Fluid Business Magazine - Autumn 2019

FLUID BUSINESS THE MAGAZINE FOR BUSINESS OWNERS Autumn 2019

IT'S ALL ABOUT

IN THIS ISSUE

WHY YOU NEVER HAVE ENOUGH TIME P.24

5 HABITS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERS P.6

HOW TO FACE YOUR BIGGEST FEAR P.22

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04

The Individual Issue

05

14

The Fluid Book Club

Literary inspiration from the Fluid Business

How the best leaders train towards being

Coaches

outstanding

Coaches Q&A The coaches share their expert knowledge by

16

07

business

18

Five Habits Of Effective Leaders

How to duplicate yourself

success

How to help your team make better decisions

Be A Better You

20

difference

22

Let Go Of The Baby Growing your business requires learning to

your business?

The Influence Of The Gatekeeper Who's filtering information into your company?

Be A Better You How to change someone's mind

What Is Your Biggest Fear?

And how is it stopping you growing

let go

13

Are Your A Positive Or Negative Person?

Choosing how you look at life can make a big

How to get more done in less time

10

Be A Better You

Find out which habits lead to greater

How much should you talk about yourself?

08

Why You Need To Prioritise Your Wellbeing Your welfare is paramount to a successful

answering our question of the issue!

06

Are You Working Towards The Best You?

24

Why You Never Have Enough Time

27

Surprising Stats

And how to fix it

A fun look at business related numbers

Welcome from...

NATALIE HARIRAM Managing Director, Fluid Business Group

We've dedicated this issue to you! As a business owner you have many roles to play on a daily basis and in order to be the best you can you need to continually work on yourself.

You may have experienced the fear of 'getting found out' - check out Ray's article on P.21 to see if this resonates with you.

Business Owners face many challenges in the course of their enterprise journey but one of the biggest may well be taking care of themselves in addition to everything else. This is why Peter has nominated 'Your Oxygen Mask First' as one of his book recommendations. You can't hope to take care of everyone else in your life (at work and at home) if you're not looking after yourself well.

Remember that that most important progress and success can't often be seen.

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FBM Autumn 2019

The Fluid Business Book Club Looking for some literary inspiration?

This issues top picks from the coaches

Ray

Zucked! Waking Up To The Facebook Catastrophe Roger McNamee

Andy

The Chimp Paradox Prof. Steve Peters

Peter

Can't Hurt Me David Goggins

The serious damage Facebook is

The idea that our 'Chimp Brain' is a

doing to society and how the author

stronger force than our rational brain

story illuminates a path that

has been trying to stop it.

means that we aren't always in control

anyone can follow to push past

of how we react to a situation.

pain, demolish fear, and reach

Introducing the 40% Rule, his

their full potential.

How Full Is Your Bucket?

Tom Rath & Don Clifton

The Barcelona Way: How to Create a High-Performance Culture Damian Hughes

Your Oxygen Mask First Kevin N. Lawrence

This book reveals how even the

Shows how the DNA of a winning

One for the busy, stressed owner, it

briefest interactions affect your

team can be applied in the

gives them the "permission", to look

relationships, productivity, health

workplace with dramatic results.

after themselves first.

and longevity.

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FBMÂ Autumn 2019

Coaches Q&A How Do You Stay Mentally Healthy?

Ray Moore - Founder & Managing Coach Such

a

complicated

question

and

therefore,

there

are

many

answers. Just as exercise will keep the body in tiptop condition, we must

invest

time

to

develop

our

minds,

to

feed

and

protect

our

thoughts. As a business grows, the four drivers, Time, Team, Money and Delivery, are forced out of balance and will put stress on the owner. In the short term, this stress can be exciting and positive but if not corrected this stress, over the long term, will impact both physical and mental wellbeing of the owner. As business owners, we must be able to

differentiate

good

and

bad

stress

and

be

open

to

feedback.

However, I think the important thing is to understand what works for you; we are all unique. As Jim Rohn so succinctly wrote, it is essential to ‘work harder on yourself than you do on your job’.

Peter Boolkah - Business Coach I'm a great believer in 'Fit Body, Fit Mind' so think that we should all try to fit in exercise wherever possible - even if its just parking a bit further away than usual. I like to work with a personal trainer to push me further and hold me accountable for my fitness.

This can feel like a bit of a 'stretch objective' at times but I also like to keep up interests outside of work - find something you feel passionate about and spend time doing that too.

Andy Sleet - Business Coach Three ways actually, Education, Education, Education!

Books, conferences, presentations, podcasts, videos etc.

Learning stimulates my brain, stretches me out of my comfort zone and helps me deliver more value to clients, however some may say that it makes me less fun at dinner parties!

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FBM Autumn 2019

Five Habits of Effective Leaders

Take your business from good to great by applying

Be Visible and Honest, and Keep Promises

the habits of today's most successful leaders.

Make the time to manage by walking around. Be visible to your employees. Find the pulse of your

Provide a Safe Place for Employees to Speak

organisation by observing your employees at work

As

the

and asking them for their views on how they think

your

things are going-at their level, management's level,

leaders,

the

conversation

starter

employees

to

thoughts

a

in

anonymous

solution

to

preservation.

starts and

that’s

provide When

you

their

discrete

that

us.

Be

encourage

communicate way

with

extra

present

ideas and

and

accepting

ideas

after

throughout

the

organisation.

Be

frank

and

perhaps

honest with them, and never make a promise you

layer

of

self-

can't keep. Listen to their concerns and regularly

ideas

or

new

schedule meetings to strategise and problem-solve

projects to teams and departments, express that you’re

and

the

meeting

with your employees.

or

privately via email. This opens the conversation up

Communicate Expectations Effectively

to those who want to contribute without making

Great

anyone feel on the spot.

wondering

leaders

don’t

what

leave

is

their

expected

employees

of

them

or

questioning if the direction they’re headed is right

Set the Bar High The

best

to

keep

every

bar

or

back to the company mission and vision; tie these

exceed your expectations. Delegate some of your

to every initiative. When your employees have a

problems to your employees. Set realistic goals for

target to meet, they can confidently carry out their

them, treat each employee as a valuable member

projects knowing what is expected.

them

to

team

there

assignments or tracking progress, pull your teams

challenge

your

are

consistently give their best on the job is to set the then

encourage

Leaders

employee and project on track. When handing out

and

to

wrong.

to

high

way

or

meet

of your team, and give them the autonomy to make decisions and do their work as they see fit, so long

Celebrate Your Team's Successes

as

Take

they

meet

their

performance

your expectations.

standards

and

some

team's

time

each

successes and

week to

to celebrate

thank

them

your

for

their

continued efforts. A sincere thank you for a job well

done

people them

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FBM Autumn 2019

can

be

personally

doing

a

powerful

and

something

motivator.

promptly right

email or tell them in person.

by

Thank

when

you

writing

a

find quick

Be a Better You How Much Should You Talk About Yourself?

In 'Building a Storybrand' Donald Miller introduces

If you are, then you can put your face on the

the idea that we should never play the hero but to

cover of a book, you can talk about yourself and

aspire to be a guide when talking about ourselves

build your personal brand but associate yourself

and our business.

only with helping others.

On this basis the question becomes,

can I

talk

about myself without playing the hero? The answer is yes - you can talk about yourself all day long

Make sure you do the two things that a guide does.

Express empathy and express authority.

and not be a hero. It just depends how you do it.

That is, say, "I care about you and I know what You don't want to talk about your story and you all

I'm doing to get you out of your problem". Talk

the time. When talking about yourself adopt the

about yourself all you want, but make sure you

position 'how can I help you?' 'How will what I say

are always helping the customer win by playing

benefit the listener?' 'Am I thinking about other

the guide.

people and helping them win?'

How To Get More Done In Less Time We'd all like more time wouldn't we? But as it isn't

Sometimes it may feel like you just don't have

possible how can you use the time you have more

the

effectively?

challenges but often the reason isn't actually a

energy

to

accomplish

things

or

solve

lack of energy - it's that your energy is being It's actually not so much about managing time. It's

channelled in the wrong direction.

about managing energy. Instead of using energy worrying

or

thinking

about

things

you

can't

So my simple tip for you is two parts.

influence think about what you want to accomplish

1) Define what your goals are

this week. Focus on your goals and use this energy

2) Don't waste energy on anything else.

to work towards them. Ensure you're not caring about things that they can't do anything about or

Think

trying

specifically not wasting energy even more than

to

change

people

change.

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FBM Summer 2018

that

don't

want

to

about

managing

your

energy

and

how you think about managing your time.

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FBM Autumn 2019

Let GoByOfRay Moore The Baby Taken from 'Can You Step Up To The Growth Challenge'

There is a major outcome of growing your business

You will have to face up to some ego issues

which many people struggle to contend with.

(accepting

that

others

know

more

about

certain aspects of the business than you do).

In the early stages of growth, the owner will very often be the most experienced in their field in the

You will have to step up to take on the leader

company.

role and delegate responsibility to others.

They

take

fresh

challenges

in

their

stride, especially when they fall within their past experience.

You will have to ‘let go of the baby!’

Let me explain exactly what I mean by that last

This situation cannot go on forever. There will

phrase.

come a point when the owner’s skills, knowledge and experience will not be enough to keep up with the growth of the business.

This

is

where

you

face

A common complaint I hear from business owners is that they can’t get their staff to step

those

difficult

consequences: You cannot keep direct control of every aspect

up and take responsibility – they just don’t seem to want to be involved. In most cases, however, this is a symptom of the owner’s behaviour.

of your business (it will all go quickly out of balance if you try for too long).

When running a business, especially if you have built it up from scratch, it is very easy to become

You will have to bring in new members of the

the overprotective ‘parent’, trying to nurture and

team that have the talent, skills and expertise

control every aspect of your baby’s development.

you may lack.

FBM Autumn 2019

08

The biggest leap of faith we have to make as

However, as the sapling strives to grow, the

business owners is the same as that of any

deep shadow cast from above limits access to

parent.

light and rain, restricting any further growth.

The

early

cannot

nurturing

go

on

for

phase so

is

long

important

that

it

but

Compare this to your business. Is your shadow

becomes

restricting the growth of your team? The good

smothering. There comes a time when we have

news is you are not fixed to the spot like the

to put our trust in our children and let them

tree.

take on the responsibilities they need in order to function in the adult world.

You have a choice – stay where you are and inhibit growth or move aside and encourage it.

In

business,

employing

if

the

you

have

talent

taken

required

the to

step

grow

of

your

I won’t lie to you. This change of mindset is

company, you have to allow them get on with

going to be hard and I’m sure there will be

the job. Treat them as adults who are capable

many times when you feel the urge to regain

of making a worthwhile contribution to your

‘control’.

business.

Ask

for

their

opinions,

share

information and cultivate their buy-in to the Resist the urge to jump in and take over and

priorities you set.

give your team ‘support’ instead. Involve them

Don’t just delegate tasks.

Delegate ownership of those tasks.

To use a different metaphor, imagine a large mature

tree

with

a

sapling

provides

the

protection

the

and

that

of

your

business.

Hand

over

some

trust and they will repay you by putting their heart and soul into the job.

growing

underneath its canopy. In the early days, the canopy

in your ‘future history’, their own ‘future history’

sapling

needs, sheltering it from the harshest weather.

Achieve

this

and

you

will

quickly

see

the

benefits in increased profits, alongside more personal time and less stress for yourself.

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FBM Autumn 2019

How Much Influence Does Your Gatekeeper Have?

By Andy Sleet

This

is

a subject

one

And more and more what I see when working

which comes up through living my everyday life,

with businesses is that the owner becomes very

and talking with clients. How much influence

insular as they have no exposure to different

does

ideas

your

dear

gatekeeper

to

my

have

heart

on

and

your

overall

business?

or

opportunities.

The

gatekeeper

has

chosen to filter all these out under the guise of 'not important enough'.

It's

become

increasingly

obvious

to

me

that

when interacting with companies, most business owners have a filter that they put in front of their

business

-

their

gatekeeper.

And

it

depends how you have set up your gatekeeper, (they might be there to protect you, to enlighten

As a successful business owner you need the outside influences of many other businesses and business people around to help you so that both you and your business can grow in a positive way.

you or to preserve your time for the things that matter) that affects how much influence they

In most businesses there are a number of cold

have on your business.

calls coming in, and there's people who are phoning up or visiting companies saying "Look,

What I find a concerning trend these days is

I'd like to help you with, that and the other."

that more and more gatekeepers have been set

And

up to be the filter that says "I don't want to talk

gatekeeper.

the

first

person

they

contact

is

the

to anybody", "I don't want any cold callers, "I don't want any information coming to me". The

What's becoming obvious to me, and this is that

gatekeeper is given the message "Just let me

the

hear

business

about

the

important

through the door."

things

that

come

gatekeeper owner

then

denies

effectively

access

telling

to

the

the cold

caller "Well actually, do you know what, I don't think my business owner needs to talk to you.

I don't think they need help with that."

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FBM Autumn 2019

The result of this is that the gatekeeper is blocking all the incoming offers of help and new ways of doing things.

I've

even

experienced

a

scenario

where

someone spoke to the business owner, had a positive first conversation and then when they

So, something for you to consider.

How have you set your gatekeeper up?

Is your gatekeeper positively helping you or, unwittingly, are they actually being a terrorist in your organisation and stopping the right information getting to you?

tried to follow up and talk to them a second time

the

gatekeeper

has

given

them

such

a

hard time that they were unable to speak to the

Think about it, perhaps review the systems of how you operate your gatekeeper service.

owner!

Most importantly, don't be afraid to take those This is because the gatekeeper feels their role is

incoming

to

just turn out to be the source of the help you

protect

the

business

'interference' at all costs.

owner

from

calls

because

some

of

them

might

need and boost your business tremendously.

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FBM Autumn 2019

GROW AT YOUR OWN PACE USING A PROVEN FRAMEWORK ONLINE COURSES FOR BUSINESS OWNERS

Guidance for every stage of your journey. fluidbusiness.co.uk 12 |

FBMÂ Autumn 2019

Be a Better YOU How To Change Someones Mind

the

words

'you are right'

As a business owner you're always dealing with

Just

are

almost

people and trying to get your agenda across. At

magical in getting somebody to actually listen to

some point we've all made the mistake of trying to

you. Then you want to explain your view. You're

railroad someone into our way of thinking and it

not saying the view that you should subscribe to

never really works. So how do you actually change

is this, or the truth is this, or reality is this.

somebody's mind?

And then the last thing you want to do is to The first thing you want to do is resist the desire to

affirm them as a person, something like "I really

control. You don't have the right to control them

respect

so you need to resist that desire.

conversation".

The

second

thing

is

going

to

be

you

&

this

has

been

a

great

very

The reality is you can't change somebody's mind,

counterintuitive. You actually want to affirm their

but they can decide that your position has merit

position. There's probably a part of their position

on their own and the best way to do it is to

where they are right so you might say "you're right

appeal to their heart, appeal to their sense of

about the fact that we have got to deal with this

respect and appeal to their identity. While you

issue. And I just want to say I, I respect the way

are also standing your ground on this position

that you're thinking about this and the reason that

and saying, my view is this, you will have much

you're thinking about this. We agree on that".

more success changing minds.

One simple tip: Always respect the person that you're talking to while you are stating your position.

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FBM Summer 2018

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FBM Autumn 2019

Are You Working Towards Being The Best YOU? Outstanding leaders don't just happen. They train for it.

by Andy Sleet

How are you working on yourself to become the best

'You'

you

can

be? Let's

explore

this

What should I be educating myself in?

idea

through a series of questions.

This

depends

very

much

on

the

tend

to

individual

and

their goals.

Is working on myself necessary?

I

love

business

so

growing

Fluid, Peter Boolkah, has a saying written on the

The

pace

of

change

and

development in the world is increasing faster and

My

colleague

towards

education

dying.

this.

lean

My belief is that we are like trees, we're either or

around

I

here

at

wall of his office which reads;

faster, and to survive we need to keep up with that change.

'The more you learn, the more you earn'

Many people I talk to seem to think that after

I

school / university the academic learning phase is

anyone in a job/ career I would always advise

over and from there it's just a case of learning

them to learn things around their chosen subject

from the University of 'hard knocks'. I don't see it

so they don't lose pace with others around them.

like

that,

for

me,

academic

education

is

also

subscribe

to

this

way

of

thinking.

For

an

ongoing process that needs to gather pace and

However, all work and no play can lead to a one

intensity

dimensional life so I like to study autobiographies

in

line

with

yourself in.

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FBM Autumn 2019

the

environment

you

find

of people to see what made them tick.

How should I go about getting this education?

How much time should I invest in my learning?

This depends on how each of us learns. I find that

Once again, this is personal choice, however if

I spend a fair amount of time in my car which I

we

can

find

ways

use to consume all sorts of audiobooks. Half an

driving,

whilst

hour each way to work and back generally results

running

machine)

in a book being completed every two weeks or

considerably.

to

walking this

use

the

the

dead

dog,

time

can

time,

whilst be

on

(i.e. the

increased

26 per year. Not a bad return for investment of time when I'd probably only be listening to the

With everyone around us though putting effort to

radio instead.

get better themselves, let's not be surprised if we fall behind if we put no effort in ourselves.

Other forms of education can take the form of;

Attending presentations / conferences Listen to experts who have been there, done

There

on this topic is 'Be Obsessed or Be Average' by Grant Cordone.

that and got the T-Shirt.

Online courses.

Although not everyone's cup of tea, a great book

are

plenty

of

these

around and depending on what you're looking for they can be found on sites like Udemy.

Listening to Podcasts / Watching Video Blogs. Although finding the right stuff can be a bit of a lottery, it can be fruitful if you find a rich vein of material.

Peer to peer coaching.

When should I start this learning?

Here in the practice

we are always bouncing ideas off each other

I think you know the answer to this one, or at

and increasing our knowledge base.

least you know how I'd answer it.

Keeping fit.

I subscribe to the concept of

healthy body - healthy mind.

After playing

NOW!

sport for most of my younger years I was left with very bad knees which put an end to that, so about 11 years ago I signed up to a gym and a

Personal

Trainer

to

keep

myself

in

shape

(Well, round is a shape!). All joking apart, I feel that being relatively fit in body helps me keep mind fit too.

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FBM Autumn 2019

Why You Need To Prioritise Your Wellbeing Although it may not be talked about very often

With

the

success

we regularly hear of business owners who are

shoulders,

struggling with overwhelm.

looking after themselves in a negative light as it

often

of

they

the will

business

see

any

on

time

their spent

takes away from work and may appear to others Although they take great pride in their company

as self indulgent.

and love the autonomy they have, many find themselves

overburdened

responsibility

–

which

with

can

a

sense

lead

to

of

them

neglecting their own welfare.

But

this

is

counter-productive,

and

it’s

only

a

matter of time before neglecting your wellbeing will have a detrimental effect on your physical, mental or general sense of wellbeing.

The common problem is they are trying to juggle both

the

needs

employees feel

they

relentless,

of

are and

the

business

responsible they

can

for.

find

and

the

This

can

themselves

It’s

important

directly time

to

remember

correlated

and

time

with

again

that

wellbeing

performance.

shows

is

Research

engaged,

healthy

questioning whether they’re doing enough for

employers (and employees) can focus longer, be

anyone.

more

dedicated,

and

achieve

more

than

those

who push themselves and don’t take care of their One of the key challenges for business owners is that

it

often

falls

on

them

to

look

out

personal needs.

for

themselves, as there are often no processes or

Poor mental health is said to cost the UK economy

functions in place where they can discuss or

between

feedback on their wellbeing.

according to a government report,

£74

billion

and

£99

billion

a

year

a

with a direct cost to employers estimated at between £33 billion and £42 billion. As a business owner it's

back seat and it’s likely that business owners will

vital you look after yourself so that you're able to

fall into the habit of prioritising the practical

drive your business forward and look after those in

aspects of work, such as making sure customers

your

are happy and the accounts are in order.

business critical.

Because

16|

of

this,

basic

FBM Autumn 2019

wellbeing

may

take

team.

Your

wellbeing

is

not

a

luxury,

it's

Five Top Tips For Improved Wellbeing 1. Find a wellbeing advocate

4. See the light

Our first piece of advice would be to establish your

Bring the great outdoors inside. People working in

own process for looking after yourself and the most

environments that offer outside views are likely to

effective way of doing this is to have an advocate.

be up to 25% more productive and process calls 12%

This

is

someone

who

you

trust

to

give

honest

faster,

according

to

World

Green

Building

Council research.

feedback when they think you need it, and you can then do what’s necessary to help yourself.

Exposure to natural light increases productivity by 18% and better lighting in general pushes up work

We suggest a peer group, colleague, coach or even

rates by 23%.

family member. But the responsibility is then on you

5. Breathe easy

to accept the advice given and seek the help.

The Council estimates that improved air quality and

2. Take an honest look at the way you work

ventilation increase productivity by up to 11% and

Consider the type of work you do and the rules you

thermal comfort by 3% - which doesn’t necessarily

set for yourself. The reason many struggle so much

require

is they become overly task-focused and can forget

heating systems, although these will help too.

fancy

ventilation,

air

conditioning

and

to be people-focused.

Humble indoor plants don’t just look nice; they also Whether

task

or

people

focused

we

produce

work quietly behind the scenes to absorb carbon

different ‘happy’ hormones, so too much dopamine

dioxide

and

from task-focused work can be offset by spending

dotted around the place and clean air circulating in

time focusing on people. Even a drink on Friday

your

evening with colleagues can help you to rebalance

health of your employees. Clean air will help keep

and find a happy medium.

those headaches, eye, nose or throat irritations, dry

building,

release

you’ll

oxygen.

be

By

contributing

having

to

the

plants

good

coughs, itchy skin and fatigue at bay.

3. Rewrite your internal rule book Finally, each of us has an internal rule book; ‘laws’ that keep us safe, which we all hope people will abide

by.

But

sometimes

these

rules

can

be

counter-productive in everyday life and can hinder our well-being.

Start to pay attention at work when you say or think “I should, I must, I have to”. This is where we know rules

are

active

and

influencing

our

behaviour.

Some will be helpful, others not so much, such as “I must skip lunch to get this done”. As a business owner, you have the privilege of writing your own rulebook. I know from my work with hundreds of SMEs happy

that

the

business

happiest owner,

businesses so

take

start

steps

with

today

a to

becoming one.

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FBM Autumn 2019

Be a Better YOU How To Duplicate Yourself & Scale Your Business Hire

a

General

to

What you're then doing is you're duplicating your

to

ability to make wise decisions on your team. And

meetings on your behalf and then you need to

when you hire a M.D., you're creating processes

meet with them regularly so that they 'think like

where any competent person can come in and

you'. This person will then be able to make good

execute those processes. These are two different

decisions

things.

duplicate

Manager.

yourself.

and

This

Hire

person

understand

how

somebody will

to

to

go

make

those

decisions and who can represent you in a room when you're not there.

When the G.M. is spent, you hire a Managing Director

and

they

begin

creating

processes

Your General Manager is going to last a little

around the decisions that you and the chief of

while, but it is probably not a permanent decision

staff make. The M.D. does not look like you. They

for

do not think like you. They think in processes.

most

of

us

who

are

trying

to

scale

up

companies. Les McKeown in his book 'Do Scale' talks about replacing the chief of staff eventually with a Managing Director. This is because you can't scale the General Manager. A Managing Director actually creates processes. So when you hire

a

General

Manager,

you're

duplicating

yourself.

Simple tip: When considering hiring a General Manager write down a job description for that role. What would they do?

This is beyond your executive assistant. What would they do and how do they need to be wired in order to duplicate your abilities?

How To Help Your Team Make Better Decisions Why

it

is

that

your

team

don't

make

good

decisions? The reality is they probably don't make

What you're then doing is you're duplicating your ability to make wise decisions on your team.

bad decisions, but sometimes they don't make the kind of decisions that you would have them make.

As a leader you need to take responsibility for your team not making good decisions as you may

How

do

primary

not have taught them how to. And how do you

decision maker, next time you go to somebody

teach them? You always answer why. Why am I

and

you've

making this decision? And that teaches people

you're

to think at least the way you think and the way

give

made

you

them

that

intuitive,

fix

if

a

that?

you

decision,

decision. you're

If

a

A

are

explain

lot

visionary

of

the

why

times

leader,

if you

don't

you approach the business today.

even know why you made that decision.You just have a really good instinct.

This exercise isn't just good to teach your team how to make good decisions. It's also really good to help you understand why and how you make those decisions in the first place. You need to understand that.

18 |

FBM Autumn 2019

Simple tip. Never just tell somebody what to do, tell them what to do and tell them why it's important to do it. That way you'll be teaching good decision making all through your company.

19|

FBMÂ Autumn 2019

Are you a positive or a negative person?

By Peter Boolkah

In this article, we are going to be covering a

Blame

topic

One of my favourite examples which demonstrates

that

is

close

to

my

heart:

above

and

below the line.

the

prevalence

of

this

type

of

behaviour

in

business, happened back in 2008/2009 when the Above

and

attitude,

below

and

how

the we

line turn

is

really

up

in

about

life.

Our

attitude, outlook and mood are what we choose

economic disaster hit. The banks crashed, people were losing their homes and businesses were being closed down.

them to be, so when I talk to people, it really saddens me when their attitude and outlook is

I used to speak to people who were losing their

negative; it’s horrible. Here, I will be using an

businesses, and do you know what they said? They

incredibly

how

blamed it on the banks. There were people who

simple it is to flip your perspective on life and

had worked up huge credit card debt, resulting in

hopefully, it will resonate with you as much as it

their possessions being repossessed and when they

does me. Firstly, we start with a line:

couldn’t repay it, they too blamed it on the banks.

simple

tool

to

demonstrate

The reality is, that if this has happened to you, it The

line

choice

is

a

separation

whether

we

point

choose

and

to

live

it

is

our

our lives

above or below it.

was nobody else fault but your own because YOU were ill prepared. The banks closed the businesses down that weren’t properly geared. Banks are in

What happens if you choose to live your life below the line?

the business of making money and the way they do that is by lending money. If you borrow too much and

your

business

shrinks

because

the

economy

has – it’s your fault for borrowing too much. In the Do you know people in life that are habitual blamers?

It’s

always

somebody

else’s

fault,

there’s always somebody or something else to blame. Blame lives below the line:

20|

FBM Autumn 2019

old day's people used to save, but today, credit is so readily available that we just accept it.

Excuses

If you’ve got a team made up of these people,

An excuse is another word for a reason. Do you

you might as well take your hard-earned cash and

know people that always have a reason as to why

burn it, because you’ll be getting no return on your

they didn’t do something? Or a reason as to why

investment.

something cannot be done?

That’s enough negativity…

Denial Contrary to popular belief, denial is not a river in

True

leaders

know

how

to

be

‘response-able’,

Egypt – it’s a problem that’s alive and prevalent in

meaning they choose their responses to situations

the world of business. These are the people who

and don’t automatically slip below the line.

kid themselves by pretending that there isn’t a problem.

People

below

negatively Business owners do this all the time; especially

to

the a

line

will

situation,

always

whereas

respond

the

people

above the line choose to respond positively.

when it comes to cash flow. When cash starts to run out, often a business owner’s first instinct is to

There’s

a

saying

I

love,

which

I

feel

perfectly

put their head in the sand and hope that it will be

describes the thought process behind choosing to

okay. It won’t. You need to be proactive.

react positively to a potentially adverse situation:

Those who live below the line, you make your own

“Where there is s**t, there is fertiliser.”

bed and you lie in it.

Where do you sit?

People that live life below the line tend to have a negative

outlook

on

life.

These

are

the

people

that when asked ‘how they are’ will always answer

For those of you that are already above the line, that’s fantastic, keep going!

‘not bad’, instead of ‘good’ or ‘great’. Have you ever

heard

the

terms

“moodhoover”

or

Even

better,

be

responsible

for

lifting

other

“funsponge”? These are the people that drain your

people to join you above the line. For those of you

energy.

s**t-magnet

that now realise you are living life below the line,

with a loser mentality; they attract everything bad

do you really want to be the ‘fun-sponge’, the

into their lives.

‘mood -hoover’, the ‘s**t-magnet’ that everybody

They

are

the

archetypical

is trying to avoid?

Warning: negative people run in packs!

They don’t want to be negative by themselves,

Or

do

you

want

they go and find negative friends or colleagues to

something

have a pity party with; a competition over whose

happiness and the fulfilment you desire?

with

to

your

make life

a

that

change will

give

and you

do the

life is worse. Do you enjoy hanging around with these people? Do they fill you with confidence?

Are

they

the

people

that

you

want

to

build

It is a choice.

a

business with? Absolutely not.

The worst thing is that most people don’t realise that they are living below that line until somebody else points it out to them. I implore you, if you know

people

like

this,

please

send

them

this

article – you’ll be doing them a massive service.

21|

FBM Autumn 2019

What's Your Biggest Fear?

by Ray Moore

Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday, and all is well.

A

person

something

may

be

terrible

afraid

will

because

happen.

they

Indeed,

it

worry is

not

uncommon to hear that someone is worrying that Dale Carnegie wrote these words over eighty years

they have nothing to worry about! We all have so

ago in his seminal book ‘How to Win Friends and

much to worry about, but it’s our most deep-rooted

Influence People’.

fears that wake us in the middle of the night only to disappear in the bright light of day.

It is so true, but it’s so easy to ignore in the day to day

running

of

a

company.

As

humans,

we

There is an acronym that covers fear:

are

programmed to worry, and it can become the norm.

False Evidence Appearing Real

Worrying

Mind you; I have heard another:

and

consumes

a

impact

our

can

massive

amount

performance,

of

energy

health

and

F*** Everything And Run!!

physical appearance.

Lets’s go with the first.

Let’s

have

a

look

at

worry,

and

its

bed

mate

False Evidence Appearing Real.

fear. Worry is the thought that something terrible might happen and to worry is to think that it will

Our

happen.

when given a set of circumstances and information,

Fear

is

the

unpleasant

emotion

that

is

caused by current or impending danger.

Worry

and

fear

are

both

thoughts.

22|

FBM Autumn 2019

related

to

brain

is

wired

to

protect

us,

and

therefore

it creates its version of reality, which is often false.

negative

Fear is such a small word, but our response is one

I’m regularly frustrated when I see business owners

of four ways; we can stand and fight our corner;

frozen into a familiar course of action.

we can run away from the issue or end up like the proverbial

rabbit

frozen

in

the

glare

of

a

car’s

Failing to bring in fresh talent or ignore offers to

headlights – rooted to the spot and unable to move

help

or we can just worry!

wanting.

To

stop

worrying,

we

may

need

to

identify

and

address the underlying fear. Worrying hijacks our

because

they

worry

they

will

be

found

Better to put on an ‘everything is rosy show’ for the outside world rather than face difficult questions.

thoughts and there is no space left to see the world as it is.

Our

mind

is

looking

and

finds

that

evidence

to

reinforce that false reality and continues to worry. It gets caught in a feedback loop. The list of fears is quite

extensive,

common

but

underlying

here fears

are

three

quoted

of by

the

Perhaps it's time to worry about the things that are important to your business.

most

business

owners.

Time to free up some of that worry space to check

Fear of Failure

your version of reality and maybe recalibrate our worries. Worry about those things that we can do

Fear of Success

something

about

and

focus

on

making

the

necessary changes.

Fear of Change

The business environment that we all operate in is in

However, the most unspoken and insidious fear is that of being found out!

This worry is the successful business owners worst There

long term. It’s a fundamental law of nature that holds throughout the universe. It’s time to hold up

Let me explain.

enemy.

a state of flux. Nothing stays the same over the

is

a

natural

knee

jerk

reaction

to

claim that everything is fine when there are some fundamental challenges that need to be faced. It is

the mirror on yourselves and your business.

What is your biggest fear about your business, and is it worth the worry?

a knee jerk response to protect the ego.

23|

FBM Autumn 2019

Explained: The Reason You Never Have Enough Time And how to fix it

by Peter Boolkah

I

this

article

we

are

going

to

be

covering

the

Being In-Flow

default diary. This article follows on from Stephen Covey's Time Matrix, so if you haven’t read it yet,

The world we work in today is full of interruptions.

please

Whether it's your team interrupting you, a phone

follow

this

link

and

familiarise

yourself

before continuing.

call or your own e-mail inbox, the reality is, your completion of tasks will often be very ‘stop, start’,

https://www.fluidbusiness.co.uk/TimeManagementMatrix

which makes it hard to get any traction or to build up momentum.

Time Management

Imagine you're completing a task. It’s taken you a The first question I will ask you as business owners and entrepreneurs is this:

little while to really become in-flow with the task and suddenly, something interrupts you. You, of

Do you have a robust diary in place?

course,

stop

doing

said

task

to

deal

with

the

interruption, however when you attempt to go i.e.

do

you

have

set

times

for

set

things? The

back to it, you’ve lost your flow.

chances are, the answer to that question is a no.

In

fact,

you

most

probably

operate

a

very

inefficient diary without even realising it.

Did

you

speed

an inefficient structure to their day. People often don’t make the best use of the hours available to and

then

they

never

find

have

themselves

enough

wondering

time

to

that

it

can

take

us

anything

between 10 and 15 minutes to get back up to

Guess what? You’re not alone; most people have

them

know

why

complete

everything they want in a day.

Stephen Covey’s Time Matrix looks at eliminating all the time-wasting things that you, as a business owner, shouldn't be doing. In this article, we are going to look at all the tasks that you should be

and

find

flow

again?

(It

will

take

you

slightly less time if you’re a woman, because most women are natural multitaskers.) If you suffer 10 or 15 interruptions a day and it takes you 10 to 15 minutes to get back into flow, then you're losing several hours a day - which is a couple of days a week.

Is

that

efficient

working?

Absolutely

not.

Ultimately, if you wish to be more efficient, you have got to change the way you work - which is where the default diary comes in.

doing and organising them to ensure you are as efficient as possible.

24|

FBM Autumn 2019

The Default Diary

I

How is your working week usually structured? Do you plan where you’ll be for the whole week or

would

be

grouping

all

much my

less

efficient

coaching

at

sessions

my

job.

By

together

I

optimise my efficiency and effectiveness.

usually just go with the flow? Maybe have a few scheduled

meetings? Fig.

1

(below)

shows

an

This rule applies across my week, whether I’m in the studio recording videos, in the field visiting clients

example of my working week, my Default Diary.

or running workshops; I zone my activities so that I You

will

zones.

notice

Every

that

my

morning,

I

week

is

check

structured

my

e-mails

into

am as efficient as possible.

and I've

prepare myself for my day ahead.

got

immense

structure

to

my

diary.

I

don't

expect you to go from having no diary to having a From 7am, I am ‘on stage’ coaching and must be on my game. How often do you have important tasks which you would prefer were set in stone, that start to

drift

because

of

‘distractions’

coming

in

fully structured week like me overnight, however you have

got

to

start

thinking

about

how

you

can

become more efficient.

and As business owners, we often have the belief that

disrupting your plans?

we must do everything that comes up ‘now’, but Between the hours of 9–11 on a Monday, we always have our team meetings and I never change that.

It’s important that we have regular meetings as a

that is not the case. You need to get out of the mindset

of

being

reactive

and

start

being

proactive.

team and for that reason, this time slot is set in stone. If I get a phone call whilst attending a team meeting,

I

will

deal

with

it

later;

I

do

not

allow

Start by populating your diary with important tasks for you as a business owner and then set them in stone. Zone your diary and make sure you have the

myself to be distracted.

time during the week for your important tasks such You will see then, that for the rest of the day, I

as marketing, admin and your team.

coach clients back to back. The reason for this is simple:

by

grouping

all

my

coaching

sessions

together, I remain ‘in the zone’. If I were to coach for an hour, then switch to marketing, then go back to coaching later in the day, I would lose flow.

Fig. 1

25|

FBM Autumn 2019

If you don’t schedule these things in, other rubbish will take its place. If that continues to happen, you will never be in control or see your company reach its full potential.

Your Free 21 Page Personalised Business Report Uncover your hidden profit opportunity Discover the one area of your business that you need to focus on next quarter Only takes 10 minutes!

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www.fluidbusiness.co.uk 26|

FBM Autumn 2019

Surprising Stats

A fun look at numbers in business Minimum estimated cost to the UK economy from poor mental health

Recognition

The number one thing employees say their manager could give them to inspire them to produce great work

55%

Of people will search online for reviews and recommendations before making a purchase, with 47% visiting the company website, 26% checking out the physical store, and 23% of people talking with friends and family.

27 |

FBM Autumn 2019

79%

Number of people who quit their jobs citing ‘lack of appreciation’ as their reason for leaving.

1.95 billon The total number of websites on the internet.

Only one third of emails are actually opened.

26 percent of people feel pressured to respond to work communication outside of work hours.

Source: Department of Work & Pensions 2017 / Internet Live Stats / KPMG / BlueSource

£74bn

Google averages 40,000 searches every second, which equates to 1.2 trillion searches worldwide per year.

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Build a self-sufficient business & a life you love. fluidbusiness.co.uk