Platform Magazine featuring Phil Eyre

People Can't be Shoehorned into a System

Matt: So Phil, tell us about yourself.

Phil: I live in Guernsey, which is a small little island near France and part of the territorial UK. I've lived and worked here for many years. I cut my teeth in the fi nance sector so I'm a trained investment manager. I live here with my wife and my daughter who’s twelve years old.

Matt: Should everybody be coming to Guernsey for their summer holidays?

Phil: If you're expecting ripening palm trees, sunny, sandy beaches, amazing hospitality—then absolutely, yes!

Matt: You are now in the people business. What have you learned about helping businesses invest in their people?

Phil: Three things: first, that people are the fundamental factor that will make your business work or not. That's not a revelation. We all know it, but we tend to forget it in the midst of the stresses and strains of work.

Second, that all of our people are wonderfully unique, creative and fabulous. People can't be shoehorned into a system, procedure or whatever. So leaders need to understand how to harness their own uniqueness and engage their people's uniqueness.

Third, that as much as I'd love motivation to be really easy, it isn’t. Motivation—consistent motivation— takes e ff ort, intention and a whole range of things. It doesn't just happen by magic. It takes intention to lead well.

Matt: You invited me to Guernsey to help you get going with your book. How did that work for you?

Phil: There are a couple of reasons. One is that we like you, Matt. That's not flattery! We like it when you come to Guernsey. The other was that we had no clue about how to publish a book. An idea was forming and we can write but didn’t know how to publish. So rather than just a quick phone or video all, we do believe in the power of relationships. Matt, again, thanks to you for some of your thinking in that space. We spent the day together conceiving and planning out our book from beginning to end. You really did help us set a framework for our book.

Matt: You’ve written the book with two colleagues. Why is that?

Phil: I’m determined that our business isn’t the Phil Eyre show, because we believe in the power of team. So everything we do should be collaborative. So if we're writing a book, it should be a collaborative effort.

Matt Bird founder of PublishU, talks with Phil Eyre—the founder of the Leadership Consultancy.

Matt: What are the big themes of your book?

Phil: Excellent leaders are morally courageous leaders: they’ve worked out how to apply their values in what they do. The second is that they’re authentic and trustworthy which creates a tension between being transparent and discreet. Thirdly, they have a living legacy-mindset that isn’t obsessed with quarterly results but see much further ahead.

Matt: That sounds powerful! So what is your highest hope for your book?

Phil: There are two peaks. Peak one: anyone who reads the book will be helped. Even if it's just one idea, that sparks a better decision, or a better attitude, or a better approach to their people and organisation. Peak two is that we hope that our book helps convey who we are and what we're about and engages some clients that don't yet know us. Hopefully they will invite us into their organisations to share more or to help with their leadership teams.

EVERYONE HAS A BOOK IN THEM

Do you have a story or a message that you are passionate about communicating?

One of the single most powerful ways you can do that is by writing a book.

You may feel that what you want to write about has been written beforetrust me it has not. You have a unique upbringing, family, education, work and life experiences which gives you a unique voice much like the uniqueness of your finger print.

Who will read your book? Many of the people you know will buy and read your book because someone they know has become a globally published author. Beyond the people who know you is a world of people who can be inspired about your book.

So is there something you feel is holding you back from writing your book? Maybe a negative voice that says, ‘I’m not good enough’, ‘I’m not sure’, ‘I’m too busy’, ‘I’m not ready’ or ‘I can’t afford it’. It’s time to put these selflimiting believes on mute and declare, ‘Yes, I Can’.

A recent graduate said, “I never thought I would write a book, let alone in 100-days. Now I’m asking what else have I told myself I cannot do that I actually can.”

Another graduate said, “My children have seen me write and publish a book and are now growing up fully expecting to become published authors too!”

Writing a book will have a transformative impact on you and the people around you. So how do you get started?

I would like to offer you a free gift…

‘My Book Idea’ is a workbook that will enable you to develop your book ideas and choose which of them to use for your book. CLICK HERE

Then enrol in one of our upcoming ‘Writing My Book’ programmes to enable you to write your book within 100-days. CLICK HERE

I very much look forward to being your book coach!

By Matt Bird, Author of twenty books and Founder of PublishU