Category: Uncategorized

Most business owners are freaks. On the outside we appear to be normal, sane, rational human beings, who recognise logic and understand cause and effect. Hah! Have you seen The Body Snatchers..?!  This appearance of normality is all a front! Behind the facade, our mind and body are possessed by at least one,

#I’ve been watching the shenanigans in Manchester this week…the inevitable, if painful climax to a United reign rife with under-achievement, embarrassing losses, and the cumulation of all the wrong sort of records. David Moyes seems like a good bloke…he is certainly a very good manager, but whether you’re taking over

Consistency and reliability are the foundations of any successful business, big or small. Consistent and reliable systems developed for one small restaurant in Illinois, helped McDonald’s grow to over 30,000 restaurants around the world. Those systems, and that consistency, are what keep millions of people going back to McDonald’s, and

I had a conversation this week with someone who was banging on and on ad nauseum about how difficult their life is…how hard they have to work and how poor their results are.  It’s not the first conversation we’ve had like that, in fact, truth be told, I’ve been listening

I watched in both terror and awe last night as BBC presenter Alex Jones completed her 1200ft climb of Moonlight Buttress, one of the most monstrous and possibly the most sheer of the huge rock mountains in Utah’s Zion National Park. Video clips of her two and a half day

I come across a lot of overwhelmed and frustrated business people these days.  I guess that’s partly because I go looking for them knowing that I can help…but still, there are a lot.  People who can’t see the wood for the trees, who feel that the work, or the challenge

The season of lent is upon us.  It may be on your radar simply as the run-up to Easter, or maybe as the time you’re meant to ‘give stuff up’…but for me it’s always been a wake up call just when I’ve needed it…a reminder that two months of the

I’ve had a few experiences in the last couple of weeks that have made me question what I am spending my time and money on…and who with, in relation to my personal development.  Like you undoubtedly, I could have bought a small desert island with the amount I have invested

I’m going to be brief this Friday, since the business owner that this post is for, won’t have time to read a long one. You’ll be thinking about all the things you planned to do this week that you haven’t got to yet…that you really need to get done…that you’ll

My friend Hannah was given the devastating news last week that she has cancer for the third time in her life.  Hannah and I are not close, in fact I’ve only known her for 18 months, but I know her as a courageous and fun-loving woman who goes after life

I was going to call this post, ‘Beware the Ides of March’…you remember…the warning given to Julius Caesar before he was assassinated.  But then I thought, what if you’re not Shakespeare fans, and you just think I’ve gone loopy! The warning is valid though, since so many people effectively ‘assassinate’

I’ve had a couple of interesting conversations this week.  The first with my mastermind group, concerned the fact that a few of us enjoy what we do so much that we forget that there’s meant to be a commercial aspect to it.  So busy being busy, doing what we love,

A facebook friend of mine posted this yesterday… ‘You get what you give…. Give everything you got!’. Quite an inspiring challenge, and it really made me think. The recent publication of my book (sorry, I had to mention it) revealed the very generous nature of both people I haven’t spoken

Every small business that has ever been formed, has been done so by someone full of passion.  The odds are stacked against them, but they believe that they will be one of the 4% that makes it past year 3 and goes on to huge success. But passion can fade

Back in the day, an old boss once said to me ‘It’s not about relationships Marianne, it’s about results’. I disagreed with her at the time, and over the years I have become even more convinced that business is ALL about relationships. It is in fact the relationships that drive

Is your business on Purpose? Of course there are a number of ways to take that question, but for me, there are only two that really matter… In a business context, I’m talking about process and systems. There are so many of us in business who fly by the seat

Why are you in business? It’s one of the most fundamental questions that every business owner should be able to answer.  What is the underlying reason behind why you set up your business? The most successful businesses are built around someone’s passion…the business owner who has a really strong WHY,

My sister likes lists, in fact she lives her life by them…always has.  Go to see her and you’ll always find the main three on the go…shopping, housey-stuff, and ‘must sort out’.  It’s her process for getting things done, and it works for her…sort-of.  You see, she is blighted by

An argument raged on Facebook this week about whether or not some guy had the right to call himself an expert.  It’s such an over-used word these days that I’m surprised anyone even noticed, let alone got hot under the collar about it; but comment after comment appeared passing judgement

It has to be said that Process is a dog with a bad name. It’s rarely something that inspires or excites. But it should be…because the truth is that process is a liberator, a freedom-giver, a time saviour…it creates the space between the business owner and their business that allows