MBM Featured in The Grocer
Regular readers of the MBM blog will know that we are passionate about self-development. Sometimes, however, it is nice to share our insight with others. Our founder, Darren A. Smith is a regular guest author in The Grocer. He shares his unique blend of humour, industry experience and a dogged passion for self-improvement to help their readers maximise their potential and become the very best version of themselves.
About The Grocer
The Grocer’s website thegrocer.co.uk leads the market as the UK’s only paid-for online service and weekly magazine with coverage of the whole FMCG sector. Customers range from directors of the large multiples to independent retailers, wholesalers and suppliers, as well as growers, food processors, manufacturers, key opinion formers and the national media.
You can explore each article below:
(For more about grocery, check out our ultimate guide on GSCOP).
Can Jack’s Tackle the Discounters Without Cannibalising Tesco Sales?
On a grey, washed-out Fenland autumn morning in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, the new Jack’s store is not hard to find. It jumps out of the landscape at you.
It’s the third week now since the big press launch and the huge car park is barely a quarter full. It contains a mix of small, cheap cars and shiny new BMW and Mercedes executive cruisers. Clearly, the captains of the retail industry are still making the journey to have a look at the new format.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 9th of October 2018. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
How to Deal With the ‘Zoom Doom’
We’ve done a few of them before. But now, because of COVID-19 online calls and online meetings have become the norm. Some people call it ‘Zoom Doom’. It’s that feeling of just feeling dog tired, yet not knowing why. All you’ve done is sit at your computer and meet people all day. Yet, you normally have meetings throughout the day, so what’s so different?
This article was published by The Grocer on the 7th of August 2020. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Where Do You/Your Colleagues Fall Down?
Trust has four parts, credibility, reliability, intimacy, and self-orientation. In the equation, the first three traits are added together and then divided against the latter. Each part has its piece to play in helping us to understand those we do and do not trust, and why.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 4th of September 2020. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
How to Deal With the Email Monster
We send 320 billion emails every day. If you created a Boston matrix with two-axis; what I do most at work and what stresses me most. You’d probably put meetings and emails in the top left box. The box called, ‘Things we do a lot, but they don’t half cause me a lot of stress’. Discover how to starve the email monster, reduce stress, and make your life easier with these tips.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 2nd of October 2020. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Escape the Eternal Nightmare of Bad Meetings
The reason people don’t want productive meetings is that they would inevitably ‘lead to them having to do more work’. They secretly like how it is. My old boss gave this sage-like advice. Was he right? Probably. He usually was. The ‘but’ is that if we accept this as the norm, we face doom forever. Having to accept that meeting, after meeting, after meeting, is the way it is. Are we, therefore, doomed to live in this eternal nightmare?
This article was published by The Grocer on the 30th of October 2020. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Different Ways of Thinking During Presentations
We think he looks like Captain Birdseye. The old one, not the new trendy one. Ned Herrmann (Mr Old Birdseye) created a psychometric test in the 1960s. A little like the Myers-Briggs test, but easier to remember. He realised different people thought differently and spent the next 40 years creating a way of understanding which thinking preference we have. The HBDI – Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument. Should you care? Only if you present.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 27th of November 2020. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Top Tips to Improve Your Negotiation Skills
When you think of good negotiators, you probably think of a gruff old boy banging his fist on the table. In my experience, the better negotiators are the more curious ones. There are six stages to negotiation and most people skip the first two – prepare and explore – and go straight to proposal, and then end up in a deadlock on price.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 8th of January 2021. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
‘Thinking Strategically’- How Necessary Is It?
‘Smith. You need to think more strategically.’ This was my boss, Jim. I was 19 and working at Sainsbury’s head office in Stamford Street. I had no idea what he was on about. However, I know now what I didn’t then. Firstly, those that talk about strategic thinking often cannot explain what it is. Secondly, there are many other also useful approaches to take. And thirdly, everyone can do strategic thinking. It’s not hard. ‘You need to think strategically’ has become the equivalent of telling someone who is angry to calm down: pointless.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 5th of February 2021. You can access the full article via The Grocer.
People Management: Hear the Music To Support Your Team
If you’ve ever watched a Bond film you’ll have seen this classic scene…Bond has just slipped into a room in the dead of night, dressed in black. He’s searching the office for documents, or the bedroom for a safe. It’s tense as Bond is where he shouldn’t be. Now imagine the scene without the music. Rubbish. The music tells us that things are about to change. Great people managers look ahead at the problems. Being a great people manager is hearing the music that tells you the villain is in hiding.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 5th of March 2021. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Don’t Be ‘Ignored’: How to Overcome the Perils of Procrastination
It was a cold, wet, October Monday morning, and Mark, one of my team, was procrastinating. He wasn’t busy, so it meant he needed to start designing a leadership programme that was due to be delivered soon. A demanding task that required concentration, and lots of it. He was referring to a team brainstorm we’d had weeks previously. During the meeting, I remember him being distracted by something else. Now he had to do this big task, he was engaged!
This article was published by The Grocer on the 1st of April 2021. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Carry on Emailing… But Make Sure You Avoid These Mistakes
Carry on at Your Convenience was one of the brilliant Carry On films. They don’t make them like that any more and that’s probably right because they wouldn’t get away with half of the innuendos. This film was about a factory – WC Boggs & Son – that made toilets. The brand? Crapper, of course.
There is a scene where the son, Lewis Boggs, does a time and motion study. He concludes to the workforce that if they drank less tea, they’d go to the toilet less. Fewer toilet visits would mean more time working. Productivity sorted. A mass walkout ensues. I wonder what Lewis would make of our present-day working set-up.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 30th of April 2021. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Why are Frogs, Badgers, and Woolly Mammoths Important to Achieving Great Productivity?
I watched a video on YouTube recently. It was a woman who made a living building tools that don’t work. They were comedy tools, like an alarm clock that hit her with a rubber hammer. Another was the carrot chopper. Three knives hacked at some carrots, making an appalling job of it. I can’t believe she makes money with her channel, but each to their own!
The carrot chopper would work if you left it long enough. How often have you thought, in the office, ‘when they all go home, I’ll get this done’?
This article was published by The Grocer on the 28th of May 2021. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
All Words Are Not Equal: Know What Someone is Truly Saying
‘Don’t Run’, Shouts my Dad, Seeing That His Son is About to Break Into a Stride. I am 6 years old. Me, Mum, and Dad, have just come back from the weekly Saturday food shop. We’re unloading the boot and like any young boy, I’d like to help. Standing at the boot Dad picks up a glass jar of orange juice (Cartons hadn’t been invented yet!). To ensure that he has my full attention he crouches down, looks me in the eye whilst still keeping his hands on the jar, next to mine, and repeats, ‘Don’t run’.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 25th of June 2021. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
The Frightening Leader Gives Way to Everyone is a Leader
My Dad was a Retail Director at Sainsbury’s. He started at 15 selling rabbits outside a Sainsbury’s store for 1d (Someone much older may need to check that price!). He rose through the ranks for 40 years until he retired. ‘An Eastend boy done good’, as my Mum says. He was the type of leader that was typical in the 90’s. Feared, respected, and what he said went. Leaders and the word leadership has changed a lot in the last 30 years. We have moved away from the feared leader to us talking about people being leaders whatever level they are.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 23rd July 2021. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Karpman’s Drama Triangle: How We Walk Into it & How to Avoid it
This was a familiar scenario in our home when my kids were small. It was 2008, New Year’s Day. Mum and Dad were worst for wear (Uh-hum) and so to placate the kids we all went out and bought a Wii. ‘You two kids play this whilst Mum and Dad ‘rest’. An hour later I walked into the living room to find a blanket covering the TV. ‘Why has the TV got a blanket over it?’. Gabby was 8, ‘The telly was cold’. Even through my struggling state, I sensed that might not be true. Lifting up the blanket, the wonderful colours that appeared on the screen were a sight to behold.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 23rd of July 2021. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Become a Soft Skills Expert With These 7 Steps
Humans cannot process data quicker than machines, so don’t try. Don’t compete. Do what they can’t. Teamwork, influence, lead, and so on. He was talking about the future of AI and how we survive and win by becoming a soft skills expert. The challenge is that the last time any of us learned something new. Really learnt it was when we learned to drive. That was the last time we learnt properly.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 17th of September 2021. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Under Attack: Simple Ways to Dodge the Real Threat of Cybercrime
That company has been subjected to ransomware. My friend has lost his identity. I have a limited idea of what those mean, but what is scarier is that Cybercrime is now bigger than the drug trade. Whilst this article is not absolutely soft skills, I’m sure you’ll allow me to help because if your life gets turned upside down by a hacker, practising soft skills will be the last of your worries.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 15th of October 2021. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
What Moneyball Can Teach Us About Delivering Bad News
It’s about a baseball club that cannot compete by buying players and finds another way. Brad is the general manager and Jonah his newly hired assistant. In one great scene, the pair discuss dropping players, and Jonah voices much of what we all think when delivering bad news. Jonah believes it should take a lot of preparation and time. Brad says: “These are professional players. They understand. Be clear, be quick, and be out.”
This article was published by The Grocer on the 12th of November 2021. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Aggressive But Inexperienced: Perils of the New Breed of Buyers
The new cohort of UK supermarket buyers are young, aggressive but inexperienced and verging on confrontational, according to YouGov data from suppliers. So what’s really going on – and is youth always a bad thing?
A new breed of buyer is joining the ranks of UK supermarkets. Often straight out of university, they’re young, aggressive but inexperienced. And increasingly used by retailers to act as the ‘front line infantry’ on a supply chain they hardly understand.
This article was published on the 19th of November 2021 and contains mention of MBM. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
How to Be Resilient: How Good is Your Plan To Help With Resilience?
In the film ‘Rocky Balboa’ 2006 there is a great scene where Rocky is talking to his son that feels overshadowed by his famous father. He tells his son that the world isn’t sunshine & rainbows and that nothing will hit as hard as life. Rocky finishes his inspirational speech by telling his son that it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep movin’ forward.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 10th of December 2021. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Use Triggers to Form Habits to Make Your Resolutions Stick
As the New Year sneaks in, we welcome it quietly, softly, without wishing to voice our thoughts too loudly in case it becomes another flaming nightmare of a year. Let’s hope this one is kinder to us. Whilst we hope that 2022 will be one to bring normality back to our world, some things never change – New Year’s resolutions. Every year we make them and break them.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 21st of January 2022. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Manage Your Calendar: I Manage My Calendar like I Play Tetris
So, we’re all at home, working that is. What would have taken companies 10 years to slowly convince us and themselves that working from home was a good idea, a microscopic entity achieved in a year. From ‘Oh, you’re at home – have a nice day off’, quickly became, ‘How the hell do I juggle the kids, and balance working at home with home?!’. And now the biggest problem is back-to-back calls. Sometimes 10 in a day.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 18th of February 2022. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Three Questions to Help Unravel the Secrets of Succession Planning
‘Succession’ – a cracking tv series that is rumoured to be based on the Sky Murdoch empire. Dog eat dog. A race for power. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend it. This brings me to this month’s soft skills topic – Succession Planning. Still awake?
Not the most interesting of topics and easily ignored, as demonstrated by the fact that most companies don’t have a succession plan. And why should they? With COVID, cost price increases, and a conflict in the East, there are other priorities. Yes, and there always will be.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 18th of March 2022. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog
Know Your Challenge: How to Make Self-Help Books Work For You
From 2013 to 2019, the number of self-help books on sale tripled from 30,897 to 85,253, according to the NPD Group – a $500m US research company. That’s a lot of help we are needing! But with so many books all wanting to share their secrets for financial success, a happy life and the path to Utopia, should we read them and if so, which ones? How can you make self-help books work for you?
This article was published by The Grocer on the 15th of April 2022. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
The 10 Simple Tips in One Simple Mnemonic to Excellent Presenting
Some poor idiot stands at the front with slides they have sweated blood perfecting, only to kill the whole thing by reading them.
If only he knew that people read 7 times quicker than he can speak. By the time he has read bullet point 1, the audience has finished reading all 7 bullet points and are now just waiting for him to catch up – Snooze time!
From school, think of a mnemonic that you used to remember something. Mine was ‘Naughty Elephant Squirted Water’ for the compass points. Let’s use the mnemonic P.R.E.S.E.N.T.I.N.G, which is 10 letters, to help us make presentations more rock & roll!
This article was published by The Grocer on the 13th of May 2022. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
What I Learnt About Sales Confidence from a Car Boot Sale
Sales Confidence was what they were discussing. You wouldn’t expect two old ladies to sell much and nor would I. They probably enjoyed their day out, sitting on their deck chairs, in the sunshine sipping tea and watching the world go by. I imagine that Margaret and Sheila’s objective was not to sell but a nice day out. Tick.
In stark contrast was the man selling meat from a van and a similar man selling fruit & veg. ‘Come on Ladies, strawberries now only two paund-a-punnet’. Non-stop, all morning long. Sell, sell, sell.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 10th of June 2022. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Questioning Our Leaders: Learning Leadership From Behind the Bar
Beacon Festival is a local event in Oxfordshire where 5,000 come along to enjoy music from the big stage & splinter stages, peruse the craft stalls, and enjoy a beer or 3. This is where I come in, helping to set up the bar and serving all weekend. What can we learn about leadership from working behind a bar?
This article was published by The Grocer on the 8th of July 2022. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
To Be Busy: It’s Become More Viral Than Covid
You hear it everywhere and we say it to everyone. More viral than Covid and arguably more damaging. Making everyone else feel less important and that they should work harder. Causing burnout in its wake, as we all struggle to work harder, and be busier than everyone else. What we’re really saying is that we’re more important-er. Trying to out busy each other. It’s a little like punching ourselves in the face and then saying ‘I can punch myself in the face harder. Watch <Boof>’.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 2nd of September 2022. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Managers of People vs Leaders of Companies: One in the Same?
A simple google search will tell you, yes, no, and everything in between. So, for anyone asking themselves how to be a leader or a better people manager, Google is not as helpful as it usually is. In fact, Harvard Business Review – that go to for any query about this ‘peopley’ stuff – tells us that ‘Leadership refers to an individual’s ability to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward organisational success.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 3rd of October 2022. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Stop Being a Cabbage Butterfly: Focus & Accomplish
I’m 4 years old. Coat, gloves, and hat on. It’s early Spring. I’m wearing those ladybird wellies you could get from Woolies. Anyone else have a pair of those? No? Just me then! I’m watching and trying to help my Dad in the garden. Among other things, he grew cabbages in our garden. 12 of them. My dad was moaning because there were holes, ‘Bloody Butterflies. Eating my flaming cabbages…’, and he would stop before the big words came out in front of a young ‘un.
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Imposter Phenomenon: How to Overcome & Embrace it
Imposter Syndrome. Imposter Phenomenon. Whatever you call it, there are 1 million searches globally each month of people looking to know what it is, if they have it and how can they overcome it. If you thought you were alone, you’re not. It’s a feeling that you are going to be found out because you are not good enough. Learn more about this phenomenon in our article.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 22nd of October 2022. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Managing Inbox – Get Our Top 10 Tips
Emails are a lot like IBS. They’ll never go away and the best you can do is to get them under control, and hope to be less dominated and stressed by them. We manage our diet to control IBS. Likewise, managing your inbox will help with controlling this email disorder. Learn how with this article.
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Expand Your Persuasion Toolbox With These Techniques
Expanding your persuasion toolbox means you will have a vast array of techniques to draw on when you are persuading. Discover 3 scenarios of everyday situations where you will need to persuade someone in order to get what you want. What techniques would you use to persuade them? Find out!
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Having Difficult Conversations: Why You’re Doing It Wrong
Why do they call a boxer that wants to be the best, champ? Because the people around him are reminding him every hour, and every day that he is a champ. This positive and repetitive affirmation helps him believe that he can win and be the best. But what if he got called ‘second?’ Similarly, when we approach having difficult conversations, we often tell ourselves that it will be difficult, programming ourselves for a negative outcome. If this is you, you’re having difficult conversations the wrong way. So how do you correct it? Read the article to find out.
This article was published by The Grocer on the 3rd of March 2023. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
How Not to Prepare for a Negotiation
There are many ways to prepare for a negotiation. Some of these ways, though popular, will set you up for failure. I’ll be touching on one of these failure traps as well as better alternatives to help you prepare for a negotiation.
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
‘Sell Me this Pen’ – What’s the Answer?
You must have heard the phrase ‘Sell me this pen.’ How would you respond? Probably like most people, holding the pen you conjure up sentences about the features of the pen, how well it writes, its durability, and probably it’s branding. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Once you understand these three things, you’ll have what it takes to sell anything, including a pen.
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Know Your Shopper or Expect Your Sales to Die
Terry Leahy was famous for saying that (the title of this article) when he was in the boardroom with the voice of the shopper. In fact, no one could challenge what he was saying. He would continue that the customer is king and giving them, the shoppers, what they wanted was everything. Your shopper is the key to boosting business sales. Decode their barriers, needs, and drivers with an infographic and clear examples.
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Want to Get More Done? Be Less Helpful
We are all looking for time management hacks. These are tools and tips to help us to get more done. They’re the latest way of working that will release us from being overwhelmed or the latest technology that might just help us to revolutionise how we manage our time. You’ve tried a bunch and mostly nothing has changed. Here’s what no one is telling you – Be less helpful. Yep, you heard me right!
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
How NOT to Win Friends and Influence People
First published in 1936 Dale Carnegie’s book ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ has since sold over 30 million copies. Interestingly, Carnegie said he published the book when he realised that many people wanted to learn the topic of self-confidence when interacting with others. Not wishing to make Dale turn in his grave, let’s take a look at what is strangling our ability to win friends and influence people.
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Riding the Rollercoaster of Deadlines
It was a Thursday and I’d be given a deadline of two weeks on Wednesday. But when did I start? Yep, you guessed it. Not that day, no siree. Actually, it was the night before the deadline. Learn how to break this habit and why it causes us stress.
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Life Lessons From Death of Loved One
Recently, my Dad passed away. It’s heartbreaking and horrific in every way. The most common reflection from grieving people is that this traumatic event makes you realise what’s important in life. Specifically, life lessons such as to love more, argue less, and appreciate life. Take each day as it comes. While taking time to stop and smell the flowers, as the metaphor goes.
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Deadline Junkie? Loving the Thrill of the Chase
It was a Thursday and I’d be given a Deadline of two weeks on Wednesday. But when did I start?
Yep, you guessed it. Not that day, no siree. So, why do we put ourselves through it? The reason we give to others and ourselves for deadline procrastination is I work better under pressure. Read more on how to break this bad habit.
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Procrastination Formula for Getting More Done
There’s a Formula for Why You Procrastinate – Understand It and It will Help. So what is procrastination? Firstly, it’s that nagging productivity problem that just won’t do. ‘I know I’m bad at it. But what can I do?’. This is not a real question but more of a statement of frustration.
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Chase Me, Chase Me, Chase Me! – Capture Your Ideal Buyer
I was coaching a client recently and she described how she was chasing a buyer. So I asked her to tell me more about what was happening. Then the frustration and exasperation poured out. It turns out that she was chasing the buyer for a response on a pitch, and when she did manage to get hold of him, he said he’d call back. But he didn’t. Here’s how to break this chain of madness.
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
KPI’s Are More Misunderstood Than the Off-side Rule
It’s that time of year when companies start thinking about next year, budgets, and KPIs. That’s Key Performance Indicators to you. And I and their origin is thought to be from Andy Grove, the CEO of Intel during the 1970s. There are two problems when it comes to KPIs. Find out in this article.
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
People or Profit – Which Do Companies Focus More on?
The biggest company in the world, Apple, doesn’t mention ‘wellbeing’ once in their annual report. 65% of the top 100 global companies don’t mention ‘coaching’ in their annual reports. And these are just 2 of the many fascinating facts pulled from the report – ‘Shocking Statistics & Revealing Ratios from the Top 100 Global Companies’. It’s a 125-page interrogative report on where the top 100 global companies put their focus – people or profit?
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
LinkedIn Networking – Be a Meerkat, Not an Ostrich
You don’t need your network now but you will. Invest in your network and one day they’ll be there when you need them. So here are some tips to help you start today!
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Listening to Reply – 7 Indicators Someone Isn’t Truly Engaged
I was recently on a call with one of our colonial cousins. She began the meeting by telling me how busy she was. My meeting collaborator was very busy. There were 7 other ways she proved that she was not listening. Discover them now.
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Modelling for Personal Growth
Before getting into modelling, here’s a story to create some background. Many years ago, I had a sales coach, Richard White. He was a fabulous guy who asked me every question I didn’t want to answer – which is what made him a fabulous coach. Richard carried on to say that whenever he wanted to be better at something, he used modelling.
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Unlocking Engagement in the Zombie Stamp Era
An A4 page, a Post-it Note and a large Stamp go into a bar, I mean a Teams Meeting… Which one is going to struggle to order a beer—I mean persuade people of what they want them to believe? The post-it note or the stamp?
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Escalation in Conflict: Dynamics and Paths to Resolution
We’ve all been there, discussing with a colleague in the office some seemingly routine project and then all hell seems to be breaking loose. In other words, conflict escalation. Both sides take up their intransient positions. Not only did it come out of nowhere but now it’s consuming our thoughts.
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Boredom is Killing Your Presentations
Each of us has been to a thousand presentations and we can count the fingers of a sloth which ones were in the slightest bit interesting. Yet, we sat through those mind-numbing presentations and then, guess what…we subjected our colleagues, customers and conferences to exactly the same excruciating boredom!
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Leadership Succession Planning: Protect Your Company’s Future
Leadership succession planning is crucial for safeguarding companies against severe disruptions. Unfortunately, it often gets disregarded. For instance, Steve Ballmer was the CEO of Microsoft (MS) from 2000 to 2014. The world changed immeasurably during his time, and many believed he should have been replaced years earlier.
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Procrastination Radar – From Delay to Regret
First, a backstory to set the stage for the procrastination radar. So I’m 4 years old. Coat, gloves, and hat on. It’s early Spring and I’m wearing those ladybird wellies you could get from Woolies. Does anyone else have a pair of those? No? Just me then!
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Engaging People: Less Talking and More Connecting
Many years ago, my son’s senior school invited us to parent’s evening with a presentation afterwards by an Olympic Rower. All hopes were up for an engaging presentation. We wandered the corridors of the school, lost like all the other parents. Eventually, we saw one teacher after another asking ourselves, ‘Are the teachers getting younger?’. Then came waiting for ‘Johnny’s’ embarrassed parents to finish as he was being given a right rollicking, before our 3 minutes with Jack to find his fate.
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
The Problem with ‘Hope You’re Well’
Since the first email was sent in 1971, we’ve been using ‘Hope you’re well’ at the beginning of our emails. I suggest we make a significant change to this outdated practice that will benefit us.
It’s one of the first things you read in an email, and we all know how important first impressions are. Even if it’s not the first email you’ve sent them, it’s saying something about you each time. Sadly, using the ‘hope you’re well’ says nothing. It’s saying that you don’t know what to say and so you put the ubiquitous greeting used by everyone else. You are a sheep. Not a thought leader. It’s the equivalent of the paper straw cover in McDonald’s. It’s meh.
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
Networking : Lessons From 20 Years of Building Connections
When I say the word ‘Networking’, most shudder inside. Their thoughts are of ‘I’ve no idea what to say’, ‘In a room full of people I lack confidence’, or ‘I’m not sure what I get from it’. The last phrase is usually an excuse for the first two. It was 1996, I was in my mid-twenties, and I got invited to the World Prawn Forum – yes, it existed! I was a Buyer for Sainsbury’s. The invite was a swanky thick piece of card, embossed with gold lettering, so I knew it had to be a ‘posh do’, as my Mum would say.
This article was published by The Grocer. You can access the full article via The Grocer. Alternatively, you can view it on our blog.
