Personal Leadership Tips

I had a very happy childhood.  My family were very poor, in London's East End in West Ham, but my parents gave me love and I grew up in a loving family.  We had hardly any money, but we were happy.  We weren't dirt poor, but we were dusty ;-)
We had a toilet at the bottom of the garden and a tin bath that hung on the wall outside until it was time to fill it up and put it in front of the fire.

My parents pulled us out of that situation by hard work.

My father worked his way up a corporate ladder through the late 60's right up until he retired in 1990.  He started with Woolworths on the shop floor stacking shelves and gradually got promotion after promotion until he was in charge of south east England.  He made his way through a few supermarkets, like Fine Fare, finally becoming a senior manager for the south east of England for Bejam/ Iceland.

He was always sought out at dinner dances and corporate events by up and coming managers and assistants who would sit and talk to him and listen to his advice.

Sadly, my Father passed away 11 years ago this year on November 3rd.  My Father was a LEADER!

I remember hearing about a school of parenting that was all about 'children being seen and not heard' and parents telling their kids to do something 'because I say so!' 

My parents were not like that.  My friends parents were not like that.

Isn't it amazing how many bosses ARE like that?

Being 'bossy' is not an attribute that I have ever admired.

The term, the Boss, has always conjured up images of a corner office with a secretary sitting outside who you have to either sidetrack, confuse, occupy, kill or marry to get past to the Boss.

I started as a Saturday boy at HMV records. 18 months later I was the youngest store manager at 18 years old.  I continued climbing corporate ladders and one day I was the Sales and Marketing Director in the Cable TV industry for Cable London and I was also the national sales trainer for Telewest.

TIP 1: Get out of your office
When I was given an office on the third floor of a massive building off of Tottenham Court Road in London I knew I had to do something about it.

The LAST thing I wanted to do was fall into the trap of corporate culture and lose sight of what the public needed, and lose the ear of the man and woman in the street, Our customers, and listen to Marketing people instead.  My Father was always out and talking to people, staff, working a room or networking long before it was called networking.  He taught me.

We had a great Marketing team but they had never cold called, sold anything, walked the streets in the snow and rain, knocked on a door and spoken to complete strangers to sell our product.

I was hardly ever in my office. I had a computer, and a phone.

I would walk into one of our offices that were dotted around London and just pitch up there for the day, grab an empty desk and work.

It was a nightmare for my P.A. Alexa, but she was brilliant at knowing what calls to put through and what to divert or take a message for.  She was my right arm and I still keep in touch with her today.

The thing is, if you are not out there, visible, talking to your people, out in the field and leading them you cannot stay in touch with the ever changing realities faced by your business.

I cannot impress upon people the importance of remaining 'In Touch' with the public.

Tip 2: Meetings
Sitting in the boardroom listening to complex and detailed analysis and reports that have been collated by people who get their feedback from the front line is not the same, and cannot ever compare with the experience of being there to see and hear it first hand.

I HATED boardroom meetings. I soon discovered that BOREDroom meetings were what they should be called.  People would get too comfortable in a boardroom.  Those relaxing chairs, the air conditioning...Zzzzzzzzz
Two weeks later I had all the chairs removed from the boardroom and the boardroom table raised by two feet so that you had to stand at it, like standing at a bar.  It was amazing!  The meetings went from one hour minimum to 15 minutes maximum.  Productivity soared and endless banter stopped.

Tip 3: Your people have ideas too.
By listening to people, I got a very good insight into what they thought about the company and what issues they had and in fact, that started me off on one major radical communication shift with the employees.  It was simple and very effective.  Each office had a suggestion box.  I had installed another box.  It was for salespeople to anonymously raise a concern, be it a business process or an issue with the product.  BUT, there was a major difference.  NONE of these concerns would be read unless the person filled out the back of the slip of paper.  They had to come up with a solution too.  One of the best ways to make your people think and grow is to ask them to come up with a solution to the problem they bring you.

Tip 4: Don't be a boss.
I now work mainly from home, or from the hammock in the garden.  I travel around and run presentations and seminars all over Europe.  I don't ask people to do things I wouldn't do myself.  It is rare that I speak to salespeople who have a challenge I haven't overcome or work in an industry that I have not had experience of.

I saw a movie on TV the other day of a battle and the generals were miles behind the front line and sending messages to the troops, sending them into battle.   This is very similar to the way companies are run today.  Bosses sit far removed from the front line and send memos or emails to the troops.

A Leader is a very different animal to a Boss.
A bad Boss is no better than a bad schoolteacher, pouring his opinions into children's heads in a 'my way or no way' style.

Tip 5: Don't hold a meeting if you can GO to the meeting
Whenever I had a meeting with people during my Corporate years I always went to THEIR office rather than invite them to mine.  It wasn't that I was anti-social, far from it.  The reason was simple.  I could never get people to leave my office.  They always wanted to talk about this, about that, all manner of stuff.  I was very busy, and I was sure they should have been too.  I always went to their office and spoke with them.  That way, I could leave at any time I wanted to.  As soon as I had said what I needed to, when a point had been discussed and dealt with, I was off.  Meetings have a tendency to drag on if not controlled.
My mentor, Hal Stamford, told me that he always arrived 5 minutes late for meetings.  If it could start without him, he needn't be there.
_____

I am not an educator.  I am a teacher.
Educators take something simple and make it difficult.  Teachers take anything and make it simple so that EVERYONE understands.  Teachers put stuff on the bottom shelf.

Great Leaders, like Great Teachers, do the opposite to Bosses.  They draw opinions and ideas out of their students or associates.  In doing so, you make people think for themselves and when they see you take their ideas on board they feel included, part of the team, they grow and they feel their opinions count sometimes.

You see, soon, someone will say, 'OK, you're the boss'.

Just reply, 'Hey, we are a team. I may be in a leadership position, but I want you to tell me what YOU would do if you were in my place?'

It makes them feel that they are part of change, part of the company and part of the future.  It makes them feel included.  It makes them feel that their ideas and opinions count.  It makes them feel valued by you. 

And that's what Leadership is all about.

Real Estate or In a Real State?

It must be an English Countryside thing.  London? No.  New York? No.

ONLY in England's sleepy (read dozy) idyllic and picturesque green and pleasant land can salespeople, real estate salespeople in particular, get away with such under performance.

Not much business done here, I bet

I see lots of examples of stupidity....like signs like this on the right...


It isn't difficult to spot these things, they are everywhere...


Even people behaving in a way that makes you want to bang their head against the wall...

Does she think it's an exercise bike?

Like this woman on the left...

"You can't mend Stupid!"


I have to give a special mention to a few people who work in an industry that I have trained salespeople in....an industry that we all have a need for at some point.  Unfortunately, it isn't a great mention but then, it was never going to be, as I am basing my comments on the experiences I have had for the last 2 months in and around Tunbridge Wells in East Sussex, in England.

Estate Agents, Realtors, call them what you want...the ones here are terrible.  I don't know, I cannot tell, if their incompetency is natural, or they have been trained to be mediocre.  Either way, they would be dead in a minute in a busy professional agency in London, New York, Chicago, you name it...

I am in a very fortunate position of being able to buy a property for cash.  I don't say that to impress you, I say it to impress upon you that this is a very serious position for ANY Real Estate agent because I have worked my Ass off for many years to be in this position and I KNOW from my past history that I am the ideal buyer.
 
1. I don't need a mortgage
2. I can move very fast
3. I don't need to sell my current property to purchase another.
4. I am paying CASH.

All four of those statements should, SHOULD, translate immediately in the mind of the Salesperson as 'I am going to get paid VERY quickly!'
You see,  I sold a couple of rental properties I had owned over the years and I am looking at buying a fairly substantial property for CASH.  I am a real estate salespersons dream!

Now I know that all of you real, genuine, fully trained or naturally gifted salespeople reading this will think, 'Cash?  That is KING! Wow, I would jump over anything to get a piece of that action...'
Yep, so would I.
Do you know who isn't?
Yep, you are right.

The Real Estate agents in Sussex.  Sleepy towns, sleepy salespeople.

I saw a house for sale.  I got the details.  I turn up to view.  No estate agent.  No seller at home.  Eventually the estate agent turns up, but without the keys.  He believes they are under a flower pot on the driveway.  He calls the seller who tells him the keys are under a mat in the side entrance lobby.

Before we enter he says with a smile, 'One thing I need to tell you is that the seller isn't including the garage or the lower gardens.  They intend to keep those and apply for planning permission.'

'Are they nuts?' I ask.
'I understand what you mean' he replies.
'Anyone buying this property would naturally want all of it and not just part of it that has been carved out of the original boundaries.  They will not get planning permission because of the close proximity to Ashdown Forest which has a preservation order on it and even if they DID get to the first stage of permissions it would be opposed by everyone around here, not least the new owner of this property who would not want anything built on land at the bottom of their gardens.  Nor would they want a piece of land left to rot or slide into disrepair because the owners can't be bothered any more.  It's all or nothing.'
'I take your points on board' he replied.
'Why isn't that mentioned on the details?' I asked him.
'Why isn't what mentioned?' He asked me, amazed.
'What I just mentioned to YOU!'
'I don't know, I will look into it.'

He told me that he had called the sellers and left a message. a day went by and I called him, only to hear he had not heard back and was waiting.  Waiting?  Do these people WANT to sell?  'Do YOU want to sell this property?' I asked him, 'get on the phone and chase them and get some sort of answer please.'  I am still waiting after three days.

No preparation, no quality information.

These are the same agents who arranged a viewing at a farm last Saturday for me and when I got there I was met by a teenager who works at the weekends and had never been to the property before and knew nothing about it.  A frantic phone call to her office brought someone else who HAD knowledge of the place over in 15min.  Did I need to make that happen?  Was it MY responsibility, as the potential buyer, to make that happen?  NO!  But if I hadn't, it would not have happened.

I have seen an immaculate property with stables and a two floored building in the grounds which would make an ideal office and training centre.  To me the property is ideal.  I made an offer a little under the asking price because there is some work to be done inside the property and I value the place a little less than the asking price. 

No one, I think, should EVER pay ticket price, always haggle.

I spent ages there, looking the place over and made an offer with the stipulations that it was a cash purchase, No chain, I don't need to sell, I want to complete quickly.

Next day I get a call from the agent telling me that another potential buyer has offered the same amount as me but it is dependent upon them securing a mortgage.  I asked why they were telling me because that is a dead offer compared to my cash one.  They then asked me to give them a letter from my bank to confirm I have the funds before they could present it to the seller.

I can't tell you the exact words I used in my reply for obvious reasons but I made it clear that on the many occasions I had bought a house in the past that relied on either mortgage or the sale of an existing property NOBODY asked me to prove I had a mortgage or a buyer.  Why do I need to prove I have the cash?

She couldn't answer that.


Agents in this part of England are so laid back they are horizontal!

They don't chase the seller, they don't call you to let you know what's going on, they give you details about properties but withhold facts that could make it a 'no thanks' before you have viewed.

They commit EVERY SINGLE sales crime there is to commit.  If I was in London, New York or any large city, I would have been dealt with and helped and would have been sitting in a new home by now, or near as damn it.

They have no drive, no nerve, no skills and above all, they give salespeople a bad name!

Is Imagination More Important Than Knowledge?

What do you think is the BIGGEST reason people don’t follow through with an idea?  Not EVERY idea, but the BIG ones!  Well?

HOLD THAT THOUGHT!

I am a great believer in there being no such thing as a bad idea….Bad ideas do not exist!   No, never, Nothing!

I have said before that there are two kinds of ideas.  Great ideas and mad ideas.  Sometimes the mad idea isn’t actionable…but, Not being actionable does not mean they are bad ideas.  It means that they are ideas that, though great ideas, cannot be realised because of other factors.  These factors may be time, money, effort etc.  Sometimes things happen that preclude you from taking action on an idea, however safe or mad. 

The biggest thing for me is people using their brains.

I cultivate a climate of ‘controlled madness’ in my office.  A ‘can do’ mentality. 

A sign in my office says; ‘Find a way or make a way.’ 

'Organised Chaos' is my favourite description of my office culture.

In that sort of office, there are no bad ideas.
And NO ONE is afraid to say anything, ask anything come up with an idea for fear of being laughed at.  Even ideas that we find will not work more often than not have some element of a great idea that can be used somewhere else.  

So, What DO you think is the BIGGEST reason people don’t follow through with an idea? 

I believe the biggest reason people do not follow through a potentially big or life changing idea is…they think it has already been thought of and built or made or is on the market already.

In other words, they think; ‘Ahh, someone will have already thought of that!’

I LOVE watching Ice Hockey.  I love all winter sports but Ice Hockey for me is exciting.  I enjoy everything about it; the speed, the tension, the fights even.  And boy, are there fights?

Ice Hockey is about 150 years old. The Goalie mask is…not.  It was invented by a goalie called Jacques Plante in 1959!!!  Why?  He got tired of being hit in the face with the puck! 

He finally had his nose broken and that, I suppose, was his tipping point.   Montreal Maroons' Clint Benedict wore a crude leather version in 1929 to protect a broken nose too, but Plante introduced the mask as everyday equipment, and it is now mandatory equipment for goaltenders.

My point is…Wouldn’t  you think that SOMEONE would have come up with this idea before then?

There were millions of people who enjoyed the game but only two guys who came up with a safer way to play it.

You see, there are thousands of equally obvious, audacious ideas out there…YOUR job is to be thinking about them!!

I firmly believe; Imagination is just as important as knowledge!

Moving on...

It is with regret that I announce the end of Firewalking for The Moore Consortium.
Why?
Firewalking as a metaphor for overcoming your fears has really been done to death.

Back in 1997 I was running sales training workshops that culminated in a board break. I learnt that at Speakers International. I was working as the National Sales Trainer for Telewest.

1997 Boardbreak session
 for Cable London

I needed a new metaphor and having worked with a few people in the Firewalking Industry, which was relatively new and unique at the time, in the UK at least, I decided to get my certification to hold Firewalking events.  This not only entailed training for two weeks with Tolly Burkan outside of San Francisco, but I also needed to arrange a £10m insurance policy for the company in the event that buildings burnt down.  There is NO personal insurance for anyone walking on fire.  It is entered into freely and of your own choice.  Indemnity and waiver forms take care of the personal 'insurance' aspect.

Firewalking and Glasswalking were the main areas of our business. It was fun but what was the concept? Walking over 'red hot coals' as a way of fearbusting! How?

Simply put, the methodology was, if you can walk on fire or broken glass, WHAT ELSE CAN YOU ACHIEVE?

There is no mystical magic.

Many companies use a 'touchy-feely' approach falling just short of dancing naked around the fire smacking each other up the butt with a tambourine while singing 'circle of life'.

We were not 'touchy feely'...we were 'smacky punchy' in as much as we convinced people that they were in control (which is true) and there is a strategy for walking on fire.  We convince people they CAN do this.  We don't 'Pray to the fire!!'  We kick the fire's butt.

It is all to do with state of mind and physics.

Image Copyright David Moore

Its important to have the right state of mind and the training session prior to the walk builds towards you believing that you can walk on fire. The exercises and messages are very standard NLP and persuasion techniques and can be found in numerous seminars not linked with Firewalking. In fact I use the exercises in non firewalking events.

You are actually walking on burnt wood, not coals. Its Pine. The optimum heat is around 1300 degrees but most companies have people walking on ash, especially if 40 other people have walked on it prior to you. Usually a line of fire either side of the 'firebed' gives the impression that its hotter than it is.  We didn't....We went for the full on maximum temperature burn, like walking on molten lava.

Its also about contact time. If you have taken a jacket potato out of the oven and switched it from hand to hand then you wont burn yourself. Same with firewalking. Your contact time with the 'firebed' is so minimal that you cannot be burnt. If you walk at a steady speed, six steps is enough to get you over and you will have done it(with some companies you only need three - check youtube, I have seen firebeds of only 6ft!!  Our firebeds were 3ft wide and 20ft long).

Pine is the wood of choice.  This is a great generator of heat but not a conductor of heat.  Imagine a cake in an oven.  After its been in there for a time and you open the oven door you will get a blast of hot air (not unusual in this industry).  If you put your hand in and touch the cake: no problem.  Touch the oven walls: no hand left.  Basically, what you are walking on during a firewalk is like walking on a 20ft long cake.  Generating heat but not a conductor.

Lasting benefits...an empowering belief that you can achieve ANYTHING if you don't question the firewalk experience itself!  Here's a case in point...

I asked a group of car salesmen once what they considered were the benefits of walking on fire when they came off the firebed and were back in the training room.  They all told me the same thing.
"We are gonna sell a ton of cars now!"
"Great," I said.... "How?"
Each one of them got a glazed look on their faces and stayed that way.  Then they spent ages justifying how Firewalking will help them shift those old rust buckets and sleds that had been on the forecourt for ages.  They couldn't justify it. 

I gave them motivational, attitudinal, influence, inner game and Sales Training.  THAT worked!!!

In the old days, in the 80s/90s, it was new and unusual. Tolly Burkan and Anthony Robbins made it well known and then everyone jumped on the bandwagon. Now its old and not unusual. If you ask a group of 40 people about it, at least 30 of them will have heard of it and 10 or 12 will have done it.

Its mystery has gone. A simple search on the internet will explain the mechanics of it.

So would I do it if I was in your position and looking for a way of Breaking Through or Empowering myself? No. Its all a bit of fun. You can raise money for charity doing it  though...and we did.

Glasswalking is the same.  It sounds scary, it sounds terrifying but shouldn't. Again, physics and common sense come into play.

If you want to lie on a bed of nails you can.  If you want to lie on a bed of ONE nail, then that would be very foolish.  Same with Glasswalking.  If you tread on a piece of broken glass while barefoot you will cut your foot.  A Glasswalk on the other hand is performed on a bed of a thousand or so broken bottles.

Yes they are very sharp shards of broken glass but it's a glass bed at least two inches deep so anything under your foot compresses into whats below and around it.  No problem.  It sounds great when the glass breaks and cracks under your feet but it also cushions your feet.  If you feel anything under your foot that you don't like the feel of...lift your foot and put it somewhere else.

When you are involved in the fire and glass walking industry for as long as I was you believe it is the cure for everything and the best motivator.  When you have worked outside of the firewalk and glasswalk industry for a while, you realise that you have to move on from firewalking...

Thanks to everyone that came to my 1000th walk on fire last night at midnight.  It was the 3000th firewalk I have trained.  I doubt I will do it again...it just doesn't fit the new business model.

THE LEGACY and ACHIEVEMENTS:

Company: 3000 total Firewalks
Personal: 1000 Personal walk demonstrations
Travel: 9 Countries have been visited for Firewalking events
Audience: Over 100 different companies  Over 200 Charities
Vehicles: 18 Vans/ lorries used...3 crashed and written off.
Largest walk: Business - 880 people.  Charity - 627 people.
Best event: Glasgow. Underground train system closed, helicopters circling, TV/Radio, Traffic at a standstill, 160 walkers, over 1000 spectators.
Worst event: Snowstorm up a mountain in Lake District/ 135 degrees Fahrenheit heat in Doha, Persian Gulf.
Famous people: 63
Most memorable walk: Leading a man who had been blind since birth over the firebed in Dublin
Regret: Having to turn down a last minute request to hold a firewalk in Chicago for the Oprah Winfrey Network
Team figures: 22 members of the team over the years
Raison d'etra: £1.3m raised for charitable causes around the world
Most important fact: No Injuries

Another important fact: It was always a TEAM...thank you!

Psychology of Selling and Firewalking Interview

The Power of a Question

Questions are the key to everything.

Ask a great question, you’ll get a great answer. Something you can work with.

Ask a rubbish question, and you’ll get the answer you deserve.

This is a basic lesson for all door to door salespeople. 
ENGAGE BRAIN BEFORE PUTTING MOUTH INTO GEAR!

I was standing in the dining room with some friends one day and as I walked out to the hallway there was a knock at the door. When I opened it there was a very presentable middle aged man from a local double glazing/ replacement window company who really should have known better!

“I’m not selling anything.” He said.

What a start! Pull yourself up from that one!

“I happen to be in the area and I notice that you have quite new windows. Are you looking to have any more fitted?”
“So you are selling double-glazing?” I asked.  No point in telling him I had just completed 6 months training three of the Double Glazing companies in the area in how to sell their products more successfully....

“I could give you a quote on some windows. In fact we have an offer on right now that would be hard to beat.” He smiled; unaware that he had exposed his opening statement as a lie. Who buys from liars? (I know, but not obvious liars!)

“How much did these windows cost?” he asked.

I told him it was quite a while ago that they were installed and that I would have to check.  When I came back out I told him it was the windows at front and back of the house and a security door that had come to £11,000.

He then went into, “we could have done it for less, we have special offers, what a shame…” mode.
I asked him to measure up and quote me, as I was curious. This he did and after much tapping on his calculator he looked very sheepish and apologetic and said, "Well, we could have done the same job for £7000!” and produced the calculator with a flourish to prove his point.
“Great!” I said, “I’ll take it. I live over the road. The house is identical.”

I don’t know if you have ever seen, in a cartoon, a characters face change colour like water or sand draining out of a glass but this guy did the same thing. Then he did the motorboat impression.
“But…but…but…but…”

It took a few seconds but he finally said, “But, I thought you lived here?”
“Why did you think that?” I asked him. “I just opened the door. Shall we go?”

After a few minor adjustments the final bill was £7650. I wonder what it would have been if he had known ‘The Power of a Question’?

Rule one of door to door selling:
“Good morning Sir, are you the homeowner?”....QUALIFY!

Has Your Reality Check Bounced???

IS YOUR BELIEF A REALITY?

Beliefs are, in the majority of cases, a lie. They are not the truth.  The truth has to be experienced. Unless we have experienced something, it is not real.

Sometimes, the truth is so believable; people usually just believe it instead of experiencing it.

Everyone has a belief system.  These systems were formed when we were children.

Here are a few you may recognize:

·         Dad goes to work and Mum stays home to look after the kids.

·         If you’re good you go to heaven.

·         You must eat up your greens.

·         You must eat three square meals a day.

·         Love is never having to say you are sorry.

·         Hard work is good for you.

·         You will never be tall unless you stand up straight

·         You will never amount to anything unless you work hard.

 

It is probably a result of our ingrained beliefs about what a relationship should be, as opposed to the reality of the actuality of a relationship that has resulted in the high divorce rate.

When we separate what we BELIEVE from what we EXPERIENCE we will begin to run our lives, but not before.

The problem with a belief is that we take it to be the truth.  That’s fine if you imprint a belief in your mind that you will achieve, you can do it, you will attain success….but we have thousands of other beliefs that do not serve us.  Those ‘other’ beliefs are detrimental and if we take THEM to be the truth we could get stuck in them.

In other words most of us persist in thinking and doing what we learnt long ago, rather than acting out of our experience in response to whatever is happening now.

A classic story illustrates this point:

A man watches his wife cutting an inch off the end of the Lamb bone before putting it in the oven to roast.  After watching her do this a few times before, her husband asks her why.  She tells him that her mother always did it that way.  A few weeks later the husband asks his Mother-In-Law why she cuts an inch off the end of the lamb bone.  She tells him, “My mother always did it that way.”  The Grandmother is very old, in her 90’s, and when the husband and wife visit her one day he asks her the same question. “Your granddaughter, and your daughter, cut an inch off the end of the lamb bone before they put the lamb in the oven. They do it because you always did. Why did you do that?”

The old lady looks at the husband and says, “Well, in those days, I had a very small oven and the leg of lamb wouldn’t fit unless I cut an inch off the end of the bone!”

Most people are cutting an inch off the end of something in their lives to fit into an oven that’s no longer too small for it.

Most people are stuck in a melodramatic soap opera of their lives with the same four or five problems they have always had.  The bigger problem is that they continue with beliefs that have been carved into their minds since childhood and they are the reason they keep repeating the behaviour.

Here is a frightening example:

You trip over when you are five years old and cut your knee and your mother says, 'Don't cry; crying is bad," so you don't cry.  Then you have a fall while skiing when you are 17 and you break your leg but you keep a stiff upper lip and you don't cry because crying is bad.  Then when you are 24 you break up with your boyfriend or girlfriend, and you really thought that they were 'the one' and you STILL don't cry.

The more you repress your feelings the more your consciousness shuts down.  You become barely alive.  You act like a zombie.  You function mechanically and get a reputation as 'a bit of a cold fish'.

 

The reality is that as you function mechanically more and more, in some cases, you become successful at it.  Here's a reality check: Mechanical success is not any more satisfying than failure.

 

I took my psychology training years ago and therapy has always been concerned with the way people are run, or how they function, by what was rather than what is and how to free people from their past.  That never sat comfortably with me.  I know hundreds of people who trained just like me and never questioned it. 

 

There are 2 reasons they didn't question it:

1. FEAR! As in: 'Don't make waves....if you question it they will flunk you.'

and

2. Cut the end of the bone off the Leg of Lamb! 

 

What do I mean by that?  Think about it.  

 

That's right:  It has ALWAYS been done that way, so there must be a good reason for it.

How does HPT (Human Potential Transformation) differ from Therapy?  Therapy is concerned with curing people of an 'illness' whereas HPT offers people an experience of themselves, and the ability to design a future.

 

It is evident from my travels and studies, and from the Transformational Change work I have done in the last two years which, I admit, has become more extreme and direct, that Belief Systems are, by and large, a myth.

 

Belief Systems are created by knowledge or data without experience.

 

If you experience something, it is real for you.

If you communicate it to somebody, it is real for them because you are expressing your experience.

If they tell it to someone else, it's a lie.  It is merely a belief without the component of experience.

 

A belief is a very powerful thing.  You can kill or you can cure with one.  I have earned my living for many years training people to believe in themselves, which is good.  You CAN believe in yourself because you have the experience of yourself, you are your own reality.  I can prove to you, from my beliefs, that what I think and see is true.

 

I ask people what they expect to get out of the training program and the list can be very diverse. Some say they want to get to know themselves, some say they want to make better decisions, have more self confidence, be more decisive, fall in love, be more open, sell more product, be a better leader or manager....

 

What they ALL have in common is a set of expectations!

 

They truly believe that their happiness is dependant on more love, money, power, sex, self confidence, etc.  Each has a belief system that relates satisfaction to something they are striving for.

 

The REALITY is that their happiness is a function of accepting what is, and make it separate from what was and what is to come.

 

Belief is a structure which can contain very little information in terms of making it useful in your consciousness or well-being.

 

HPT works on Observation and not Belief.  Observation has nothing to do with the senses, perceptions or belief systems. It only deals with direct experience...REALITY.

 

One of the core HPT Observations is that Life can be considered to be three foot long, and the first two feet eleven inches are about the material aspects of life (food,clothing and shelter) and what's known as 'psychological needs'. You need someone to love you and someone you can love back. You need self esteem, recognition and respect from others.

 

After people fill their needs they start to look what it MEANS to fill their needs.  They start to realize that there is no true satisfaction in just filling your needs and they look beyond that.  And THAT is the last inch.  THAT is what HPT is all about.

 

It is the last inch, that has been cut off the bone again and again.  That Inch is the life changer. 

That last inch is where we discover TRANSFORMATION.

How Do You Like Your Team In The Morning...Poached or Scrambled?

One of the biggest issues we have as Leaders is our people.  Our teams.

It is not only the recruiting but the retaining of our people that we as leaders have to concentrate on.  What makes a team of people exceptional or, at the very least, effective?

Recruitment is a major issue.  More so than at any other time.  I have never seen so many recruitment companies as there are these days.  When you look at the amount of recruitment sites and companies around you get a clear understanding as to why it is so difficult for people to get a position these days, as sometimes 50 different companies are propelling people towards the same opportunity.

I have been a Sales Trainer and Seminar Leader for almost 25 years.  As a Sales Trainer I can tell you with 100% authority, recruitment of the right people is the biggest issue.  All the sales training in the world will not make someone who is not interested in the role better at it. 

I read a sign once that said ‘You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.  You can lead someone to knowledge but you can’t make them THINK!’

Although it doesn’t rhyme there is also the line ‘You can give someone ability but you can’t make them use it!’ which would fit nicely on the end of that.

As leaders we have to be pretty savvy when interviewing people.  We have to listen very carefully at what the candidate is NOT saying just as much as what they are saying.  We also have to consider that this person may be fantastic at interviews but not at the job itself.

People spend so much time and effort planning and organising a two week vacation but make no plans for the other 50 weeks of the year.  Couples spend so much time, energy and money on a wedding but have no idea how to STAY married.  Likewise, people spend so much time and energy on getting the job when they have no real idea of how to do it or keep it.

One of the most simple and plain truths there is in recruiting the right people is to look for them rather than let them come to you. 

Having a team of people with scrambled abilities and dedication is a nightmare…consistency is what you need.  A company needs a minimum level of ability in its people. 

You may need to consider looking at other companies, other businesses, and target their people.

Hey, controversial huh? 

Poaching?  No!  It is all about giving people alternatives. 

The BEST businesses in the world have the best….….PEOPLE.  Period.  You cannot sit around waiting for these people to come to you.  Go and get them.  Create your team of excellence.  Design and mould a team of infinite ability and then train them in the ways of your company.

It is necessary for your people to have the ability to learn and the mindset of an achiever.  You can give them all the knowledge, tips, techniques, strategies and tools in the world.  They have to be capable at some level already to be able to go to the next stage with you. 

I know that a motivated idiot is the most dangerous person to have in any business.  The saddest is a person with all the ability in the world but no desire to use it.

If you want a high performing business you need to recruit and retain high performing people.  It is a well-known fact that one great person can outperform 100 good people.  Can you imagine the amount of change in a company if just one of the leaders from #HRockstars was recruited by an average business?

The bottom line is this: If you want a team of excellent people you need to hire excellent people.

I visit the Pomme d’Or hotel in Jersey in the Channel Islands every couple of months.  Their staff can never do enough for their guests.  They have a level of service that exceeds excellence.  They call your room every now and then and ask if everything is fine.  There is a smile on the face of every member of the team.

I said to the Manager one day: ‘your people are so friendly, always willing to help and always smiling and happy to see people.  What do you do to train your people to be so friendly?’

She said, ‘We don’t train our people to be friendly.  We just hire friendly people!’

Wow! How simplistic is that?  Of course, that can be translated into ‘We just hire THE RIGHT people.’

Who Are You When No One Is Looking?

In 2010 Domino’s Pizza made a decision to come out and tell the truth about their Pizzas. They agreed that they tasted like cardboard.


In 1991 during a speech to the Institute of Directors, Gerald Ratner, the CEO of Ratner’s Jewellers said ‘People ask, “How can you sell this (earrings) for such a low price?” I say, “because it’s total crap.”’

In both instances the business world was shocked at the honesty. I would assume the shareholders had a ‘moment’ too. Wow! If some leaders could just fake authenticity they would be happy but, there IS no faking it. With Domino’s it’s a consumable but it was only a recipe issue, the quality is not in question, nobody was poisoned, nobody had their health compromised.

With Ratners it WAS purely a quality issue, the goods were not worth the money. Domino’s merely agreed with/confirmed what people had been saying. Ratner admitted something nobody knew for certain. Domino’s continues…Ratners went down the tube.

Authenticity is not an easy subject to tackle and wrestle to the ground. One needs to step outside of conventional thought on authenticity. It takes a lot of courage to discuss authenticity/inauthenticity as it lifts the lid on things we may keep hidden, knowingly or unknowingly. Taking part in this chat will certainly broaden our awareness of ourselves, as a Leader and as a person.

A superficial description of authentic is being real, genuine, the “real deal”, honest. Would you be as honest as Ratners or Domino’s? If your business made a monumental mistake, it’s all very well admitting this to your people but would you admit it to the world, your clients or SKYNEWS? How far does authenticity go before we have to make a stand and be, to all intents and purposes, Inauthentic because the outcome may determine that we cannot be authentic in that instance?

The definition I use of Authenticity is: Being and acting consistent with who you hold yourself out to be for others, and who you hold yourself out to be for yourself.

The central definition is ‘who you hold yourself out to be’. It is NOT your personality, not your thoughts, not your feelings and not social protocols…it is more a DECLARATION that you make, a stand you take on yourself, a commitment to a set of values.

Bill George, Harvard Business School Professor of Leadership and author said:
“After years of studying leaders and their traits, I believe that Leadership begins and ends with authenticity.”

The cold hard truth is that because of certain situations, with certain people, in some ways and at certain times we can all be Inauthentic. Because we avoid at all costs confronting our inauthenticity’s, we are consistently inauthentic about being inauthentic. Is it possible for a person to determine when they are being genuine?

Above all else, Authenticity is CENTRAL to leadership and to being a leader.
Are you authentic all the time? Even when NO ONE is watching?

 

Nothing to do with Leadership, Business or Personal Development...

But....Is this the FINEST drink ever made?


Time for a remedy to this Flu and Sore Throat Nonsense...

A Bloody Mary made with #MustardVodka, Chilli Tomato juice...#ShakenNotStirred

#NotForWimps #HardCore #ThatsHowIRockAndRoll


Answers on a postcard please....

G+ #HRockstars Hangout with Susan Mazza and the stars of HRockstars

Susan Mazza joins Angela Goodeve, Johann Gauthier, Mia Voss, Joy Guthrie and....someone else...talking about LEADERSHIP!

Real Life Experience Vs Theoretical Leadership Training

Would you deem an Ontological approach to leadership more useful than a 6 year

Doctorate from a business school?

Is there a difference in Leadership ability or even mindset between a person who has been schooled via a classroom, examinations and a tutor and a person who has learnt through experience?

In short, an epistemological mastery (a from-the-stands mastery) of a subject is the theory, such as theoretical business models in university and college study or role-play in a training room, which leaves one knowing what a leader has to do.
An ontological mastery is a reality version (an on-the-pitch mastery) of a subject, as in absorbing more and more duties in a current employment position, facing challenges, dealing with potential issues until such time everyone else assumes you are in charge or you have grown into the role, which leaves one being in a leadership position.

Do we need to learn to lead or is Leadership something we all have within us that lies dormant until we need to 'take charge' because something needs to be done but nobody will do it until told?  Is THAT the moment we step over the line and become a leader.  Is that the time we light that leadership fuse?  In many cases that is the only time that fuse is lit.  Something will tip us over that point and we become a leader.

I do what I do because I saw so many other people coming into the Company I was leading to give management consultancy programs and I would think 'I know more than they do, I can do that, I can teach that'.  My tipping point came when I realised that not only did I know more than they did and I could present it better, I wasn't using my knowledge to its fullest extent in the role I had acquired over a number of years.  I had gone from salesman to Sales and Marketing Director with a sales team of 600 within two years.  I became the national sales trainer for Telewest and then decided to work for ANYONE...taking Leadership to a whole new level.

My belief is that if you have ever got someone to do something for you, or they have done something just because you have asked them to, then you have led.  We all lead others in our lives.  We have all been led by others too. 

Is it possible that one can learn something in theory without the reality of the role.  Is learning the theory of Leadership enough to make you a leader that can inspire, transform, motivate others to follow you?

Learning in an ontological format leaves one being a Leader which, in itself, allows for the development of self expression in the role.  If you think about what it takes to be the most effective leader you can be, to match the effective leader you hold yourself out to be, it really has to be about you and your natural self expression of who you are.

The important word in that paragraph is 'Natural'.

If you watch Rafa Nadal play Tennis or Lionel Messi play football I don't think for one moment they have to 'remember' how to play, the game is just a natural self-expression.  Of course they have technique, skills and ability but it is unconscious competence.  Their natural self expression makes them extraordinarily powerful and effective 'players'.

A natural leader can only become 'natural' in the role by being a leader.  It is only then can one understand, in the real world, what being a leader is all about.

A Leader needs very high levels of being and action.  Certainly if one is to plan a future, it will be based on certain conditions and elements that are in the current time. A target or goal is based upon our being now, when in fact it should be based on our being then. 

A persons 'being' and 'action' must be aligned and in unison to make them effective, as a tennis player, a footballer or as a leader.  When one is being a leader and exercising leadership skills this occurs through natural self-expression dependant upon how what that person is dealing with as a leader occurs to them.  The goal as a leader is: 'how am I going to get what I am dealing with as a leader to occur for me so that my natural self-expression as a leader can deal with it?'

So where do we get our being and action when creating a goal or a target?  Mostly we get our being and action from the contents of our brain, which is filled with experiences from our past or current existence and experience.  If we stand in the future, which is where our target or goal is situated, what the brain can draw on is imagination and creativity.  If we stand in the past we cannot see the pathways that lead to the success.  If we stand at the bottom of a mountain and look up, it is difficult to see how we could possibly reach the top.  I we stand at the top of the mountain and look down, we will see more than one way to get to where we are.

Standing in and leading from the future reveals a lot more possibilities for realising that future goal or target.

Outstanding leaders never come up with a future and present it to the people they are leading.  They find a way to get that future created from the people they are leading. 

If you came to me and said, 'Dave, this is the top of the mountain, this is where we are going and we are going to get there...' I have to buy into that.  But if I participate with you in deciding which mountain is the top mountain, that doesn't require any buy in from me.  Getting there belongs to me as well as you, maybe in a different way, but I am involved.   The leader will have had a lot to do with shaping meetings and conversations to enable their team to see and share the vision and decide which mountain is the one to go for.

The leader must be committed to the critical importance that the future really belongs to everyone, not just the leader.  Your people have been moved, touched and inspired not only by your input and leadership but by the fact that their contribution made a difference.  A combined noteworthy contribution on a shared goal will reap far greater rewards and this only compounds the basis of ontological learning.  You have to be part of it to get better.  All the theory in the world, all the textbooks in the universe will not make you the leader you are meant to be.

If you balance on a stool in your kitchen you can practice all the strokes and movements of being a swimmer but you will not be a swimmer until you get in the water.

How to Have, Be and Do ANYTHING you want! This Is The Sign!

My story is very unique.
I have lived a lifestyle most people

only dream about.

My achievements in business, health, my uncanny luck, and my lifestyle have amazed me and the people who know me. I have lived an amazing life.

Here’s what using these powerful secrets has done for me:

My associated companies have done MILLIONS of pounds in sales

I have owned Publishing companies, Sales companies and businesses in the UK and in many other countries

I have lived in million pound homes, all across the UK, and on 3 continents

I live a life that allowed me to drive cars like Rolls Royces, Ferraris, Jaguars, Bentleys and Mercedes

I have owned millions of pounds worth of fine jewelry, gold, antiques and art

I travel first class wherever I go (including jets, limos and the most expensive hotel suites)

I’ve had private chefs, drivers and bodyguards

I’ve dined in the finest restaurants and enjoyed the most expensive wine and champagne

I have associated with some of the richest, most powerful people in the world including Prime Ministers, Generals, business tycoons and Hollywood celebrities

I also have unreal human health (I virtually NEVER get sick)

The reason I tell you these things is

NOT TO IMPRESS YOU.

It is to IMPRESS UPON YOU that I know something YOU NEED TO KNOW!

 

If YOU learn what I have been taught, YOU could HAVE, BE or DO ANYTHING YOU WANT IN YOUR LIFE!

But life was not always good for me!

 

I was an only child, born in a very poor part of East London.  My parents worked VERY hard to put and keep a roof over our heads.  I grew up in a very loving environment with the best parents anyone could wish for.

Things didn't get better until my Father became a Manager with a very large supermarket chain.  He became an area Manager and Director before he retired.  In the early days we had no bathroom, just a tin bath in front of the fire three times a week.  We had a toilet at the bottom of the garden lit by candles. We had no telephone until I was 12 and a colour TV didn't appear until I was 15.  My parents worked long hours to make money.  I went to work when I was 15. 

Before I discovered how to get everything I wanted and learned the secrets, I was just an average guy who grew up in a very poor and moneyless environment.

I never went to college, that was much later, and for years went from job to job. I did not have “connections.” I was dead broke and overweight. Life was a struggle. Making ends meet was tough. I was in debt and had trouble paying my bills. I couldn’t get a date. I was unhappy and unfulfilled. Things never went my way. I felt like I had a black cloud over my head. I was unlucky in everything. I felt like a curse was on me. (Maybe you can relate in some ways.)

I WAS KING MIDAS IN REVERSE…

EVERYTHING I TOUCHED

TURNED TO CRAP!

I was desperate to change my situation. I read over 1,000 self help books and went to every seminar I could, to learn HOW to be successful. The problem was that none of the people teaching me WERE successful! They all made their money TEACHING other people how to be successful! They NEVER did it themselves!

Everything I learned was THEORY.
It just didn't work in real life.

Worst of all, it was just a theory to the people who were teaching others.

But I was a young man who seemed to have potential. Although not a member of an elite privileged family, I was fortunate enough to meet someone who knew how to get what they wanted.  They also showed ME how it really works! It was a total fluke. I was at the right place at the right time. They gave me an offer I could not refuse. At the time I did not know WHY I was chosen to learn all of this.

When I received my invitation I immediately accepted! I studied and learned the secrets with more passion than anyone ever had in their history!

It turned out I was gifted with the unique ability, much like Einstein, at “crunching” or simplifying complex concepts and making them easy to understand and apply. I totally integrated the “secrets” into my whole being and life!

I even created what I call the “5 Second Miracle” from all this amazingly powerful secret information —— which is based on taking 100% responsibility for everything that happens in your life. I simplified the secrets I had learned, the information and secret keys to success.

One day, I felt I was READY to see if this secret information would REALLY work like they told me. Could it be true that by simply applying this foolproof, almost magical secret, I could HAVE, BE or DO ANYTHING I WANTED? Would it REALLY be that easy? Would it REALLY work so fast?

All these well-known, powerful, and super rich members told me it was true, and they had the physical proof it worked. They had the money, wealth, power, control, luck, health and status. It was definitely working for THEM. But would it work for ME?

It is a little like changing fonts and colours and margins on a computer.  It may look great but it will not be a permanent change unless you hit the ‘APPLY’ button..

and I hit ‘APPLY’ in my life!!!

Everything changed almost overnight for me! From the MOMENT I starting using this new knowledge, it worked – in fact, EVERYTHING in my life became better. It was almost magical! It was almost like I had found Aladdin’s Lamp and had a Genie that would grant me every wish I had!

 

Within a short time, I got out of debt. I started making more money than I could ever dream about. I became lucky at everything. I lost weight. My health became amazing! I had luxury cars, houses, jewellery and clothes. I bought my parents a home and a new car.  I travelled first class, and most importantly, I was HAPPIER than ever before. I was living a stress-free magical life

I felt I could see the future and predict events and will things to occur in my life with uncanny accuracy!

I also felt totally in control of all situations and people.

My confidence was at an all time high and I had no fear in my life!

I have attracted MONEY FROM ALL DIRECTIONS and have enjoyed a lifestyle that most people could not even imagine.

People all around me could not believe my success! It happened so FAST it looked like I hit the lottery! I became super “lucky!” Everything I touched turned to gold as if by magic.

Then one day, a person who worked with me came BEGGING to learn my secrets. He wanted to know HOW I was getting so lucky.

After three years of BEGGING, I reluctantly decided to teach SOME of the secret discoveries to him. This was AGAINST the rules of the PEOPLE WHO SHOWED ME! 

These discoveries and secrets were for THE CHOSEN FEW ONLY! But I felt I was only revealing a “FEW” of the secrets – NOT ALL OF THEM.

These secrets are SIMPLE and EASY to learn. He was a quick learner and he started applying these secrets right away.

Within a year, starting with ZERO, he became RICH BEYOND HIS DREAMS!

I could not imagine how good I would feel seeing another person succeed with this knowledge. It was fantastic!

NOBODY who had learned these secrets like me was supposed to pass them on to just ANYONE! This gives an UNFAIR advantage in life to the PRIVILEGED ELITE class. The “little” guy or “average” person is left out! I felt this was TOTALLY UNFAIR and just plain WRONG! So I decided to break the rules and teach some of the secrets to a few other people who were SERIOUS about doing whatever it takes to get a better life.

 

Could YOU also be one of those people?

 

To be continued....soon...