Here’s a great system to follow for managing change successfully. John Kotter has written this fable of a penguin colony faced with an imploding iceberg and the need to do something for their survival. Initially the penguin discovering the problem doesn’t know who to turn to or trust, and is scared of the potential outcasting that has gone before by someone sticking their neck out. He finds an ally in one person on the...

A colleague of mine recently reminded me of this great book that I read quite some time ago and following is a summary of it which explains to us the system of how to write in modern language, to stand out, and get through to people…. It goes against the grain of more traditional and grammatically “correct” thinking that we were taught at school, so here’s a quick summary… It’s not surprisingly an...

Here is a simple and powerful technique for changing the way you think about any particular problem In the early eighties Edward de Bono (who coined the term ‘lateral thinking’) created the “Six Thinking Hats” process.  He recognised that we do not use anywhere near the full capacity of our minds, so developed a framework to help improve the quality of our thinking and therefore our decisions. The six hats represent...

Play above the line at all times! People who play above the line do what? They take “Ownership” of their life, they say I am “Accountable” for the results in my life and the “Responsibility” lies with me.  Difference between the two is people who play below the line are the victims. Don’t believe they are in control of their life. People who play above the line are the Victors, they believe that they...

Action Selling by Duane Sparks is a neat and logical system to follow to help you improve your sales conversions. Breaking the sales call process down into simple steps Sparks gives us a process to follow and when we refine the small stages of the big picture we have more chance to get the outcomes we are looking for. Broken into 9 “Acts” the book is an easy read and provides useful tools to remind us of each Act.  The Acts in...

Here are some handy hints from our Man in Red who has a great team leveraging his time, so he only has to work one day a year (maybe two)… yes Santa. Deliver On Time – Would we still love Santa if he missed a year or came late occasionally? He has great systems to ensure everything runs like clockwork. Everyone Loves a Giver – Don’t be a taker, win prospects over with your generosity. Plan Ahead – He makes a...

Huge chunks of time are spent in meetings – professionals are estimated to waste 43% of that time, so this book is dedicated to making them more efficient and effective.  Meetings are important to identify and solve real problems and to provide good consistent and regular communication channels. I really enjoyed the ideas in this book and if meetings are taking over your life, (and you’re not alone) – this book is for you....