Entries by Matt Wright

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BLT (2-Apr) Motivation: How to keep yourself ‘up’

It’s Week 2 of Quarantine!

Is it just us, or does it feel life after the initial ‘rush’ of adjusting to full-time home-working with all of its hardware & software set-up issues, the creation of new chat groups, the incessant flow of jokes…well, it’s all started to go a little bit flat?

Motivation was the theme for the day at our weekly BLT Virtual Networking event:  

Q. How to keep yourself ‘up’?

Home Motivation

Ten Tips for Motivating Yourself at Home

I’ve adapted these tips from a Forbes article by Paul Tassi, de-Americanised them, reorganised them, added a few of our own BLT tips, and then put everything back together in what I hope is a coherent order. read more read more

April 2, 2020 /0 Comments/by
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BLT (23/1/20): Goals – the theory behind them and the strategies to make them happen

Q. What are your success strategies for achieving your goals?

This week’s BLT discussion topic was all about goals, However, as always, when writing up the discussion, I became side-tracked and delved a bit deeper into the theory behind the topic (i.e. Locke and Latham’s work – fascinating!) so what follows isn’t a verbatim account…more of a roundabout discussion!

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act; the rest is mere tenacity.”

Amelia Earhart

Theoretical Background

The importance of setting ourselves SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound) is well-known and beloved of coaches, management consultants and business gurus. So, let’s not get too technical and consider what other factors might we want to consider in order to achieve our goals? read more read more

March 30, 2020 /0 Comments/by
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BLT 26-Mar: COVID Crisis Responses: Get Rhythm, Get Positive, Get Creative!

“I think we’re now all becoming more mortality aware.”

Client quote on COVID-19 Crisis

For the time-being, this is ‘normal networking service’ for BLT: every Thursday for 1 hour, starting at 8:00am, using Zoom video conferencing (contact Helen Isacke if you’re interested in popping in to take a peek).

Q. How is your business adapting to the COVID-19 Crisis?

Rather than list all the responses out, I’ve attempted to summarise and categorise them:

  1. Get Rhythm

“Friends of mine have been walking out of the back door, then coming in via the front door to signal a mental shift to the start of the working day.”

[Sarah Lawton, Simply Operations]

With all the uncertainty going on, it’s more important than ever to create some structure for your working day, especially for those not used to working from home: https://mentalhealth.org.uk/coronavirus/staying-at-home

  • [Phil Rose, Malabar Consulting] I start with a period of mediation and then record my thoughts in a Journal before starting my day’s coaching work.
  • [Helen Isacke, Trusted Coach Directory] I’ve set up a process of 3 Weekly Zoom calls with my coaches.
  • [Martin Capel-Smith, SJPP] Even if you’re used to working from home, the chances are you may be ‘stuck’ with other people working alongside you, so set out ground rules as early as possible.

  1. Get Positive

“It’s been a blessing in disguise for Trusted Coach Directory – it’s really bought our community of coaches together.”

[Helen Isacke, Trusted Coaching Directory]

Clear and organise your inboxes – see it as a Computer Spring Clean! [Mark H]
Be mindful of mental health issues [Bruce, Eva] – especially those stuck in flats, with young children or elderly relatives and limited access to outside space. Schedule your day to set something up for those people (relatives or friends) to look forward to.

https://mentalhealth.org.uk/coronavirus/staying-at-home read more

March 26, 2020 /0 Comments/by

BLT 19/3/20: Unintended consequences of Coronavirus #7 – The Virtual Breakfast

Our fortnightly breakfast networking group (BLT) has now been going for over 10 years (somebody will no doubt very soon correct me on exactly how long), but to date, we’d never held it online…until today. Granted, the sausage and eggs don’t taste quite as good when you’ve had to prepare them yourself (note to self: don’t eat all the eggs this week!)­­­, but the upshot was staying connected, as close to normal as possible, in these very difficult times. read more

March 20, 2020 /0 Comments/by
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BLT 17th Oct: Bean & Grain – Business Think Tank

From time to time at BLT, we spend a ‘think tank’ session pooling our combined resources and know-how to help out a fellow BLT member with a business issue, either with advice or acting as a sounding board.

On this occasion, David Banes needed some pre-market feedback on  his new venture – Bean & Grain.

Here’s a brief summary of what was discussed.

BACKGROUND

  • Bean & Grain is a niche food business based in south Bucks focussing on artisan bread and complementary food products such as premium chocolate, fairtrade coffee, oils, salts and vinegars.
  • The ethos behind the new venture is to a carbon footprint reduction by sourcing responsibly and, where possible, locally.
  • The idea germinated (no pun intended!) around 10 years’ ago from David’s dissatisfaction with UK supermarket bread following a long stint working abroad, and then proved over time (OK, couldn’t resist a pun here) until the soft launch of Bean & Grain in mid-2019.

5 INTERESTING FACTS 

  1. The Chorleywood Process ‘CBP’

“The Chorleywood method is a process of making dough in bread production. The process was developed in 1961 by the British Baking Industries Research Association based at Chorleywood in Hertfordshire, and by 2009 was used to make 80% of the United Kingdom’s bread. Compared to the older bulk fermentation process, the CBP is able to use lower-protein wheat, and produces bread in a shorter time.” read more read more

October 23, 2019 /0 Comments/by
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BLT 3/10/19 – Rejection – what does it mean to you?

The internet is full of tips for how to handle to rejection.

However, do these tips tell the full story?

10 tips for handling rejection in business

• The Buoyancy Principle – use positive ‘self-talk’
• Confidence Poses – adopt body positions that communicate confidence and charisma
• Support System – avoid naysayers who become ‘confidence vacuums’
• Don’t take it personally – as Michael Corleone once said, “It’s not personal, it’s business” (not that I’m advocating Godfather-style retribution!)
• It’s not always permanent – maybe there’s a hidden objection to uncover?
• Identify areas of improvement – find out what you could have done better
• Know why you were rejected – listen carefully
• Remember your victories – focus on the times somebody said ‘yes’
• Get rejected – desensitise yourself to rejection (think telesales!) read more read more

October 3, 2019 /0 Comments/by
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BLT: Do you need an exit strategy?

Do you need an exit strategy?

Definition: “An exit strategy is a means of leaving one’s current situation, either after a predetermined objective has been achieved, justifying premises or decision makers for any given operational planning changed substantially, or as a strategy to mitigate imminent or possible failure.”

Source: Wikipedia

Eek! Sounds a bit serious, all this “justifying premises” and “mitigating against imminent failure”… which is perhaps why many of us fail to formulate an exit strategy in the first place?

So do we need to, and if so, how?

  1. Types of exit strategy

“The best time to start thinking about your retirement is before the boss does.”

Author Unknown

For the purposes of this discussion, we didn’t deal with IPO or M&A (which are the preserve of larger SMEs), so for smaller businesses, the 3 most common exit strategies are: read more read more

September 11, 2019 /0 Comments/by
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Etymology corner: Retirement – Why all retirees should be jubilant!

Why do we say ‘to retire’?
How is ‘retirement’ treated in other languages?
What are the connotations of ‘retirement’?

Retirement is an interesting word.

Unsurprisingly, retirement it is one of the words which the English language appropriated from the French, around the 16th century. It was originally used in the military sense; i.e. “to withdraw to a place of safety or seclusion” (from the French ‘re’ (back) and ‘tirer’ (to draw)).

And, in the same vein, the word ‘pension’ also came into usage around the 16th century, again in the military sense meaning “a regular sum paid to maintain allegiance” (originally from the Latin ‘pendere’ = to pay). read more read more

September 11, 2019 /1 Comment/by
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Fake news or Propaganda – what’s the difference?

Definition: Fake news is a neologism often used to refer to fabricated news. This type of news, found in traditional news, social media or fake news websites, has no basis in fact, but is presented as being factually accurate.

Source: Cambridge English Dictionary

Definition: Propaganda represents information, ideas, opinions, or images, often only giving one part of an argument, that are broadcast, published, or in some other way spread with the intention of influencing people’s opinions. read more read more

August 13, 2019 /0 Comments/by
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BLT: Fake news! How does the media influence you?

Definition: “Fake news is a neologism often used to refer to fabricated news. This type of news, found in traditional news, social media or fake news websites, has no basis in fact, but is presented as being factually accurate.”

– Cambridge English Dictionary

So it’s official – fake news is everywhere!

However, if fake news is everywhere, how do we identify it and how do we avoid it…or are we happy to go along with it?

Fake news – a potted history

Fake news is not new. In fact it’s been around ever since printing was invented.

1600: In the 16th& 17th centuries, pamphlets would circulate telling stories of strange beasts or other-worldly occurrences, such as the discovery of a monster with “goat’s legs, a human body, seven arms and seven legs” (1654, Spain). Did people buy them? You bet they did!

1800: As newspapers came on the scene in the 1800s, there was a need for journalistic integrity, at least for the traditional newspapers who needed to sell copies to their readership and who had titles/reputations to protect. However, newspapers which were funded primarily by advertisers held no such qualms – for them, it was a case of quantity over quality. read more read more

August 9, 2019 /0 Comments/by