BUSINESS BLOGS & INSIGHTS

What is holding you back?

What is holding you back?

As we move to the close of another year, (they seem to go faster and faster as I get older) its a good time to stop, prop and reflect on the year that has just passed before you race headlong into...

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The 7R’s of Innovation

The 7R’s of Innovation

If you want to apply some innovative thinking in your business, the “7Rs of Innovation” is a framework in which you can work in with 7 key areas to think about. 1. RETHINK The first step in...

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Leveraging AI to Create Amazing Content

Leveraging AI to Create Amazing Content

In this age of technological advancement, the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been expanding across various industries. It has become a powerful tool for content creators and marketers,...

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The Runway to 2024

The Runway to 2024

As we approach the end of 2023, it's time for small business owners and managers to prepare for the runway that will catapult your business into a successful 2024. In Australia, the months leading...

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Now is the time to double down….

Now is the time to double down….

I hope you're well and surviving these challenging times... Your response to COVID19 will depend on your industry, business structure and level of resources and I'm sure that you have addressed the...

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Online Workshops are the go!

Online Workshops are the go!

In the current environment, its a great time to be doing some planning with the team but how do you do that when everyone is working from home? On Tuesday, I leveraged the technology and ran a 100%...

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Australian COVID19 Information

Australian COVID19 Information

We have compiled links to key Australian COVID19 Information Resources. Follow the links. CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER COVID UPDATES COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by a new virus. Symptoms...

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[TOOL] Trigger Point Budgets

[TOOL] Trigger Point Budgets

Trigger Point Budgeting is a simple tool that I've been using with clients for over 20 years. If you refer to the Coronavirus model we've discussed previously, your model is going to be around...

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The 3 Barriers to Your Success

The 3 Barriers to Your Success

I find that when we reflect on our business and personal performance, there are always areas where we could have improved. I’m sure there are plenty of times when things have gone extremely well,...

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Focus: The Cornerstone of Productivity

Focus: The Cornerstone of Productivity

In the fast-paced business world, let's explore why staying focused is a game changer for time management, personal productivity, and planning. This article zooms in on Focus – a key component of...

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Discipline: The Key to Productivity

Discipline: The Key to Productivity

In the pursuit of productivity and success, one factor reigns supreme: personal discipline. While focus directs our attention and control manages our environment, it is discipline that drives...

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Using Zoom for remote communication

Using Zoom for remote communication

As we move to a period of less face-to-face contact, there is a growing need to make better use of video conferencing tools like Zoom. However, I'm finding that there is a large number of people...

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[Lessons Learnt] Sales and Networking

[Lessons Learnt] Sales and Networking

Here's part 2 of the Lessons Learnt series we kicked off recently. In this video are my 3 tips on Sales and Networking, which I've learned over 37 years in the industry. First one is that "Everybody...

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Is Your Marketing Effective?

Is Your Marketing Effective?

Marketing is one of the most important and time-consuming activities of business owners as we all want the right image for our business and more of the right clients. We want them to not only see...

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Marketing Madness

Marketing Madness

In a recent blog we discussed how we can make sure that marketing is effective for our business. This blog reiterates that while you need ensure the effectiveness of your Marketing, it is also...

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Managing Remote Teams

Managing Remote Teams

As we know, the makeup of teams has changed with COVID19. We've got more people working remotely—working from home or in other offices, working with split shifts with half the team working in other...

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COVID19 BUSINESS SURVIVAL GUIDE

COVID19 BUSINESS SURVIVAL GUIDE

I hope the pressure of the COVID19 situation is not getting you down. The impact of the virus will vary widely across businesses and as a result there is no "1 size fits all" solution. Some...

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Setting up for business success in 2020

Setting up for business success in 2020

2019 is almost over and we’re in the last minute sprint to the Christmas break and some holidays. However, it's also a great time to stop, prop and reflect on the year that has been. I work with a...

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It’s the little things that matter

It’s the little things that matter

In many businesses, particularly in service businesses, clients often cannot tell whether you are any good at what you do - there are no benchmarks. Consumers often only find out how poor a supplier...

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Defining Your Ecosystem of Apps and Tools

Defining Your Ecosystem of Apps and Tools

I find that many people have apps and tools that they use that don't work with each other, don't work across platforms and are actually a "pain in the neck" as they increase complexity and reduce...

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A Changing Environment

A Changing Environment

Change is a fundamental and common element to our business environment and this will continue to impact on the whole Australian economy for the next few years. As we have discussed previously, both...

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5 Key Trends in Australian Business

5 Key Trends in Australian Business

Doing business in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) environment requires business owners to always be one step ahead of the curve and continuously think of ways to successfully...

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6 rules to creating the ideal organisation

6 rules to creating the ideal organisation

Creating the ideal organisation is considered to be much like finding the Holy Grail – hard if not impossible. But this didn’t stop Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones, experts in Organisational Behaviour,...

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Apps to Increase Productivity in 2015

Apps to Increase Productivity in 2015

I am always keen to discover new ways that technology can help improve my time management and productivity as these are critical to my business success. As we are all aware, mobility has changed our...

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One Question

One Question

The one question you need to be able to truly answer… “Why would someone buy from me and not the person down the road?” Easy to ask, difficult to answer. Put another way, are you clear on what makes...

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Improve Your Productivity with Power Naps

Improve Your Productivity with Power Naps

Numerous sleep experts highlight the benefits of improved alertness and concentration following a 20-30 minute power nap. My challenge has always been that I seem to wake up after the nap - drowsy...

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Creating Simple Websites

Creating Simple Websites

Creating a simple cost-effective website is relatively easy. If you need a special design with custom features, etc then this method is not for you, but if you need a simple website (even one with a...

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Assessing our Executives

Assessing our Executives

Skills your Business Leaders must have In order to achieve organisational goals, effective leadership is essential.  But how does one become effective? What are the key skills that we require...

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Three Ways To Unlock Innovation

Three Ways To Unlock Innovation

One way not to go to unlock innovation is to hold a brainstorm! Or at least to turn up with butchers paper, pens and little else! You need stimuli and a process to gain insight and inspiration. You...

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Leading with a Challenge

Leading with a Challenge

“People are tired of simple things. They want to be challenged.” – Umberto Eco I recently finished reading an interesting book called The Challenger Sale, by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson. I’m not...

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What is Marketing?

What is Marketing?

This is a conversation I often have with clients. Many businesses take a really narrow view – ‘it’s what we put on our web, print on our brochures or broadcast via our ads’. Effectively what they...

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Taking Control of Your Time

Taking Control of Your Time

In our recent webinar, I highlighted some of the key tools and concepts that I use to manage my time. You can watch a short 3-minute summary here or watch the full 30-minute webinar and...

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7 Tips for Social Media Success

7 Tips for Social Media Success

With devices such as the iPhone and iPad taking homes, offices and almost all places by storm, browsing the web and connecting to sites like Facebook, Google+, Twitter is such an easy thing – making...

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Improving your productivity

Improving your productivity

Most of us are working too long and too hard. This short video highlights the key elements in how to improve productivity and save 8 hours in every week. This is based on Russell Cummings'...

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Developing our Leaders to Manage Chaos

Developing our Leaders to Manage Chaos

In this article, I just want to talk to you about some recent changes we’re noticing in developing leaders in very chaotic environments. The Current Business Environment There’s a new term being...

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How Mobile Apps Changed The World

How Mobile Apps Changed The World

It is not a new idea that smartphones and mobile applications are the latest buzz in the cellphone world. These kinds of devices and applications are already a part of almost everyone’s personal...

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How to Deal with the Leadership Shift

How to Deal with the Leadership Shift

Businesses are under increasing stress as markets are increasingly volatile, clients are more demanding, talent is scarcer and change occurs in faster and shorter cycles.  To survive and thrive...

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Management is Not Leadership

Management is Not Leadership

In today’s business world, most businesses are run by very competent people who are not necessarily the world's best leaders. Most leaders are not Ghandi or Nelson Mandela but in my years of...

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The Top 3 Business Issues for 2013

The Top 3 Business Issues for 2013

At the end of 2012, Mindshop (www.mindshop.com) conducted a global survey of business leaders involved in various business programs and groups across the Mindshop network in Australia, NZ, UK and...

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Planning for 2013

Planning for 2013

The start of the year is a great time to develop plans for the coming year and this year, I’ve come up with a few simple steps that will help you get the ball rolling for 2013. 1. It's...

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New Year’s Affirmations

New Year’s Affirmations

Every New Year brings a fresh start, a new life, a new outlook or perspective. And for most people, the New Year usually brings to mind a bunch of resolutions they would like to accomplish and...

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The Benefits of Family Business

The Benefits of Family Business

The term "Family business " usually refers to a small or mid-sized company that has a local focus and is plagued with a familiar set of dilemmas such as succession. In spite of that very...

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Kanban Flow

Kanban Flow

If you find yourself overwhelmed with all of the stuff you need to do, here’s a great productivity tool I found on the web that can help you get organized easily. This tool is called the KanBan Flow...

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Business Failure

Business Failure

The flipside of "success” is "failure” and it’s the latter that every business owner and manager strive hard to avoid. By definition, the term "business failure” refers to the cessation of a...

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Grade Your Website

Grade Your Website

I recently stumbled across a great resource for getting a benchmark on your website. It a free service from Hubspot.com called "Marketing Grader" and you'll find it at...

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Using your iPad for Presentations

Using your iPad for Presentations

Using Your iPad To Make Presentation As part of my role as a Coach, I tend to deliver a range of tailored training programs for my clients. This usually involves a laptop computer, a presenter...

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How Great Leaders Inspire Action

How Great Leaders Inspire Action

Wonder when you’d get the best results with your marketing strategies? Wonder no more – with a new insight by Simon Sinek called The Golden Circle, you are sure to inspire your consumers and...

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Should you Hire a Virtual Assistant?

Should you Hire a Virtual Assistant?

If your business requires you to be on the road most of the time and/or you find yourself needing assistance to get secretarial and administrative things done then a Virtual Assistant (VA) is what...

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Planning for Success in 2012

Planning for Success in 2012

There’s no better way to start the year than by thinking about your plans for your business in 2012. With that said, I want to take you through a simple planning process that will help you make a...

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Are Meetings Dead?

Are Meetings Dead?

Meetings are an important part of communication in most businesses but it is a poorly understood discipline. For many people, a meetings is that it is something that is boring, takes a lot of time...

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The Lost Art of Management

The Lost Art of Management

You know, I think that over the last few decades that “business” has lost the art of managing their people. (I say “business” because obviously there are some great managers out there – but, in...

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RSS – What is it? How Do I Use It?

RSS – What is it? How Do I Use It?

RSS Feeds – What are they? How can I use them in my business? In this day and age, internet and mobile technology play a big role in everyday life. This is especially true for those of us who...

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To Tweet or Not Tweet

To Tweet or Not Tweet

To Tweet or Not to Tweet Social networking has indeed changed the world. Since its introduction, this modern phenomenon, which is also referred to as social media, has provided a new and faster way...

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Getting Some Balance in your Life!

Getting Some Balance in your Life!

One of the key issues that impacts on most business owners and managers is the issue of Life Balance. This issue is relevant at all times in our lives and if the area has not been reviewed recently,...

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The One Page Plan

The One Page Plan

The One Page Plan covers the key elements of a Business Improvement Plan by summarising the NOW, WHERE and HOW. In the NOW Summary, you need to pull out the key points of your current position,...

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Why Plans Fail

Why Plans Fail

There are several other reasons why business managers don’t plan: Traditional business plans are too complex Traditional business planning fails to address many of the current issues in our business...

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Getting the Right People

Getting the Right People

Like so many other areas of good business management getting the right plan in place for management of your human resources can increase profits dramatically if implemented correctly. Getting the...

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Reducing Waste in your Business

Reducing Waste in your Business

Waste in most organisations accounts for between 15% and 30% of the total operating cost of the business and is often higher than this in service industries. Therefore if your business has costs of...

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Getting the Structure Right!

Getting the Structure Right!

People: Some people want to change, others resist it. Its sometimes necessary to admit that some team members have become a liability. If such people form the major part of a team, the team is...

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3 Stages of Improving your Business

3 Stages of Improving your Business

The 3 Stages are illustrated in the diagram below. Stage 1: Structure Most people are aware the first stage in a business improvement process is to get the business structure right. The right...

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The Neat Analysis

The Neat Analysis

NEAT Analysis We have developed a simple methodology for looking at our marketing and business development options and have called it NEAT, which stands for: Number of Customers Efficiency % Average...

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