November 30th, 2009
 Welcome to the 200th edition of CorporateCoach newsletter.
It’s Thanksgiving in the USA, and I am celebrating my 200th editorial. So, it’s definitely time to look back and give thanks.
It seems that this issue of CorporateCoach is going to be a series of lists. But never mind, because they are all links to valuable resources that you might choose to use.
I have had a very busy year this year, with major investment in personal and professional development. There has been some justification, in addition to the pure pleasure of learning, because I am preparing for a major international initiative in 2010.
So let me work through the year, recalling the greatest teachers who have helped me on my way.
As far as I can recall, the first major event of 2009 was the Breakthrough Experience with Dr John Demartini. Demartini is a phenomenon. He claims to have read many, many thousands of books. His training is full of content and his workshops go on late into the night; correction, into the early morning. One of my commitments to 2010 is to go back through his workbook and study it in depth. What I achieved out of this workshop was to develop a detailed personal mission statement running to two full pages.
As well as the general summary, it includes sections for spiritual, mental, vocational, financial, familial/home, social, and physical. I read through these together with my affirmations each morning and I have recorded them with background music for use on my iPod. As ever, Demartini provides an excellent structure around which to work. So, I have listed my mission statement summary in a past issue of CorporateCoach.
Hard on the heels of this workshop, I attended T Harv Eker’s three day Millionaire Mind Intensive. I had never heard of Eker before but was offered a free ticket through my membership of XL Results Foundation. This was another very long day experience. Harv Eker is a program designer as well as presenter. Unlike many international speakers, he integrates the best from all sources rather than developing his own specific ideas. I related well to this, because I do the same; I am an integrator.
However, part way through I suddenly noticed a very significant difference. Whereas I tend to work with groups of 12, Harv Eker was working effectively, providing interactive learning, with a group of 2,400. It occurred to me, that this was a multiplying factor of 200 times!
In addition, it appeared that he was working very specifically from pre-prepared scripts. This means that he can be cloned, and I’ve since experienced other excellent trainers delivering his content.
Since this is very much in line with my plans for 2010, I signed up for his complete program called “Quantum Leap”.
The first workshop I attended was “Never Work Again” in Singapore. Although this comprised 20 modules highlighting specific opportunities for investing in passive income, which was not my particular interest at the time, it had a significant impact on my mindset and live video link with Joel Comm provided me with a complete reappraisal of my Internet business.
Tom Hua provided me with a set of Internet tools that I have yet to apply (he is a presenter worth seeing, whether you are interested in the Internet or not).
Next I attended “Train the Trainer” in London. This was delivered by Blair Singer who claims to have trained most of the international speakers with the exception of Anthony Robbins. I had been right in my conclusion that here was a powerful template that could be rolled out for major trainings around the world. I immediately signed up for the follow-on “Making the Stage” advanced training, from which I have just returned, in Thailand.
I can unreservedly recommend this training to anybody who has aspirations to train large number groups.
The next event in the quantum leap was “Guerrilla Business Intensive” in London. Once again, a large number of people, at Alexandra Palace, went through a templated practical interactive programme in which, in this case, they prepared individual business plans.
T Harv Eker’s programmes have only reached the United Kingdom this year, having come via Singapore through Success Resources. They are available in North America, South East Asia and Europe. This approach is a means of mass-producing personal and professional development and you should be aware of them.
As a result of signing up for quantum leap, I got a bonus programme, which Eker claims is his best. “Enlightened Warrior Training Camp” is an activity event comprising four ‘rites of passage’ exercises as well as group training. In this case there were ‘only’ 280 participants! For me, the tremendous value came from the support and feedback from the 70 people in my particular ‘tribe’. This has changed my self image and, I hope, taken me to a new level.
It would be only fair to add mention of Joel Roberts, who contributed two sessions to the business planning workshop. He is definitely not a clone of Harv Eker. Roberts is an ex prime-time talk show host from Los Angeles. He has his own particular style; his presentations appear to be completely unstructured; and he does love to talk. However, his teaching is very effective, working through the case studies and exercises he does with participants. He has already helped me greatly.
I have purchased a CD set and signed up for further training in London in January.What he focuses on is helping people to define exactly who and what they are in the shortest possible time. I have no particular interest in becoming a radio personality but, clearly, it is of great value to me as a professional to be able quickly to establish with potential clients who I am and what I offer.
Joel Roberts and Train the Trainer are a perfect match, together with Blair Singer’s sales training – which I haven’t mentioned.
In addition to quantum leap, I have also continued my studies with Roger Hamilton and the Wealth Dynamics Institute. I was already a master practitioner of Wealth Dynamics and this year’s programme in Bali reinforced my existing knowledge, as well as introducing Hamilton’s new “wealth spectrum”. Wealth dynamics now provides a comprehensive basis for coaching entrepreneurs, business people and teams.
On Wednesday I fly to Orlando for the International Coach Federation for the ICF annual conference. Who knows what I shall learn there!
Thoughts for coaches
So, what is all this to you? When I was in Malaysia on the Warrior training, several people came up to me and commented how much they appreciated my presence. This, I discovered, was because it was a real example to them that learning continues for ever. I was contributing by role modelling learning.
One of the things that Blair Singer teaches is the “yearn to learn”. As coaches, it seems to me, that we have two things to demonstrate other than our purely technical skills. One is the concept of abundance. The other is that we, too, are continually learning. We learn as we work with our clients. We should also study and participate in learning activities; those who wish, at the ICF conference this week, will be able to get CPD stamps for every workshop we attend.
Coaching is part of our clients’ continuing professional development allied with continuing personal development and we should both demonstrate it and encourage it.
Roger Hamilton says “to know and not to do is not to know that all”. Although I already have some training programmes booked for 2010, my main objective is to put into practice what I have learned this year, as well as passing it on to my clients.
If you were to review your year now, what would you be thankful for, and what should you start to set in place for next year’s New Year resolutions?
And, if you are a coach yourself, what messages and greetings should you be sending to your clients during this holiday season?
Please re-subscribe to our new lists
As I explained in my last editorial, after nearly nine years, we have decided that it is time to clean our subscription list. So, please re-subscribe to an entirely new list. You could do that now:
Alternatively, if you have not already done so, you can subscribe to our RSS feed.
We are also restructuring the newsletter to give it more independence. Already Krishna Kumar of Intradconsult in Bangalore, India, has joined us as a global content provider. He is an executive coach and founder-director of ISEC, the India School of Executive Coaching, with whom we are co-operating.
If you are based in India, you can subscribe to a specific Indian list. This will bring you all the benefits of CorporateCoach together with specialist articles relevant to the sub-continent.
PS: I would also welcome you on my Twitter page.
 Richard Winfield is founder of Brefi Group.
An international facilitator, he coaches and
facilitates directors and boards in transition:
helping them to make progress by
bringing structure and clarity
to their thinking.
USEFUL LINKS
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November 29th, 2009
 I am off to the International Coach Federation annual conference this week.
Inevitably, I shall return with more of the latest books.
I thought you might like suggestions for a basic reference list for executive coaching clients.
- Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey, is my recommendation as a starter text for anybody. It is particularly relevant for a new coaching client as it covers all practical aspects of personal development. First published 20 years ago, it has established itself as a classic.
- NLP at Work by Sue Knight has just been republished in its third and further extended edition. This book was the first quality NLP book by an English author. It is a simple, straightforward read, with the benefit of its direct application into the world of work.
- Built to Last – successful habits of visionary companies by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras is another classic. Unlike many business books, this book is based on practical research, identifying the definitive characteristics of companies that have survived for more than 50 years. It has been followed by Good to Great, which explains how to build such a company, but I prefer to go to first principles first and discover what it takes.
- Get Everything Done and Still Have Time to Play is the first of series of time management books by Mark Foster, all of which are highly individualistic and recommended.
- Any of the One Minute Manager series is worth recommending; they are an easy read, accessible and powerful.
- I have recently read The World is Flat by Thomas L Friedman. This is an excellent review of globalisation, setting the business and political world in context. I found it fascinating, and strongly recommend it as background reading.
- The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni is a leadership fable. I find that, for many business and leadership lessons, such stories are a most effective approach. The lessons in this book provide an excellent analysis of team building – and most people are either in a team, or leading a team.
- As you probably know, I am a master practitioner of Wealth Dynamics. Roger Hamilton’s book Your Life Your Legacy explains the different ways in which some of the world’s most successful business people have achieved their success. It is valuable to individuals, and also explains the basis for successful teams.
- For personal success, I recommend T Harv Eker’s little book Secrets of the Millionaire Mind.
- Finally, for people interested in a different approach to coaching, I recommend Tim Gallwey’s The Inner Game of Work. Not only does this book apply Gallwey’s inner game theories to the workplace, but it also includes a personal analysis tool in which he suggests that you think like the CEO of your own life. How many shares have you given away?
- One more! If you have any interest in consulting, then you must study Peter Block’s Flawless Consulting. You might discover that you are not a consultant at all. However, it gives you an excellent structure for managing a consulting project. Peter Block is a keynote speaker at the ICF conference this week.
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November 29th, 2009
I was studying Wealth Dynamics with Andy Greenhill recently.
He mentioned the questions that he asks himself each evening.
I thought you might find them of interest :-
- What did I learn today?
- What am i grateful for?
- Did I do my best today?
- What can I do better tomorrow?
- What am I going to achieve tomorrow?
- What is my intention as I sleep?
Posted in Coaching Notes | Comments Off
November 13th, 2009
This editorial is part of my 199th CorporateCoach newsletter.
The first issue was published in February 2001. By total coincidence, I have just discovered that it featured a ‘tools note’ on Setting Well Formed Outcomes. It also included a book review of Built to Last, which I still think is probably the best management book available.
As you can imagine, over such a long time our subscription list is likely to have become clogged with out of date addresses. This is not good for our reputation with Internet service providers and gives an inflated impression of our readership list.
So, over the next few issues we shall be encouraging you to re-subscribe to an entirely new list.
You could do that now:
Alternatively, if you have not already done so, you can subscribe to our RSS feed.
We are also restructuring the newsletter to give it more independence. Already Krishna Kumar of Intradconsult in Bangalore, India, has joined us as a global content provider. He is an executive coach and founder-director of ISEC, the India School of Executive Coaching, with whom we are co-operating.
If you are based in India, you can subscribe to a specific Indian list. This will bring you all the benefits of CorporateCoach together with specialist articles relevant to the sub-continent.
Increasingly, I am finding that my involvement in coaching is as a teacher. I have recently returned from Bali, where I was completing my training as a Master Practitioner of Wealth Dynamics and learning about the brand new Wealth Spectrum.
This week I fly to Thailand for an advanced Train the Trainer course with T Harv Eker and Blair Singer,
On my way east I stop off in Abu Dhabi, where I am helping to develop a competency based career development programme.
On my return, I shall be flying twelve time zones to Orlando for the International Coach Federation conference.
Next year promises to be rather quieter, giving me time to develop and launch the various initiatives that we have planned in the UK, India and Singapore.
In the meantime, if you are in Abu Dhabi or Bangkok, or going to the ICF conference, please get in touch.
I look forward to hearing from you via our contact page, or reading your comments, below.
PS: I would also welcome you on my Twitter page.
Richard Winfield is founder of Brefi Group.
An international facilitator, he coaches and
facilitates directors and boards in transition:
helping them to make progress by
bringing structure and clarity
to their thinking.
USEFUL LINKS
Millionaire Mind Intensive
“The Secret Psychology of Wealth”
A Weekend That Will Change Your Financial Life Forever!
Posted in Editorial | Comments Off
November 13th, 2009
This poem was submitted by Michael Skirving.
It is un-attributed but it is understood to have been written during the 30 year period that the author was held in a mental institution.
It speaks volumes about the need for us to change the way in which we treat our fellow human beings
When I ask you to listen to me, and you start giving me advice,
You have not done what I asked.
When I ask you to listen to me and you begin to tell me ‘why’ I shouldn’t feel that way,
You are trampling on my feelings.
When I ask you to listen to me and you feel you have to do something to solve my problems,
You have failed me, strange as that may seem.
Listen! All I ask is that you listen; not talk, nor do – just hear me.
And I can do for myself – I’m not helpless.
Maybe discouraged and faltering, but not helpless.
When you do something for me, that I can and need to do for myself,
You contribute to my fear and weakness.
But when you accept as a simple fact that I do feel what I feel, No matter how irrational
then I quit trying to convince you and can get about the business of understanding what’s behind this irrational feeling.
When that’s clear, the answers are obvious and I don’t need advice.
Irrational feelings make sense when we understand what’s behind them.
Perhaps that’s why prayer works sometimes for some people;
Because God is mute and does not give advice to try to ‘fix’ things, He/She just listens, and lets you work it out for yourself.
So please listen, and just hear me, and if you want to talk,
wait a minute for your turn, and I’ll listen to you.
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November 13th, 2009
 Eight questions for any situation – Richard Winfield explains the NLP setting well-formed outcomes process.
The core of executive coaching is to raise awareness and to clarify and set goals.
These eight questions form one of the most useful coaching tools, and can be used in any situation that relates to a decision.
Although the ‘SMART’ approach to goal setting is a legitimate and rigorous approach which is often taught to managers, the Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound conditions do not cover the subconscious motivations that affect success. In addition, they do not so effectively generate repeated iterations to refine a really powerful outcome.
As you apply these eight questions you wil discover how much more powerful they are than a SMART approach. They are a dynamic set. As you move down the list, you might find that earlier answers are no longer satisfactory. In which case, return and refine.
Keep repeating the exercise until you can answer all questions satisfactorily.
- What do you want? State your outcome specifically. You can define a multiple outcome by using the word AND. Never, ever, use BUT. Check that your outcome is stated in the positive. Then ask what would be a better outcome than this?
- Is the achievement of this outcome within your control?
What do you need to achieve it?
- When and where do you want this?
- What will the achievement of this outcome do for you?
How will achieving this outcome benefit you?
-
What might stop you achieving this outcome? Why have you not already achieved it? What might be the benefits of not achieving it?
- How will you know when you have achieved this outcome?
What evidence will you use to let you know that you are achieving this outcome?
- How will achieving this affect other areas of your life?
Is this outcome acceptable to you and to other people?
- What is the first action you must take to achieve this outcome?
Setting outcomes
The primary application of this process is to decide on and set a goal. Stating the outcome in the positive is very powerful. Very often, people know what they don’t want. This is no help. You must decide what you do want.
Similarly, it makes a great difference if you are faced with two or more apparently conflicting objectives. State an outcome that includes ‘A’ and ‘B’ and ‘C’, and there is a much greater likelihood that you will discover how to achieve all of them.
Checking that your outcome is within your control will cause you to think carefully about what you can really achieve. For example “Make 300 sales this month” is probably not within your control. However, “Adopt a strategy that will maximise my chances of achieving my sales target” is within your control. Now you have a different focus.
I have found that the “What stops you?” question is particularly powerful. Very often this identifies relatively simple things to be addressed, and immediately leads to yet another refinement of the stated outcome.
As you can see, following the process is likely to lead to a series of stacked outcomes, which then become your strategy for success.
Delegation
This process is really useful for delegation. It ensures that both sides agree specifically what is required. In addition, it ensures that the person taking on the task has all the resources needed and that there is no subconscious resistance to completion.
Meetings
This process can be used both to design an agenda and when agreeing actions.
Very often meetings can get off track at some stage. Here are two useful questions for anyone to ask when that happens:
“How does this relate to our stated outcome?”
“Is this within our control?”
Conclusion
Practising this process a few times will quickly install a mental discipline that will make you consistently more effective at making and implementing decisions.
USEFUL LINKS
- Subscribe to the CorporateCoach RSS feed
- Download – Setting well formed outcomes questionnaire
- On-line form – Setting well formed outcomes questionnaire
Posted in Coaching Notes | 1 Comment »
October 9th, 2009
The weather in the UK has suddenly turned cold after a wonderful ‘Indian summer’. And as we pass the equinox, the nights are drawing in faster, too.
Fortunately for me, I am off to warmer climes for a while. But, when I return, the clocks will have gone back and we shall be plunged into darkness.
Wealth Dynamics not only identifies eight roles in business, but also relates the life of a business to the seasons. Wherever we are in this cycle, it is useful for coaches to focus on what is appropriate at this stage. In general, there are not universal ‘right’ answers – rather ‘appropriate’ answers.
As we move towards winter, let us reflect on the World economic cycle, too. Winter is a time for reflection and preparation for the high activity of spring and summer. Make sure that we use it well.
I have signed up to Harv Eker’s Quantum Leap programme and have been extremely impressed with the results so far.
I attended his Millionaire Mindset Intensive in April and, having noted the similarities between what he does and what I do, it suddenly dawned on me that, whereas I typically work with groups of 12, he was working effectively with a group of 2,400 – a multiplier of 200 times! In addition, whereas my work depends very much on my presence, Harv Eker seemed to be following a detailed script. This means that using his approach, I could clone or franchise trainers.
I have learned how he does it from his own trainer, Blair Singer, and am continuing with the next stage in Thailand in November.
In the meantime, I am doing another of his courses in Malaysia and one with Roger Hamilton in Bali.
Opportunity to meet
I shall be in Singapore on 18-19 October
I shall be in Kuala Lumpur on 1 November
I shall be in Dubai on 2 November
I am also likely to be in Kuala Lumpur on or around 18-19 November
I am always keen to make contact with my readers, especially in an area where I am building a business in 2010, so if you would like to meet up, please contact me.
Richard Winfield is founder of Brefi Group.
An international facilitator, he coaches and
facilitates directors and boards in transition:
helping them to make progress by
bringing structure and clarity
to their thinking.
USEFUL LINKS
Millionaire Mind Intensive
“The Secret Psychology of Wealth”
A Weekend That Will Change Your Financial Life Forever!
Posted in Editorial | Comments Off
October 8th, 2009
I have been on some courses with T Harv Eker in which there were several references to the growing pattern of bamboo.
So I thought I would research the story.
You prepare the soil, pick the right spot, then plant the Chinese Bamboo seed. You water it and wait. But you wait an entire year and nothing appears. No bud, no twig, nothing. So you keep watering and protecting the area and taking care of the future plant, and you wait some more. You wait another year and nothing still happens. Okay, you are a persistent person not prone to giving up, so you keep on watering. You water, check the soil, start talking to the ground, maybe even click your heels in some kind of growing dance you read about in the National Geographic. Another year passes and still no sign of growth.
It has been three years. Should you give up? Someone told you that it might take a while to really see the fruits of your efforts, so you keep on keeping on. More water, more talk, more dancing. The neighbors are wondering. And another year passes. No tree.
You now make a decision. If there is no tree on this date one year from now you will stop watering. Period. So you begin year number five with the same passion as day number one. You water, you wait. You keep watering and keep waiting. You water some more and then, could it be? Is it really? Yep, there it is, something sticking out of the dirt. You come back the next day and WOW it has really grown! In fact you come back each day for about six weeks and finally the Chinese Bamboo tree stops growing—but it is over 80 feet tall! Yes, 80 feet in six weeks! Well, not really. It is 80 feet in five years.
The point is simple. If you had given up for even the shortest period of time, there would be no tree. It took almost impossible persistence. The Chinese Bamboo tree is there for one reason and one reason only—because you never gave up on it.
Further research suggests that it might be one of those training myths. Does anyone know about the growing habits of bamboo seeds?
Here is another story that I found at the same time:
Once upon a time there was a farmer who had two gardens. One was in the mountains and the other was in the plains. The farmer loved both gardens very much. But in particular he loved one tree in the mountain garden. This tree was a bamboo.
Bamboo was very tall and very beautiful. The farmer used to visit Bamboo every evening to admire and enjoy her beauty. When the farmer was visiting, Bamboo would always dance beautifully, which made the farmer even happier. The farmer loved Bamboo very much, much more than other trees.
It so happened that there was once a drought in the plains, and the lower garden started to dry. The drought was so severe that the plants started to die off. The farmer was desperate to find a way of watering this garden. There was plenty of water in the mountains, but he had no way of taking the water to the plains. Then the farmer remembered his friend Bamboo.
So the farmer went to Bamboo one evening and they started talking. “Bamboo,” said the farmer, “I love you a great deal.”
Bamboo was very happy. Dancing, she responded, “I too love you so much, master.” The master was pleased.
“So now, Bamboo,” said the master, “I want to use you.”
“I am ready, master,” answered Bamboo.
“But there is one condition,” the master went on. “In order to use you, I must cut you down.”
Bamboo was grieved and very disturbed. “Master,” said Bamboo, “you say you love me. Why then do you want to destroy me?”
“Bamboo,” the master said, “I don’t want to destroy you, I want to use you. But in order for you to be usable to me, I must cut you. If you are not ready to be cut, I cannot use you.”
Bamboo was most unhappy, because she feared the pain. But because she loved the master and trusted him, she decided to let the master go on. So the master took a hatchet and cut down Bamboo. It was very painful.
The master said, “Good, but there is some more work to do on you; I have to chop off your branches.”
Bamboo complained even more. “Master, you want to kill me now.” The master remained silent; and seeing that he was serious, Bamboo decided to submit. The master took his hatchet again and cleaned off the branches until Bamboo was very clean. Then he said, “This is really good, Bamboo, but there is still one last thing. I have to pop out your inside.”
Bamboo was terrified. The last two steps had been painful enough, but to pop out her inside — that was unthinkable. Bamboo struggled with this. But then the master said, “I cannot use you unless I pop out your inside.” Seeing that the master was serious, Bamboo again submitted.
The master took an iron rod and popped out the inside until Bamboo was hollow. It was extremely painful. But Bamboo was now ready to be used.
The master used Bamboo as a pipe to connect his two gardens. Soon water started to flow from the mountain garden into the garden in the plains. The plants were revived. Seeing her usefulness, both Bamboo and the master were very happy. They ended up greater friends than before.
USEFUL LINKS
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October 8th, 2009
How to avoid shocks in the future – Richard Winfield explains how to future proof your business by asking two simple questions.
The trouble with the future is that you don’t know what it is going to be until it arrives. By then it can be too late to plan for it.
If you cannot reliably plan for the future, what can you do?
The answer is to explore the future. The future is complex, but many of the influences that will determine it are already evident.
By exploring what might happen, rather than trying to predict what will happen, you can discover alternative outcomes and prepare for them; this helps you become sensitive to signals that will indicate possible directions as soon as they appear.
Scenario planning is a structured process for exploring the future. It is both a technique and a way of thinking that enables you to develop and test options before embarking on a strategic plan.
Practical scenario planning
Clem Sunter and Chantell Ilbury describe a simple but powerful scenario planning model in their book The Mind of a Fox.
The matrix below shows the model and how standard management techniques can be incorporated into it. It has two axes: the horizontal one portrays certainty and uncertainty and the vertical one control and the absence of control. These two axes yield four quadrants: the most interesting ones are the bottom two, which provide ‘the rules of the game’ and ‘the key uncertainties’.
Enlarge matrix
Question One
The first stage is to identify the ‘rules of the game’. Ask yourself: “What can we be certain of but cannot control?” Your answers might include “exchange rates vary”, or “governments like to regulate”, or “fuel/share prices fluctuate”. This process defines context, reveals unconscious prejudices, and helps establish what you do control.
Question Two
Next, identify the key uncertainties by asking: “What do we not know and cannot control?” Answers might be “actual exchange rates” or “the price of fuel”. Analytical tools such as PESTEL or Porter’s Five Forces will help identify significant factors, which might represent an opportunity or a threat. As well as trend analysis, look out for ‘wild cards’.
Scenario building
You are now ready to develop three to five scenarios.
These should have simple, vivid and different themes with compelling titles and be written as stories or press reports.
Different strategies can then be developed and evaluated against the scenarios so that you can say, “If the future turns out this way, this is what I will do”.
Conclusion
Scenario planning will broaden your perception and alert you to possible developments so that you can prepare for the ‘unexpected’. With this improved understanding, it is then safe to proceed to strategy planning.
USEFUL LINKS
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September 21st, 2009
 I have long understood that the greatest improvements in the world’s health did not come from doctors or research scientists. They came as a result of building sewers and clean water supplies.
We have just recorded the death of the man who is widely recognised as having saved more lives than anyone else in history. Again, he was not a politician or a diplomat, a revolutionary, or even a warrior. What Norman Borlaug did was to breed a better wheat seed. As a result, Mexico’s wheat production doubled and India and Pakistan experienced a green revolution.
At this time, government and local government in the UK are at last recognising the need to find savings in public expenditure. The message is to start with the fundamentals; attend to the back office and get the basics right.
I mentioned in my last editorial that I have always considered the return from northern hemisphere summer holidays the real start of the business year.
If it is the beginning of the year, it is the equivalent of spring. I have had the spring cleaning bug. After three years in the same office, although it has evolved with additional furniture for storage, my filing system has collapsed. Actually, it was never really set up properly. After three years procrastination, I spent two days labeling suspension files for every single set of paper that was in a pile on my desk as well as the unfiled papers stuffed into the top of filing cabinet drawers. Much of this had built up because there was nowhere proper to put things. Now, I have the equivalent of a good sewage system and water supply and, without any additional effort or discipline, can realistically expect to put things away. No more time, I hope, wasted looking for things or in getting my act together when I return to projects.
If I were my own effective life coach, of course, this is something that I would have addressed long ago.
Thomas Leonard called such things ‘tolerations’; things that bug us, sap our energy and could be eliminated. “Tolerate Nothing” is the title of Step 15 in his book “The Portable Life Coach”.
Coaches working on their own can easily set up, or fail to avoid, many tolerations. Mostly, these are to do with accounts, tax, insurance etc.
Andrew Halfacre has just released the latest version of his Red Stuff Handbook, which covers all these essential business matters. Whether you are starting a business, running a business, or, are a business adviser/coach, I thoroughly recommend the fourth edition of this in-depth handbook.
The more observant of you will have noticed a change to the page design of CorporateCoach. This is to recognise the planned co-operation with IntradConsult, of Bangalore. I am pleased to welcome Krishna Kumar’s latest article.
Richard Winfield is founder of Brefi Group.
An international facilitator, he coaches and
facilitates directors and boards in transition:
helping them to make progress by
bringing structure and clarity
to their thinking.
USEFUL LINKS
Posted in Editorial | Comments Off
September 21st, 2009
 The Red Stuff Handbook – what your accountant won’t tell you!
Why “Red Stuff?” Because You need to understand the mechanics of how it all works – tax, national insurance, expenses, VAT, whether to be a partnership, sole trader, limited company or one of the four other business structures you can use. It’s the lifeblood of any business – saving you money and saving time if you can find the most effective way to manage the mechanics.
If you are thinking of leaving your job and starting your own business or becoming your own boss then you are probably the kind of person who wants practical information that you can use straightaway.
Experience shows that even with all the help available to new start-ups, you still have to put it together yourself and it soon becomes clear that there is a whole lot of stuff that you don’t know about.
Understand the 12 decisions you need to make…
When you confront the mechanics of starting a business in the UK, I think there are 12 key decision areas that you need to sort out.
1. Are you building income or equity?
2. Which legal structure are you going to use (e.g. Sole Trader v. Ltd Company) and should you buy a franchise?
3. Do you need an accountant and a business bank account?
4. Are you going to register for VAT – now, later or never?
5. Should you buy a company car or van?
6. Are you clear about business expenses and how to claim them?
7. Do you know how to organise yourself, send invoices and get paid?
8. How will you price your goods or services?
9. Will your work be caught by IR35 and can you avoid it?
10. Which insurance cover should you buy?
11. Should you employ other people – now, later or not at all?
12. Do you need a website and should you trade on the internet?
You might want to think about how much time it would take you to sort all this out on your own and the time you can save by getting this information laid out for you in one place.
Who is this for?
Purchase this product if you want fast, practical help with the mechanics. It’s for people at the transition stage who have been curious and concerned about the mechanics and want to arm themselves with some information and answers before talking to other professionals. It is, for example, an ideal handbook to work through before you start talking to accountants.
Author Andrew Halfacre says: -
When I started my business a few years ago, I blundered straight into it and boy did I make some mistakes. Here’s just a few of them…
* I lost money by choosing the wrong trading structure and missed a valuable tax refund!
* I chose the first accountant I met who seemed friendly but turned out to be incompetent!
* I didn’t tell my bank something legally significant and traded for ages with the wrong sort of bank account!
* I got in a terrible muddle with National Insurance and signed a direct debit for the wrong sort altogether!
The worst of all of this was that I talked to the Revenue, I talked to an accountant, I went on a start-up course with BusinessLink and I talked to other people who had small businesses but STILL got it wrong. Nobody I spoke to seemed able to put it all together for me, to explain everything in one easy to understand way that I could follow to avoid these kind of mistakes. It wasn’t just the money, although I did lose some. It was the time. Time wasted on websites, phonecalls and puzzling out all this stuff – time that I could have, should have, been spending on working with my customers.
The fourth edition of this annual handbook, expanded to 131 pages, will save you this waste of time. It contains the stuff that no-one tells you, presented in a way that no-else does. It’s vital information that will save you time, save you money and keep you on the straight and narrow.
The Red Stuff Handbook is available from Brefi Group, price £47.00.
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September 21st, 2009
Guest article by Krishna Kumar, Bangalore, India
Golfing great, Arnold Palmer, is known to have remarked, ”I can find out everything about a person by watching him play eighteen holes of golf.”
Were we to accept this premise, then the sports field would substitute for psychometric personality evaluation instruments. The Myers-Briggs and Meredith Belbin tests popularly used in the corporate world could become a thing of the past.
The obvious difficulty would be in getting corporate executives in India to play a sport – any sport – as a large percentage prefers to live sedentary lives. And, if one could surmount this initial hurdle and manage to get them outside their cubicles, another dimension to test their personality would lie in their choice of sport.
Consider the following scenarios. David Beckham conquers Wimbledon, Roger Federer betters Michael Jordan’s basketball records, Tiger Woods beats Usain Bolt’s 100-metre timings and Michael Schumacher conquers the Golf Majors.
While conjuring up such images we can but speculate “what if these great champions had decided to take up some other sport.” Would they still be the best in the world? Indeed, why did they select their particular sport in the first place?
This then brings us to the moot question. Aside from the obvious fact they are all superb athletes, what do a Beckham, a Federer, a Jordan or a Woods have in common? The answers clearly lie in factors beyond their physical prowess. Are these champions so different in their mental make-up that made them select different sports and go on to excel in those?
To attempt to understand this conundrum, we should start with understanding the nature of sport. Sports are of various types, which for the sole purpose of simplicity, we can broadly categorize in three groups.
Firstly, we have the team games (like soccer, hockey, basketball, volleyball, baseball and cricket) where a team functions like a well-geared machine and churns out a winning performance. There are many cogs and gears within this machine. Some cogs may be bigger and better than the others but overall they generate a powerful synergy. CEOs of companies would clearly like their teams to operate in this manner.
Next, we have individual sports (like tennis, badminton, certain athletics and swimming events, boxing, wrestling and motorcar/motorbike racing). In these disciplines, individuals compete aggressively with each other and pit their wits against their opponents in real time. While in team sports, your opponent’s performance often decides the outcome; in individual events you are solely responsible for failure and success. Is it possible to suggest that a CEO’s personality would ideally suit such sports?
And the third broad grouping is that of a set of individual sports (like golf, archery, shooting, diving and certain other athletic events) where the participants do not actively engage with their opponents. Their real “enemies” are within themselves and with the hostile environment (the weather, the terrain and other playing conditions) making the degree of difficulty more acute. As it is not uncommon to find CEOs with a passion for golf perhaps we need to expand the head-honcho’s personality to include this group.
So, we now have three sets of sport, each demanding a different combination of physical and mental skills and mirroring these skills a set of personality traits that help predict who would play them best. So, can we predict that a largely introverted person would be best suited for archery or golf and an extrovert should be sent to play soccer or basketball? Do players adapt to their sport irrespective of their basic nature or do they select a sport that best suits their aptitude?
The words of the 17th century English philosopher, John Locke, encapsulated this theory when he wrote, “I have always thought that the actions of men are the best interpreters for their thoughts.”
We know that sports persons “chase their dreams” and play for fame and fortune. But, so do business professionals from the corporate world. They are as much motivated by career (fame) and increments (fortune).
It might not always be possible for business leaders/CEOs to get Arnold Palmer to map the personality of their team members. However, watching them play their favorite sports is doubtless a useful exercise to avoid the pitfalls of fitting “square pegs in round holes” and getting to know what makes them tick!
Krishna Kumar is the founder-Director of Intrad Consult, based in Bangalore, India.
Intrad Consult assists clients in the areas of business intelligence and
knowledge management. Krishna is also a qualified tennis coach
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September 21st, 2009
I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end.
He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke of the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own,
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard;
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
That can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect
And more often wear a smile,
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.
So when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?
© 1996 Linda Ellis
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September 14th, 2009
Welcome back. I might be a frustrated academic, but it has always seemed to me that the real new year is September.
After a long break for rest and recreation, schools and businesses come back with fresh ideas and renewed energy. Time to act and plan for the future. Many companies have financial years ending 31 December and so this is also a time for budget planning.
I am clearly not the only one who thinks this is a time for forward planning. In the last week of August we had three enquiries about awaydays and I facilitated two others last week.
If you are a coach, then now is the time to stimulate business for the next few months. Hanna McNamara’s book on marketing for coaches, reviewed this week, would be a good start if you need to develop a strategy, or would like to review what you have already developed.
I am actually taking it a stage further and studying with Daniel Priestley to build a social networking marketing strategy for the Director Development Centre. I am also studying with T Harv Ecker and Blair Singer to be able to increase the number of people I work with at any one time by a factor of 200! I was amazed earlier in the year to realise that I was involved in really effective interactive learning as a member of an audience of 2,400. I normally work with groups of 12. It was mind blowing to realise that Harv was working with 200 times as many. So, I signed up to learn what he does.
I have just completed a very revealing analysis of a board of directors using Wealth Dynamics profiling. Roger Hamilton will be teaching his complementary approach, the Wealth Spectrum, in Bali in October, and I shall be there to update my status as Wealth Dynamics Master Practitioner. In the meantime, I have been studying with Nick Haines, who teaches the fundamentals of Wealth Dynamics as a basis for coaching.
One of the joys of all this professional development is that it causes me to travel. Between now and the end of the year, I shall be attending courses in Kuala Lumpur, Bali and Phuket. And, if I can fit it in, there is the ICF Annual Conference in Florida.
However, the learning is for a business purpose and I am preparing for a major international launch for Brefi Group activities in the new year. Watch this space as there will be opportunities for some new associate work.
Richard Winfield is founder of Brefi Group.
An international facilitator, he coaches and
facilitates directors and boards in transition:
helping them to make progress by
bringing structure and clarity
to their thinking.
USEFUL LINKS
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September 14th, 2009
Guerrilla Business Intensive
How to create Wealth Quickly in Any Business You Choose!
5 days – London, UK
Date: 30th Sep ~ 4th Oct 2009 (Wed – Sun)
Venue: Alexandra Palace
This powerful programme will give you all the strategies you need for high-speed success in any business. Most people go into business to make a living; Guerrilla Business Intensive will show you how to create a lifetime of passive income.
Through high-impact processes, exercises, games, and case studies you will
learn:
- How to earn a million dollars a year in any business you choose!
- How to generate million-dollar ideas every 60 seconds.
- How to make or save a fortune using guerrilla negotiation tactics.
- How to start any business or division with little or no money down.
- How to raise $10,000 to 1/2 a million dollars without asking anyone to finance anything.
- How to set up your business for massive passive income or (sell it for millions if you choose to!)
If you know how to market, you are going to get rich. If you are an ineffective marketer, you won’t. It’s that simple. The Guerrilla Business Intensive is also a hands-on, step-by-step, paint-by-numbers marketing program where you will develop a brilliant marketing plan and learn the specific strategies necessary to making a fortune in any business
You will learn:
- How to write the kind of killer sales scripts and marketing copy that will have people lining up to buy from you.
- How to identify your ultimate USP (Unique Selling Proposition) and become a master at creating the “hooks” that close every sale.
- How to create a name and tagline for any company and brand strategically and meaningfully for your market.
- The four most critical elements of guaranteeing success in any marketing campaign.
You will become a marketing genius in 2 days flat.
The objective of the seminar is for you to leave with a full business strategy and complete marketing plan of the caliber you would normally pay an agency over $100,000 to produce. Best of all, after creating this plan you’ll own a transferable skill in marketing and business expertise that can make money for the rest of your life!
Using what you learn at the Guerrilla Business Intensive, you will stop wasting time with tactics that produce little or mediocre results and start creating wealth in any business you choose.
Usual Price: £5,995
Special Limited Offer: £1,995 + VAT
"I’ve spent the last 15 years in marketing, sales, and production, but I got more useful knowledge in only five intense days at Guerrilla Business Intensive. What an awesome value and amazing experience! This course actually lets you leave richer—on so many levels—than when you arrived."
Sarah H
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September 14th, 2009
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September 7th, 2009
 There is more to a book than the ideas within it.
There are the words, the structure, the style. There are also the physical aspects, the colour and design. In addition, there is the feel of it.
‘Niche Marketing for Coaches’ by Hannah McNamara scores on all counts. It is just a pleasure to hold and to open. The soft binding and glossy cover are a joy.
In addition, the subject matter is very pertinent to many coaches. My experience is that the majority of coaches have difficulty attracting clients, at least in their first year.
As I thumb through the book, I am reminded of the pleasure of the design, the page layout. However, let’s get down the the meat of it.
The book is divided into two sections. The first section covers choosing your niche, positioning and pricing. The second covers your marketing message, networking, public relations, public speaking, Internet, and creating a marketing plan.
Most coaches will be familiar with the Wheel of Life. Hannah has developed a Wheel of Marketing. Try this exercise. Set up a the traditional Wheel but use these labels: -
- Niche: Your specific area of coaching, your coaching expertise, the type of clients that you want to work with
- Marketing message: The message that you want to communicate to prospective clients
- Price: How much to charge and how to package your services
- PR/publicity: How yo get articles published and use the media
- Public speaking: How to get booked as a public speaker and run your own workshops
- Networking: How to make contacts who will introduce you to other people, word of mouth marketing
- Internet: Using the Internet st spread the word about you
- Closing: Asking for the business, how to convert prospective clients into paying clients
Score your level of knowledge 1 – 10. Then ask yourself, for those areas where you scored seven or lower, what would it take for you to improve your score? What are the things that you want to know about? What would it take for you to improve your confidence in this subject? (Good coaching questions, these!)
You will not be surprised to learn that these are exactly the subjects discussed in this book.
I recommend it.
USEFUL LINKS
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July 28th, 2009
 Some time ago I asked you to support us in a campaign to get The Law of Business Attraction into an Amazon top ten best seller category. We succeeded in several categories and I thank you for your cooperation.
There was a distribution problem with some copies from Amazon – if you had a problem, please let me know and we’ll sort it out.
I have now received my copy and enjoyed reading it.
The book is subtitled “Secrets of Cooperative Success”, and this is really what it is about. It contains 30 ‘chapterettes’, each one being a true story that reveals why competition is no longer the smartest way to do business and why cooperative business is the key to fast results.
Certainly, I am beginning to benefit from such an approach since I joined the XL Results Foundation. Indeed, just at present, I am attracting associates and business partners for Brefi Group that means that I can plan a re-launch in September.
Not only is this compilation approach to book publishing a new innovation by Ruby Yeh, but it will be accompanied by a multi-media version that includes audio and video contributions be many of the authors.
A similar approach is being adopted in The Wealth Garden in which I am an author.
The book includes authors such as T Harv Eker, with whom I shall be studying this weekend, and also Ruby herself.
All authors are entrepreneur members of CEOSpace, and they tell how they: -
- Raised billions in seed money and revenue
- Landed high-profile clients and strategic partnerships with mega companies such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Nike, Banana Republic, Dreamworks and L A Dodgers
- Developed great ideas into multi-million dollar businesses
- Transcended age, race and gender barriers to reach the top of their fields
I quote below a set of rules from his chapter used by author Donald C Mann to get his team to buy into a vision that if it could be done, they would do it.
- We shoot no messengers, and everyone gets his or her say. Silence is fine, but it is counted as acceptance and is held accountable as such. No backbiting is allowed.
- We keep the vision in mind. Every meeting has an agenda, a project plan and the status of current items, with assignments and due dates. All stakeholders and decision-makers are involved, or some tasks are managed and all results are communicated to the entire team. Ignorance is unacceptable.
- There is no clock, only results. We work as long as it takes and as long as it is safe. We manage to meet schedules and commitments.
- We recognise, praise and reward good work and results. All other limiting behaviours are ignored or, as necessary, dealt with individually. The only fear allowed is that of negative consequences for not being fully committed to getting optimal results. Otherwise, every failure or unexpected result is just another challenge to be solved.
- We invent what we need to make this a success.
USEFUL LINKS
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July 28th, 2009
In the last issue of CorporateCoach I included my Demartini inspired mission statement summary.
I had been able to develop this as a result of seeing John Demartini’s own mission statement, and my example last week was well received.
This week, therefore, I am repeating the exercise.
For several years I was tempted to write some affirmations, but could not get my head around the concept. Then I was given some examples by the Centerpointe Research Institute for their Holosync system, and also found some in MindMovies. All fell into place.
So here is an example from my affirmations list. As before, I am only including the summary section. I also have sections for: – Spirituality, Friends and Family, Contribution and Appreciation, Business, Health, and Wealth, followed by another set of summary affirmations.
I get rich doing what I love; adding value to other people’s lives
I am open to miracles
I earn enough passive income to pay for my desired lifestyle
I am a much sought after coach and facilitator, who provides fantastic value
I attract colleagues, partners and opportunities to help my businesses grow
I am seen by others as loving, confident, attractive, and personable
I enjoy being rewarded for my contribution
Money brings me freedom and opportunity
I am fit, healthy, happy and fulfilled
I am wealthy beyond my imagination
I also have a set of visualisations supported by photographs.
These various psychological games can be used in different ways, and I tend to take different approaches on different days.
Each of these statements is a standard, a benchmark, that you are setting for your life.
The classic approach is to read them out with emotion; especially loudly with positive, physical actions. Alternatively, you can stop and visualise each one as being already true; or use one or more as the basis for meditation.
Selecting an appropriate representation is also important. I have three photographs to support traveling business class. The picture of an Emirates business class cabin does nothing for me; the picture of a steward serving champagne is better; but the one that really resonates is the picture of a business class meal tray. It is the food and service, rather than the leg room, that I value and this picture is exactly what I see when travelling business class, and what I fantasize about  .
I am pleased to welcome Krishna Kumar (KK) as a visiting author this week. He and I are planning a major new initiative in Bangalore and this is the first step in launching an Asia edition of CorporateCoach. Both he and Stefan Powell promise that their articles are the first of a series, which will be very welcome in supplementing my own writings. If you would like to contribute, and raise your global profile, please contact me.
This is the last week of July. Our next issue of CorporateCoach is due in September. If you are in the northern hemisphere, I wish you a great holiday.
Richard Winfield is founder of Brefi Group.
An international facilitator, he coaches and
facilitates directors and boards in transition:
helping them to make progress by
bringing structure and clarity
to their thinking.
USEFUL LINKS
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July 28th, 2009
The Sporting Conundrum: Chasing the Dream, by Krishna Kumar
Roger Federer shedding a tear is now passé. He did it after losing an epic final to bête noire Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon last year. He came close to it at this year’s Australian Open while losing again to the World Number 1. But, why did Federer shed tears as the French Open champion while holding aloft the only trophy he had never won till date?
Were they tears of joy or of ecstasy? Or was it just a plain sense of relief of a man who achieved his dream of becoming a GOAT (Greatest of all Time)? A journey to reach a dream that, in recent times, was littered with seemingly insurmountable hurdles. In his post-match comments, Federer admitted that he could now enjoy playing out the rest of his career without the burden of expectations.
And this begs the question, what happens when you finally realise your dreams?
Sportspersons through the ages have battled this question. After years of brutal hard work, sacrifice and nerve-wracking courage a few achieve the pinnacle of success. They not only become world champions, but beat existing records to climb the highest peaks. In the process they set standards that ordinary mortals find difficult to comprehend. And, once they have tasted the heady elixir of success, it is not uncommon for them to find life at ground level unpalatable.
Modern history is replete with examples of champion sportspersons who have lost themselves to the perils of success. Alcohol and substance abuse, bad marriages and broken relationships, bankruptcy and ill-fame. This is often the other side of the coin, the shiny side of which is sporting superstardom.
History often labels such ‘superstars gone bad’ as people who were unable to manage the fame that accompanied their success. While this could well be true it is equally likely that they were “magnificently unprepared” for the phase of life after fulfilling their dream.
A young Apollo, golden haired,
Stands dreaming on the brink of strife.
Magnificently unprepared,
For the long littleness of life.
– Rupert Brooke
What’s next for these great achievers who have fulfilled their dream? Should they not have planned for a life after their achievements? Perhaps, they could have set themselves another dream following the one that they achieved by traversing a back-breaking path.
Or, wishing to live a long, healthy and fulfilled life they can believe that sporting glory is but another step taken in the “long littleness of life.”
Dreams are the language of the soul, writes Paulo Coelho in his bestselling novel, The Alchemist. In the novel his protagonist, a shepherd boy called Santiago, seeks the help of many persons – a gypsy woman, a king, an alchemist – to help realise his dream of travelling to find an extravagant treasure.
The real world is filled with people who are searching to understand the language of their soul. Like Santiago, they too need to seek the help of friends, coaches, mentors and well-wishers to achieve their dreams. They require support to understand their dreams, define clear and achievable goals and develop a path to reach this peak with the minimum of obstacles. Most importantly these coaches are even more critical when the stars get closer to reaching their goals. For, they need to help the superstars answer a crucial question… What Next?
When Federer won the French Open two months ago, he achieved a career Grand Slam of titles. With this year’s Wimbledon, he collected a record 15 Slams. It seems like the ‘tears of relief’ has had its desired impact as Federer was back to his composed self while getting the better of a resurgent Andy Roddick.
The Fedex has started rolling again… And Olympic glory at London 2012 could be the next stop!
Krishna Kumar is an engineer, MBA and professional tennis coach who combines
his academic and sporting achievements with his corporate experience
to develop mentoring-for-change programs for senior management
professionals in the information technology industry.
He is founder director of Bangalore-based Intrad Consult,
which has a strategic alliance with Brefi Group.
USEFUL LINKS
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