Learning. Nothing is more important.

 Culture  No Responses »
Aug 312011
 

Growing businesses need growing people.  The reason: if a business is to grow, the people within it ALL need to be continually learning, improving and growing.

I am obsessed by learning.  Every single day I look for ways to learn.  I listen, I read, I watch, I write and I reflect.  I learn from others and I learn from myself.  Often the best learning comes from my own mistakes.

As the CEO of The Physio Co, my priorities include our vision, our values and the alignment of our team to both.  To stay relevant to our team, our customers and our industry, I need to be learning even faster than our business grows.  The same goes for everyone in our team, if we are not learning, we are being left behind.

In the next few weeks I have a ton of learning events that I’m attending.  I’m excited at what I will learn and then share.

Learning. Nothing is more important.


Commitment. To dabble or dive in?

 Culture  No Responses »
Feb 172011
 

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever heard in life is: “Don’t dabble”. Simple as that.  If you’re going to do something, commit and give it everything.

From building a fast growing company that will dominant your industry, to training for a marathon or baking a cake, dabbling won’t get you there.

No matter what you plan to do, big or small, I reckon the only way to really nail it is to be all in. 

Calling all leaders… It’s SHOWTIME

 Culture  No Responses »
Feb 162011
 

If you’re a leader, the time to lead is now.  Like it or not, being a leader is a job, not a title.

When is the right time for a leader to show frustration? Never. When is the right time for a leader to be unapproachable? Never.  When is the right time for a leader to be overwhelmed? Never.

Leaders need to be positive and inspiring.  There’s no time for a bad day.

If you’re a leader.  It’s always showtime.  

Enthusiasm – Where do CEO’s get it?

 Culture  No Responses »
Feb 142011
 

As the Chief Enthusiasm Officer at The Physio Co, it’s my job to lead & energise my team. But who leads & inspires me? 

For the next two days, I’ll he heading to Verne Harnish’s National Growth Summit ‘11.

Learning events with Verne, Tom Peters, David Meerman-Scott, Hermann Simon & other thought leaders is one of the ways I get inspired.

These guys are at the pointy end of the best gazelle companies on the planet.  Learning from leaders of other successful, fast-growing businesses is energising.  

Stay tuned, I’ll be back with plenty more ideas and energy very soon…

Business names. Who has it right?

 Culture  No Responses »
Feb 132011
 

Is ‘OK Pizza and Pasta’ a good business name?  I’m not convinced.

OK Pizza and Pasta is the brainchild of chefs Will Kranen and Corry O’Neill.  Their names start with O & K, they created OK Pizza and Pasta – it makes sense.

But would ‘KO Pizza and Pasta’ be a better business name?  I think so.

I reckon it’s important to paint the best possible mental image of your business in the minds of your customer.  In my mind, ‘KO Pizza and Pasta’ (short for “Knock-Out” Pizza and Pasta’) inspires a better first impression than OK. 

I also think ‘KO Pizza and Pasta’ would give the business owners an amazingly simple way to align their team. The job of every single person at KO would be to create a ‘Knock-Out’ customer experience.  The food could be KO, the service could be KO, the business could be KO.  That sounds like a cool place to work!   

Businesses are about customers.  The name isn’t everything, but it is important.

PS – The food at OK, is good. (I had the BBQ Chicken Pizza – tasted great). If you’re ever in beautiful Sth Gippsland, head to the Golf Club in Foster and give OK Pizza and Pasta a shot…

PPS – My first ever business was TJW Physio (very modestly named after Tristan Joel White!).  The business was created to help customers stay mobile, safe & happy. That wasn’t obvious so I changed the name. 


Life. A never ending series of sales pitches.

 Culture  No Responses »
Feb 082011
 

Do you sell?  If you said no, I don’t agree! (sorry!)

It occurred to me today that I’m ‘selling’ every single day.  At work, and at home, I’m eternally picturing what I think would be the best outcome and then ‘pitching’ to make that happen.  

A work example … I reckon we should have a party this weekend.  If the party is going to happen, I have to pitch the idea, gather support, overcome objections (“we can’t afford it”, “I don’t want it on a weekend”, “it’s going to rain”, “not enough people will come”) and, hopefully, lock in the ‘sale’ 

A home example … I reckon we should go out for pizza. Again, I have to pitch the idea, overcome objections (“I don’t like pizza”, “How about noodles?”, “I can’t be bothered”, “It costs too much”,  ”we went out last night”) and, hopefully lock in the ‘sale’.

I don’t always close the deal, but I’m forever ‘pitching’.  I think we all are.  

We never stop selling. Ever.