As well as the tweets below - please also find links to the Business Breakthrough resources on Good Strategy and Quarterly OKRs which have been written to reflect the current situation.

Tweets to go with Blog 1

Having effective team meetings to ensure total buy in during these uncertain times

Be certain about the decisions being made in your business at this time

The daily routine of a virtual meeting can help bring purpose to your day and your teams

Show great leadership by running daily virtual meetings with your team

Team meetings are more important than ever now, no matter where you all are

Hold effective virtual team meetings to show support to your team and great leadership

Get your people actively involved in the decisions you make over these next few months

Support your team by involving them in the difficult decisions you make over these uncertain weeks

Read the story of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and avoid the same issues in your business by getting your team involved in the decisions you make

Seeing your team (even virtually) will make the world of difference to their morale and the morale of your business over these uncertain weeks

Tweets to go with Blog 2

When times are tough, managing difficult conversations can feel really stressful...

Even in these uncertain times you can still manage the difficult conversations that need to happen in your business

Manage your difficult conversations with grace, even with the heightened stress of Covid 19

Don’t put off your difficult conversations because of Covid 19, make them learning conversations and support your team

With your team working remotely managing the situation can feel like an uphill struggle, here are 4 helpful hints when faced with a difficult conversation

We’re all experiencing heightened emotions and stresses because of the impact of covid-19, however here are 4 helping hands if you need to deal with a difficult conversation

Learning conversation will dissolve difficulty, even with the stress and uncertainty Covid 19 brings

Pursue learning conversations with your team in times of difficulty

Tweets to go with Blog 3

Job security is in doubt like never before – are you talking this through?

Communicate well with your team to ensure their loyalty and morale are high in these unprecedented times

This is a scary time for your team, covid-19 threatens jobs and pay, are you reassuring your team?

Good communication during these times will show genuine respect for your team

Don’t keep your team in the dark about your plans, during these times of uncertainty it is better to over-communicate

Here are a few ideas of how to communicate with your team during the covid-19 period

Even though your team are apart, there morale and enthusiasm is still down to you, make sure your lines of communication of open and frequent

Tweets to go with Blog 4

Another week ahead, working at the edge of your capabilities?

There is no doubt managing a business is hard right now, so how do you manage day to day when you are working at the very edge of your capabilities

Learn from the words of Daniel Coyle and find some solace in the situation you are currently facing

What can Usain Bolt teach you, about how to deal with the current situation

Because your business matters take to time to read the report and learn how to manage at the edge of your skill level

Stop doubting yourself and your ability to cope at the moment – you are stronger than you think

Remember in times of struggle, mistakes are OK, mistakes help us learn, don’t be afraid to make them

Tweets to go with Blog 5

Be like LEON and not like Sports Direct when the chips are down

It’s often said that we see a person’s true colours in times of stress, the same is true of business.

Be the untold good in a story about this current situation, not the untold bad

Your reputation is at stake now more than ever before

Because you want your business to survive after this crisis you want to ensure your reputation survives through it

Reflect the right values, norms and beliefs and your business will do the same.

Be authentic and your customers will remember you

Be true to yourself and the heart of your business

Conduct yourself with grace and your customers will respond with the same

Why risk the loss of people and reputation for the profits of your business in this uncertain time

Tweets to go with Blog 6

Respectful marketing in tough times requires care and attention

Now more than ever you need to ensure that any contact with your customers is respectful and relevant

With all the current business challenges facing your customers, be a help not a hinderance

Respect your customers by ensuring all communication has high levels of care and attention

Well timed emails will help your customers through this difficult time

Bad timing and irrelevance are hard to forgive when your customer is facing this uncertain time

Why risk the future of your business by not taking time to ensure all your communication is respectful

Tweets to go with Blog 7

Being pushy in this uncertain time will not see your business survive

Selling can come across as insensitive when times are tough… what should you do instead?

What can you do to get buyers actively approaching you for the things you do?

Time to tell your customers stories not your own

No-one likes the ‘look at me, look at me’ approach – especially not now

Go for the ‘look at them, look at them’ approach and do a better job of telling and sharing your customers stories

Everyone likes a good story, but in these uncertain times be careful not to be telling yours

Instead of pushing, try pulling when it comes to guiding your business through these uncertain times

Tweets to go with Blog 8

Checklists are important in your business – maybe now more than ever before

Bring focus and direction to your team in this troubling time by using a simple list

Adjust to the new way of working by using a checklist

Overcome the nervousness of your team with a purpose driven checklist

Carefully plan your way through this with your team by using a simple list

Time to see the value of a checklist in these uncertain times

Ensure the wellbeing of your team and your business by using a checklist

Having regular check-ins with a transparent and concrete list of tasks provides reassurance

Never underestimate the reassurance a focus, action driven checklist can bring to your team, maybe no more than ever before

Tweets to go with Blog 9

Even in times like this it pays to have a positive mental attitude

Time to be positive as well as realistic about this future

Is it OK for businesses to have a positive outlook – despite the challenging economic forecasts?

Click here to watch a short video about the power of a positive thinking

It’s hard in times like these to find the positive, but for the sake of your team, you need to find those little nuggets – they are there

How do you maintain the positivity of your team in times like these?

Why risk the future well being of your team by not talking time to look for the positive?

Our outlook affects our results and the results of the people we care for – our family – our team – our customers

Tweets for Blog 10

Be single minded about your one thing for business survival

Learn from the South Pole expedition and focus on the one thing that matters right now

Don’t be overwhelmed by the stress of these uncertain times, focus and ensure you come out the other side

Ensure your business survival in these choppy waters by focusing on one thing…

Manage the complexities of this current situation by focusing on one thing for business survival

Learn from Amundsen to focus on one thing to weather the storm

How to be fanatically disciplined about ensuring the survival of your business

Tweets for Blog 11

Work out how you can carefully and sensitively manage change in your business by ‘directing the rider’ with better logic.

Work out how you can carefully and sensitively manage change in your business by ‘motivating the elephant’ with emotional appeal.

Work out how you can carefully and sensitively manage change in your business by ‘shaping the path’ and making the steps easier and more obvious.

When change happens it follows a pattern, stop ignoring that pattern and embrace it

Start your change plan with small changes, then you’ll see small changes can snowball into big changes

Change normally comes with fear, manage the change carefully and thoughtfully and you team will follow suit

Change management is more important now than it has ever been, manage change with care in your business

Tweets for Blog 12

How could asking ‘why’ questions ensure your business survives and thrives in uncertain times?

Breakthrough ideas for the future of your business start with a ‘why?’

Ensure your business survives by asking the right questions

The word why, could be the future of your business

Your business survival depends on you asking the right questions, start with ‘why?’

Learn how 2 struggling rent payers saved their business by asking the right questions

Learn how to ask the right ‘why?’ question to ensure the future of your business.

Tweets for Blog 13

An enthusiastic team in the ‘new normal’ of your business

The key to the future of your business is an enthusiastic team

Help your team stay positive, stay motivated stay appreciated and understand their role in the future of your business.

How can a study by the Sirota group help you maintain the enthusiasm of your team even in times of turmoil

What 3 things can help you and your team manage in times of turmoil?

Help your team manage uncertainty by ensuring their enthusiasm

Build a sense of fairness, achievement and camaraderie in your team and your business has a future

What happens to the future of your business when you have an enthusiastic team?

Tweets for Blog 14

Protect the future of your business by using lean thinking

Stop being busy, being busy and look at processes in your business

7 types of waste – go through your business processes for some quick ‘waste’ wins

Reduce the waste in your business for some short term, low cost wins

Can you afford to not take the 7 types of waste seriously when it comes to cost reduction in your business

Get your team involved with reducing the waste in the processes of your business

Secure the future of your business by managing the waste out

Help your business survive and thrive by managing the 7 types of waste out

Tweets to go with Blog 15

Use your business brain smartly to survive this unprecedented time

Time to use your brain in a smarter way

Do the priorities in your business when your brain is at its freshest

Don’t waste the 4% of your brain that matters on non-priority tasks

Better use your business brain and you a better prepared to help your business

Weather these uncertain times by using your brain in the right way

Stop thinking that your brain will keep going all day – use it in the right way

Tweets to go with Blog 16

What stories will you tell to determine the future of your business?

Stories will keep your customers engaged with your business during this time of turmoil

When you get your customers onto your website, use stories to ensure they stay

Are stories an essential part of your marketing?

Why risk the future of your business by not using stories on your website

Tweets to go with Blog 17

Doing things right or doing the right things in your business?

Offer your team an environment to flourish using the right KPIs

KPIs are not all about the results of your business, use them to ensure the happiness of your team

Get the most out of your team with the right KPIs

Use Key Predictive Indicators to ensure the right behaviours in your team

Ensure the behaviours of your team are aligned with the objectives of your business

Tweets to go with Blog 18

Don’t leave your business hanging by a thread – invest in credibility

Take your business to new heights by investing in the credibility of your products and services

What happens when build credibility in your business?

Trust is the key to your business credibility

Give your business a ‘lift’ by investing in credibility

What happens to your business when you take the risks that Elisha Otis did?

What happens to your business when you take a risk like Richard Davis did?

Invest in the 6 sources of credibility for your business to survive and thrive

Actions speak louder than words in times of economic uncertainty

Talk is cheap, actions speak when it comes to the future of your business

Tweets to go with Blog 19

Employee happiness will make or break your business, how to do you manage this happiness in a remote environment

Make time to ensure your team are enthusiastic about your business even when working remotely

The performance of your people will determine your business success

Because you care about your business, make sure you care about your employees, especially now

The performance of your team determines your business success or failure

What happens to the future of your business when you make the enthusiasm of your team a top priority?

Tweets to go with Blog 20

Use good strategy wisely in your business in turbulent times

Don’t risk the future of your business by not taking good strategy seriously

Make time to strategically plan the future of your business

Strategy – is not a buzz word, good strategy will help your business survive

Strategy, not just used in a game of football or chess, but used to help your business win

Good Strategy is essential to the survival of your business

Because your business matters to you, take time to anticipate the challenges your business faces

Meet your business challenges head on, with good strategy

Tweets to go with Blog 21

Set the right goals for your business in the right direction

Because your business matters to you, make sure you focus on the right things

What happens to your business when you focus on the right goals?

Make time to set the right goals for your business and survive, even in times of turmoil

Why risk the future of your business by not making time for goal setting

Help your business survive and thrive by focusing on the right things

Tweets to go with Blog 22

Exploring the growth mindset in your business

Help your business and team grow with a growth mindset

When your team learn new skills and grow so does your business

Ensure the future of your business with a growth mindset

What happens when your foster a culture of ‘growth’ in the mindsets of your team…

Don’t allow your team to be content with low expectations – aim for great expectations…

A team with the right mindset will help your business reach new heights

As well as the LinkedIn posts below - please also find links to the Business Breakthrough resources on Good Strategy and Quarterly OKRs which have been written to reflect the current situation.

Posts to go with Blog 1

1) When faced with these challenging times, getting your team’s full buy-in to new ways of working together (remotely from home) and new ways of working with customers is essential.

Remote working needs routine, daily routines for all your team. Click here to learn how to show great support and leadership by getting your team involved in the business decisions made.

2) In these troubling times daily routines for your leadership, production, admin and customer-facing teams are essential to maintain the morale of your team and the future of your business.

Your meetings (using Zoom, MS Teams, Skype, Kahoot or other video conferencing) can help provide a daily framework for your team to work around. Click here to help everyone be clear on what’s expected of them - and sets up support processes too.

Posts to go with Blog 2

1) We’re all experiencing heightened emotions and stresses because of the impact of covid-19.

Add these extra emotions into the difficult conversations that are needed at this time, and it can feel like an unstable tinderbox. Throw in the mix the fact that (almost) everyone is working remotely, and it feels like a real uphill struggle. Click here to learn how to manage these conversations with grace, even in the current situation.

2) What’s clear is that if you manage difficult conversations badly, both the personal and emotional fallout can be significant, especially given the stress, emotion and uncertainty covid-19 has brought.

Building the knowledge and skill for managing difficult conversations is an important part of your job as a manager and business leader. Especially when times are stressful.

Click here for 4 helpful hints for you when faced with a difficult conversation.

Posts to go with Blog 3

1) At this challenging time while we all work through the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic job security trumps pay issues.  Why get paid well this month if it means you’re out of work in weeks or months from now – that makes no sense to anyone. Communication frequently with your team on these matters and ensure fairness and morale are maintained during the separation from them. Click here for more.

2) Keep your team in the dark about your plans and they’ll likely think things are worse than they are, feel disrespected and feel like they are being treated unfairly. Click here if you want high levels of loyalty from your team and to keep morale high, communicate well with your people and you show them respect.

Posts to go with Blog 4

1) There’s no doubting the challenges and the emotional roller coaster we are all experiencing just now. There’s no doubting the seriousness of the health issues and the economic impact we are all experiencing too.

Running your business at the moment looks harder than it’s ever been. You and many of your team are working at the edge of your limits. Click here to learn how to learn how to deal with this situation and ensure that you, your team and your business survive.

2) How does a business owner manage their state of mind when there are so many serious issues in your business that need tackling? Thinking or talking about the future upside (when we all get through this) can be seen as facile, glib or damn-right insensitive. Click here to learn how to find some solace in the challenges of now?

Posts to go with Blog 5

1) It’s often said that we see a person’s true colours in times of stress, the same is true of business. And Covid-19 has created a worldwide state of stress. So, how do we respond?  Click here to learn that there are two possibilities...

2) Ultimately a business reflects the values, norms and beliefs of its owners and leaders. Click here to learn the stories of healthy fast food restaurant LEON, Sports Direct, Weatherspoon’s and Brewdog and how they have reacted in this time of crisis. Click here to learn the importance to your customers and the future of your business of how you conduct yourself in these uncertain times.

Posts to go with Blog 6 

1) In sensitive times it pays to apply high levels of care and attention about both what you communicate and how you communicate with all your customers.
You want to be respectful. Quite right. Click here to ensure that when you communicate with your customers your emails are relevant and well timed.

2) Chances are you hate receiving irrelevant or badly timed email marketing? Your customers feel the same way. You might forgive bad timing, but irrelevance is harder to forgive. Especially when you’re facing up to many other challenges across your business. Click here to make sure your all your emails are relevant to every one of your customers.

Posts to go with Blog 7 

1) Did the hard sell ever really work well? Selling involves ‘PUSHING’ for a decision and action. ‘PUSHING’ at a time when everything is in turmoil, as it is thanks to the covid-19 situation, can easily come across as insensitive, clumsy or even disrespectful don’t you think? Click here to learn what you could do instead that creates an opportunity for buyers to ‘PULL’ your products and services from you?

2) What can you do to get buyers actively approaching you for the things you do? Tell your Company’s stories. To be accurate it’s about telling your customers’ stories. If you’re seen to be self-promoting your heroic role in solving customer problems, then you have your positioning ALL WRONG. “Look at me, look at me” is not good positioning at this time. It’s too pushy. Instead go for “look at them, look at them” – look at your customers’ stories. Click here to learn if you could you be doing a better job telling and sharing your customers’ stories?

Posts to go with Blog 8

1) We are all living in a very strange and uncertain time, where the health of the nation matters more than anything else. We have all been asked to adjust our personal and working life so that we can collectively come through this.

It is hard to plan a way to navigate through this, but for the future of your business you must.

Click here to learn how something as simple as a checklist can bring focus and purpose to you and your team.

2) Whatever situation your business is in, you are having to adjust to a new way of working. If you use checklists already, then you’ll already know how valuable they can be. If you’ve never used them before, now is the perfect time to try and bring some order to your business and purpose to your team. Click here to learn more.

Posts to go with Blog 9

1) Some people believe that there is a lot to be said for the power of positive thinking, that hope and belief can overcome any situation. Surely we need to think this now more than ever. Click here to watch a short video about the effect on a covid-19 patient that an optimistic doctor had, and the importance to you and your team of a positive mental attitude.

2) Maybe every business owner has a responsibility when talking to customers, suppliers and their team to inject positivity AND realism – these positions are not mutually exclusive. You will have dealt with some of your contacts for a number of years, so those relationships are well formed, you know each other, maybe the next time you speak you could share little nuggets of positivity that you have, even if it is on a personal level. Click here to watch a short video and learn that there is a lot to be said for the power of positive thinking and having a positive mental attitude, even in times like this.

Posts to go with Blog 10

1) As a business owner it is hard to manage the complexities that come with running your business and even harder if you are constantly lurching from good times to bad times. Right now, for most these are bad and uncertain times - terrible for some, and the main thing is to get through, to survive, and for you, your team and your business to come out of the other side. Click here to learn more.

2) Stress and panic can cause you to stutter and stall when things out of your control cause chaos. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the uncertainty, especially when there is no definitive end. But now is not the time to throw your hands in the air, yes things are hard, have been hard and may get harder, but now is the time to apply single minded focus to the one thing that matters. Click here to ensure the survival of your business by learning lessons from the South Pole.

Posts to go with Blog 11

1) Leading and managing change is a critical skill in business. Change management has never been more important than it is now, with things changing every day and every week and the expectations on you and your team sometimes being out of your control. Click here to manage change in these uncertain times by directing the rider, motivating the elephant and shaping the path

2) Any changes you make in your business right now require thoughtful planning and sensitive implementation and above all consultation with, and involvement of, the people affected by the changes. If you force change on your team, then problems will arise. Change must be realistic, fair, measurable and achievable.

Click here to learn what the memorable 3-part plan for change is and how to use it to manage careful change in your business.

Posts to go with Blog 12

1) ‘WHY?’ – a word that you probably use 100 times a day. Especially now, with so many changes for you and your team and still so much uncertainty about the future. Click here to learn how ‘WHY?’ is crucial to the present and future of your business.

2) Breakthrough ideas start with ‘WHY?’. Breakthrough ideas that will help your business weather the storm and come out of the other side stronger. The 3-question formula to create breakthrough questions starts with ‘WHY?’. Click here to learn more about this 3-question formula and what you need to do to help your business survive and grow, even in uncertain times.

Posts to go with Blog 13

1) As we move into another week of the changes to our lives due to covid-19, the new phrase seems to be ‘the new normal’.  The way we work has changed certainly for the foreseeable future. As some further restrictions are lifted, we are all having to adjust to ‘the new normal’. Click here to help your business manage the ‘new normal’ by ensuring the enthusiasm of your team.

2) The ‘new normal’ in your business can be stressful, your team will be feeling the pressure of working from home, the anxiety about the work they do and uncertainty about the future. Many of your team may be feeling different things at different times, you included with your own concerns and anxieties – it’s a lot to manage. Click here to learn how a study by the Sirota group can help you deal with all this and manage your business through these uncertain times?

Posts to go with Blog 14

1) Right now, you’re probably looking at all the ways you can save money and make quick cost reductions in your business. Now is the perfect time to start thinking lean. Click here help your business survive and thrive when you take a good look at your business operations and apply some lean management to get some quick wins.

2) Toyota gained a competitive edge when they applied ‘lean’ thinking to their business, they identified SEVEN types of waste in any business.  In these times of economic uncertainty what have you got to lose by applying some ‘lean’ thinking to your business, and who better than your own team members working at the ‘coal-face’ to understand the way the different processes within your business work. Click here to discover how reducing the waste in your business and securing its future is a team effort.

Posts to go with Blog 15 

1) Since the Covid pandemic broke you have probably used your business brain more than ever before. Are and your brain you fatigued with the sheer effort of trying to keep your business going? It hard to manage your team, manage the changing way your business is operating and manage the financially uncertain future. Your brain is probably running on empty. Click here to learn that when you use your brain the right way you are better placed to deal with the ever-changing situation  

2) Are you using your brain to its maximum capability?  Could you use your brain in a smarter way, so you make the big lumpy decisions and do the important priority work when your brain is working at its cleverest?  Most of us constantly ask the brain to do what it can’t!  Instead click here to learn how to take advantage of the way your brain is designed

Posts to go with Blog 16

1) Sharing stories or facts about your business has always been a powerful marketing tool. During the Covid pandemic the messaging and content that you’ve shared with customers has likely changed very swiftly. Click here to learn how stories can help keep your customers engaged in what you are sharing and help your business grow – even in these uncertain times.

2) More businesses have moved from offline to online during the Covid pandemic in an attempt to either satisfy overwhelming customer demand, adjust to offering ordering online or click and collect, or simply to let their customers know what is going on with the ‘new normal’ in their business. Whatever changes you’ve had to make; you’ve probably been doing more business via your website than before Covid and your website may have had more visitors also.  Click here to use the right stories to ensure that customers who arrive on your website, stay.

Posts to go with Blog 17

1) Your role as a manager within your business is complex and subject to many definitions. Ultimately though, your role is mostly defined by your ability to get the best out of your team. This involves not only being clear about the objective of your business but also how you go about achieving that objective - in other words, the objective is WHAT, the way you achieve it is HOW. Click here to learn how to do this by installing Key Predictive Indicators successfully in your business.

2) 20^th century thinking taught you all about the bottom line, but here in the 21^st century is it really just results that you’re worried about? You look at results and make assessments and judgements. But should you be focusing just on the result? The problem with thinking like this is that it ignores the sequence of events and actions which all contribute towards the outcome, or result. Click here to learn that the issue becomes clearer when you look at how you manage your team.

Posts to go with Blog 18

1) As a business owner or manager, you believe in your business, you believe in your products and services.

However, this is all in vain if your customers don’t…

Your customers are not going to part with their hard-earned money if they don’t think you are credible.

When was the last time you thought about the credibility of your business and the products and services you sell?

Click here to learn that for your business to survive YOU have to be credible!

2) Credibility in your business matters and when done right can have an immediate difference to the future of your business.

Click here to learn 2 great stories about Elisha Otis and Richard Davis who risked everything to prove the credibility of their products.

Posts to go with Blog 19

1) How can you successfully manage a team when you’re not with them every day? This new conundrum has been served upon you as one of a multitude of consequences of the pandemic and is one for which most managers don’t have a list of best practice.  Click here to learn that when you successfully manage your remote team, you are future-proofing your business.

2) Having remote working thrust upon us was a massive sea-change to which we’ve been forced to adapt, often without a pre-prepared playbook telling us exactly what to do and when. Research undertaken by Harvard Business Review (HBR) states that the success of the conversion process to remote working has, unsurprisingly, differed substantially from team to team. Click here to learn how to ensure the enthusiasm of your team in this new working environment and protect the future of your business.

Posts to go with Blog 20

1) Your business, every business needs good strategy. A well outlined good business strategy is essential for the success, sustainability, and survival of your business. Without a good strategy you will lack direction, purpose, efficiency and ultimately profitability. Click here to learn to importance of good strategy to the future of your business.

2) And how can you be sure that the strategy you decide on for the future direction you want your business to go in is absolutely the best strategy? How can you know that the strategy you want to implement will work? Click here to learn that good strategy starts with identifying the biggest and most important challenge your business is facing.

Posts to go with Blog 21

1) When you started your business, you’ll have had many ideas about the direction you wanted it to go in and what you wanted to achieve. You had dreams, ideas, goals and objectives. Click here to learn why even in uncertain times, maybe especially in uncertain times, setting goals for your business is just as important.

2) It’s difficult to find time to think about strategic goals for your business when more and more of your time is taken up with operational challenges. But what if you took time out and made a list of the top 3 (just 3) strategic priorities for your business and then what if you focused on just one of these for the next 13 weeks. Click here to learn why focusing on one priority can secure the future of your business.

Posts to go with Blog 22

1) In business, growth is good, right? The Western world is built on a premise of growth for shareholders, who want to see ever-increasing returns on their investment. But what IS growth? Is it growth in profit, in cash, in turnover? Or is it something deeper – is it growth in your people, or in you personally? Sometimes what we’re actually looking for is a growth mentality or a growth mindset. Click here to learn more…

2) Every day we see people without a growth mindset, who are quite content in their self-imposed limitations. And every day we also see the opposite – we see people who are not afraid to step into the unknown, to stretch to achieve. When we or our teams grow, we learn something different. We apply new skills and see new outcomes. We reach further than we’ve reached before - and we move beyond expectations. Click here to learn the importance to your business of a growth mindset.

As well as the facebook posts below - please also find links to the Business Breakthrough resources on Good Strategy and Quarterly OKRs which have been written to reflect the current situation.

Posts to go with Blog 1 

1) When faced with these challenging times, getting your team’s full buy-in to new ways of working together (remotely from home) and new ways of working with customers is essential.

Remote working needs routine, daily routines for all your team. Click here to learn how to show great support and leadership by getting your team involved in the business decisions made.

2) In these troubling times daily routines for your leadership, production, admin and customer-facing teams are essential to maintain the morale of your team and the future of your business.

Your meetings (using Zoom, MS Teams, Skype, Kahoot or other video conferencing) can help provide a daily framework for your team to work around. Click here to help everyone be clear on what’s expected of them - and sets up support processes too.

Posts to go with Blog 2

1) We’re all experiencing heightened emotions and stresses because of the impact of covid-19.

Add these extra emotions into the difficult conversations that are needed at this time, and it can feel like an unstable tinderbox. Throw in the mix the fact that (almost) everyone is working remotely, and it feels like a real uphill struggle. Click here to learn how to manage these conversations with grace, even in the current situation.

2) What’s clear is that if you manage difficult conversations badly, both the personal and emotional fallout can be significant, especially given the stress, emotion and uncertainty covid-19 has brought.

Building the knowledge and skill for managing difficult conversations is an important part of your job as a manager and business leader. Especially when times are stressful.

Click here for 4 helpful hints for you when faced with a difficult conversation.

Posts to go with Blog 3

1) At this challenging time while we all work through the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic job security trumps pay issues.  Why get paid well this month if it means you’re out of work in weeks or months from now – that makes no sense to anyone. Communication frequently with your team on these matters and ensure fairness and morale are maintained during the separation from them. Click here for more.

2) Keep your team in the dark about your plans and they’ll likely think things are worse than they are, feel disrespected and feel like they are being treated unfairly. Click here if you want high levels of loyalty from your team and to keep morale high, communicate well with your people and you show them respect.

Posts to go with Blog 4

1) There’s no doubting the challenges and the emotional roller coaster we are all experiencing just now. There’s no doubting the seriousness of the health issues and the economic impact we are all experiencing too.

Running your business at the moment looks harder than it’s ever been. You and many of your team are working at the edge of your limits. Click here to learn how to learn how to deal with this situation and ensure that you, your team and your business survive.

2) How does a business owner manage their state of mind when there are so many serious issues in your business that need tackling? Thinking or talking about the future upside (when we all get through this) can be seen as facile, glib or damn-right insensitive. Click here to learn how to find some solace in the challenges of now?

Posts to go with Blog 5

1) It’s often said that we see a person’s true colours in times of stress, the same is true of business. And Covid-19 has created a worldwide state of stress. So, how do we respond?  Click here to learn that there are two possibilities...

2) Ultimately a business reflects the values, norms and beliefs of its owners and leaders. Click here to learn the stories of healthy fast food restaurant LEON, Sports Direct, Weatherspoon’s and Brewdog and how they have reacted in this time of crisis. Click here to learn the importance to your customers and the future of your business of how you conduct yourself in these uncertain times.

Posts to go with Blog 6 

1) In sensitive times it pays to apply high levels of care and attention about both what you communicate and how you communicate with all your customers.
You want to be respectful. Quite right. Click here to ensure that when you communicate with your customers your emails are relevant and well timed.

2) Chances are you hate receiving irrelevant or badly timed email marketing? Your customers feel the same way. You might forgive bad timing, but irrelevance is harder to forgive. Especially when you’re facing up to many other challenges across your business. Click here to make sure your all your emails are relevant to every one of your customers.

Posts to go with Blog 7 

1) Did the hard sell ever really work well? Selling involves ‘PUSHING’ for a decision and action. ‘PUSHING’ at a time when everything is in turmoil, as it is thanks to the covid-19 situation, can easily come across as insensitive, clumsy or even disrespectful don’t you think? Click here to learn what you could do instead that creates an opportunity for buyers to ‘PULL’ your products and services from you?

2) What can you do to get buyers actively approaching you for the things you do? Tell your Company’s stories. To be accurate it’s about telling your customers’ stories. If you’re seen to be self-promoting your heroic role in solving customer problems, then you have your positioning ALL WRONG. “Look at me, look at me” is not good positioning at this time. It’s too pushy. Instead go for “look at them, look at them” – look at your customers’ stories. Click here to learn if you could you be doing a better job telling and sharing your customers’ stories?

Posts to go with Blog 8

1) We are all living in a very strange and uncertain time, where the health of the nation matters more than anything else. We have all been asked to adjust our personal and working life so that we can collectively come through this.

It is hard to plan a way to navigate through this, but for the future of your business you must.

Click here to learn how something as simple as a checklist can bring focus and purpose to you and your team.

2) Whatever situation your business is in, you are having to adjust to a new way of working. If you use checklists already, then you’ll already know how valuable they can be. If you’ve never used them before, now is the perfect time to try and bring some order to your business and purpose to your team. Click here to learn more.

Posts to go with Blog 9

1) Some people believe that there is a lot to be said for the power of positive thinking, that hope and belief can overcome any situation. Surely we need to think this now more than ever. Click here to watch a short video about the effect on a covid-19 patient that an optimistic doctor had, and the importance to you and your team of a positive mental attitude.

2) Maybe every business owner has a responsibility when talking to customers, suppliers and their team to inject positivity AND realism – these positions are not mutually exclusive. You will have dealt with some of your contacts for a number of years, so those relationships are well formed, you know each other, maybe the next time you speak you could share little nuggets of positivity that you have, even if it is on a personal level. Click here to watch a short video and learn that there is a lot to be said for the power of positive thinking and having a positive mental attitude, even in times like this.

Posts to go with Blog 10

1) As a business owner it is hard to manage the complexities that come with running your business and even harder if you are constantly lurching from good times to bad times. Right now, for most these are bad and uncertain times - terrible for some, and the main thing is to get through, to survive, and for you, your team and your business to come out of the other side. Click here to learn more.

2) Stress and panic can cause you to stutter and stall when things out of your control cause chaos. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the uncertainty, especially when there is no definitive end. But now is not the time to throw your hands in the air, yes things are hard, have been hard and may get harder, but now is the time to apply single minded focus to the one thing that matters. Click here to ensure the survival of your business by learning lessons from the South Pole.

Posts to go with Blog 11

1) Leading and managing change is a critical skill in business. Change management has never been more important than it is now, with things changing every day and every week and the expectations on you and your team sometimes being out of your control. Click here to manage change in these uncertain times by directing the rider, motivating the elephant and shaping the path

2) Any changes you make in your business right now require thoughtful planning and sensitive implementation and above all consultation with, and involvement of, the people affected by the changes. If you force change on your team, then problems will arise. Change must be realistic, fair, measurable and achievable.

Click here to learn what the memorable 3-part plan for change is and how to use it to manage careful change in your business.

Posts to go with Blog 12

1) ‘WHY?’ – a word that you probably use 100 times a day. Especially now, with so many changes for you and your team and still so much uncertainty about the future. Click here to learn how ‘WHY?’ is crucial to the present and future of your business.

2) Breakthrough ideas start with ‘WHY?’. Breakthrough ideas that will help your business weather the storm and come out of the other side stronger. The 3-question formula to create breakthrough questions starts with ‘WHY?’. Click here to learn more about this 3-question formula and what you need to do to help your business survive and grow, even in uncertain times.

Posts to go with Blog 13

1) As we move into another week of the changes to our lives due to covid-19, the new phrase seems to be ‘the new normal’.  The way we work has changed certainly for the foreseeable future. As some further restrictions are lifted, we are all having to adjust to ‘the new normal’. Click here to help your business manage the ‘new normal’ by ensuring the enthusiasm of your team.

2) The ‘new normal’ in your business can be stressful, your team will be feeling the pressure of working from home, the anxiety about the work they do and uncertainty about the future. Many of your team may be feeling different things at different times, you included with your own concerns and anxieties – it’s a lot to manage. Click here to learn how a study by the Sirota group can help you deal with all this and manage your business through these uncertain times?

Posts to go with Blog 14

1) Right now, you’re probably looking at all the ways you can save money and make quick cost reductions in your business. Now is the perfect time to start thinking lean. Click here help your business survive and thrive when you take a good look at your business operations and apply some lean management to get some quick wins.

2) Toyota gained a competitive edge when they applied ‘lean’ thinking to their business, they identified SEVEN types of waste in any business.  In these times of economic uncertainty what have you got to lose by applying some ‘lean’ thinking to your business, and who better than your own team members working at the ‘coal-face’ to understand the way the different processes within your business work. Click here to discover how reducing the waste in your business and securing its future is a team effort.

Posts to go with Blog 15 

1) Since the Covid pandemic broke you have probably used your business brain more than ever before. Are and your brain you fatigued with the sheer effort of trying to keep your business going? It hard to manage your team, manage the changing way your business is operating and manage the financially uncertain future. Your brain is probably running on empty. Click here to learn that when you use your brain the right way you are better placed to deal with the ever-changing situation  

2) Are you using your brain to its maximum capability?  Could you use your brain in a smarter way, so you make the big lumpy decisions and do the important priority work when your brain is working at its cleverest?  Most of us constantly ask the brain to do what it can’t!  Instead click here to learn how to take advantage of the way your brain is designed

Posts to go with Blog 16

1) Sharing stories or facts about your business has always been a powerful marketing tool. During the Covid pandemic the messaging and content that you’ve shared with customers has likely changed very swiftly. Click here to learn how stories can help keep your customers engaged in what you are sharing and help your business grow – even in these uncertain times.

2) More businesses have moved from offline to online during the Covid pandemic in an attempt to either satisfy overwhelming customer demand, adjust to offering ordering online or click and collect, or simply to let their customers know what is going on with the ‘new normal’ in their business. Whatever changes you’ve had to make; you’ve probably been doing more business via your website than before Covid and your website may have had more visitors also.  Click here to use the right stories to ensure that customers who arrive on your website, stay.

Posts to go with Blog 17

1) Your role as a manager within your business is complex and subject to many definitions. Ultimately though, your role is mostly defined by your ability to get the best out of your team. This involves not only being clear about the objective of your business but also how you go about achieving that objective - in other words, the objective is WHAT, the way you achieve it is HOW. Click here to learn how to do this by installing Key Predictive Indicators successfully in your business.

2) 20^th century thinking taught you all about the bottom line, but here in the 21^st century is it really just results that you’re worried about? You look at results and make assessments and judgements. But should you be focusing just on the result? The problem with thinking like this is that it ignores the sequence of events and actions which all contribute towards the outcome, or result. Click here to learn that the issue becomes clearer when you look at how you manage your team.

Posts to go with Blog 18

1) As a business owner or manager, you believe in your business, you believe in your products and services.

However, this is all in vain if your customers don’t…

Your customers are not going to part with their hard-earned money if they don’t think you are credible.

When was the last time you thought about the credibility of your business and the products and services you sell?

Click here to learn that for your business to survive YOU have to be credible!

2) Credibility in your business matters and when done right can have an immediate difference to the future of your business.

Click here to learn 2 great stories about Elisha Otis and Richard Davis who risked everything to prove the credibility of their products.

Posts to go with Blog 19

1) How can you successfully manage a team when you’re not with them every day? This new conundrum has been served upon you as one of a multitude of consequences of the pandemic and is one for which most managers don’t have a list of best practice.  Click here to learn that when you successfully manage your remote team, you are future-proofing your business.

2) Having remote working thrust upon us was a massive sea-change to which we’ve been forced to adapt, often without a pre-prepared playbook telling us exactly what to do and when. Research undertaken by Harvard Business Review (HBR) states that the success of the conversion process to remote working has, unsurprisingly, differed substantially from team to team. Click here to learn how to ensure the enthusiasm of your team in this new working environment and protect the future of your business.

Posts to go with Blog 20

1) Your business, every business needs good strategy. A well outlined good business strategy is essential for the success, sustainability, and survival of your business. Without a good strategy you will lack direction, purpose, efficiency and ultimately profitability. Click here to learn to importance of good strategy to the future of your business.

2) And how can you be sure that the strategy you decide on for the future direction you want your business to go in is absolutely the best strategy? How can you know that the strategy you want to implement will work? Click here to learn that good strategy starts with identifying the biggest and most important challenge your business is facing.

Posts to go with Blog 21

1) When you started your business, you’ll have had many ideas about the direction you wanted it to go in and what you wanted to achieve. You had dreams, ideas, goals and objectives. Click here to learn why even in uncertain times, maybe especially in uncertain times, setting goals for your business is just as important.

2) It’s difficult to find time to think about strategic goals for your business when more and more of your time is taken up with operational challenges. But what if you took time out and made a list of the top 3 (just 3) strategic priorities for your business and then what if you focused on just one of these for the next 13 weeks. Click here to learn why focusing on one priority can secure the future of your business.

Posts to go with Blog 22

1) In business, growth is good, right? The Western world is built on a premise of growth for shareholders, who want to see ever-increasing returns on their investment. But what IS growth? Is it growth in profit, in cash, in turnover? Or is it something deeper – is it growth in your people, or in you personally? Sometimes what we’re actually looking for is a growth mentality or a growth mindset. Click here to learn more…

2) Every day we see people without a growth mindset, who are quite content in their self-imposed limitations. And every day we also see the opposite – we see people who are not afraid to step into the unknown, to stretch to achieve. When we or our teams grow, we learn something different. We apply new skills and see new outcomes. We reach further than we’ve reached before - and we move beyond expectations. Click here to learn the importance to your business of a growth mindset.

As well as the blog posts below - please also find links to the Business Breakthrough resources on Good Strategy and Quarterly OKRs which have been written to reflect the current situation.

BLOG 1

Effective (virtual) team meetings for everyone’s buy-in

When faced with these challenging times, getting your team’s full buy-in to new ways of working together (remotely from home) and new ways of working with customers is essential.

Remote working needs routine.

Daily routines for all your team.

Daily routines for your leadership, production, admin and customer-facing teams.

Your meetings (using Zoom, MS Teams, Skype, Kahoot or other video conferencing) can help provide a daily framework for your team to work around. They help everyone to be clear on what’s expected of them - and sets up support processes too.

With the many big decisions you’re making, it’s important in your daily leadership meeting, not to have passive team members – it’s important to get everyone actively involved.

• Important meetings requiring big decisions that will have a high impact aren’t healthy with passive bystanders who approve of everything you say. Instead you want to welcome their candid opinions, encourage debate, seek out constructive conflict

• Lower-impact meetings need less debate and interaction and would benefit from a more direct, make-the-decision-before-the-meeting, planning-the-implementation approach.

Both show good leadership.

But, when making high-impact important decisions, you’ll get greater support from your people if and when you actively involve them in the discussion before the decision is made. Charging ahead without your team’s active involvement could be seriously problematic, like it was for the leaders on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig!

Here’s a brief report (attach the Compelling Meetings BBS here) about how the right kind of conflict will get your team’s full and active support, help you make better decisions and avoid damaging mistakes (like the worst oil spillage in history, from Deepwater Horizon) - Click here (attach the report here too)

We hope it proves to be both helpful and valuable now that your team meetings are more important than ever.

BLOG 2

When times are tough, managing difficult conversations can feel really stressful...

We’re all experiencing heightened emotions and stresses because of the impact of covid-19.

Add these extra emotions into the difficult conversations that are needed at this time, and it can feel like an unstable tinderbox. Throw in the mix the fact that (almost) everyone is working remotely, and it feels like a real uphill struggle.

What’s clear is that if you manage difficult conversations badly, both the personal and emotional fallout can be significant.

Fail to engage in difficult conversations and the consequences can be even bigger.

And so, building the knowledge and skill for managing difficult conversations is an important part of your job as a manager and business leader. Especially when times are stressful.

What we’re all looking to do is managing difficult situations with grace – not easy given the current situation.

Here are 4 helpful hints for you when faced with a difficult conversation (get more detail from the report below):

• Decide on whether to deal with an issue or drop it

• Extend an invitation to have the discussion

• Pursue a learning conversation

• Acknowledge your differences

Rather than treat difficult conversations as a ‘difficult message delivery’ exercise...

...treat difficult conversations as ‘learning conversations.’

Genuine learning conversations will dissolve difficulty.

ACTION: For more help in managing your difficult, stressful, emotional conversations check out this 4-page business breakthrough (attach the Difficult Conversations BBS report here) into proven strategies on this sensitive subject.

We hope it proves to be both helpful and valuable.

BLOG 3

Job security is in doubt like never before – are you talking this through?

According to a massive research study into team morale, being treated fairly matters more than anything else.

The research (18million+ employee surveys), suggests that FAIRNESS breaks down into 3 elements:

• Your team’s sense of job security;

• Your team’s sense of fair pay, and

• The human respect and genuine appreciation you show them as their employer.

At this challenging time while we all work through the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic job security trumps pay issues.  Why get paid well this month if it means you’re out of work in weeks or months from now – that makes no sense to anyone.

The Government is working hard to put measures in place to ensure workers get paid in these challenging economic times. This impacts job security positively. It also means there’s a built-in fairness, as there’s a framework to work out how much everyone gets paid. The Government’s aim is improved job security.

Of the 3 elements of fairness the one we can really impact is human respect – the way that we treat our employees.

Good communication shows genuine respect for them and what they are feeling at this time.

Communicate about what though?

Here’s a few ideas associated with the current covid-19 outbreak:

• Be sure to let them know you’re giving them an update every week (at least)

• Share with your team the business-relevant updates from the Government, what you think about the updates and want you’re planning to do about them in your business and with your customers – get their comments/thoughts – create the dialogue

• What customers are saying and doing and the impact on your business, again create the dialogue and get their comments/thoughts

• Share some of the challenges your business is facing, possible next steps, what might hold you back and how you think issues can be overcome, ask them for their comments/thoughts

At the moment it’s difficult to give everyone a definitive sense of job security.

However, we can share with them what’s happening, what you’re thinking and what you’re planning for.

This shows genuine respect for your people.

Keep your team in the dark about your plans and they’ll likely think things are worse than they are, feel disrespected and feel like they are being treated unfairly.

If you want high levels of loyalty from your team and to keep morale high, communicate well with your people and you show them respect.  Click here and read more in this 4-page report (attach the Profitable Enthusiasm BBS report here)

BLOG 4

Another week ahead, working at the edge of your capabilities?

There’s no doubting the challenges and the emotional roller coaster we are all experiencing just now.

There’s no doubting the seriousness of the health issues and the economic impact we are all experiencing too.

Running your business at the moment looks harder than it’s ever been

How does a business owner manage their state of mind when there are so many serious issues in your firm that need tackling?

Thinking or talking about the future upside (when we all get through this) can be seen as facile, glib or damn-right insensitive.

So where can we find some solace in the challenges of now?

Daniel Coyle offers a little wisdom:

“When you operate on the edge of your ability, when you are reaching, failing, reaching again, speed of learning goes way up. It goes way up.”

– Daniel Coyle ‘The Talent Code’

Chances are, you’ve been working right at the edge of your skill level as the economic consequences of covid-19 unfold. Being enthusiastic about the difficulties you’re experiencing is asking a lot.

But the insights Daniel Coyle shares suggest that to improve skills and expertise we must practice at the edge of our current skill level.

We’ve now been forced to the edge of our capabilities, where we’re likely to make mistakes.  

Consider a baby learning to walk. They fall over a lot. They keep stretching themselves till they have mastered walking. Then they reach again and start learning to run, then skip, then jump!

As humans, when we struggle, we get smarter, faster, better.

And there’s no doubting the struggles we are experiencing now.

Here’s a 4-page report  (attach the Repeatedly Reach BBS report here) sharing a few insights into how Usain Bolt, Kenyan long-distance runners and an under 14s football team in Sheffield have become the best at what they do – partly because they’ve worked out that it pays to work at the edge of their capabilities.

When this moment passes, we will be able to look back at how well we have learned. We’ll remember how our insights and skills accelerated because we were working at the limit of our skill and knowledge.

We wish you well

BLOG 5

Yours. Ours. Everyone’s reputation is at stake – now!

It’s often said that we see a person’s true colours in times of stress.
The same is true of business.

Covid-19 has created a worldwide state of stress.

How do we respond?

Two possibilities...

UNTOLD GOOD

Take John Vincent for example.

John is the CEO of LEON the healthy fast food restaurant – now closed.

But in the last week John has re-organised his supply chain to help supermarkets and distribute food to NHS workers.

He’s also said that any profit made over this period will go straight to the NHS.

In stark contrast though...

UNTOLD BAD

Sports Direct, have claimed their stores are vital to the public and need to remain open. Are they saying this because they want to provide a public service or make money? What do you think?

Wetherspoons have also suggested their pubs are vital to the public plus they’ve claimed the virus won’t spread in their pubs!

Like Billy Connolly (the comedian) once said – best said in a Scottish accent – “Oh, you really think so?”

IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO HIDE ANYMORE...

With the power of social media these days, good and bad news spreads very, very, quickly.

Reputationally, some businesses have already done themselves massive harm, to the point where some may not recover.

By the same token, businesses which have reacted well and have attracted great coverage as a result, may have given themselves a massive boost. When the time for business recovery comes businesses like LEON, will find themselves high up the pecking order.

PURPOSE AND VALUES...

Ultimately businesses reflect the values, norms and beliefs of its owners and leaders.

Interestingly when John Vincent was interviewed about LEON’s reaction to COVID-19, he said a couple of important things.

The first was that he wanted to make it easier for people to eat well, which is an echo of the business’s core purpose “Naturally fast food”. You can see that John’s reaction, being a simple extension of his core purpose, would have felt completely natural – “that’s what we do”.

He also said that he wanted to be able to look himself in the mirror and know that he’d done the right thing.

Brewdog (beer) are a purpose-led business with a clear focus on the purpose pillars that sustain them in the longer-term. For them to change tack quickly to manufacturing sanitiser is simply a reflection of the pillars on which the business is built. Even at a time when more beer than ever is being bought!

The point is this. Those brands which have stepped up to the plate – those which have made a point of being part of the solution instead of mourning the problem, are those whose reputations have soared in a very short space of time.

A word of caution

You must be authentic. Buyers these days can sniff out authenticity at a hundred paces so your actions must reflect your true beliefs. Choose a response that’s at odds with everything the business stands for, and you will stick out like a sore thumb.

Feelings matter more than ever...

So, in this time of crisis, make sure that you consider how you’ll leave people feeling.

Even if you have to deliver bad news, doing it with grace, compassion and clarity will all ultimately reflect well on you.

Lead with your firm’s core PURPOSE, not your products and services. Aim to help, and that’s all. Don’t aim to help with an aim to bill later. Just aim to help. People will remember later, in their own time and in their own way, but they’ll definitely remember.

Your reputation is at stake.

Read this 4 page report to learn    (attach the Customer Experience First BBS report here) that leading in an authentic way to enhance your customers’ experiences of working with you during this troubled time will show your true colours and enhance your reputation.

BLOG 6

Respectful marketing in tough times requires care and attention...

In sensitive times it pays to apply high levels of care and attention about both what you communicate and how you communicate with all your clients.
You want to be respectful. Quite right.

Chances are you hate receiving irrelevant or badly timed email marketing?
Your customers feel the same way.

You might forgive bad timing, but irrelevance is harder to forgive. Especially when you’re facing up to many other challenges across your business.

So best make sure all your emails are relevant to every one of your customers.

Here’s how you start with respectful marketing…

Start by sending specific content to specific segments of your customers and prospects.

Example 1: If you’re a car dealer and you send budget vehicle promotion information to your ‘High End VIP’ clients they’ll feel disrespected

Example 2: If you’re an estate agent only send information relevant to home owners to your home owner clients! Send a different email to your rental clients

Example 3: If you’re a travel company emails promoting family holidays to retired couples are a waste of time and money and entirely disrespectful

This is simple ‘marketing’ common sense but often fails to be applied as seriously as it should.

There’s much more to respectful and successful email marketing – check out this 4-page-easy-to-read report (attach the Email Marketing Machine report here) for proven ideas on making email marketing work better for your business.