting in your chair. So I definitely encourage people to stand if, if their situation, you know, their setting will support that.

Stuart Webb 13:57

And his benefit for your health as well. So we could talk about that for for many hours. So what's not valuable free resource or free action that you could point the audience towards in order to start their journey down thinking about some of these problems.

Alfred Poor 14:11

So So last year, when the pandemic started, I knew a lot of speakers who were panicking. And you know, now what do I do? And so I offered a free one hour webinar for a number of times for different groups, a speaker's bureau that I'm part of, and so forth, to try to give them some basic ideas about how they could improve their their online presence. And that's turned into this whole speaker springboard project that I've got going. And I'm now offering a free demonstration once a month. That goes into not just practical tips that we've been talking about here. A number of different tips that that people can put to use right away, but also it gets to the foundation of it. what's what's the reasons behind that? Why change your mindset about how you present and what it means to be an engaging presenter, in an online event, and so on. I'm offering those every month. And you can find it at speaker springboard, comm slash demonstration.

Stuart Webb 15:18

Speaker springboard.com forward slash demonstration speaker springboard, one word, no spaces or hyphens or anything like that. speakers.com

Alfred Poor 15:29

totally free. But you have to register. And I will warn you, there are no replays. So if you don't make it to the live event, then just hang on for a month and come to the next one.

Stuart Webb 15:42

exams to me, like it's an important one, if you've got a presentation coming up, you get on to the next one without hesitation. So guys, Speaker springboard.com forward slash demonstration, get onto that, get on to the next one. So what's the concept or or books that's been most impactful in your experience?

Alfred Poor 16:02

Well, I, I hope like most speakers, I have a full shelf of books that I I turn to, and and and for inspiration and support and reference. But you know, if I had to pick one, this is this is the one that I would turn to. It's called the naked presenter. And it's by an author, Gar Reynolds. And the naked presenter. This is not about imagining your audience naked. This is about putting yourself out there being present, when when you make your presentation, and that's about on. It's primarily about onstage presentations, but it applies really well to virtual presentations as well. And he goes almost to a Zen like philosophy behind presentations. Yeah, you know, provide what you need, but no more. So one of the things about being a naked presenter is presenting without slides, which is, which is my preference I, if it's a training, where there's, you know, points that you want to make, then yeah, I can I can, I definitely use slides. But some of the more abstract kind of presentations, the more thick pieces Steve Jobs was, was a master at putting the minimum amount of information up on the screen. And you could take the screen away, and it still would work. And that's pretty much what the naked presenter is about. So at the end, it's a good touchdown for me to keep me humble and not get carried away.

Stuart Webb 17:45

It's a good job. You mentioned Steve Jobs there because as you were talking about the the idea of doing things without slides, my immediate thought was a great presentation I saw Steve Jobs do which was just a window with curtains. And he stood up and said, You know, I'm going to talk to you about it's curtains for Windows. And that was the slide and the presentation just continued. And there was nothing else that came out other than that was the image that was behind it. And you just, you know, you were left with the fact that he had one point. He didn't need to make it any clearer. He was talking about the, you know, what he got, and that was curtains to Windows. And that was that was the presentation and the image was burned into my memory. I shall never forget it. And it was a it was a beautiful presentation. Yeah, partly because he didn't use slide which try to try to sort of confuse anything. Yeah,

Alfred Poor 18:36

I mean, we all know the advice about don't make an eye chart. But that I mean part of the problem either online or on stage, the more texts you put up there, the less people are going to listen to you and the more they're going to spend time reading. And so don't don't let them get ahead of you just control the flow and don't put up information that doesn't have to be up there.

Stuart Webb 19:01

Always the worst thing that I've seen in terms of people doing that is what they've handed out the presentation before they started doing to slide 57. And they're already asking the question before they've even had the opportunity to get halfway through the presentation. Yeah, day two, anything you're trying to do? Yeah.

Alfred Poor 19:17

And, and, for me, the big risk on that is that they'll read ahead and say, Oh, yeah, I understand what he's got. But the point he's gonna make here, and so they tune out until you get past it. And you may have other stuff that's really important. That's not on the paper. But they're not going to hear it because they already figured they know what you're gonna say. So yeah, yeah. Brilliant.

Stuart Webb 19:37

Brilliant, a good message. So So, you know, what's the one question that I should have asked you in these last few minutes that I haven't and, and when you tell us what that question is, please answered it. Otherwise, we'll all be hanging, wondering what you were gonna say.

Alfred Poor 19:51

Sure, sure. So I guess it is. Why do I have this affinity for virtual And I guess the answer is, I'm one of those people who embraces technology, but is not blinded by it. So, for me, the concept of using the appropriate tool is central to what I do. So, you know, don't don't use a sledgehammer when you know, but when a knife and fork will do. And so technology has made so many things possible. And the fact that here we are an ocean away from each other, casually talking with, with no real fuss or must to make it happen. It To me, that's a miracle. That's just amazing. And so I've pretty much spent my career explaining to people how technology can help them. I wrote for PC Magazine for over 20 years. And so this is, I guess, part of the might, my general mission is helping spread information that's going to make other people's lives easier and better.

Stuart Webb 21:11

brilliant, brilliant. I love that. I love that and the fact that you embrace that, sort of but don't don't get overwhelmed. I think it's great, Mr. Alford, it's been an absolute pleasure to have you talking to us about this, I think it's a great thing, I'd encourage anybody yet to my demonstration. Because, you know, presentation online is going to become a bigger part of your business life, whether you believe it or not. The world is going digital. I know that for my life, it's been revolutionary. I wouldn't be sitting here having a conversation with Alfred, if it hadn't been for the fact that I've embraced the digital world and I know, operate like this. And we can all learn how to be better speakers, better presenters, on our our small televisions in front of us in the way the television presenters, the news anchors of the world actually presented. So get onto those demonstration systems. And if you'd like to hear more about what we do is completely broken and get up to date with some of the stuff that we're going to be putting out in this podcast in the future. Go to tcaa dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, that's just TC a dot FYI, forward slash, subscribe, get on the list, and you'll hear replays of people are kelford, the opportunity to hear about women got upcoming speakers and get in and listen to those after it has been an absolute pleasure listening to you this afternoon. I really appreciate you taking the time. Thank you so much for bringing your tea to be five questions over coffee and enjoy a little bit more by now. But thank you very much data. I really appreciate your time. Thank you so much. It's been a pleasure.

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Who is Craig?

Craig is the creator of the visionary results system, which is a three step method that helps business owners turn their vision into predictable scalable results. If you have a vision and you want results, Craig helps you turn your vision into results.

Key Takeaways

a lot of business owners, don't really understand the market, they don't understand what the market needs, what the market wants, the things that are coming down the road that are going to impact the market, whether that is regulatory changes, or technological changes, or things like the pandemic. And so they don't really understand they don't understand the market they don’t position what makes them different from the other 1000 people who do what they do,

Every organization has four functions:

SELL – sell their product or service
DELIVER – deliver that product or service to their customers
COLLECT – collect the income from the customers
GOVERN – govern the organization – file taxes, hire and train, etc.
These functions fall across five types of capabilities:
KEY PROCESSES – the key processes and activities required
ORGANIZATIONAL POLICIES – for example, are salespeople 100% commission or noncommission?
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE – who reports to whom; how does information flow; how are decisions made and by whom.
SKILLS & ABILITIES – the skills and abilities the people in the organization need
TOOLS & RESOURCES – the tools and resources required (equipment, software, website, trucks, etc.)

Valuable Free Resource or Action

download his model at visionaryresults.com/freestuff.

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Stuart Webb 3:22

Welcome to it's not rocket science, five questions over coffee. I'm here today with Craig Paxson. Craig is the creator of the visionary results system, which is a three step method that helps business owners turn their vision into predictable scalable results. I like the sound of this, Craig, this is something that is much needed for for the world business owners don't know how to turn their vision into something which is deliverable level and scalable. So I think it's gonna be a great conversation. Welcome to the podcast. Thanks, Stuart. I'm, I'm happy to be here. So gonna be fun. So great. Let's start by sort of understanding who that ideal client is that person that really needs the scalable results that you deliver.

Craig Paxson 8:54

Yeah. So I work with, with business owners and executives, usually between businesses, between one and 15 million, who are tired of chasing their business. So what do I mean by chasing their business? So, you know, something happens in the business. Somebody didn't do what they were supposed to do. And so they go chase down that person to make sure that they actually do it. A client leaves or threatens to leaves and they go, they go chase that client. They need to get more revenue. And so they go out chasing new clients or chasing different places to get revenue, the market changes for some reason COVID happens or a new competitor comes in, and they end up chasing ever they just all they're doing is chasing, chasing, chasing. So if if you're a business owner, and you're tired of chasing your business, then the system can help.

Stuart Webb 9:54

Craig I love the sound of this. I think this is a brilliant, brilliant message. So tell us about The most common mistakes people try to make when they're trying to solve that problem without any help. Yeah,

Craig Paxson 10:06

well, the one of the first ones is that a lot of business owners, they don't really understand the market, they don't understand what the market needs, what the market wants, the things that are coming down the down the road that are going to impact the market, right, whether that is regulatory changes, or technological changes, or things like the pandemic. And so they don't really understand they don't understand understand the market so so the position they do what makes them different than the other 1000. People who do what they do, they don't really have a good way to do that. And so the way they sell is they chase those clients, usually the business owner is the person who is selling it, it's all about personal relationships. And that goes only so far, right? If If, if you're not that different than everybody else, then you end up competing on two things. One of them is the fact that you can play golf with somebody or take them out for drinks, or the fact that your price is lower, and no one wants to live there. Right. So that's one of the one of the common mistakes that people make. The other mistake that they have is they don't really have something that's executable. So there's, there's their strategy. And I put that in quotes, their strategy isn't really a strategy, because it's not grounded in the market, like we just talked about. But also it's not really able to be executed on a day to day basis, what they do on a day to day basis does not make their company different, does not make their company better, it does not make their company easier to run. And so that's when they end up chasing, they're chasing the market. They're chasing the portions of the company that aren't performing well. And then they're trying to figure out why when person x did this, did it not impact our profitability, or our customer satisfaction or it didn't resolve this customer complaints? Because they haven't they don't understand the market and they haven't put in systems to to make sure they're delivering what the market wants. That's it.

Stuart Webb 12:05

It's a common problem, Craig, it's, it's something that we all see, I guess as, as coaches and consultants are all days is the number of people that don't think through the end to end impact of something they do when you end up in a situation where somebody turns around says, Oh, I never expected that that unintended consequence that always sort of crops up and you sit there and go, think up thought and thought about it for five minutes. But you haven't had the time to think cavea you've been busy, busy, busy, noisy bedding, thinking.

Craig Paxson 12:34

Yes, yes, busy chasing. And I think for for, you know, a lot of not just business owners, but us as people, we want to start acting immediately, right, we want to go do so you know, even if even if an organization is, as the wherewithal to say, we're going to have a, you know, a strategic planning retreat, right? Well, when they first start, they first start talking about is, what are the projects that we're going to do this year, right. And so now they're just adding on to dues. So they've got what they normally do as a business another adding on all this, what they call strategy, these extra projects that to dues which usually don't get done, or they get done half haphazardly. Or when they do get done, they didn't really affect the market, the way they're positioned in the market, they didn't affect how they how they execute how they deliver stuff to the market. Because they didn't they weren't rooted in the market. They weren't rooted in what customers want what customers need. So we always want to go first to this, what am I going to do? What am I going to do? And so so what I've developed that I think really helps is what I call the strategic capabilities matrix. And so think of a matrix, it's a four by five matrix, there's four columns, every business from Amazon, or General Electric down to the smallest mom and pop bakery has four main functions. These functions are they need to sell their product or service, they need to deliver that product or service. They need to collect the money that's owed to them for that delivery. And then they need to govern the organization need to file their taxes, they need to hire people, they need to train people, right? So every business has those four functions. A lot of times we think about, you know what the functions of a business are sales, it finance, operations, right? But all of those things really just come down to those four basic pillars. Those four functions, sell, deliver, collect and govern. We don't sell it, we don't mean revenue, we don't deliver it, customers aren't going to pay us or we're not going to get repeat customers. We're not going to get new customers. We don't collect the money that's owed to us somehow, whether that is we're clicking on the front end of your credit card payments, or we're sending out an invoice afterwards, then we're not getting any cash. We're gonna go out of business and if we don't file our taxes if we don't hire people to process away those kinds of things, we're not gonna have an organization

that can exist. So those are the four the four columns in this in the main matrix, the strategic capabilities matrix.

The, there's five rows. Now in this strategic capabilities matrix, the first one is key processes. What are the key processes that we need to do? in each of those four different functions? What are the key processes to sell, deliver, collect and govern? So that's the that's the first thing, what are the key processes that we need to do? The second one is, what is what are the organizational policies that we need to have in place, again, to sell, deliver, collect and govern the organization? Right? policies are the most easily changed, but also the probably the most powerful things that we can have? They're just the rules that govern the organization. Think about how different organization is if the salespeople are 100%? commission versus 0%? commission? No. Right? That's just the organizational policy. Right? The third, the third row in this matrix is skills and abilities. What are those roles? What are the skills and abilities that are needed? Again, for each of the four functions, sell, deliver, collect and govern? Right? This is all about the people. Then finally, the next row is the last row. Oh, I forgot one. But anyway, that is a

Stuart Webb 16:33

five, this is brilliant stuff, great.

Craig Paxson 16:35

tools and resources, a good one, right. So you know, what are the tools and resources that might be websites or equipment, you know, delivery trucks, you know, a certain software package, whatever it is, again, what are the tools and resources that we need? And then the other The last one is organizational structure? Okay, what does the organizational structure what should it look like? Again, in order to sell, deliver collecting govern? Right? So organizational structure can be and includes who reports to who? You know, what that that the typical org chart looks like. But it can also be and needs to be thought about in how does information flow to different people? And how are decisions made? Who can make what kinds of decisions? Right? So that's all part of organizational structure. Normally, we think of structures just as the org chart, but we also need to think about for this particular process of selling the processes of settling, let's say, how does how does information about that sales process need to flow the organization? And who makes decisions for that sales process? At what time? Right? So that's organizational structure.

Stuart Webb 17:47

This is really interesting stuff, Craig, because I spend a lot of my time as a coach consultant, talking to business owners who are trying to get their business, ready for sale, ready to exit, right? You know, most business owners will naturally think that they can easily hand this over to somebody, maybe it's somebody that they already worked with, like a supplier or a manufacturer of their product, or somebody, somebody they know, maybe a family member, a lot of them will also turn around and say, Well, you know, I'll get three or four times the order book for this witness, you can get six or seven times if you've got the sort of structure that you've talked about there, when the key things have been identified, because somebody will pay you for the value of being able to pick up a simple document and go, I understand how this business works. And I can make it better, or I can, I can integrate it better. And it's such a It's such a shame that so many business owners are not taking the opportunity, when they're doing these sorts of reviews to actually put in place the sort of strategic review that you're talking about, where people understand how the business works. So I can't prove it, or deep so they can sell it.

Craig Paxson 18:57

Yes, absolutely. And it makes the business easier to run, right? We go through this process of determining the capabilities that are required. This this whole capabilities matrix, the key processes that we need, are the processes that we do every day, in essence, right? So strategy isn't something piled on top of what we do. Strategy is what we do. Yeah, right. And then the strategic projects that we want to put in place strategic initiatives are really projects to either create or improve these capabilities. Right, whether that's a key process that isn't doing exactly what it needs to do, maybe it's too expensive, and it's it's not doesn't have high enough quality, whether that is we lack a resource, we lack a way in in the way we're going to approach the market, we know that we need to have a different way of interacting with the clients when we deliver our service and so you We want to tool a resource. On the delivery column, the delivery function, we want to tool the resource of a new method of interacting with our clients. Now, that's a project to put that in place. So we can tie in the strategy with our day to day stuff. And the projects are strategic projects to make our business better.

Stuart Webb 20:23

And how many people when it came to the recent pandemic that didn't have an online presence that needed one, and I had no idea how important that was without something like this, to really guide them and say, your website isn't functioning, because that's become your primary sales source and prominent, possibly even your primary method of collecting the money. You know, there are too many out there that act as a sales brochure, but they don't collect money. And in the online world, suddenly, that's a missing that you hadn't even realized was going to be there. A simple matrix gives you that clear understanding, we need to improve the way we collect money on our website. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. That's brilliant. Now, I suspect, Craig, from what you've been saying, your valuable free resource is going to be something along the lines of a document that we can download to have a look at some of this stuff.

Craig Paxson 21:13

That's correct, yes. So if my my valuable free resource is that visionary results.com, slash free stuff, all one word, Fr, e, s, t, u, f, f. And there's lots of resources to download there. One of them is the strategic capabilities matrix. So it is a PDF that has some instructions on it. And then it has an example matrix that you can use to fill out. And then to go along with that there's also a document to do quarterly planning to basically turn that capabilities matrix into something that you can utilize day to day on what you actually do in your business. So there's, there's a second, a second download for that. But yeah, the strategic capabilities matrix go downloaded visionary results, comm slash free stuff,

Stuart Webb 22:03

make sure that link is in the is in the notes in the comments below, because I think that's something that people are gonna be really interested in. So Craig, this is fascinating stuff. Is there a particular concept book program, or talk that led you to this, this, this, this, this thinking?

Craig Paxson 22:20

There's not really one, I'm a, I'm extremely well read, I read hundreds and hundreds, if not 1000s, of books. You know, when it comes to strategy, a lot of people think it's can be very academic, and theoretical. You know, one of the one of the leaders in strategy is Michael Porter. And, you know, if you look at some of the Michael Porter books, they're very thick, they're very academic, you know, he's a, he's a professor at Harvard. But one of the books that I really, that I learned a lot from about Michael Porter is called understanding Michael Porter by john McGregor. And it really breaks down strategy the way Michael Porter has strategy into something that's a lot simpler to digest, understand and act upon. So that that book, and then Blue Ocean Strategy, those those two things will teach you more about strategy and how to really understand how you compete in the market. So I really highly recommend those two particular books.

Stuart Webb 23:21

Love Blue Ocean Strategy. Absolutely love it. Okay, so what's the one question that I should have asked you? That I haven't? And, and what's the answer?

Craig Paxson 23:31

Or the what the answer to? So So, you know, one question, I think is, you know, what are the misconceptions about strategy? And so, you know, we touched on this a little bit earlier by talking about how, you know, people layer strategy on top. And people think that strategy, and they label things strategy, because they're big picture their high level, better long term. So therefore, their strategy? Well, just because something takes a long time to accomplish doesn't mean they're strategic. Just because something seems high level doesn't mean it's strategic. So my definition of strategy is this. And I think this is putting this into people's brains. And having them repeat this over and over and over, will help them really understand what strategy is and make it part of their daily business life. Strategy is simply the capabilities required to compete in the market and obtain the desired organizational results. That's it. That's what strategy is, strategy is not about doing. Strategy is simply that definition, what are the capabilities that we need as an organization to compete in the market and obtain the results that we want? Once we know those those capabilities inside the strategic capabilities matrix, now we can start to go execute Now we can go make those capabilities a reality. That's execution execution is is making the capabilities a reality strategy is determining what the capabilities are.

Stuart Webb 25:13

Right definition. Love it. Absolutely love it. Well, Craig, this has been a fascinating discussion. Really appreciate your time. I would encourage pretty much everybody listening at the moment to get and have a look at that. Those those documents that you've described on your read. So again, for us, it's visionary results forward slash free stuff,

Craig Paxson 25:35

visionary results.com, forward slash free stuff.

Stuart Webb 25:39

Brilliant stuff. Look, Craig, I hope I hope everybody goes and gets it because I think it's a really important topic I think is absolutely fantastic. The way you've just explained described it. So clearly just answers so many problems. I love what you what you're doing. Thank you so much for being on. If you'd like to keep up with what we're doing here, people, if you go to TTA dot FYI, forward slash, subscribe, you'll get notifications of great interviews, like as I'm doing with Craig, you can also read when, when people like Craig Come on out and get some of the stuff that he's talking about. So I'd encourage you to go to TTA dot FYI, forward slash, subscribe, get on the newsletter mailing list, and you can actually see more and more of this stuff. Craig, it's been an absolute pleasure. I really appreciate the time you spent with us. I sincerely hope that we can all get onto that website and download those, those free resources that you've mentioned. And thank you very much for being with us. Thank you. Stuart has a lot of fun. Appreciate it. No problem. So how are we done? Yeah, awesome. That was beautiful. No, okay. Well, we spent about 20 minutes talking to that's not bad.

Craig Paxson 26:48

Yeah, perfect. Enjoy. I love doing this stuff. Yeah, I can tell I could actually talk all day about it. But you know,

Stuart Webb 26:55

it's I love the way you're putting it because it is it is so simple. You know, when you when you you have a matrix, it makes it so clear where things are missing in an organization. You know, as I was saying, I was working with an organization that catered the pandemic, they had to shut all their shops. They had no online presence have they had a simple view of what they needed to start brewing? It would have meant that, you know, they didn't start with the blank canvas. What should we do to overcome this problem with them slightly after this situation by which stage I'd already said to them? You know, one of the things you've got a problem here is you've now got a shopfront, but you've got no way of collecting money, you're just not collecting any money. And the way they were expecting to collect money was get people to order and then send in a check or whatever. And it was like, No, this is this is never gonna fly feature, you know. So he had so much work to do at the beginning of the pandemic, because he was just unable to fully identify exactly where his problems were. Right? Yes, yes. That is great. That was brilliant. I love that. Thank you. Oh, I'll get I'll get that small amount of editing will get posted. I, you know, if there's, if there's a webinar or anything coming up, you want to highlight, let me know, we'll we'll get that out as well. Okay. All right. Cool. Thank you. I appreciate Stuart. No problem, Craig. All right. All right. Bye

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View Details

Who is Dennis?

Dennis is creator of CashMap Pro, the innovative finance app that keeps your money working 24/7, see your financial future, and achieve your life’s most important milestones

Key Takeaways

People don't understand the power of compounding and just how much they can actually do and achieve with their money

being mindful of your money will amaze you how much you could save

combine 2 with being able to see the power of compounding, it's just absolutely transformational for the person who does it

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Dennis has a free app at cashmapapp.com which gives you the ability to figure out how much you're going to need to save to get there.

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Dennis Williams 3:06

Can you hear me? I can't hear you for some reason. Let me sign out and come back in. Maybe it's on my site. Can you hear me now? There we go.

Stuart Webb 3:23

Change the microphone too many too much too much technology for me to be able to cope.

Dennis Williams 3:29

It's all good. I am well let's see now. You're in Australia, right?

Stuart Webb 3:39

No, I'm in Britain.

Dennis Williams 3:41

Oh, you're in Britain. Okay, so the near the end of your day,

Stuart Webb 3:45

he's getting towards the end of my day, my day lasts a long time.

Dennis Williams 3:52

Well, then that means I hope you enjoy your day. As long as that's the case. It's all good.

Stuart Webb 3:57

Thank you. And what about yourself, you're the beginning or the middle of your day, I should say.

Dennis Williams 4:01

I am at the beginning. I am in Washington State.

Stuart Webb 4:06

Okay, so you're right on the other side. Beautiful part of the world right on the

Dennis Williams 4:10

other side. And I'm, I'm you can't go much further north than I am. I'm 20 minutes from the Canadian border on the coast.

Stuart Webb 4:17

Beautiful. I have. I've spent some time in Canada. I had a lot of fun on that part. Right over on that coast in Vancouver and places like that. So yeah, beautiful part of the world. Very, very pretty. very wet.

Dennis Williams 4:31

Yeah. It's a well from from this point forward. It's very dry. Matter of fact, I don't know if you've been following. Yeah, you've had that terrible heatwave in which I've got some one one town in Canada. just literally 90% of it was burned, burned to the ground. So we don't have any rain in the forecast at all at this point and probably like where you are are high today. There's only going to be about 21

Stuart Webb 5:04

Yeah, we've had 23. But we've had rain. So we're getting we're getting the rain that keeps the fires.

Dennis Williams 5:10

Yes, yes. So it's, uh, yeah, Canada is an awesome country. But before we moved here, we lived in Hawaii. And so we actually moved here. And all three of our kids actually went to school in Canada.

Stuart Webb 5:22

Wow. Okay,

Dennis Williams 5:24

fantastic. Oh, so, yeah, it's Canadian culture and the culture in Hawaii are very similar. And it worked out really great. Excellent. Yeah, it worked out. Well.

Stuart Webb 5:35

questions that I sent over to you. You call with them?

Dennis Williams 5:40

I don't know if I saw them. But let's run. Let's run through really quick.

Stuart Webb 5:44

Okay, I'm sorry, you didn't see them, they should have come over. So I don't know what's gone wrong. However, let me just get you the questions now. So I'm gonna ask you to discuss and just talk about five questions. What's the biggest challenge your ideal client has? Or faces? Okay. What are the common mistakes people make when trying to solve that problem without help? Okay, what's the one variable free action, or the valuable free resource you can direct people to that will help with that problem? Okay, what contact book, program or talk has been most impactful in your experience? Okay, what's the question that I should have asked you that I have an ad obviously give the answer to that. Okay. Not a problem. Okay. Are you? Are you good to go? I'm good to go. Now, just so you know, I also stream these out live on to YouTube, I tell my audience that we're here. So they may pop on and start asking questions. I don't know. They might just sit quietly, as I did, they did one of these yesterday. And somebody just said, nice to see you. And it was nice to see you as well. But they do sometimes ask a question. So if a question comes up, I'll throw it to you and see if you could answer it.

Dennis Williams 7:09

Sounds a dynamic and keep me on my toes.

Stuart Webb 7:15

Dennis, that's the idea. So let me just get this right. Your your financial education. Is there anything else you would like me to introduce us?

Dennis Williams 7:26

Um, I think um, yeah, I guess financial education. That's, that's, that's probably, you know, fine. I have an MBA in finance. And the other thing that I'm really good at is building strong collaborative teams in corporate settings. But I like that one.

Stuart Webb 7:45

That let's let's throw that in. We'll, we'll see how you will see how you, you can put that in. So I'm going to hit the go live button. We'll go live. And then I welcome you to the podcast. Do a brief introduction to you. And then I'll run through those five questions. Sounds great. Thanks for the invitation. And looking forward to it. All right. So I've just hit the go live button. It's preparing to a live stream. Thanks a few seconds, unfortunately. So you've got time to clear your throat or anything else you need to do. We're live we're live on it's not rocket science. five questions over coffee. I actually haven't got my cup of coffee at the moment by my good lady has just come into my office and offered to go and get me my cup of coffee, which will be arriving in a couple of seconds. Dennis, I hope you got some refreshment in front of you. I'm here with Dennis Williams, who is a financial educator who's got a great business we're going to talk about. So Dennis, welcome to it's not rocket science, five questions over coffee. I hope the weather with you in Washington State is as good as it is here at the moment. I've got rain. So let's talk about the the more important thing about what we're doing here today, which is what's the biggest challenge your ideal client faces today, particularly now?

Dennis Williams 9:16

I think the biggest challenge that that people generally have is they don't understand just the power of compounding and just how much they can actually do and achieve with their money. And that times kind of working against us. But just by by making small changes in the way that we manage our cash. It can have a huge impact. Going down the line in helping them to achieve what's most important to them sooner than they ever thought possible.

Stuart Webb 9:49

Absolutely right. The power of compound interest is one of the magic, the magic numbers that you really need to get to know when you're a young child, don't you?

Dennis Williams 9:58

Yes

Stuart Webb 10:01

It's something that so often we don't educate our children about, isn't it?

Dennis Williams 10:06

Well, not only do we not educate but the but the biggest problem is, is that, you know, when you starting with something that is seemingly small and, and you look at and say, Well, this isn't very much, but you don't understand or see the impact over time. It's kind of like a snowball that kind of continues to build. And that's really the reason why I built cash map, the finance application, because it enables people to put their spending their current spending, nevermind a budget, because a budget, in fact, is a is a message for most people, that I can't do something. So So never mind telling somebody what they can't do just kind of take it where they are. And it then shows them the impact based on the assumptions that they plug in, that they can expect to see over 510 1520 years. And inevitably, when somebody sees that they're absolutely shocked at how much they could put aside if they're just simply mindful about what they're doing. And that coupled with another free product I created called These are my dreams. Most people never ask themselves the question, what are the key events in your life? Over the next 510 15 years that if you don't get to do you're gonna kick yourself in the bum?

Stuart Webb 11:42

What a good point.

Dennis Williams 11:44

Right? And I've never met one person's do who's actually done that. But when you take that, and now combine it with being able to see the power of compounding, it's, it's just absolutely transformational for the person who does it.

Stuart Webb 11:59

That's a brilliant, brilliant message, Dan, it's so so one of the common mistakes people make when they're trying to solve the problem of managing their money when they don't use things like cash map and one of my dreams.

Dennis Williams 12:14

Well, you'll be surprised. The biggest thing that I have found and it has the biggest one, I think you're going to be surprised by his most people don't know where they're spending their money.

Stuart Webb 12:28

Yeah, I can believe that. I'm afraid that is a very good point.

Dennis Williams 12:33

They have no idea. It's just kind of it. It's kind of like it's like going to a sand dune and trying to pick up sand with your fingers open. Yeah, just kind of slips through. And then when you come back and look at it, you go, Well, wait, what, where did that go? Where is my money going? So I would say that's the biggest thing that I find. I mean, I even know CPAs financial advisors who have actually looked at my product, and they thought they knew where their money was going, it was shocked to find out they didn't know. That's amazing.

Stuart Webb 13:11

That's amazing. Okay, brilliant. So what's the one valuable free action or valuable free resource that you would like to direct people to that can help them with these problems?

Dennis Williams 13:22

Well, I can actually say this, there's two things, the first of all, is, from my website, you can actually download a product I created for free called, these are my dreams. And it will walk someone through the process of saying number one, and I recommend that both both partners in a relationship, do it separately, because that's the other that's the other thing. But you're able to identify what are the things in your life that will bring you the greatest joy. And then it walks through and then helps you identify what the current costs are. And then depending upon when you want it to happen, what the future costs will be. And then it gives you an ability to figure out how much you're going to need to save to get there.

Stuart Webb 14:16

Okay, that's a really good thing. So where can we get that from? Dennis? That's the first question I have for you.

Dennis Williams 14:23

My website which is a cash ca sh map ma P and then a PP comm cache map app.com. So you can go there and and look for these are my dreams and and download it. The second thing is, is that my app you can download for free also. And there are two sections to it. One is the education section. And the other section is what we're talking about where you're able to just kind of plug in your current spending. And to get a sense of here's how much I want. I've got left and there's there's no cost That.

Stuart Webb 15:01

That's a brilliant resource. And once again, where do we get one get hold of that?

Dennis Williams 15:06

Well, if you go to my website, there is a button, you can click that will take you to either Google Play, or to Apple's App Store. But otherwise, if whether you have a Android smart device, or an iOS, Apple smart device, just type in, in their store, cash map, it's all one word. And the app will come up.

Stuart Webb 15:32

Brilliant. Thank you. Thank you, Dennis, for that. Okay. So what's the content or book or program or tacos? There's been most impactful in your experience.

Dennis Williams 15:46

I think the I think one of the one of the items, that's that's had a major impact for me, has been? Well, actually, it's been How to Win Friends and Influence People.

Stuart Webb 16:01

Yes, yes. That's a great book.

Dennis Williams 16:06

It's a great book full of stories. And, but yet, it really gives a sense of, of how people think and how to connect with people. And, you know, the bottom line in, in business or just life in general, it's relationships. And, and being consciously aware of getting out of your own skin and learning to think in terms of how is somebody else thinking? So that you can effectively Connect? Is is huge.

Stuart Webb 16:41

That is absolutely right. Yeah, I absolutely love. So finally, you know, I've sat and grilled you, what's the one question that you think I should have asked you, which I failed to do? And and give us the answer to the question, please.

Dennis Williams 16:59

Oh, I think it would be the the follow up. Question is okay, people who actually use this process, what impact does it have?

Stuart Webb 17:13

I love that question. I'm so glad. I'm so glad you asked that. What's the answer?

Dennis Williams 17:20

I find that if somebody is the application is, is really two simple things. First of all, we're we're all about teaching people to use the strategy that banks and big businesses regularly use to our benefit. And that is keeping your money working 24 seven, instead of leaving it sitting idle in a checking account, doing nothing, waiting for your bills to get paid. And by and by doing that, if we're talking about getting rid of a mortgage as an example, usually, I see people save anywhere from 50 to a couple $100,000. In interest, even in this low interest environment. If somebody is talking about credit card debt, doing the same thing, using a small line of credit, you know, in North America, here, the average credit card debt is $6,849. And if somebody's there, if their family budget is only, they only have a couple of $100 left, and then making the credit card minimum payment, it's gonna take them 45 years, and they're going to pay $67,000 in interest. By using this little strategy that I'm talking about, they can have it paid off in two years. And even if the line of credit is at 24%, they're only going to pay $570 in total interest cost by learning to put their money to work.

Stuart Webb 18:59

That is those are really life changing numbers. And I'm so glad you brought them to the audience. Because, you know, I'm a business builder. And I see too many people doing exactly the same strategy in business. They don't think about where they're spending their money, they spending too much money on interest in things. And they don't give enough attention to the fact that compound interest is actually affecting their business as well. You've got a brilliant product there. I really, really am impressed by the product by the thought you put into I hope that's going to be a real winner for you.

Dennis Williams 19:31

Why I appreciate it. And my passion truly is that this is something that everybody should understand and just make it a common part of what we all do. The biggest problem that I find has been people and this is especially true for professionals who are smart. They are so sure they figured out how to effectively manage either getting rid of debt and it's only about making additional payments. And they don't even recognize that. It's the small things that make a difference. And so this is a simple concept. And most people look at it, and they just shake their head and say, No, something's wrong here, this, this, this can't be true. And it is, but it's the power of compounding where you repeatedly are, are focused on instead of leaving my money sitting in a checking account doing nothing, here's a safe alternative that can enable me to accelerate either getting rid of debt or accelerate growing my savings. And, and I can, I can see the impact. And it becomes empowering and motivating and sustainable. And you know, the best part is do their budgeting, but they don't know it.

Stuart Webb 20:56

Dennis, thank you so much for your time today. I think there's been a brilliant, a brilliant discussion. I look forward to going and getting a copy now and getting onto your website and looking at what my dreams are. I suspect I should probably learn things that I had no intention of learning this afternoon. But it's brilliant. I really appreciate your time. Thank you so much for being here. Listen, people, if you would like to hear more about what sort of things that we're doing here at the complete approach, and it's not rocket science, go to tcaa dot FYI, forward slash subscribe that gets you on to a newsletter, you hear about brilliant people like Dennis who come onto this podcast and talk, you also get the opportunity to come onto these and ask live questions. We haven't had any today. But I have a funny feeling. There'll be a flood of questions coming back, following this release. Danny, thank you so much for being on this afternoon, really appreciate your time, have a really brilliant time of that. Things go really well for you.

Dennis Williams 21:53

Thank you for the opportunity and any insights you can give me I welcome them and enjoy the rest of your day.

Stuart Webb 22:00

Thank you. And we stopped the live record. Dennis, that was brilliant.

Dennis Williams 22:08

I love it. I have to tell you, in all honesty, the impact is so big. The biggest challenge I have is people can't believe it's for real.

Stuart Webb 22:24

Yeah, I get that I really do. Because you find that I talked to I talked to a lot of people and some of the stuff I do is very, very simple. And they turn around and go well, I can't be that simple. And you know, but it is it really is I can I can show a business person how to double the turnover in a year. And they go but it can't be that simple. It can't be that you've got to you've got to work much harder to double my turnover and you go, look, I can promise you it's not, but they don't want to believe something simple works, they want to look for the really complicated answer. You know, it's sort of, you know, well, if it's, if it's going to do something as dramatic as that it's got to be hard work, and it's gonna have to spend nights slaving over a spreadsheet, that's the only way to do it. You know, you're just you're just taking small simple steps to actually make massive changes, particularly around like compound interest where you know, a tiny change will have a huge impact over a long, long period of time.

Dennis Williams 23:19

Exactly, exactly. So I have to tell you, this continues to be a journey as far as the most effective way to hook people to disarm them, you know, so they willing to try something different, or to be coached? You know, again, folks who are, who are, who are professionally trained are the worst ones, because they know they're smart. So how could this possibly be happening to them?

Stuart Webb 23:47

Dennis, it's just been brilliant. I just love the message. I think it's absolutely fantastic. I really, I really hope we can get some traction behind some of this. So get out to my audience, we'll get some people to start downloading that app and seeing what they can do with it.

Dennis Williams 24:03

Yes, and maybe what I should have also said was I also every other week on Wednesdays, I I do a free live webinar. No, I had people from England, I probably need to do it at another time rather than 430 in the afternoon. But if that's something I need to do, by all means, let me know. And I'll do something and another time.

Stuart Webb 24:27

Well, listen, you probably do need to shift the time. So it's a bit more around the sort of time that we're doing it now if you if you could do it. But I'll tell you what, if you want to give me the details. I mean, you send me the details of that webinar. You know what we do on their site, I'll send you a potential email that you could send to your people you send the details of that webinar. I'll put that webinar right to my people, and we'll see if we get some people coming out to that for you. Okay, sounds great. All right. Yeah. Thank you, Dennis. That's been brilliant. Thank you very much indeed. All right. Have a good one. You are the rest of your day.

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Who is Peter?

Peter runs https://succession.plus/uk/

Over the last ten years, our 21-step process has helped over 600 business owners maximise the value of their business and achieve a successful exit.

Key Takeaways

Begin with the end in mind
you've got to have a realistic idea of what business is worth with some owners try to get something I'll never achieve,
An exiting owner has really got to ask the question, well, what's left? What does the buyer get after I'm gone?

Valuable Free Resource or Action

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Who is Jane?

Jane Bayler is the Smart Connector, an entrepreneur, trainer, podcast host and author who helps service providers, coaches and consultants scale up their businesses and free up their time through attracting and converting more of their ideal clients.

Having spent 20 years managing and developing accounts for global media and marketing agencies, Jane scaled and sold a television brand identity company to the US marketing group Interpublic before launching two other businesses: one in children's education and one that connects high net worth property investors with rigorously evaluated property investment and development opportunities.

Her 90 Day Ideal Client Success Programme is based around her signature Triple C HyperGrowth Method that combines messaging, marketing automation and conversion to attract

high value clients and get them to choose you first.

Key Takeaways

people don't really understand how important it is to get systems in place. automated systems that actually support their growth.
too many people think they've got a lifestyle business that then takes up 1520 hours a day, and they wonder why they got into it. And it's all about whether or not you've started the right way in order to grow it to something which can be sustainable with a lifestyle that you want to enjoy
I know so many people who when you ask them, so who is your ideal client? They say what anybody? And that's always the wrong answer, because they will spend a lot of their time talking to people that will waste a lot of their valuable effort.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Jane offers a free masterclass. Get details at https://janebayler.com/

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Who is Yasmin?

Yasmin Vorajee is the creator and #1 bestselling & award winning author of Tiny Time Big Results where she teaches entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants and experts how to run a profitable 20 hour week business.

A former Vice President of Leadership Development, Yasmin specialises in business and marketing strategy and runs her thriving business from her home in rural Ireland around her 3 young children and farmer husband.

Yasmin is passionate about helping people create financial independence, freedom and flexibility. Yasmin has featured in the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Dublin City FM, The Huffington Post, Tatler, Evoke and the Sunday Independent.

Key Takeaways

It's possible to run a profitable business in a 20-hour work week
Think about exchanging time for value that you add to a business customer
Think big, cream big and get the right ingredients in your business to have a bigger to have a bigger impact

Valuable Free Resource or Action

www.yasminvorajee.com
Get the book here - www.yasminvorajee.com/book
Take the free quiz - The 8k Scorecard: Does your business have the right mix to hit 8k months working 20 hours a week? https://bit.ly/8kscorecard

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Who is Suraj?
Suraj runs Sole Legal. At Sole Legal we work with high growth Start-ups to review, draft and restructure their the bespoke legal contracts. Our clients have or are focusing towards raising funding and need documents such as Shareholders Agreements and vesting schedules. We also provide guidance and General Counsel solutions for businesses that need our expertise in- house but don't need it on a full-time basis.

Our clients range from start-ups shareholder hat are an idea and a landing page, through to those backed by some of the biggest funds in the world.

Key Takeaways

Do you need a contract or a sharehoder agreement? clients come and ask for shareholder agreements, because they think that it’s an agreement between one shareholder and another. When it’s not, it’s actually an agreement between the shareholders and the business. So what they need is just a simple contract.
Saving money by doing legal yourself nearly always costs more
Your professional reputation will stay with you for a long time, so get it right from the start.

Valuable Free Resource or Action
Suraj is always available to talk to ensure you get the best advice for your situation – get details at www.sole-legal.com Startups

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Who is Denise?

Denise is a Licensed Career Coach with a background as an executive recruitment specialist, I have a passion for all areas of Talent and Leadership Development. As a career coach, who mostly supports those who are already established in the workplace and who want to identify their next career move or switch. As a Career Coach her clients are middle to executive management - either ready to plan their next move into a different or more senior role, perhaps considering options for a career switch or those who are in the job market for other reasons - all with one goal, to find a job they love and enjoy. With extensive operational experience and over 20 years in Recruitment & Coaching, she adds value both for the employer and employee by working in partnership to find the perfect match.

Key Takeaways

Before starting the job search - but they haven't actually done the foundations of really exploring why they will be the right person to do that job
At least 65% of jobs that are in the market, never hit an advert.
You need to understand how the hiring company wants to receive your CV. i.e. lad bible do not want to see your CV

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Denise has free resource - how you apply for jobs and the best ways to do it on the my career change Facebook group.

Find details at linkedin.com/in/denisematthews

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Who is Colette?

Colette Bratton is a marketing mentor, on a mission to help solo entrepreneurs use marketing effectively to help them grow the businesses of their dreams!

Marketing can be a huge frustration for small business owners, as it’s another skill to learn and another hat to wear. Using her 30 years’ marketing experience, Colette has created a system that helps entrepreneurs acquire the necessary skills and prioritise their time and energy to successfully promote their businesses.

Key Takeaways

Too many people get stuck knowing where to start their marketing - mulling it over but not starting
Small business owners need to work smarter not harder so they have time for a business and a life
Make your own marketing for your business shout as loud as your client business so that you do some regularly

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Collette has facebook groups for Virtual Assistants and one for other businesses where she posts everyday

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Who is Melitta?
Melitta is Business Growth Coach working with Female Entrepreneurs

Key Takeaways
Melitta has written a book

If you’ve ever wondered how some people network so effortlessly, while you feel awkward and out of place, this book is for you.

Written from a shy girl’s perspective, you’ll learn everything you need to embrace your natural abilities as an introvert, grow in confidence and shine while networking.

In this book I share with you:

My VICTORY Formula to help you network on your own terms
The exact steps to master the three phases of networking
How to build relationships that will support your business success
The secret to networking online
How to build your personal brand

Valuable Free Resource or Action
read more about Melitta's book at https://www.melittacampbell.com/books/

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Who is Nik?
Nik is an ACTIONCoach

Nik works with businesses so that they achieve these outcomes

Imagine a world where your team work and achieve results without stress to you

You’re working ON the business moving it forward not IN
Profits are increasing not just turnover
You have a better Work: Life balance
You work with down to earth, like-minded business owners, just like you, to get results, push you to where you want to be and have FUN!
Be part of a community of business owners who are improving their businesses and their community

Key Takeaways
What you will learn in this podcast :

Keep a log of what you do and delegate the low skill tasks
Learn the task which takes 20% of your time and use it to get 80% results
Use systems and processes to free your time your business is worth 2.2 X if you have none and 6.8 X if you do.

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Nik was influenced by Brian Tracy's book Eat That Frog

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Who is Jill?
Jill Maidment is the Founder and Director of Natural Talent Bristol and South Wales. She is a highly respected, sought-after and effective International Executive Business Coach and Mentor, Career Transition and Outplacement Coach, Resilience Coach, and British Psychological Society qualified Assessor. Jill also speaks at virtual events and delivers virtual Leadership and Management Training Modules.

Key Takeaways
What you will learn in this podcast :

how organisations are adapting to change since early 2020
how strategic management prepares your organisation for major change like a pandemic
understanding the Kubler-Ross curve will help you understand how change affects people.

Valuable Free Resource or Action
Read more about Jill at natural-talent.com

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Who is Jacquie?
When Jacquie left teaching to start a Tipi Hire business in 2010, tipi weddings were very new. Jacquie has used her marketing skills to grow that business to be a market leader. Now she's offering her expertise to other Business owners who want to grow their business by implementing her Marketing and Sales System to create a constant stream of new leads and customers. Jacquie works one to one with motivated and aspiring business owners and without exception, her clients increase their profits and improve their lifestyle!

Key Takeaways
What you will learn in this podcast :

Proactive marketing will bring new clients
Price for value not compete
Spend some time on your business every day

Valuable Free Resource or Action
Invest your time, don't spend your time, invest it.

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Who is Margaret?

Margaret is a result-driven Business Coach for female entrepreneurs just like you. She uses business strategies, as well as NLP techniques and NLP coaching that work on your mindset and assist you with your personal development, to help you build and grow a business and a lifestyle that you can truly enjoy.

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Sian is based a Business Mentor, member of the Forbes Coaches Council and I help service-service-based business owners and agencies gain an unfair advantage and crack the growth code to getting and keeping more clients in order to build a business that loves you back.

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In our latest episode of It's Not Rocket Science! Five Questions Over Coffee recorded on International Women's day, we talk to eco-business mentor Jannine Barron. Jannine is a business mentor with a special interest in brand activism and climate change who uses strategic marketing and communication skills to help sole traders and small companies simplify complex marketing ideas that allows her clients to create and scale their businesses with ease. She is on a mission to support ecopreneurs create brands and services that can change the world with zero harm products and solutions.

Links

https://linktr.ee/janninebarron

Take away messages from this discussion:

Find the right mentor or tribe to support your dream and move the business forward without 'playing small'

Make everything simple. Choose a couple of inspirational mentors, choose only a couple of marketing newsletters. Too much information stops you from working on your business because of information overload

Know the difference between doing and why you are doing it so you get to your objective.

Jannine was influenced by the writings of Florence Scovel Shinn

Jannine offers a free 1-2-1 - contact her at https://linktr.ee/janninebarron

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Creative commercially astute Copywriter helping businesses get seen, known & booked!

Her copywriting track record is for value rich, income generating content creation that boosts awareness, engagement, sales, sign-ups, and visibility.

During the past ten years, She has significantly evolved my copywriting services, for one-off jobs and regular retainers, as a freelancer, or an agency sub-contractor.

Her key competencies are

A proven ability to write persuasive copy designed to sell, grounded in years of frontline sales experience.
Excellent writing skills.
Accuracy and an eye for detail.
Ability to write concise and engaging copy to tight deadlines.
Experience in optimising copy to deliver maximum conversions.

Learn More about Judith at https://www.linkedin.com/in/judith-rafferty/

What you'll learn in this video

two tools to help you be a better copywriter : answer the public and co-schedule
A great book on content DNA
A tool to help your content be more readable.

Judith has a special offer - blogoff - buy one blog, get one free. Contact Judith for more details.

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Robin is the Fearless Business Coach.

Fearless Business helps amazing business owners to FINALLY grow their business and shift away from a value-driven exchange of "time-for money" to charging based on "RESULTS" and RESULTS ALONE. As a direct result of being in the Fearless Business Accelerator many of our clients get a direct return on their investment within the first 4 weeks of the programme and go on to double or treble their turnover within 3-6 months of starting the programme. We've helped over 120 business owners to break out of selling their time-for-money over the last 12 months alone.

Find out more at Fearless.biz

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Jenny is a life coach with a great money mindset workshops which are having fantastic results. Read more about Jenny at http://jennyjarvislifecoaching.co.uk/about-me/

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Simon runs that coaching and facilitation business, Wheresmylunch, http://yourl.ch/1b1zd73. Their ideal clients are business owners and/or leaders that want to explore new possibilities that can further enhance their business opportunities. Working in a frame of wider wealth (social, intellectual, community and financial), he helps people to unlock dreams and passions that have before just been that. This short chat over coffee will invite you to dig into what type of innovator you are and therefore, what type of support you may need around you to help release these dreams.

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Jenny Bracelin is a qualified, skilled and experienced money coach and business mentor. Passionate about transforming people’s relationship to money and motivating them to make more.

Originally trained as a ballet dancer, Jenny brings creativity and passion to every conversation. Starting her first business in linen hire aged 23, going on to win a National Customer Service Award with The Prince’s Trust and retiring aged 30.

Jenny motivates and explains how to make more money in a simple, positive and confidence-building way. Learn more about Jenny at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennybracelin/

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An interview with Joanne Wurpillot of Integra HR.

We talk about her journey from marine biologist to HR consultant. Integra HR provides 360° problem-busting support, from recruitment to employee exit but also offer the benefits of a complete value-adding service: protecting your business, helping to create the best HR structures that will make consistent, positive people management easier for you and your team, as well as the tools to maximise your people power.

Integra HR can support you by dipping in an out of your business as needed, working by the hour, half-day, day or project-based. Integra HR can be your on tap HR department or we can give an extra helping hand to your existing HR team.

Contact Integra HR at https://www.integrahr.co.uk/

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Jessica is an experienced Digital Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the entertainment industry and with SMEs. We're going to spend a few minutes de-mystifying the world of SEO and PPc and Social Media.

It's Not Rocket Science! Five Questions Over Coffee: Recent Episodes

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