Phil Olley

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The Wainwright Factor


Mar 23 2009

The Wainwright Factor

Occasionally a TV programme grips me. And one such occurrence was last year when I discovered a documentary about Alfred Wainwright, famed for his guidebooks to walking the Fells of the Lake District. Many of you will have seen it I’m sure.

What was it that struck me?

Well, at first it was the complete obsession this chap had with his walking, and with documenting these walks through his sketches, maps and writings.

But the most astounding element was the way he went about it.

He set out a 13- year plan to cover all 214 walks. Yep. Thirteen years. Now that’s a long-term commitment to any goal!

Having set out the plan, his Focus, his energy, his resilience in carrying it out never came into question. So simple was the action required: walk every weekend, and write up the journals of the walk during the evenings each week (he was doing this part time, whilst working as a town hall clerk during the day).

Simple action. Not easy, but simple.

His obsession meant that this seemingly vast task was brought down to its most simple component actions. Actions that he could then focus on, day by day, knowing that in doing so week by week, month by month, year by year he was building to the achievement of his goal.

In fact his passion for the mission was such that he didn’t feel as if he had to focus on it at all. It felt completely natural to be doing it.

I bet there were tough times. I bet there were occasions when walking in the Lake District was not very comfortable, when the weather was not conducive, when he was not feeling so well, or when there were a thousand reasons not to do it.

 But that wouldn’t faze him. His goal was clear.

And did he achieve it? Yes. In one week short of 13 years. First of all, that’s quite a plan… so very accurate. And second, isn’t it quite amazing to remain committed to the goal, to stick to the plan, for a whole 13 years.

And so often we can observe this unswerving obsession in the successes of people in all fields of activity.

Can you apply that to your own success? What is it that you will commit to over the long term, come rain or shine, sure in the belief, and safe in the knowledge, that you will get there?


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Spring Cleaning your Business


Mar 21 2009

Spring Cleaning your Business

Friday morning I had a long drive ahead. But I had plenty of time to take the scenic route, and think, and enjoy the journey. The sun was shining, the daffodils were out, I had music on, and was feeling relaxed. Spring is definitely here.

It’s a time of rebirth and renewal. And it's the time of year when we traditionally turn to having a good clean up. The value of which is well known.
 
In business it’s no different. And this year, even more than usual, a good "Spring clean" will make all the difference.
 
So, how about a few areas to consider sprucing up ...
 
i. Business foundations -Vision, Values, Mission, Goals, strategy… all clear, fresh, up to date?
ii. “Shop window” -what you project to the world; your brand; all you stand for; and how the world perceives your business; your marketing materials, website… all up to date, fresh.
iii. Your “Front step”… what’s your reception area like? Does it present the right image?  Throw away the dead yukkas, spruce up the noticeboard, and -one of my pet hates -are those pamphlets on the coffee table in date?
iv. Environment - the place you work… is it clutter free?
v. Self-are you looking like a success? People want to associate with success. Give them plenty of reasons to associate with you.
vi. Team -similarly, are they thinking, behaving, talking like a successful team?
vii. Business systems -simple, effective, “clutter-free”?
viii. Gear, gadgets, and IT: any upgrading required?
ix. Professional skills and technical abilities: are there any glaring deficiencies that need to be addressed?
x. Hangovers: is there anything outstanding that really needs to be “put to bed”. Any projects that have dragged on? Finish, or ditch.
xi. Paper: There are always piles of “stuff” lying on desks, and in piles around offices. FART on your paperwork: File, Act, Refer, Trash it. Right down to the wood of the desk.
xii. Same goes for emails.
 
What needs upgrading in each of these areas? Ok, many of these areas you will be constantly reviewing; that's the nature of business, right? But having a huge clear out like this can be so cathartic, and so revealing. It cleans out the business arteries. It gives everyone a lift. And it's amazing how many people tell me the result of clearing out a pile of papers was that they spotted a forgotten opportunity that they could now get to work on.

Make a hit list and go to work ON it.

 


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Chewing the "Could"


Mar 18 2009

Chewing the “Could”

Two weeks ago I was asked to help someone overcome a major barrier in setting up their new business. The couple concerned had been thinking for ages of doing it.
 
They had so many ideas which they could integrate into the business, so many services they could provide, so many opportunities, ideas and marketing promotions they could employ. All very exciting. Yet, of course, the main barrier existed: FEAR.
 
They had been so involved in planning this big step, and talking about it for around two years (it includes a lifestyle shift aswell which makes it an even bigger step). Talking about it for so long had in fact made them feel comfortable... talking about it had allowed them to delude themselves that they were moving forward. Yet in reality, it was apparent they had done very little over that time to make the dream a reality. They felt as if they were moving forward simply by engaging the endless possibilities. But without commiting to doing anything they were in fact just Day-Dreaming.
 
After a few minutes of speaking with them it became apparent that they were not yet truly serious about doing it at all. They had become “Couldies” in that they kept talking about what “you could do”. They kept saying, You could do this and you could do that (as in “one could do this” and “one could do that”). You could. They were displacing the issue by using “you” instead of saying “we could do…”. And the “could” needed to be directed into what they were really serious about doing, what they were committed to, rather than just exploring vague possibilities.
 
So I started to change the language, and talk to them only about what they were certain of doing, and then stretching them forward without them noticing the language had changed. The “coulds” were removed from the conversation, and the language became more committed immediately. Then some small steps forward, a total rethink of what they really wanted, and a specific small action to take to get them to step forward. With great results I am pleased to say.
 
The message:
Don’t be a “Couldie”. Define the Vision, and then be committed to those actions which make the Vision a reality. Use language which reflects action. This is very liberating.
 
There are lots of things you could do. But let’s focus on those things you will do/ are doing. Anyone in business could do a whole load of things to move the business forward, and anyone could have an idea. But it’s a different thing entirely to commit to really doing those things which will make the vision happen.
 
It’s easy to set out at the start of the year and say, “this year we could increase our business by x” or “this month we could do things differently”. Actually taking the choices is very liberating.

 


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Show me a Winner!


Mar 16 2009

Show me a Winner!

The saying “Show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser” has been attributed to Bill Shankly, the legendary manager of Liverpool Football Club, and I was very much reminded of it recently in a different context.

A number of years ago, I wrote a regular column for the business magazine of a professional association. That association went through a merger, resulting in many changes.
 
A change of slant was suggested for the magazine.
 
Whilst most of my columns in the past had dealt with business development ideas and practical success tools, I was asked in future to "avoid anything to do with motivation and selling”.
 
I had to smile…
 
Show me a business without motivation and without sales, and I’ll show you a loser.

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Friday 13th- TPR again! Fine?


Mar 13 2009

Friday 13th … TPR again! Fine?

Yippee… another TPR day (see previous entry for 13th February)

Greeted on the phone by yet another “Fine” in answer to my question “how are you” when calling a business last week, I decided to ask, why “Fine” and not “Great”?

When I suggested that, when you consider the alternative, “every day above ground is a great day”, the panic at the other end of the line was palpable… and coupled with a large dose of indignation that I would even question the “status quo” of finery/ alrightness/ ok’ism/ not baddery that life at work had descended into.

Makes the term “killing fields of the spirit” which Michael Gerber uses to describe the average business pretty well spot on!

And yet, some businesses do it so much better. There’s a reason for this.

We can, of course, never be totally sure whether the tail is wagging the dog (ie the attitude leads to the results, or the results create the attitude), but there’s a definite connection between the fortunes of a business just now and it’s zest, passion, belief, and this is no more visible than in the words and actions, the attitude and energy, of every person in the team.

Please, business owners, note:
 just in case it’s the zest and energy that create the good fortune (rather than the other way round|), why not put it at the top of your action list for the week ahead.



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Is 2009 Different?


Mar 12 2009

Is 2009 Different?

We’re approaching a quarter of the way through the year. Certainly, you will now be in full flight, the New Year seeming a long time ago.

So it’s time to see how you are doing. Time to take stock… and not just a cursory glance at the figures… but a key question:
 
What are you really doing differently?
Really Differently.
 
Is this year, in reality, any different to last year…?
 and what tangible, specific evidence do you have of this, in terms of :
Your regime
Your performance
Your results and achievements

What new decisions you have taken and implemented regarding the development of your business or your career, and other key aspects of your life?
 
In particular, it’s about being able to cite specific occasions when you have consciously done something new, or consciously taken a different decision, or chosen a specific direction to take.

Have you created those “butterfly in the stomach” moments?
Do you feel as if you are truly making breakthroughs, truly moving forward?
 
If so, well done!
 
If not, what can you do in the remaining few days of this quarter to really make a mark? What bold strategic decisions can be made to take you forward on the journey to your goals this year.
 
What one thing can you focus on achieving to make sure the first quarter has set a gold standard for the rest of the year?

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What's your Business Foreground


Mar 11 2009

What’s your Business Foreground?

When speaking at business luncheons it’s so interesting to observe the networking that goes on when I’m getting set to “do my stuff”.

Whenever I meet business people, or observe the goings on at such network meetings, I hear a lot of talk about what has happened, what’s in the past. Many people are so focused on their business background, so hung up on it, so desperate to find a point of commonality in the past, that they miss the business foreground.

In fact, the best networking is always about what is in the foreground… So instead of asking about people’s business background, I always make a point of asking people about their business foreground - what issues, challenges, and opportunities they are focused on right now. That way it’s easy to see where the synergy is.

Business foreground is always where the action is! Next time you are networking be more interested in the foreground than the background.


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Generative Thinking


Mar 09 2009

Generative Thinking

A business leader recently told me, “All of our Brainstorming and Strategic meetings generate lots of discussion, but we seldom really create any concrete action. We use some brainstorming techniques and minutes are often written, but we don’t get full value for the time taken out of the business by our highest paid people!”

A common enough complaint. It may sound strikingly familiar to you, and it seems that regardless of the size of an organisation, converting thinking into action is one of the most difficult challenges.

At the other end of the spectrum, many smaller organisations and businesses are so busy “doing it”, that they don’t get chance to think. They are caught up on the treadmill.
 
So how can we truly overcome the enigma that we need to think, plan, create new ideas, and at the same time we need to be constantly productive and acting fast every day to keep making money?!
 
The solution to both ends of the challenge is the same, whether you are a large corporation needing to get more from the thinking sessions you do have; or a small operation needing to have more thinking time, but also make it profitable.

The secret lies in the four cornerstones of what I call Generative Thinking.
And this is not just for those one-off group brainstorming sessions. No, this is to create a culture of “generative thinking”, of ideas, of opportunities, and of ways to put them into action.

And the four cornerstones are…

1) Time –allocate specific generative thinking time in your diary. George Bernard Shaw once said: “ I made an international reputation by thinking twice each week”.
2) Space – don’t sit at your normal desk, with your “bureaucrat/ managerial hat on”.
3) Topic – Deal with specific items; have a theme to explore- a challenge or opportunity to address. This prevents “thinking time” degenerating into a meandering consideration of all the problems one faces, heading off at tangents, ending in overload, and with no decisive action resulting..
4) Tools – have a means of exploring the theme…eg via mindmap or other thinking strategy. Always think with a pen in your hand!

Of course, the most important step is right at the end: the call to action, and decisions on first actions, and even taking the first action…

 


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Disillusioned Posters


Mar 06 2009

Disillusioned Posters?

Several years ago when I moved my then business into new offices, I came across a poster on the wall left behind by the previous occupants who had vacated some time before. Without wishing to pass judgement, it didn’t take me long to see why they did not survive in business.
 
The Poster was one of those funny “let’s all laugh at how inefficient we are” type posters. It was titled “6 phases of a project” and offered the following …
1) Enthusiasm
2) Disillusionment
3) Panic
4) Search for the Guilty
5) Punishment of the Innocent
6) Praise and Honours for the non-Participants.

Yes, a real hoot.  Whilst amusing, initially, it is amazing how such things can, over time, contribute to the overall abject mindset of a work environment.

I was reminded of this recently when entering a business to be "greeted" by the "Director of First Impressions" sitting at the front desk. At one point she almost looked up from her screen. Reminded me of the "Computer says no" character portrayed by David Walliams on TV.
 
On the wall behind her was the Investor's in People certificate of course. And no doubt, everyone in the firm would say "first impressions count", in the platiitudinal way that only certain businesses can pull off, without blinking.
 
So, what posters are on your wall.
And, what first impressions do you give to everyone who walks in?
In terms of your goals, your current projects (or Awesome Special Missions as I like to call them), what would you replace that disillusioned poster with?
 
And what about the reception area? What would you replace there? Some organisations have more yukkas than people at the Front Desk. I wonder why.
 

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Successful Habits- in no time


Mar 04 2009

Successful Habits- in no time !

A recent survey of financial habits in the UK concluded that we currently spend more of our money each week on travel than on food. This for the first time in statistical history, and at a time when many people are under-exercised, and when obesity is at unprecedented levels.

Some would conclude that we should at least go back to walking to the shops!
The reason we don’t?  Time.

And yet, if we really do value that most precious resource, why is so much of it “spent” rather than “invested”. Those who have seen me speak on this, and long-time readers of my newsletter, Business Dynamite, will immediately see what I am getting at here.
 
Those who undertook my Olympic Challenge last month have learned that although it is tough to fit six new habits (and in one case eight!) into the available time in an already busy schedule, once you prioritise and focus, it is more than possible. In fact, seldom does the barrier of “lack of time” ever become an issue when people take my Olympic Challenge… it is other barriers that get in the way and have to be overcome.

In every case a breakthrough was achieved last month, and many reported their best ever month in terms of effectiveness, focus, pro-active business development, and business results. And not only that, the knock on effects into other areas of life are always a joy to observe.

Some have even said they are going to continue for another month with a new set of habits to develop. In all cases, the victory was in the day-to-day highlights generated with both small successes and large breakthroughs being shared.  The message: if you make something a priority, it can be done, and in this case, the priority is to create those new habits…

Successful people have successful habits.

Take time to develop great habits, and it will pay huge dividends. I promise.

 


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