Category: Uncategorized

When does adding value tip over into working for free? That’s the question I’ve been asking myself for the past few weeks as I’ve watched a business friend of mine put in hour after hour of extra work on a customer’s project, to the point that they might as well

We all want to be better than we are…want to look better…have a better six-pack, thinner thighs…a smaller nose!  We want to act differently…often like famous people who we see as cooler, funnier, cleverer, more successful than ourselves. In business,  you’re positively encouraged to model yourself on someone who has

This week I bought an A3 printer…it’s a bit of a beast to be honest, but it gets rave reviews and I need it for my reports.  So anyway, it arrived, I lifted it out of the box, removed the 30 ft of plastic, polystyrene and tape it was wrapped

I’ve been reading a book this week called ‘Built to sell’ by a guy called John Warrillow.  So many business experts have been telling me either face to face, or in the pages of their books, that ‘you have to have an exit strategy’, that I thought I should look

What is it about networking?  Who really enjoys it…and who would rather stick pins in their eyes than go to a networking event? Networking has become a line on the to do list of every small business owner, and a significant expense on the P&L…a ‘must do’, a chore, with

On this gorgeously hot summer’s day with the Ashes in full swing at Lords, and The Open Golf testing the best of the best with ‘dodgy’ pin placements, it’s seems appropriate to recognise the example top class sportsmen and women set for business.Not through their occasional tantrums, seemingly huge egos

Am I alone in thinking that 2013 has the feel of the ‘end of an era’ about it?  People who have been big players in my life have passed away, or look like they will before too long – my lovely dad, my mum’s best friend, Maggie Thatcher, Prince Philip

I watched a great programme on iplayer last night about Buck Brannaman, a real life horse whisperer and the guy who made Robert Redford’s film, The Horse Whisperer, believable. What struck me most about the programme, was not his work with the horses, amazing at that was, but rather how

I was reminded by a friend this week, that bridges are built one strut at a time.Even those bridges that the army seem to throw up in minutes started as a single strut, possibly in some factory somewhere, and were meticulously planned and put together…one strut at a time.  Imagine

Why is it that so many good businesses hire people who are unfriendly and have no interest in being of service to anyone, let alone a paying customer? Why would we put someone out there who we know is rude and difficult; who we know will be curt and unhelpful

There’s a reason why McDonald’s are so successful…why they have grown from one restaurant in the backwaters of Illinois, to 34,000 restaurants, and counting around the globe. You can look at society’s ever increasing need to have their food fast; you can talk about how much kids love their Happy

When Sir Alex Ferguson retired this week and the plaudits reined in, I was struck by the tribute of the Spurs Manager, AVB who spoke with some sadness, of how young coaches like him had lost their role model…their great example of what it takes to be a manager.  He

I’ve been writing a book for the last 6 months…I’ll admit I’ve always wanted to, but never really thought I would until I went on a business development programme that more or less insists that you write one (KPI).   It’s no Fifty Shades of Grey (…that’s a good thing…right?!)

Having been knocked off track somewhat by recent events at home, I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed and out of it for the last few weeks. You know that feeling…everything seems the size of an elephant and you can’t see the wood for the trees?! Oh and worse still, everyone

I was at a wedding recently where the priest was bemoaning the fact that we only have one word for love in the English language.  ‘Indeed’ he said, ‘we are as likely to love a bag of crisps as the person we are about to marry’.Love is a word that

I was driving north to visit my dad last Saturday, listening to the lovely Graham Norton chatting to the even lovelier Alison Moyet about her new album.It’s called “The Minutes” and her reason for choosing the title really struck a chord with me: “…we all feel slightly cheated when our

In business and in life, everyone has their own take on the word loyalty.For those in loving relationships it means ‘true to you til death’, for good friends it means ‘I’ll stand by you even when I could happily punch you’, while for the more emotionally challenged, it’s a case

I’m sitting here with a stinking cold, having just found out that my poor old dad has pneumonia, writing a blog about vitality!  The irony is not lost on me.It’s an interesting word though ‘vital’ and one which we use and abuse with gay abandon on a regular basis, due

I’ve been thinking a lot about desire this week…what it means to different people…how it affects the way you behave…what you feel and think…how you act.  The dictionary defines it as ‘A strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen’.  I think of it as

I’ve been around a lot of entrepreneurs in the past twelve months, and for every one of them the growth and scaleability of their business is pretty close to top of mind.  Thoughts turn to funding, to adding staff and improving leadership skills, maybe to product creation, and while these

There’s a saying in life that I’ve taken quite a shine to over the years… “the path of the least resistance”.  Of course, that’s not to suggest I’m in any way lazy; but when it comes to getting from A to C, I always prefer to go via B rather

According to those who know their business numbers, of the 4.5 million small businesses in the UK, around 50% will fail to make it past year 1, while 90% will cease trading within the next few years.  Many of these will be good little businesses with a niche market, excellent

D’you know when something is just so blindingly obvious, but you just can’t see it because you’re looking in the wrong direction..?!You’re so ‘fixed’ about what you’re doing because you’ve spent 12 months and most of your savings working on your plan, developing yourself, developing your website and your marketing

I was thinking about accountability today, probably on the back of having just completed my annual accounts and tax return – although I have to admit I’d never twigged that the words accounts and accountability were two peas from the same pod (I know…I know…)!But more so because my accountant,

If I say the word ‘Business’ to you, what exactly do you think of?What do you see? What do you feel?If you’re anything like me, it’s a building, or a product or an office that you think of and see…and you don’t ‘feel’ much at all.If I change my language

At the start of every new year an awful lot of people sit down and write their New Year’s Resolutions…actually no, that’s not quite true, most people don’t even write them down.  But it is a ‘thing’ that a lot of us like to do…dream about a different, more rewarding,

I am not afraid to admit it…I am completely swept up in the whole Olympic experience…like a big kid I have screeched myself hoarse at the TV, watched in amazement at our lads fantastic gymnastic exploits, and cried real tears as the rowing girls picked up our first British gold. 

As the Frog heads off on a well-earned break, she leaves us with the humorous…and bizarre of customer experience.  A fun way to lead into this historic Olympic evening…For the past week, I’ve been making the most of this fantastically warm weather and having fun in the sun.  Therefore, I

This Friday our Frog is frustrated when a business fails to recognise that her needs as a customer are more important than an upsell.A few weeks ago, I reluctantly ventured out to a local electronics superstore.  I say reluctantly because I absolutely hate going to certain shops.  Anyone who knows

The Frog finds herself back at the hospital musing on the goodwill to be gained from putting yourself in the customer’s shoes.A few weeks ago I found myself back in the hospital, accompanying a friend to yet another appointment.   We arrived a little early, only to be informed by