How do you know if what you do is working?

Why is reflecting on our actions so useful?

Do you ever get to the end of the day, the week, the month, the year and ask yourself “What did I achieve?”

Do you just keep doing what you do without stopping to think if its working?

Do you ever feel really pleased with yourself and then beat yourself up for not doing better more often?

Jo Twiselton led a discussion with our members on the value of reflection and how to make it a really useful exercise.

Usefulness of reflection

• When we feel as though there’s barely time to breath, setting aside regular time for reflection can feel like an indulgence but, in a busy day it can be one of the most productive things to do and really helps us decide what to keep doing, what to drop and what to do differently.
• The act of writing something down gets it out of your head and often brings up a solution to a problem.
• A BMW (bitch, moan and whinge) session with yourself can be very therapeutic. Let your inner critic loose!
• You can also ask yourself "What would be even better if …?" (EBI)
• At it’s best reflection can become an act of continuous learning. Approaching things with curiosity and compassion rather than judgement is a great learning process in itself.
• If you have trouble articulating your feelings or emotions (alexithymia), downloading it out of the brain and having to find a word to describe how you’re feeling can be a big breakthrough.
• One of the things that stops us from reflecting is that it can be painful. We all tend to dwell more on what went wrong than on what went right. The ungrateful client always takes up more headspace than the complimentary ones but reflection can re-set the balance and make us aware that we’re putting too much weight on what we could have done better instead of acknowledging all the things we did well.

Reflection and journaling

Some people reflect while they’re doing other things, like gardening, walking, painting, or cooking and may or may not make notes of their thoughts. If you’ve set aside time to reflect and want to use it as a learning process, there are lot of ways to record reflections and the important thing is to find something that suits you and doesn’t become another chore.

Journaling may feel exciting and creative, or daunting and overwhelming. It’s not compulsory and if you do give it a try it doesn’t have to be a work of art!

Having a particular notebook or diary can work well, and using audio notes or apps such as Notion https://www.notion.so/ or Morning Pages https://morningpages.app/ or any of the many other analogue or digital ways of keeping notes may suit you better.

You may like to have a daily, weekly or monthly routine or dip in and out or have someone you check in with to share your reflections and get feedback. Finding what works best for you is important.

A Framework

Gibbs' Reflective Cycle was developed by Graham Gibbs in 1988 to give structure to learning from experiences.  It offers a framework for examining experiences, allowing us to learn and plan from things that either went well or didn’t go well.

It covers 6 stages:

1. Description of the experience
2. Feelings and thoughts about the experience
3. Evaluation of the experience, both good and bad
4. Analysis to make sense of the situation
5. Conclusion about what you learned and what you could have done differently
6. Action plan for how you would deal with similar situations in the future, or general changes you might find appropriate.

You can see Jo Twiselton's weekly reflections on LinkedIn 

If you have questions or want to share your experiences of reflection as a learning tool, contact us - we'd love to hear from you!

by Ann Hawkins

Negotiation skills

How to negotiate better deals

Negotiation is an essential business skill, useful in many situations with clients, suppliers, employees and associates.

This discussion on how to improve our negotiation skills was led by Tom Lewis FCA.

Tom is a Commercial Performance Improvement advisor to businesses who helps businesses grow strategically through both organic and acquisitive change and has held positions as Commercial CFO / COO in Private Equity SaaS, B2B Consultancy Services, Marketing Services and Law.

Pricing, self-worth and self-confidence

Talking about negotiating skills in small businesses almost inevitably leads to questions about business structure and pricing which are directly affected by our feelings related to money, self-worth and self-confidence.

Self-confidence is a key element in success and there are many ways to improve it so if this is a factor that is holding you back its worth working on!

Before you start negotiating ...

Before getting into any negotiation it’s a good idea to figure out how important it is to get your own needs met v. how important it is to maintain a good relationship with the other side.

• What do you need?
• What does the other side need?
• What concessions are you prepared to make?

There are five key styles of negotiation

Familiarise yourself with these different styles and try to figure out what style the other side will use and how you will respond.

Do you hate hagglers?

Haggling isn’t really about negotiation and is often a sign of inexperience. It’s taking an extreme stance with the mindset of win some, lose some. People who haggle throw lots pf demands into the mix. They’re usually shameless but probably have the aim of getting you to meet them halfway - which may not be obvious at the start.
If you go into this situation expecting someone to play fair it may come as a shock and throw you off balance but having a very clear idea of what you want can often turn it around.

Compromising

Compromising may mean that you’ve got the main deal so are comfortable compromising on the peripherals. For example someone has agreed to your fees, but they may ask you to  compromise on the payment terms. It's important to know before you start what your points of compromise will be.

• What are the things you can’t move on?
• What’s the scope for negotiating?
• Is trust an issue?

Win : Win

You may think this is always the best outcome for everyone but there will be people who prefer to win by forcing you to lose – usually when there is no ongoing relationship to protect. If you come across this you must be very sure of what will make you walk away.

What’s your red line position?

You may be really busy and not need any more work but someone asks you to squeeze in an extra project. Your red line may be that you'll only do this if they're prepared to pay extra to make it worth your while or there’s no deal.

Win : Lose

This position is usually associated with a transaction like buying a house or car. There is no on-going relationship to protect so going all in for what you want and asking for concessions when the main deal is done is fine, depending on how much you want the item.  Again, knowing your red line will help you walk away if you can't get what you need.

Negotiating on price

We’ve all had conversations where a potential client says they really want to work with us but they just can’t afford our fees.

In this case your killer question might be: “What can I do to show you the value of what I’m offering? If, as a result of working with me your business increases by x amount, what would that be worth?”

The answer will almost certainly be a lot more than your fee so the negotiation is about persuading the client to see you as an investment rather than a cost.

Discounting

Have a discount policy carefully worked out before going into any negotiation. Do the maths and make sure you’re not eroding your profit margins.

Your time is not free. If one of your marketing tactics is to have “free” consultations before a client signs, this should be factored into your marketing costs and measured against results.

Friction is a lead qualifier

People who don't like negotiating or want a less time intensive strategy often package services or deals to make choices easier. This can be designed to reduce friction but it's worth noting that there must be some friction to get an active choice and commitment from a client. The reason so many free offers don’t work is that there is no friction therefore no commitment.

After action report

As with all business activities it’s a good idea to take time to review what worked and what didn’t. The key question here is “Did I leave money on the table?”

Other questions are:

• How do you feel about the process and the result? In our discussions a very strong preference emerged for doing business in a way that aligns with our values, so winning comes second to how we feel about winning and how we handled the process.
• Is the process getting easier? If you're improving your competence and confidence and feeling more comfortable about negotiating that's great. If it continues to be a problem it would be worth going back to looking at the issues of self-worth and self-confidence and getting help to work on those.
• Is your pricing strategy and business process enabling you to make the most of opportunities or do they need to be reviewed?

As always, get in touch to discuss any of the issues raised here and if you'd like to explore the topic further we'll invite Tom back for another session.

Tom Lewis

Tom has led merger and acquisition deals for plcs and owner-managed SMEs, cost-effective market exits and successful business mergers / integration, is experienced in leadership and influencing decision-makers at board level through both analysis and negotiation, increasing commerciality, coaching staff to improving pricing, volumes and productivity, cash flow management, cost reductions and strategic restructurings, and refining finance systems and management information for swifter, better decision-making.

Tom holds a BA in Russian Studies and spent a year in Russia and Ukraine and is a keen amateur wine blogger.

Connect with Tom on LinkedIn and Twitter

by Ann Hawkins

How uncomfortable do we need to be to grow?

Do we need discomfort to grow?

Coaches are fond of telling us that we need to get out of our comfort zone but it's not always clear why.

At the end of the pandemic Drive Member, Annabel Harper, challenged herself to an extreme physical test of huskie sledding in Svalbard, one of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas, in temperatures of -25 with 24 hour daylight.

It was an extraordinary thing to do, (especially as most of her business is done in the heat of Dubai) and we had many questions about why she’d put herself through this.

There is a theory that we need discomfort to grow but coming out of a pandemic that created more discomfort than most of us have experienced in our lifetimes there was quite a reaction to the idea that we might need to seek out more!

For Annabel it was a very personal challenge to get fit and put into practice the leadership lessons she uses with her clients.

• Team work was essential as the small group of people and dogs could only live and move together.
• The group could only move at the pace of the slowest.
• No-one could be left behind as each one relied on the others.
• There was no opting out. A particularly difficult challenge of traversing a glacier had to be achieved quite literally by putting one foot in front of the other, one step at a time.
• Sharing a tiny, flimsy tent with strangers in temperatures of minus 25 puts all thoughts of status into perspective!

Annabel also mentioned that spending long periods of time skimming over the ice alone on the sled with only the sound of the dog harness for company gave lots of time for inner reflection while the beauty of the landscape and the immense never darkening sky gave everything a new perspective as she repeatedly asked herself why she was doing it!

Arriving home with painfully blistered feet took away nothing from the sense of achievement and, as Annabel says, its the sort of experience that will take a long time to absorb but she is, quite rightly, immensely proud of herself for doing it.

It took me  a long time to find my comfort zone and I’m not leaving it for anyone.

This seems like a fair statement! Not everyone is drawn to physical challenges, especially if they're facing other sorts of discomforts. We all have a courageous side and a cowardly side, a side that does the hard thing and a side that prefers the easy way. The question is, which one is in charge?

When we challenge ourselves to become the kind of person that can do it – whatever it is - we develop confidence and trust that we will be able to step forward when the stakes are high. If we can do the hard thing even when no-one is watching, we can do it all the time.

Whether its dog sledding in the Arctic Circle or surviving a pandemic largely unscathed, proving we can do it is important and something worth celebrating!

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Annabel Harper has an MA in Middle Eastern Studies and her research explored women and leadership in the United Arab Emirates.

Her book “Shujaa’ah: Bold Leadership for Women of the Middle East” was a finalist in the Business Book Awards 2021.

Previously a radio and TV journalist, Annabel worked for more than 25 years for ITN, Channel Four News and the BBC. After moving into management at the BBC, she became involved with coaching, mentoring and training, before leaving to set up her own coaching business Change Connections  in 2007.

Follow Annabel on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/annabelharper/ 

by Ann Hawkins

How to develop a conscious, positive relationship with money.

Many people struggle to talk about money, which can be a big disadvantage in business!

We asked some of our members what they remember of how money was talked about in their family as they grew up and the answers explain why we all have such a different attitude to this tricky topic!

• • If your dad was a vicar and the family had no mortgage and free access to private schooling, you’d have a very different attitude towards money to someone who grew up being told: “Don’t kick stones, we can’t afford new shoes!”
  • If your mum kept the family stable by running a school and your Dad was a gigging musician who turned up with pockets full of cash and took everyone out for treats, you might think that money was for enjoying, not for saving.
  • If your parents got your family through the ‘80s with soaring interest rates you might decide to save as much as possible and never take on debt because you didn’t ever want to be in that position.
  • If your parents made money, but constantly talked about being happier when they were poor, you might decide that accumulating wealth is pointless.
  • If you grew up being told that money was the root of all evil and rich people were greedy, you might find yourself under-pricing your services and self-sabotaging.
  • If you grew up being told that ‘you can’t take it with you’ and ‘shrouds have no pockets’, you might not bother to save anything.

But none of these beliefs are truths – they're just things we hear growing up that help other people make sense of their world. (And begs the question, what are you passing on about your beliefs?!)

Because we don’t talk about it, we understand very little about why another person's approach to money might be so different to ours.

So, we have this thing that’s central to our lives, that nobody shows us how to manage, that we misunderstand but don’t talk about, that’s wired to our emotions and feelings of self-worth and when we make mistakes we end up with a lot of anxiety, guilt, shame and regret. 

Not knowing how to manage our finances is totally understandable.

Dennis Harhalakis of Cambridge Money Coaching explains it this way:

We’re taught that if we don’t understand something, there must something wrong with us.
No wonder we’re in such a mess!

Just because money has numbers doesn’t mean that money discussions are numeric discussions. It’s not about maths, it’s all about emotions. How we feel affects how we spend which affects how we feel.

Money is too often tied into our feelings of self-worth.
If we have debt or no savings, if we feel guilt from earning “too much”, if we find it hard to spend money or hard to save money, this is normal.
Our brains are wired for short-term gratification. If there’s something we want, its hard to fight the feeling that the best to time have it is now. We also try and push discomfort into the future. What’s the best time to start that training programme, get on that diet, sort out those finances, chase that client for money ……? So if we're uncomfortable facing our money issues we keep putting it off.
Add to this that finance has become very complex and all this complexity makes us anxious. The biggest stressors for humans are uncertainty and lack of control and when it comes to their finances, most people have some amount of both.

It's possible to develop a conscious, positive relationship with money

Firstly, we all have money issues, and that’s ok.
Secondly, there is no ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ way to manage money. There are things that make the future easier, behaviours that are taking us towards the person we want to be, and there are things we do that have the opposite effect and make the future more difficult. And that’s all normal.
So, if there are things about money – how you feel about it, how it makes you feel – that cause you discomfort, take a moment to reflect on where these beliefs or feelings come from. Ask yourself if they are helpful to you. Are they taking you where you want to go, or are they getting in the way. Try not to judge your own feelings - remember you probably acquired them before you understood what was happening.
This process isn't easy – we worry about being judged by others and we judge ourselves too. It can be scary to look into things you've avoided for a long time. But it can be done, and it’s a lot easier if you can find someone who can hold a safe space for you while you explore your thoughts and feelings.

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Dennis Harhalakis is the founder of Cambridge Money Coaching and a Certified Money Coach (CMC)®. Money Coaching deals with the unconscious patterns, beliefs and behaviours around money that we all have. Understanding these behaviours and patterns is the key to achieving true financial independence and success. Dennis is a regular speaker at schools and is particularly interested in helping parents talk to their children about money.

Find out more at https://cambridgemoneycoaching.uk/

by Ann Hawkins

Why reflection makes us more effective

"Reflection is a mode of inquiry: a deliberate way of systematically recalling and examining experiences."

You put the phone down from a call, hop into a meeting, come out of that and crack on with the next job, meet someone for lunch, report back to a client, check your cashflow, chase some invoices, go home and catch up with your family, make dinner, watch some TV, go to bed, wake up and do it all again.

• When do you look at what you've done and figure out what's working, what's not and if you're enjoying any of it?
• When do you say "no more" or "I could have done better"?
• When do you tell yourself "well done"?
  

Why Should We Practice Self-Reflection?

One one level we can evaluate our responses to particular circumstances and events or people and get better at handling them and on another level we can evaluate the overall trajectory of our lives. We can see where we're headed, if we're happy with that and make adjustments as necessary.

When Should We Practice Self-Reflection?

It can be useful to do it for a few minutes each day or each week. Think about what has been on your mind, what is taking up your headspace and write it down.

It can also be helpful to do an end of month and end of year review looking back over your notes to see what you've learned.

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” Anaïs Nin

Jo Twiselton of Twist Consultants Ltd. has practiced self-reflection for many years.

She is an avid note-taker and uses her reflections in her own personal and business development as well as with her clients who are often managing complex change projects in large organisations.

Jo led a discussion with our members Gill Robinson, Nicola Smith, Andy Boothman, Helen Lindop, Nathan Whitbread, Anne-Marie Miller, David Brown, Vicky Bland, Dr Melissa Sedmak, and Andy Bargery on the benefits of reflecting on our behaviors, thoughts, attitudes, motivations, and desires.

These are some of the takeaways from the discussion:

✨ Getting into a routine of reflecting on each day at the same time is a powerful thing to do for both personal and business development.

✨ Asking yourself the same set of questions: what you did well and what you could do better or differently or what you will start, continue and stop and writing down the answers provides lots of learning.

✨ Thor A Rain explained how booking a regular appointment with "me, myself and I" as an end of year exercise and using the same book for notes means that its easy to check back on previous thoughts. This can be in a favourite coffee shop with favourite treats as an added incentive!

✨ Consistency is key – the more you build reflection in, the easier it gets and the more regularly you’re likely to do it.

✨ We need a ‘ingestion’ period to reflect on what we learn so looking back at the notes for a week or month can sometimes reveal deeper insights.

✨ Having a strong ‘why bother’ reason for running our business that goes beyond earning money can help us focus on the things that really matter.

✨ Keeping a file of nice things that clients say is particularly useful as a reminder of our value when things get a bit tough.

✨ Following an action plan, the Drive Quest or the 12-week year process all offer opportunities for reflection on things we've learned during a specific period of time.

✨ If you think you need to improve on something, e.g get better at finishing things, writing down everything you finish as you finish it gives an insight into how good you really are - a tip from Susie Tobias.

✨ Having an accountability buddy helps to get us into a routine and thinking out loud is a great way to answer our own questions.

Jo says her big takeaway from the discussion is that everyone knows the value reflection can bring as learning but it’s about making sure we make the time for it not waiting until we find the time.

Jo shares three takeaways from her reflections every week on LinkedIn so look out for her posts and get inspired!

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Jo Twiselton helps leaders deliver healthy & sustainable change in their organisations, minimising disruption and maximising engagement. She is a certified practitioner of the WRAW (Wellbeing & Resilience at Work) psychometric, the world’s first tool & survey to measure resilience and its impact on wellbeing at work. https://www.twistconsultants.co.uk/ 

by Ann Hawkins

12 rules for business and life

How to live with integrity and be the best in your field

Tim Pain is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and in 1999 he formed Verve Group Ltd as a regeneration specialist company. Tim is a director and shareholder of Verve Group Ltd, whose subsidiary Verve Developments Ltd purchased Bedford Heights in 2014.

Bedford Heights is now the home of many growing businesses.

Tim shared the story of his career with Drive members, illustrating his 12 rules of business with inspirational stories from the people he has met!

1. However powerful you become, don't humiliate people.
2. Integrity is vitally important.
3. Treat people as you'd like to treated.
4. Always prepare and research - don't wing it.
5. Believe in what you're selling.
6. If you don't understand, ask.
7. Subtlety will win over flashiness
8. It's not what you know, but who that is important.
9. If you believe you're good enough - take a chance. Don't look back with regret.
10. Have a big game plan.
11. Recognise a good thing. It's better to have something than nothing.
12. Prove you can be trusted.

by Ann Hawkins

Avoiding the feast or famine sales cycle

Does your marketing stop when you get too busy?

Have you ever found yourself so busy with client work that you ease up on your marketing, only to find yourself with no clients because - you guessed it - you didn't do enough marketing while you were busy? I think we've all been there at one time or another!

Andy Bargery has been running marketing agency Klaxon, since 2006. He didn't have a sales pipeline when he started Klaxon and although the business went well, when he started his property investment business, Andy wanted the sales process to be less stressful and more predictable.

The secret is pipelining.

In Andy's words, pipelining is 'the process of systematically finding prospects and moving them through your sales cycle'.

To begin, you need to know:

• Your sales target
• Your average client value
• How many clients you need
• Your conversion rates - how many contacts do you need to generate an enquiry? How many many enquiries to get a new client?

Andy's Powerpoint presentation gives a great example of some figures on page 12:

Feast or Famine PowerPoint Slides 

First decide how many sales you need to reach your target, then how many contacts you need in order to convert 10 of them to clients. E.g., to get 10 new clients you may need to contact 400 prospects.

This is your target for the year.

Then you need to
a) have a sales process and to move prospects through it, and
b) have a way to track your activity and your progress towards your target.

Andy mentioned a couple of models that help with the sales process, one is ICECAP, which you can see on page 13 of his presentation. The second is the BANT model.

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is the best way of managing and tracking progress through a sales process. Andy admitted that CRMs are a bit like marmite. Many small business owners have been put off them because they can be too complex, confusing and have too many expensive upsells. Nevertheless, do give them a chance, especially Pipedrive as recommended by Andy. Once again, his PowerPoint presentation has examples of a project in Pipedrive.

by Helen Lindop

"I wish I'd started networking sooner"

This is just one of the the things Rory Underwood shared with Drive Members!

Rory Underwood, 85 times capped for England, 49 tries, was not only one of the best wingers in British Rugby, he was also a Hawk Fighter pilot for the RAF.

Rory shared how he retired from rugby and the military in his late 30s and embarked on the task of building a business.

He learned many things about high performance teams and human development and now brings that experience into businesses, challenging them to create the right environment where high performance is inevitable.

In this frank and funny talk Rory demonstrates his warm and charismatic character and also the difficulties and obstacles he encountered in growing a business.

Build a network as soon as possible!

One of the things Rory mentioned, and why he came to Drive, is that having a great network is essential to building a business and its never too soon to start building your own network!

How do you measure the effectiveness of a team?

Most teams are measured on results but that doesn't tell you what (or who) needs to change in order to become more effective.

The speed at which we get information can cause us to react too quickly and over correct, often before we know if there is a pattern or just a short term glitch. Waiting and assessing before taking action can lead to much better decisions.

There are lots more tips about team roles, measurements and how to improve effectiveness in the talk below.

Some other points that Rory mentions are:

Make yourself redundant

The sign of a great leader is knowing when to step aside!

What's the ROI?

The challenge for any business is switching the thinking from ROI (return on investment) to ROE (return on expectations) This is what a successful training initiative delivers to key business stakeholders demonstrating the degree to which their expectations have been satisfied.

Purpose People Process

The PURPOSE of the team is established in the process of Forming.
As PEOPLE join they start Storming
The PROCESS is established during Norming

Training and development vs Performing

There is a huge difference in the ratio of training and development vs performing in the Military, Sport and Business.
In the military, Training and Development is 95% and Performing is 5%
In Sport, Training and Development is 80% and Performing 20%
In Business, Training and Development is 20% and Performance 80%
This begs the question that, is people are the most important part of a business, why isn't more invested in their training and development?

To find out more about Rory Underwood and the services he offers businesses see his website Wingman Ltd

by Ann Hawkins

Sink or Swim? Creating a business from something you're good at.

Is it a good idea to create a business from something you love doing?

Ed Williams first swam solo across the English Channel in 2006 aged 19 raising in excess of £60,000 for Prostate Cancer Research.This was the launch pad for a life dedicated to swimming.

Using the publicity he got from this he set up the Elite Swimming Academy Ltd which has a unique approach to excellence in swimming. Hiring only the best coaches and keeping classes to just 3 or 4 children, the Elite Swimming Academy has expanded year on year, always has waiting lists and is hugely profitable. Ed has personally coached Paralympic champions and other who have unique challenges with swimming.

Ed has continued to set himself challenges and has swum several other iconic marathon swims including Lake Windermere and the Gibraltar Strait. In 2016 Ed completed a solo swim of the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland raising £10,000 for Wateraid and Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.

Setting goals

His latest and greatest achievement to date is swimming the Irish channel - a goal that has nearly killed him.
Ed shares how he deals with these massive challenges that to many people would seem just too big, too overpowering and all consuming, and achieves his ambitions.

There have been unexpected challenges along the way, both personal and professional, Ed has learnt a lot about himself, his team and those who are closest to him, his family. He shares his personal insight into the best ways to address set backs, why it’s just not real to succeed at everything first time and the important learning that a perceived set back will bring to many other aspects of your life and your business.

Tools of the trade

Mindfulness, fitness, clear thinking and focus have helped Ed achieve his extreme challenges. There are lots of similarities between Ed’s extreme swims and the business world. Doing these activities has taught Ed a great deal about business and is a fundamental part of the success of the Elite Swimming Academy. After all, how many businesses do you know who launch with a swim across the English Channel?

by Ann Hawkins

Don't fear the chaos!

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by options and possibilities?

This is a common feeling for many business owners but chaos can be a positive force!

Darryl Canham shared his vast experience in business, advertising, marketing, sports and movies and his ideas about how, in addition to strategic focus, the occasional use of creating chaotic pressure can bring fresh ideas and innovations for both business and life.

The main thrust of what Darryl spoke about was the opportunities that become available to you when you open your perspectives towards making your life a success, as well as looking at making your business or career successful.

Generate lots of ideas

Whilst stressing the absolute importance of a strategic culture, Darryl explained that so many of his personal career opportunities and successes were the outcome of frenetic periods of generating many ideas and exploring their potential simultaneously.

So, by choosing to create chaotic periods of intense work output, business prospecting, decision making, and exploring opportunities, he has found that his career has taken shape in areas that were not a part of any original personal life plan. Both life and business have prospered because limits get pushed.

Unsettle the status quo

Darryl went on to explain that more focused styles of thinking are then the ways in which things get done and should sit as the mainstay modus operandi to business operations. However, unsettling the status quo from time to time will create a new energy that could be directed towards your ambitions.

Darryl related this Chaos tool to the early periods where entrepreneurs are in the early stages of building and defining their business. That is one of the most pressurised and stressful times, but also one of the most exciting times in the life cycle of any business.

Experiment with chaos!

Sometimes the business you plan is rarely the business you end up with. Settling for that is a personal choice, but by recreating the start up chaos scenario from time to time, may just create the opportunity you did not know you were looking for!

He acknowledges that it can be a step out of the comfort zone and for many people that may be a challenge. Even so he encourages people to experiment with a little chaos because you never know where the next great opportunity will come from and where it will lead.

He shared many stories and anecdotes from his experiences and many valuable life tools that keep his enthusiasm and drive as high as his natural energy.

Through his use of both strategic and chaotic practice, Darryl has ventured into many exciting industries and assures us he will continue to put it all into practice, whether he is working in health and fitness, in marketing and advertising, in the film business, or working with the police, in consultancy, professional coaching and more…

Darryl Canham has over 20 years experience in the development of people, athletes and brands. He managed 2 teams at McCann Erickson, and founded the successful advertising agency Rave Communications Ltd. He remains active in creativity and marketing consultancy for midlands agencies, but devotes most of his time to running the Kaizen Centre in Birmingham, offering martial arts, health & fitness, coaching and mentoring for his clients. His efforts and talents have led to him working with a variety of  organisations providing training in confidence and empowerment with West Midlands Police and the Terrence Higgins Trust as well as corporate and small businesses. He also works in the Film and Gaming Industries as an action choreographer and performer.

Follow Darryl on Twitter @DarrylCanham and connect on LinkedIn

We'd love to know what you took away from Darryl's talk that you will use in your own life and business. Leave us a comment below ... 

by Ann Hawkins

8 lessons from a serial entrepreneur

Luke Brynley-Jones was an early pioneer in the social web and creating on-line communities. He has started several businesses, lost a business, flipped a business, made some money and lost some money.

He now runs OST The Social and Digital Agency

Lesson 1 - Nobody is indispensable.

If there is someone in your business who thinks they are, and gets too greedy, get rid of them.

This is what propelled Luke into leaving employment and starting his own business!

Lesson 2 - Don't take on other people's responsibilities.

With a friend who worked with Sir Tim Berners-Lee in the late 1990's, Luke started a consultancy business for companies who were investigating the new idea of connecting with customers on-line. British Airways, Christian Aid, Thomas Cooke, YMCA were among their first clients.

As is common with many small businesses they struggled to get paid by their much bigger corporate clients so decide to stop being consultants and instead create their own social network platform called eTribes.com.

Lesson 3 - Nobody owns and idea. It's all about the implementation.

With eTribes, they raised £3 million and hired 70 developers. The site allowed people to blog, share music, photos and videos, book events, store documents and make phone calls and attracted 50,000 users.

With too many ideas and not enough implementation, eTribes eventually went bust.

Lesson 4 - A great business requires a team of friends and equals.

Luke joined Doug Richards in a business pioneering integrated mobile messaging. Investors pulled the plug in 2008 during the recession but Luke had the opportunity to work with a great team of people.

He uses the lessons learned then in building a strong team at OST Marketing.

Lesson 5 - The right price is whatever people will pay.

Luke spent a year touring with School for Start Ups with Doug Richardson and from this learned a lot about running a business, especially about pricing. He also had the opportunity to research the best of the best in the social media world and used this experience to build Our Social Times and run international conferences featuring cutting edge ideas and good practice in the social media world.

Lesson 6 - To survive the digital age, businesses need to evolve.

The conference business started to wane and at the same time, Luke had clients knocking at his door asking for help to use social media. He decided to kill off the conference business and start OST Marketing, concentrating on the B2B tech market.

Lesson 7 -Most marketers are too busy to act strategically.

The reason that the current business is doing so well is that most marketing departments are harried, pressed and under-resourced. OST Marketing has developed a blueprint and case studies that show that what they do really works.

Lesson 8 - Results are often less important than relationships.

OST Marketing lost a very big client despite delivering great results because another agency stepped in and built a relationship instead of relying on the numbers to prove their worth.

Final lesson - keep learning more lessons!

Luke Brynley-Jones
www.ostmarketing.com
@lbrynleyjones
@ostmarketing

by Ann Hawkins