Interestingly, I am writing this following a critical day in UK history. I was pleased to see last night our British politicians not faffing about. Today we have a new Prime Minister in the UK. I hope David Cameron proves to be a shining example of someone who does not faff about.

A few weeks ago, I was at an event where an impressive international speaker and author called Mike Pagan was talking about 'how to stop faffing about'. Just to be clear 'Faffing' is a made up word used in some English speaking nations and refers to time used up on activities that are neither productive nor helpful to you. Mike has therefore written a book called 'Faff - the power of doing without achieving'.

His words really got me thinking, so I bought his book and did some of his suggested exercises. In fact I was so inspired by the session that I approached Mike after the event to run a tele-seminar with me. He agreed and the date is set for the 29th June at 8pm GMT. For anyone subscribing to the Be More. Achieve More or CC1 Newsletter the event is free!

Below is Mike in full flow, with no faffing and a snapshot of his book.

So who should attend?

If you are someone like me who could use their time more effectively to achieve more then this is for you. It will be an ideal seminar for anyone who runs their own business or leads people within the corporate world. We will also talk about how to stop other people 'faffing' about too.

This will be a great tele-seminar. If you have not joined one before why not take action. So please be brave and join us! The call will also be recorded and available as a paid for download for those who cannot make the event.


How do I Join?

To join this tele-seminar, if you are not a CC1 Consulting please join by clicking here

If you are interested in also taking responsibility for your own development you may be interested in becoming a be more.achieve more subscriber. You can  join by clicking here. Many of my corporate clients also choose to join be more.achieve more tele-seminars and programmes.

Then simply send an email to chris@cc1consulting.com or chris@bemoreachievemore.com with 'I would like to join the Faff Seminar' in the title.

If you are already a newsletter subscriber simply send me an email. I will then send you joining instructions in June.

Look forward to hearing you on the call. Or if you prefer, just quietly taking notes and listening in the background.

Have a great day,

Chris

I have been Stephen' personal and business coach since 2007. In the attached film, Stephen shares his views on how coaching has helped him and Everards. He also shares a valuable message that executive coaching should be seen as a solution to performing with reduced resources. Rather than see it as an easy budget to cut. He suggests it should be an investment that can generate very significant returns. 

Of course I am delighted to say that he also recommends my services. Thank you Stephen.

This particular opportunity came from within a Mastermind group that I belong. Thank you Emma. I was asked if I would man an area called Speakers corner. This was where anyone looking for a speaker (or in my case also a business coach/trainer) would come along and chat.

So what are my thoughts of how to handle exhibitions?

1. Prepare in advance. Have clarity in terms of what you are sharing. Also plan some questions that open up conversation eg What are you looking for today?

2. Pre plan any signage. I was pleased to have a banner stand. Some other intended speakers did not turn up, resulting in me having a very large area almost to myself.

3. Have a prospect form pre-created. Rather than scribbling on bits of paper that you might lose.

4. Wear comfortable shoes - my feet were killing me the following day!

5. Qualify the visitors - are they the type of organisation you would want to deal with? Do they fit into your target audience?

6. If some of the other stands include potential clients, find some time to talk to them. For me the potentially most fruitful conversations of the day came from walking around.

7. Pass on the drunk guests to another stand quickly.They will have forgotten you by the morning!

8. Follow up any warm leads quickly.

Having researched how to get the most out of exhibiting plus having spent many hours doing it. I will write a newsletter at the end of the week on this. If you subscribe, I will be sharing my checklist!

To sign up to the newsletter click here

Leading on from that article here are the 4 big mistakes made by organisations.

A. Not thinking about training and development within the big picture context
 i.e. as a whole system. Instead, many companies do it in piece meal bits and pieces.
Subscribe to the newsletter for an explanation.

B. Coaching for people who are already very highly aware and have some
concerns with the business could result in them leaving your organization.
The higher returns may come from those who are not currently living up to
the values. Though coaching the best people is a great privilege for a coach.

C. Running Team Development programmes for people who have had little or
no personal development and don't realise that they may need to change
themselves. Instead they think that everyone else needs to change.

I ran a programme for a board where a senior person with some clear
development opportunities said in his feedback 'I was very impressed at how
much my colleagues gained from it'! He sat through it not appreciating the
value for himself to get into personal flow. Ego was stopping him from growing.
If he had had some great coaching first, he may have gained more value.

D. Avoid sending people on non tailored training skills programmes. It is best
that programmes are tailored to your culture. Otherwise, behaviours can
develop, which may not be in line with your organisational way of doing things.
 Take negotiation programmes for example. There are some programmes out
there where the behaviours learned negatively impact your brand.

Beating up suppliers afterwards on price and making it a game, negatively hits
your brand, reduces collaboration and damages relationships.

Focus on collaboration if you want to beat the competition!

Have a great week and TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER please CLICK HERE!

Culture is becoming my favourite topic as it greatly impacts business performance. I am finding myself increasingly talking about it and have developed a training programme to help leaders understand it. This week I am sharing the programme with a group of 10 Chairman.

It is true to say that culture is probably the most stable aspect of a business. Culture has been described as 'The way we do things around here'. If you want to perform well a great culture is highly beneficial.

A better definition is by Edgar H. Schein who defines it as 'a pattern of shared tacit assumptions that was learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid, and therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to problems.

Now sometimes culture works well. In some situations the thinking of leaders in an organization can result in a culture that negatively impacts  the customer and brand.

An example today, is that I had dealings with a company that we had bought an expensive door lock which intermittently locked us out. Therefore, we had to send it back for the company to test it. Their response was that it was fine and we hadn't fitted it properly. Infact the fitting had been checked by an expert and it was correct.

To cut a long story short, the only way in their eyes to proceed was by us paying them £4.95 to post the same lock back to us or they would destroy the lock within 7 days.

No empathy. It was our problem. Clearly we were unhappy with this and won't be dealing with them again.

Now this also shows the complexity of culture. This issue may be a result of the culture being to always apply business rules as being right. It might be a training issue. It might be that the culture is not to trust staff to use their own judgement. The only way to fully understand it and change the thinking is to impartially review the situation with internal management.

If you are interested in organizational culture, regularly check out the Resources section of this site. Here you will find the articles mentioned. This will increasingly become a valuable resource for anyone interested in this area. If you want to discuss any business Cultural issues please contact Chris@cc1consulting.com.

I have been actively participating in Mastermind groups for the last few years. The value I have gained and network created as a consequence have been phenominal.

Some of the people I have met during the process, have also been quite amazing. One person I dreamed about meeting was Bob Proctor. Bob could probably be described as the elder statesman of the personal development industry. He has about 13 businesses and operates in over 100 countries. Through some connections, I found myself not only learning from him but also sitting with him asking questions over breakfast. OK I admit I still suffer from the occasional bout of hero worship!

A great Mastermind will have a number of people in a similar situation to yourself who are actively keen to learn.

If you are seeking the inspiration, courage and confidence to make a significant move forward then seek one out.  I think they are particularly ideal if you are a corporate employee wishing to be a leading light in your organization. However, you possess the longer term aspiration to do some thing more entrepreneurial. Or you are an entrepreneur wishing to make a step change in developing or growing your own business.

For me the benefits I have gained are:

A clear and compelling vision.
Absolute clarity of my purpose in life
Two great brands
A network committed to supporting my personal growth and goals.
Accelerated growth in business potential
The realisation that I have a bigger role to play in the world and importance of leaving a legacy beyond my physical presence

To key to really achieving great results on the outside, is that you must do what the great achievers do. That is to invest in your greatest asset, which is YOU!

The good news is that in April 2010 I shall be running a Mastermind and already several high calibre people have signed up. This us under my personal development brand Be More. Achieve More. I am so excited about this that I would love to just share some information about it in this blog post. If you are interested in finding out more drop me an email to Chris@cc1consulting.com and I will send you more information.

The programme will include:

Weekly tele-seminar calls with your Mastermind group (Max 12 people) facilitated by me. Studying both business and high awareness personal development material. Each call is recorded just in case you miss the occasional one.

Mastermind calls where the group help each other with solutions to current problems. Utilizing their knowledge, resources and contacts to support you.

An accountability process where you support each other in progressing action towards your vision.

3 workshops facilitated by me during the first 6 months, focused upon assist- ing you with your journey. These will be held in Central England. Though possibly we may travel to Denmark for one!

4 x 45 minute, one to one coaching calls at key points with me to help you gain clarity and unlock key challenges so you keep moving forward. NB: More calls may be added if these are needed by the group.

The material for the programme ie any books will be ordered and sent to your home.

The opportunity to extend the programme for a further 6 months at the standard investment price.

What will I achieve by the end of it?

The programme will help you model your behaviour on the really successful. Also, allow you to move more quickly and calmly towards towards your goal.

By the end of the programme, you will feel that you have shifted to a new level of personal performance and possess:

- A higher level of consciousness
- Increased clarity around your vision
- A personal master plan
- Ability to see and feel your vision begin to manifest itself physically
- A strong network of people supporting your ambitions
- The satisfaction of having broken through some fear barriers
- Positive progress shifting from an employed or self employed mentality to a business owner mentality.
- The potential of a far higher financial return over the medium and long term

Why am I running this programme?

Having had many years of successful business and entrepreneurial experience as mentioned I began investing heavily in Mastermind groups myself. I have found no better way of accelerating progress. Don't expect them to immediately transform your life. Instead they will help bring the discipline of ongoing learning and provide tools, support, direction and increased network to prosper.

Through this work, my businesses have developed greatly and I am now following my purpose of helping others to realize their potential. I can think of no better way to do this than to bring my massive amount of personal development investment and business experience to help you make real progress in 2010.

Please email Chris@cc1consulting or call me on 01455 824233 for more information. I will also run a teleseminar on 26th January 2010 at 8pm to share some background and answer any questions. Please contact me to book onto it.

Harry is famous for predicting this economic dowturn back in 1989. Also the demise of Japan. Everyone at the time said he was crazy. However, Japan has now experienced a 14 year decline.

Why? Well a key factor is demographics. As we age we spend less. Where populations age, expenditure declines.

We are seeing this in Europe right now. Also combined with housing bubbles and commodity bubbles, we are unlikely to see Gordon Browns prediction of recession ending in 2010.

This has a big impact in terms of which market sectors and countries will perform and which ones will decline. It therefore can have a big impact on our businesses.

Here is a video of an update I have just received, where Harry shares his view on what is happening right now with the latest stock market moves.

Click here to view Harry S.Dent Video.

If you are interested in economics, where to invest your own money or business planning, you can click here to check out his book 'The Great Depression Ahead'.

Be More Achieve More began in early 2009 with several tele-seminar programmes and then a 'Wealth Keys Retreat'. I am delighted that as a consequence there is some really exciting interest developing around the brand. Please do check it out and sign up for the newsletters.

Here is some feedback from the September retreat:

'The event was inspirational, challenging, motivating and empowering. These four days were the best I have ever spent on personal development. Thanks Chris (Richard Pitt  Senior Consultant at NIG/previously Managing Director Primary General Insurance)

'A profound journey through the concepts and practical steps to achieving so much more in life. This workshop delivers a provocative experience about creating the life and riches you desire!' (Steve Robinson Managing Director Si Training www.sitac.co.uk/ ex Director Fitness First).

Oh yes and I will confirm a date for next retreat soon. I promise!

Have a great day,

Chris