Getting started: A happy chance I first found out about the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women following a chance conversation with a foundation mentor on a train. As a great believer in the power of mentoring, and using it to to develop high performing people and teams over a 40 year career, it seemed natural to explore what the […]
Elevators Stories: prioritising the punchline
Taking your chance How often have you bumped into a person that you really needs to impress only to have them called away halfway through your pitch? Talk about frustration. While you can’t always avoid this, this is a way of making the most of any time you do have in this situation. The technique […]
Writing a business plan
Let’s get one thing straight at the start: there is no mystery to writing a business plan. If you can describe how your business works to your friends and colleagues, you can write a business plan. At its simplest a business plan is the story of how you expect you business to operate and make […]
Why saying “No” to your customers can be good for your business
When learning about customer service, most of us discuss and debate the famous quote by Mahatma Gandhi: “A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not […]
How to say “No” to your boss
And not get fired….. Even better, not only not get fired, but make you boss appreciate you even more. For many people this seems wrong. Surely bosses want people who are willing to take stuff on? How can saying “No” make them happy with you?