In your internal conversations what do you assume people think of you? I was just wrapping up a call with a client when I asked about the voluntary work he was doing at weekends. “I’m dreading going back in to be honest” he said, “I think I’ve antagonised the organiser.” Of course I needed to […]
“It’s not hard so why would anyone pay me for doing it?” I’ve had quite a few conversations about this. Picasso was sitting in cafe when a woman asked him to sketch her. A few minutes later, he handed her the sketch. She was thrilled and asked how much she owed him. “5000 francs, madam,” […]
When you fail at something do you sink into despair or bounce back and try again? Whatever we do for a living, we are all in the business of trying to persuade someone to give up something they value: attention, money, time, effort, etc., for something we offer them in exchange. That could be a […]
Small business owners are usually not great fans of planning. Most people start a business to do the thing they’re good at, and that’s not the boring businessy stuff. Add to this the uncertainty of a world in chaos and planning of any sort can seem futile. But I’m still banging on about planning and […]
Who are you and why should anyone care? “Do you know Brian Mitchell?” I get asked this a lot. Not about Brian Mitchell but about lots of people. The subtext, always, is: “Can I trust him/her?” We humans need to know about the people around us. We need to know if you’re a threat, if […]
