Horses Make Better Leaders

Horses Make Better Leaders

by | May 27, 2014

So bringing a horse in the workplace might be a bit of a stretch, not to mention a little messy! However, the growing field of emotional intelligence (EI) and neuroscience, highlights the need for leaders to develop solid interpersonal and relationship skills in order to become proficient in harnessing the complexities of the modern world.

In fact a recent report by Deloitte Consulting LLP (my old employer!) entitled Global Human Capital Trends 2014 reveals that 86% of companies cite developing leadership capability as the top challenge they are facing, alongside employee retention and engagement, the re-skilling of HR and talent acquisition.

So why are horses such great teachers of leadership? To my mind it is because leadership is fundamentally changing. The old paradigm of command and control will no longer work in the workplace. We are leaving the information era and entering the collaboration era and horses are masterful at showing us how to work together in unity and harmony to achieve results. They also engage actively in shared leadership which will become more prevalent as we move forward.

With the avalanche of information out there it is simply impossible for one person to know it all. Everyone in the team needs to share responsibility for ensuring that the business meets its goals. And this this is what the herd models for us so well. They share the same vision for survival and safety and each herd member is responsible for looking out for danger. They have to be alert at all times and be focused on the goal. Any horse that fails to pay attention is reprimanded and often driven out of the herd for a short period of time. (Trust me it is fearful place for a horse to be alone and excluded from the herd with no-one to share the burden of responsibility with.)

And yet this is what I witness in organisations a lot, except for it is the leader who often feels alone and isolated from the rest of the team. They are left on the fringes and are not connected to the rest of the herd. The result is mis-communication, feelings resentment and frustration as goals are not met.

So how does Horse Assisted Coaching work and why is it so powerful?

In our new connected era what is apparent is that success does not come entirely from what you do – although taking action is always important – but it comes from who you are being. How are you showing up in the world? What type of leader are you? Horses teach us these important soft skills that are vital for business success. In fact I estimate that 80% of business success comes from how you show up as a leader for your business. Are you aligned and congruent? Are you passionate about what you are doing? What beliefs do you hold about success?

Horses help you develop these softer skills controlled by the limbic system of the brain (the emotional centre). Horses communicate mainly via body language and operate solely from their emotions. They don’t care if you are the CEO or the Office Junior, what they care about is what you are bringing to the relationship. Having a 600lb horse in front of you tends to bring up ‘real’ emotions for both parties! This could be known as ‘real-play’ rather than ‘role-play’.

As a participant in a Horse Assisted Coaching session you will performs certain ground activities which will evoke a variety of thoughts (productive and self-limiting) which in turn produce certain emotions (feelings), this is then mirrored in your body language, which the horses pick up on (from up to 1km away!). As the horses are at liberty (free of reins, head gear and rider control) they have the option to react naturally to the participant. This is the moment of instant feedback from the horses mouth!!.

Participants are able to try out different approaches and ways of managing themselves and the other (in this case the horse) in each situation, giving them an opportunity to experiment with the most effective behavioural response (adaptive behaviours). As success is found, confidence builds and links are made to life outside the paddock, which then raises the probability of using the new adaptive behaviours in the workplace.

All these programs are delivered in a non-threatening environment where the focus is to support each participant to achieve better outcomes in their interpersonal interactions and develop an awareness of themselves, others and the complexities within the workplace.

Business Horsepower combines leading theory and profiling tools with innovative Horse Assisted Coaching in order to deliver the most effective emotional intelligence development programs available and create more leadership bang for your buck!

Put simply you get more effective results when you use horsepower!

Note: If you are based in the UK talk to me about some special funding that is available for developing leadership skills in your company.

7 Essential Business Systems to Make 6-Figures Without Burning Out

7 Essential Business Systems to Make 6-Figures Without Burning Out

by | May 14, 2014

Business SystemsRunning your own business involves a millions of details and moving parts.  And if you’re relying on yourself to remember all of these, you WILL get burned out.  Things WILL fall through the cracks and ultimately you will lose the trust of your customers.  Not a great place to end up in an environment  where prospects and customers are seeking you to be their trusted advisor.

This is why the creation of systems is vital for you if you are to create a Joined Up Business so you can become focused and productivity by saving yourself resources. You see systems are the lifeblood of your business – they are an integral part of the business DNA and yet many business take an ostrich approach to systems – preferring to stick their head in the sand rather than take action and get some simple systems set up,
A system is simply a series of steps for a particular task or project.   The cool part?  You shouldn’t be the one executing the system.  Once you have systems documented, you can hand them off to key team members – this is how you begin to create a business that runs without you.

If you’ve never systematized anything in your business before, take heart – if you take the same steps to achieve particular tasks in your business more than once, you already have the makings of a system for that task.

The key is to hone, refine and ultimately delegate the RIGHT systems that are going to grow your business.

Which systems should you implement FIRST?  Below are my top 7 systems that I use daily to run my business.

1. A system to attract new clients.
Your business growth depends on your ability to attract new, highly qualified, highly awesome ideal peeps into your world, month in and month out.  (The easiest way to get started?  A signature system, a signature talk, and local speaking gigs.  Simple, streamlined and proven.)

2. A system to turn prospects into invested clients.
What happens when a potential new client contacts you or your team out of the blue?   When you invest time, energy and attention to attract new clients, it only makes sense to have a system that kicks in to turn these prospects into invested new clients.

3. A system to follow up with prospects (after events, networking, or in-person meetings).
Nothing closes the “know-like-trust” gap faster than face-to-face connection, which means that every event you attend can mean thousands of dollars in business for you – if you follow up.  Next time you find a stack of business cards in your purse, ask yourself, “How can I systematize follow-up within 48 hours of the event?”

4. A system for “keep in touch” (such as a newsletter).
There is no way that you can expect to fill your programs easily if you’re not doing SOME kind of outreach or follow-up.   Whether it’s a newsletter, a video newsletter, an evergreen autoresponder, or a blog (used in conjunction with email), you’ve got to do something and do it consistently.  Which means… you need a system. 🙂

5. A system to serve clients in your programs.
When a new client signs up, there’s excitement… and terror.  She’s thinking a zillion things, not the least of which is, “Did I really make the right move, invetsing £5000 to this person?” Every program you offer needs to have a system behind it to give your clients a stellar experience: welcoming new clients, scheduling the calls, delivering the calls, recording calls, distributing the calls, communicating with your herd and whatever else you do to deliver the goods.  Your clients DO notice these details, which, when done well, leads to better results and repeat business.

6. A system to manage your cash.
Your cash flow system should include “buckets” for incoming money (X for taxes, Y for expenses, Z for your salary, and so on).  And always pay yourself, even if it’s just one dollar – the action matters more than the amount when you’re just getting started.

7. A system to generate referrals & testimonials.
The best clients come from your awesome current clients.  Awesome current clients love to refer, so make it easy on them.  (Which makes your business growth easy on you – win!)

The small amount of time you’ll invest in setting up your systems will pay you back exponentially in time and income over the long run, PLUS give all of your clients and potential clients the kind of high-value experience that truly sets you apart.

You can learn more about the 21 Ways I see most business owners losing cash and clients because they don’t have simple systems and processes in place by going to www.businesshorsepower.com and downing my free report

 

 

Applying the 80:20 Rule To Create An Efficient Business

Applying the 80:20 Rule To Create An Efficient Business

by | May 6, 2014

“There is nothing quite so useless, as doing with great efficiency, something that should not be done at all.” – Peter Drucker

The Pareto Principle – also known as the 80:20 rule – is applicable to any business and let time and time again I witness business owners failing to understand this and so wasting valuable time, energy and money on activities that are not adding to helping the business meet it’s goals. As my regular herd members know I am all about creating businesses that are more efficient and what I called Joined Up.

So what is the Pareto Principle? It holds that 80% of the consequences of any action come from 20% of the causes. This principle can actually be applied to everything you do. It is a powerful, fundamental principle of life – and of working smart.

The original 80:20 observation was as a result of Italian economist Pareto noticing in 1906 that 80% of Italy’s land was owned by 20% of the population. He then carried out surveys on a variety of other countries and found to his surprise that a similar distribution applied. He and others later discovered that this principle is proven in many other areas of interest:

  • 80% of results come from 20% of effort;
  • 20% of your customers will account for 80% of your profit.

Apply the 80:20 rule to the information you receive: 20% is useful, whereas 80% is not. The key is to identify and focus on that 20% and ignore or remove the rest completely.

The same is true of time expended for results achieved. Think of the benefits of applying the Pareto Principle to your time management and personal and business productivity!

Which one of these statements rings true for your business?

  • 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers
  • 20% of your product or service range contributes 80% of your profit
  • 80% of customer complaints originate from 20% of the causes.
  • 20% of your individual effort and time achieves 80% of the desired results
  • 80% of your business productivity loss results from 20% of the causes
  • 20% of your staff is responsible for 80% of the business outputs and results
  • 80% of the value in the business is generated by 20% of the processes

The common approach to business is to squeeze every last drop out of each opportunity, to go ‘100% all-out’, without consideration of the impact on time, productivity and wastage. Simple, time-efficient businesses recognise that it is fundamentally inefficient to go for the ‘whole pie’ when you can get the majority of results for the minority of effort.

With knowledge of the 80:20 principle, you can concentrate on what wins you customers and success. Look at your business and concentrate on the 20% that produces the 80% of benefit. Spend 80% of your time doing the 20% that really gets you results. ‘You win some, you lose some’ is no way to run a successful business, but armed with knowledge of the Pareto Principle, you can work the system to your benefit.

It’s not just about working smarter – it’s about working smarter on the right things that will get you the best results. Think really boldly about this law – how far, and in how many ways you can apply it. The more incredible the results can be.

  • Why spend 100% of your money and time on ‘growth at all costs’ when you could downsize, freeing up capital and time? Spend just 20% in developing the most profitable 80% of your current business, and invest the rest in other ventures?
  • Why work full time, when you can work only 20% of the time on the things that get you 80% of your profits? And spend the rest of the time sipping a cold beer on the beach, watching the sun go down or if you are like me hanging out with my horses!

This year I am actively reviewing my business to see which activities I need to focus on most and which I can let slip by as the benefits of doing them are not worth the time and energy invested.

I encourage you to cast a critical eye over your business and examine what you need to do more of and what you need to stop doing.  I’d love to hear what you discover about your business

How can you use this rule to revolutionise your business and your life? Take it to the limit!

Organize Yourself for Success

Organize Yourself for Success

by | Apr 28, 2014

Systems Join TogetherThe person on the phone wants to go over the contract she sent you. This is THE call you’ve been waiting for! However, looking at your cluttered desk and the bags full of paperwork waiting to be filed, you have no idea where the document might be. 

You bluff your way out of the conversation (“Can I call you right back? I was on the other line when you called.”) and spend 30 minutes hunting for the paper. When you finally find it, you notice the stickie reminding you of action you were to have taken on the document last week. Yikes.

 Now, where is her phone number? It’s on the back of this envelope, right? Maybe it was on the back of today’s lunch receipt…

Pretty scary! The wasted time and energy. The harsh self-criticism. The stress and embarrassment. The lost opportunities.

This office nightmare comes to life countless times every day by people who miss or ignore the direct connection between organization and success. It’s not just that organization allows you to move more easily around the office. Organizing your office and work life helps you fulfill your own potential and that of your company.

“Organizing is the process by which we create environments that enable us to live, work and relax exactly as we want to,” writes Julie Morgenstern, in her book, Organizing from the Inside Out. “When we are organized, our homes, offices and schedules reflect and encourage who we are, what we want and where we are going.”

For most people, the three biggest obstacles to an organized office and work life are: clutter (paper and email), planning and follow-through, the latter two being more an issue of time management. And while a disorganized office can be much like a disorganized schedule—overly packed, haphazard, limited in space or hours—it makes sense to organize space and paper first. Below are some tips for tackling office clutter.

If you’re starting from scratch—organizing the entire office and creating a new system—Morgenstern advises to first analyze the situation, taking an overall look at space, furnishings, equipment, supplies and types of paperwork. Ask yourself five questions:

1. What’s working? It’s helpful to know what’s not “broken” so that you don’t spend time fixing it. Also, a little “good news” is nice to hear.

2. What’s not working? Take a big picture approach here. It takes forever to get things done, because I can’t easily find what I need, so I work a lot of overtime.

3. What items are most essential to you? What do you need to have at hand? What papers represent the crux of your business?

4. Why do you want to get organized? These are the benefits you will derive from an organized office/desk. Less anxiety, more energy for work, more room for work.

5. What’s causing the problems? Some of the most common sources of office clutter: inconvenient or insufficient storage, no designated “home” for things, perception of not enough time to get or stay organized.

The next step is to strategize how to approach the things that are not working and their underlying problems. There are dozens of organization methods and systems; one might be just right for you, or you may be best served by mixing and matching ideas. In addition to Morgenstern’s, here are some books to consult for ideas:

The Well-Ordered Office: How to Create an Efficient and Serene Workspace, by Kathleen Kendall-Tacket

Organize Your Office! Simple Routines for Managing Your Workspace, by Ronni Eisenberg

The Office Clutter Cure: How to Get Out from Under It All, by Don Aslett

Organizing Your Work Space: A Guide to Personal Productivity, by Odette Pollar

File…Don’t Pile: A Proven Filing System for Personal and Professional Use, by Pat Dorff

Taming the Paper Tiger at Work, by Barbara Hemphill

For many, the biggest problem lies in maintaining an organization system. Stephanie Winston, author of Organized for Success, studied the habits of a cross-section of high-level executives across the United States, and recommends a relentless, laser-focused approach to processing paperwork—and even electronic communication—so that it doesn’t build up:

•  Toss it. (Delete, if electronic.)

•  Refer it. (Forward.)

•  Act on it personally.

•  File it. (Archive.)

To arrive at any kind of a sustaining system, Morgenstern writes, it’s important to understand and work with or around psychological obstacles to a clutter-free environment. These may include:

  • Unclear goals and priorities. Organizing is about defining what’s important and setting up a system to reflect that.
  • Fear of success/fear of failure. Disorganization may be a convenient way to hold back.
  • Need to retreat. Clutter can be a protective shield to keep others at a safe distance.
  • Fear of losing creativity. A common myth is that creative, “right-brained” people need to work in chaos to produce high-quality work. Balderdash!
  • Need for distraction. Clutter can provide a convenient excuse to avoid uncomfortable issues or unwanted tasks.
  • Need for perfection. Often, people won’t deal with clutter until it can be done perfectly. Translation: It will never get done.

Identifying these obstacles to an organized office and work life can go a long way toward creating an effective, lasting solution to clutter and disorganization. Along the way, you might just find yourself fulfilling your potential, too!

The Four Stages Of Flow

The Four Stages Of Flow

by | Apr 24, 2014

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them” – Albert Einstein

When was the last time you experienced true flow?  This would have been when you were doing something you loved and time just flew by.  You were acting from your strengths and doing something that you were TRUSTed in delivering.  How would it be if you had a process to tap into your floe whenever you wanted? Then great, tread on as getting into a flow state does not need to be by accident.

In his book, The Rise of Superman, Steven Kotler, a super-expert on flow describes how elite athletes and extreme sport-people get into flow, and what we can learn from them. Stephen has teamed up with many of the leading action and adventure athletes along with top scientists to decipher what these athletes are doing to harness flow.

What does this mean to you and your business? How can flow improve your results? Steven calls flow “the source code for our intrinsic motivation” and he cites many studies from McKinsey to the US Army, that have found that people who harness their flow state can increase productivity and results by 200% to 500%=.

As the McKinsey Quarterly states: “The opportunity cost….is enormous….Most report that they and their employees are in the zone at work less than 10% of the time.  (But) if employees….are five times more productive in flow than they are on average, consider what even a modest 20-percentage-point increase in flow time would yield in the overall workplace productivity- it would almost double”.

Here are the four stages that Steven explains that we go through in order to get into flow:

Stage One – STRUGGLE

The first stage of the four stage flow cycle seems like the opposite of flow. This is when you’re working hard, pushing to train, research, brainstorm – when you’re overloading the brain with information until it feels like your head is about to explode.  Most people never push past this first stage far enough, why is why they constantly miss the doorway to the flow experience.

Stage Two – RELAXATION

This is when you take your mind off the problem entirely, taking a break, going for a walk or doing something physical. Thsi isn’t the same as watching TV or some other distraction that keeps the brain busy. It’s about relaxing the brain so the conscious mind lets the subconscious mind take over. Many people miss this break and as a result are constantly in overload and burnout missing flow altogether.

Stage Three – FLOW

This is the superman experience when inspiration takes over and where your preparation and relaxing express themselves almost magically. You come up with the best ideas, you achieve results almost effortlessly, and you often surprise yourself by your own performance. It’s almost an out-of-body experience whether it’s a mastery of a physical, emotions or mental activity.

Stage Four – CONSOLIDATION

The final stage is where learning and memory is amplified dramatically, consolidating the experience of flow into your unconscious. There’s also a downside, where you come off the high of the feel-good neuro-chemicals released during the flow state. You go on a down which often leads to self-sabotage or an emotional reaction to try and regain the flow state. the key here is not to let this stress block the learning or reverse the results of being in flow, but to move smoothly back to the next phase or struggle and repeat the cycle.

Most people aren’t aware of the four stage cycle and so we end up either not getting into flow, or we mess things up when we get there. Knowing the cycle exists gives you a mp to know where you are, and what to do at each stage.

What challenge or task do you have where it would really help to step into your flow to conquer it?  Use these four steps to get going today and please let me know what happens.

Horse Assisted Coaching – a valuable completion of integral leadership training

Horse Assisted Coaching – a valuable completion of integral leadership training

by | Apr 22, 2014

Managers (… and others..) can learn a lot during horse – assisted training.  Approaching horses, watching their reactions to our behavior, touching them, smelling them, leading them with or without a rope – this is a very special experience which brings people “down to earth”. Contrary to schooling in classroom where participants are mostly rational decision makers the context of horse – assisted education opens the emotional side of people. The authentic feedback of horses provokes reactions and insights for the participants which touches them deeply. That’s why horse assisted education is a very valuable completion of classroom seminars. In role plays in the classroom people often play a role – they are not authentic and are not open to really face their personal problems and challenges.

The following case study will highlight what I mean by integral leadership training: I will tell you the story of Lukas, a participant of a two day seminar: “Successful conflict resolution”, followed by a workshop with horse – assisted education.

My boss does not pay much attention to me… how can I attract more attention and recognition ?

Confession in the classroom

Lukas was one of nine participants with banking and insurance background who attended the seminar: “Successful conflict resolution”. At first sight he appeared to be a nice guy, polite, very intelligent (classical scholar with double PhD), very interested to communicate with the other participants, very engaged during the exercises and role plays. Overall, he left a rather shy impression, which showed also in his stooping posture.

At the end of the first day, Lukas had gained enough confidence to tell us about his actual problem at his workplace. He was assistant of the management board of a bank and his task was delivering profound analyses and background information – he told us how he was fascinated by his task – he was sure he could deliver competent information based on his long experience in the field. Unfortunately, he was seldom praised – even worse, his boss, an ambitious young woman, only used his work to create an image for herself. He admitted that he was now no more motivated.

First encounter with the horses – his favorite horse being Santana

It is always very interesting to watch the participants whom you know from two days classroom seminar in a totally different environment during their first encounter with the horses. Most of them are really looking forward to the new experience. Others are sort of nervous to meet the horses and ask themselves if they will be able to lead such a big animal. A few are in fear of horses and tell me in advance that the observer role will be alright for them ( in most of the cases they change their mind and will ask me “What do you think, if I try myself ?”…).

Lukas was very eager from the very beginning – he told me that he didn`t have any specific experience with horses but that he was always fascinated by these proud and elegant species.

During the first exercise participants are watching a group of horses which play around in a riding arena. This exercise is useful to get a first impression of the horses. The task is to watch the behavior of the horses very carefully – are there any differences in character? – which horse attracts me most? During this exercise every participant can choose his favorite horse for the following exercises. Lukas` choice was Santana, a very elegant mare with beautiful expressive movements. I asked him why he chose Santana? “That is very clear, I am fascinated by her elegance and assertiveness – did you see how Santana reacted when this brown little pony wanted to bite her? … she just kicked out at him. I also chose Santana because of her gentle expression on her face..”

Lukas and Santana – not a dream team yet

The exercise is to lead the horse on a rope, individually. The participant has to walk through different obstacles with the horse: turn around poles, pass through small obstacles, walk over tarpaulins on the floor. Lukas was very eager to do his job with Santana – his eyes sparkled like a little child when he took the leading rope of Santana. Only seconds later the expression of his face changed dramatically: Santana was not willing to follow him. He tried to motivate her by gently moving the leading rope.. no chance – he did not know what to do. He tried some other timid movements, without success. He tried to talk to her – no chance – discouraged he watched the group.

I asked him: ..” Do you think the horse knows, what you want from her?” Lukas seemed to understand.. “ok, I will show her what I want.. I will take a leading position, walking in front of her”…with timid movements he made some steps forward – seemingly not convincing enough. Meanwhile, Santana took a very uninterested stance and did not move. Poor Lukas was in a quite desperate state … I asked him: .. “Do you think the horse can recognise your full presence and determination?” Lukas seemed to think about this and suddenly changed his posture, he appeared much more focused now and -.. no surprise.. Santana started moving and followed Lukas… up to the second obstacle where Santana stopped again. This time it was Lukas who gave the explanation himself: “I can tell you why she stopped.. I was very uncertain if she would pass through the second obstacle … how can I take a leading position when I am uncertain and even in fear?” Now Lukas made his way with Santana very determined and we could watch how he enjoyed realizing how easily the mare followed him – finally Santana had accepted him as her leader.

Lukas` statements after his exercise

Deeply touched and still very excited, Lukas told us how he lived these 10 minutes: “In the beginning I was quite in despair– I approached Santana so gently but I could not gain her confidence – I had no authority. Only after I was totally despaired about the failed trials I had the energy to get through and to be finally respected. I am sure Santana could feel that I was clearly focused on reaching my target. I am very happy now that I succeeded to move her, finally – may be that is also true for my life: I have to stand up and signal very clearly to others what I want!”

What we learn from this story

Already in the classroom Lukas had told us from situations at his workplace where he was not much respected despite his broad experience and competence. The exercise with the horse showed him a way how he could increase his assertiveness.

Typically, Lukas chose the mare with a lot of expression, who showed that she is able to defend herself … characteristics Lukas would like to have himself, as well. During the exercises Lukas could learn about the importance of determined body language and clear target oriented action – there was a clear difference of his presence – before and after.

I am always impressed, how the lessons taught by horses are so easily accepted by people – may be people think, “Well, its only a horse which reacts.”

That is a real advantage of horse- assisted education – horses can mirror people the unvarnished truth and it is accepted quite easily. For me as a coach or another participant it often needs a lot of diplomacy and fine feeling to bring the message to the point.

Working with horses we are not only focused on rational thinking but we are also touching the emotional side of our participants. As newest research about limbic learning shows us the emotional involvement is a prerequisite for inner acceptance and finally for change of habits or behaviour.

Conclusion

Horse – assisted training is a most valuable completion of classroom seminars. To be efficient and sustainable the process of coaching and training is most important – horse assisted training must be embedded in a clear context: starting with a clear statement about the status quo and the personal targets of the participant. Previous classroom seminars often bring up important issues and targets for horse – assisted education. Another possibility is a well coached brainstorming with the group prior to the horse seminar. Most important is the reflection during the horse – assisted training session : by the participant himself, by the group and the coach. Videos are a useful tool to reinforce the reflection – nobody would be able to explain your non-verbal communication and appearance better then when you watch yourself on the video… ! Insight is one thing… change of habits another! So it is most important that the insight process is followed by a clear transfer plan – a plan which must be developed by the participant himself – because only he is able to know how far he is ready to initialize change– the coach is only the motivator of this process.

In the transfer process we have another valuable effect of horse – assisted education: the situations lived with horses leave a deep impression on the participants – the success stories with the horses serve as a clear anchor – the inner pictures of successfully leading Santana, Prince or whatever the name of the horse is, will encourage the participants to be more self – assured and determined.

By Dr. Barbara Gorsler, Management Trainer, Dietlikon, Switzerland

Do You Know Where You Are Most TRUSTed in Business?

Do You Know Where You Are Most TRUSTed in Business?

by | Apr 15, 2014

“The men who have succeeded are men who have chosen one line and stuck to it” – Andrew Carnegie

When running your own business there are so many aspects to focus on, how do you know which one to prioritize first.  Well, I always tell my clients to focus first on the areas of the business where they are most TRUSTed.  The areas where you are most TRUSTed in business are the areas where your natural talents lie.

There are four different areas

  • Innovation Trusted
  • People Trusted
  • Service Trusted
  • Detail Trusted

So which are you?.  If you don’t know jump over now to http://bitly.com/trusttest and take a quick five question assessment which will immediately show you where you are most TRUSTed in business. And the great news is it is FREE.

Where you are most TRUSTed is where you are already naturally talented and capable of doing tasks with ease. People know they can rely on you in this area and for you it usually feels fun and energising. You could carry on doing these tasks all day and you would still feel energised at the end of it. It might even feel easy to you.

When you focus time at trying to build TRUST in the area where you are least TRUSTed because its the thing that comes most hardest to you to develop, you will find it tiring, hard work maybe even stressful over time and you will find it much harder to build Trust.  So it’s ironic that often we are told to develop our weaknesses.

I know I was guilty of making my team in the corporate world focus on improving their weaknesses when in fact they would have delivered so much more value to my business unit if they had focused on developing their strengths and using their talents.

So what is your business success?

Each of the four types have a different type of business that they find greatest success in. You can be successful in many businesses where you are working with others in a team. But if you want to run your own business, your Trusted Talents will make you best suited for one of these environments:

Innovation Trusted love creative businesses

Ideas Smart. Energised, dynamic and great at getting things started. Finishing them can be a challenge.  Eg Albert Einstein and Richard Branson.

With constant change and innovation. Whether it is a product or service based business, the most important thing is to have the freedom to create and express yourself.

Excels at strategy setting and product creation

People Trusted love people businesses

People Smart. Passionate, outgoing, great at networking and meeting new people. Easily distracted from the task at hand  eg Marilyn Monroe and Oprah Winfrey

With ongoing contact and interaction with people. Whether it is from the stage or on the road, the most important thing is to be in front of people face-to-face.

Excels at sales and marketing activities

Service Trusted love trading businesses

Senses Smart. Compassionate, grounded, great team player and reliable at getting things done with the team. Often gets lost in the activity eg Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa

With constant activity and quick response. Whether it is trading the markets, serving in a restaurant or saving lives, the most important thing is serving and reacting to the moment.

Excels at customer service and managing relationships

Detail Trusted love systems businesses

Process Smart. Orderly, systems orientated with a good eye for detail, strong at completing.  Can find it difficult to start new things eg Mark Zuckerberg and Benjamin Franklin

With ongoing analysis and smooth systems. Whether it is working online or behind the scenes, the most important thing is to be in control of the system and details.

Excels at accounts, systems, data and detail

Just like a wheel of life, which I’m sure you are all familiar with, to my mind there us a wheel of business. You need to ensure that all the activities in your business are balanced. I can’t tell you how many businesses I have seen where the mix of energies has been unbalanced and as a result success is unable to flow.  Just imagine a business owner who spends all their time focusing on their sales and marketing.  That might be great as they are attracting in clients, but if they don’t have any method of staying connected to the client (service TRUSTed) or any way to manage the cash in the business (detail TRUSTed) the business will falter as it will fail to invoice and collect payment from any clients and also the client acquisition cost will be really high as failure to stay connected to previous clients means they will go somewhere where they are more valued.

So I would urge you to go and look at your business and marketing plan for  year.  I’m sure you have all created one right, and just make sure that all your activities for next year are balanced and aligned.  And if you need any help then I would suggest that you contact me about my new IGNITE your business days where we get deep down into your business and put some rocket fuel behind your plans for this year so that we can catapult you to success because remember

Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail

Remember you can take the TEST Test at http://bitly.com/trusttest, and let me know where you are most TRUSTed in business.

Are You A Busy Fool?

Are You A Busy Fool?

by | Apr 8, 2014

“Don’t mistake movement for achievement. It’s easy to get faked out by being busy.
The questions is: Busy doing what?” – Jim Rohn

Everyday I see entrepreneurs and business owners being busy and I often wonder if they are really being effective. You see being busy and being effective in business are not the same. It’s easy to be busy doing other peoples things or activities that are not driving you towards your dream and goals.  As entrepreneurs it is also easy to get seduced by the “bright shining object syndrome” what I affectionately call Entrepreneurial ADD. This results in a lack of focus and engaging in tasks that don’t drive you towards where you want to go.  Sure as an business owner you need to be open to all possibilities as opportunities can appear from the least expected places, but when you are not clear on what you want the right opportunities in my experience never show up, just distractions instead.

In his highly acclaimed book on effectiveness, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People“, Dr Steven Covey makes a clear distinction between what is urgent and what is important.  Covey outlines a 4-box matrix with Urgent on one axis, and Importance on the other (see the image).

Most people who are feeling like busy fools are making one of two mistakes in respect of Covey’s matrix: they are putting all their effort into completing Urgent tasks, or they are failing to identify the Important ones.  Urgent tasks are those that have a deadline approaching, while Important ones are those that get you where you want to go in the longer term.

Covey says we should be spending most of our time in quadrant two – “Urgent AND Important”.  And he makes a very important point: if we are dealing with quadrant two items while they are not yet urgent, we should never have anything in quadrant one at all.  And where we can get the time to work on quadrant two stuff, to stop it leaking up into quadrant one, is from quadrants three, and particularly quadrant four.

The trick, of course, is to understand whether the “importance” of a task, or a project, or a business, relates to *your* long-term objectives, or those of somebody else.  So before you put something to the top of your priority list, make sure you are doing it for you.

Another important distinction to be made here is that as a business owner marketing and sales are always activities that should be in quadrant 2.  If you are to avoid the roller coaster of cash flow that many business owners experience you need to ensure consistency in your sales and marketing activities so that you are always working on income generating activities. After all your business won’t survive if you don’t have any customers.

Avoiding being a busy fool means s focusing on these Important and Urgent tasks daily and engaging in income generating activities.  Only then will you create a successful business that fuels your dreams and goals, and yet time and time again I witness business owners being busy by finding activities to do that stop them focusing on this quadrant.  This is a classic case of procrastination, something we will look at in another article.

So for today, be clear on what you want to achieve and stay focused on this path.  Stop being busy doing other peoples things or tasks that don’t lead to your success.

I’d love to hear about what you are focusing on today.

 

 

 

Why Shifting Limiting Beliefs Is Like Taking Off Your Woolly Coat?

Why Shifting Limiting Beliefs Is Like Taking Off Your Woolly Coat?

by | Apr 1, 2014

With the Spring Equinox just passed it seems appropriate that the last two weeks have seen lots of transformations happening at Business HorsePower – both for me personally and also for my clients and horses.  As the weather warms up the horses are beginning to shed their winter coats and lose the woolly mammoth look they have had over the winter and soon will emerge as sleek, refined animals.  As I’ve been watching the process I observed how for my young pony Bracken in particular losing her coat is tough. It makes her really itchy and so she spends all day scratching herself and rubbing herself on the fence posts.

I’ve also been noticing a similar trend with my clients – no they haven’t been scratching on the fence posts! – but as they have been losing and shifting their beliefs particularly about money and it hasn’t always been comfortable for them.  You see our limiting beliefs are just like a nice, woolly coat.  They keep us safe and warm.  We think that they protect us and for some time they serve that purpose. But eventually, if we are to grow and develop, we need to shed them and find a new coat to wear.  One that serves us for the current season we are living in, and not the old season that has gone by.

You see many of our beliefs are established when we are children and are often adopted from our parents and our primary care givers.  Whilst these beliefs might have served us as a child many of them are not serving you now.  So what are your beliefs? Are they those of an adult or a young child?  Do you have a 12 year child running say your relationship with money, or is it an adult?  If your inner child is still running your relationship with money, you might want to lose that woolly coat and find a new one that better serves who you are right now.

This is exactly the experience that one of the private clients had last weekend.  Whilst we were working on his business and creating new marketing systems and strategies it became clear that his relationship with money was still being run by a 12 year old child.  It was fascinating and rewarding to see the transformation my client made as they shifted these old beliefs and transformed their relationship with themself and money. They are now empowered to move their business forward and charge what they’re worth for their services.  That’s a real transformation and one I was privileged (with my horse Toby’s help) to facilitate.

I’d love to hear which limiting beliefs you want to shed this Spring.

10 Tips To Help You Charge What You’re Worth

10 Tips To Help You Charge What You’re Worth

by | Mar 25, 2014

Since I have declared March as Money Mastery Month it seems only appropriate that we should close this month with my best tips to help you Charge What Yo Worth And Get It.  Women in particular often struggle with recognising their real value and then getting appropriately rewarded for it.  Money is such an integral part of your business (and your life) that it is one of the cornerstone of what I teach at Business HorsePower.  You simply can’t have a successful business without getting into relationship with money and knowing your own worth.  Dis you know that your net worth is a direct reflection of your self-worth.  So whether you have a JOB or run a business if you are not earning what you want I would urge you to look at how you are valuing yourself.

Here are my top 10 tips for helping you get into the mindset of Charging What You’re Worth:

  1. Know your big money WHY.
  2. Understand that YOU are the first person you have to convince of your value, not your client. When you truly understand and believe in the value you provide, you will have no problem conveying this to your clients.
  3. Know the transformation you provide for your clients, THAT is the value and that is what you must focus on not how you do it. Your clients do not care about your process, they only care about the result.
  4. Focus on ONE specific topic and get outstanding at that and then you can always charge more. It doesn’t mean this is the only topic or service you will ever provide, but you want to go deep in one topic first, gain visibility and credibility and then branch out from there.
  5. Give your prospective clients different ways to say “YES”! I recommend offering 2-3 packages so your clients have options to work with you.
  6. Know when it’s time to increase your fees. Did you know that you could be getting too many “yeses”?? I know that sounds crazy, but it is absolutely true!! Too many “nos” would mean that you are inappropriately priced (too high), targeting the wrong customer or not properly communicating the value of your services. However, too many “yeses” means you are inappropriately priced (too low) or not selling enough! If about 15% of your prospects are not currently saying “no” because of price…..it’s time to increase your fees!
  7. It is a great thing to love your clients, but don’t confuse love with giving a discount. Instead of giving a discount, give them extraordinary service, a shorter time frame or any number of things that will increase value, not decrease your fee!
  8. Do not discuss price with your prospective client until you have had an opportunity to “diagnose” their problem. As an expert professional you never present a solution (or prescription) until you and the prospective client are very clear on the problem they want solved
  9. 80% of your income will come from 20% of your clients….focus on the 20%
  10. Because most entrepreneurs (especially women) are undercharging, do not compare what you should charge with what others in your industry are charging….this is not a good strategy.

I really hope you find these useful and as always please leave me comments on which tip you found the most useful.

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