Martin Goodyer Blog

Travel only when you �want to� rather than having to �need to�

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Shock horror; it snowed at the weekend and it was cold. It’s January; what do you expect?

It’s January now but it doesn’t matter what month it might be when you read this; the choice to focus thinking either on the past or the future will be the same.

Well, one thing you can definitely expect is that if we do the same as we’ve always done, we are likely to get the same result. I think it was Albert Einstien who for all his wonderful achievements is remembered by some for saying that doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result is akin to madness. Based on that definition the leadership of the UK is stark raving bonkers.

Predictably there was travel chaos. Problems on the main rail line from the north of the country to the capital meant that thousands of passengers were delayed for hours on end. A long stretch of a major roadway was closed for many hours because of multiple accidents. Medical emergencies needed to be airlifted to hospital because of mayhem on the roads. Almost half the scheduled flights from the UK’s busiest airport were cancelled because of three inches of snow.

It has happened again and it will happen again in the future. For so long as attention is paid to dealing with the symptoms, the cause will continue to be ignored. It’s not the weather that’s the problem. The problem is the vast numbers of people needing to move around. A little weather problem can be absorbed into the management of travel plans if there is room to absorb it. However if capacity is already stretched to the limit then any disruption will create a major issue. Backlogs stack up in no time and chaos ensues.

Instead of focusing effort and resources onto increasing travelling capacity or dealing with the odd patch of inclement weather, wouldn’t it make more sense to attempt to affect the cause of the problem?

Reduce the need to travel

I’m currently working on a project with a major university to help them reduce their needs for non revenue generating space. They may save up to a million pounds a year on the cost of space provision alone by reducing the need for some of their employees to travel into an office. They are focused on the future and not the past. The idea of bringing workers together into a room so that they can be physically supervised or brought together as a team is something thought up by the Victorians. It was a great idea for its time but is it still the way we need to be working today? Clearly, the advent of fabulous technologies that are now relatively inexpensive means that the situation can be reviewed. Of course it’s not as easy as simply asking people to work from home. We are working hard to help create environmental ‘bubbles’ for them at home that are even better than being physically together with their workmates in the office. Their needs to be able to interact, work as a team and feel supported are just as necessary as the provision of the tools to do the job. However the benefits of addressing the cause rather than the symptom are enormous; not just the cash savings on reducing non revenue generating space, but also potential improvements in productivity, longevity in the job and employee satisfaction.

Ridiculous wasting of resources

It’s plainly a waste of time for people to travel when they could do a better job by staying at home. Why then are the government spending the unbelievable sum of £8 billion on a new version of another Victorian invention?

I love the railways. Travelling by train is super if I genuinely need to go somewhere in person. I love my iPad even more. I can travel further and quicker on that little machine than the railways could ever take me. It’s not unusual for me to work in South Africa, the Canary Islands, Portugal and the USA without leaving my desk. Of course the use of technology like the iPad is fairly limited. Yet the mind boggles at what technology I might have access to if instead of wasting £8 billion on technology of the past, it was spent on technology of the future.

I can imagine being able to hold group meetings in my office. The technology already exists to see a whole room in holographic three dimensional detail on my desk. I know it’s possible to use that same technology to replicate any meeting situation right there in my office rather than having me travel in person to physically be there. The only thing that prevents us all from having it is the cost of its development. A cost that could easily be met if the resources were spent looking forward rather than backwards.

How much better for the UK economy would it be to have more business being done with less travel, versus a few paying for the privilege of getting from Birmingham to London a few minutes faster on a train?

So in whatever month you happen to be reading this, make sure you are thinking about the future rather than the past. If you have any influence with the great and the good then urge them to change their plans. The HS2 is only one example of backwards thinking and it would do us all a favour (except those with a vested interest in securing building contracts) if the money were spent on helping us stay where we are rather than need to travel.

Being 'Boozed-Up' in the morning is OK?

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Random workplace drug and alcohol testing...PLEASE!

As Scrooge-like as it might first sound, I do wish out approach to alcohol abuse would change.

We are mealy mouthed when it comes to dealing with a problem that will tear some families apart this Christmas when their loved ones are maimed or killed by a driver still over the limit from a 'session'

A survey today confirmed what anyone out after ten at night during the Christmas celebrations will have deduced already; that almost half of 17 to 24 year olds are happy to risk driving to work in the morning even though they know they're still under the influence from the night before.

Instead of relying on our already overstretched police force to intervene, I think it's about time we took a new and determined approach to stamp this out. It's not acceptable to wring our hands and tut in disgust after another tragic but avoidable alcohol or drug driven event.

Self funding, non invasive and protective of the innocent

Like most people, I don't want to be held up in queues at police road blocks carrying out mass breath tests. Nor do I want to see more 'discretionary' targeting of groups suspected of being 'most likely' to offend. All this leads to is public irritation and accusations of unnecessarily harsh policing. Instead I want to see employers empowered, supported and even obliged to carry out drug and alcohol tests in the workplace. It's a nonsense that employees be allowed to endanger themselves, their colleagues and their employers by being unfit to be relied on in an emergency at work. If it were made an offence for organisations to allow this to happen then the onus will shift from the criminal to the corporate. I want our police to protect us against criminals and not waste their time ferreting out drunken ne're-do-wells.

If companies were required to protect themselves against abuse they will save themselves a fair portion of the billions lost every year in unnecessary sick days and lost productivity. If they were required to demonstrate such protection by a minimum percentage of employees being randomly sampled each month it will soon become just another HR procedure, like a fire drill or a risk assessment. It already happens in sport and in professions like the airline industry where sobriety needs to be enforced; so why not everywhere?

Every year I make the same kind of plea. Last year nothing changed and more people were killed and injured as a result; not just at Christmas but throughout the year. How many more must needlessly die, how many more families must be ripped apart and how much longer do the majority of conscientious employees have to see their companies ripped off by 'colleagues' more concerned with having a skinful the night before than the effects of their actions?

�8 billion available if you want it!

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Stress and mental health at work is a big and expensive issue!

I am aware of many stress related cases. One in particular highlights the problem really well: A woman in her mid forties, (let's call her Janet although that isn't her real name), with a relatively senior job, begins experiencing negative feelings that erode her capacity to perform well in the role. The workplace culture is downbeat and secretive, purported methodologies are barely adhered to (often only as lip service) and there is a lack of clarity surrounding performance measures and authority boundaries. The net result is that this £60,000 a year leadership person has been away from work now for over 9 months.... on full pay. Clearly the institution that employs her is not a private enterprise as it's unlikely any commercial venture would support this level of absence and cost. However her circumstances are not particularly unusual in many UK institutions.

It's easy to push the issue of stress aside when times are tough using the excuse that 'it's tough for us all' - as if this will excuse or diminish the already devastating effects of stress on productivity. It's also easy to point the finger at institutions like the one above and complain that it should not be allowed to happen. But that really won't help.

The charity 'Mind' estimate that British businesses lose £26 billion each year in sickness absence and lost productivity, and suggest that at least a third of these costs could be saved if stress and mental health issues were addressed more effectively.

So £8 billion a year could be saved by adopting a different attitude and approach to stress

Why then isn't it being seen as a priority?

The answer to that is simple; it's because the wrong question is being asked; or rather a series of wrong questions. The tendency is to ask how stress can be reduced; but there's an inherent problem with that. It predicates the notion that stress is present and a given. It presents stress as an inevitability and infers that any stress present is 'negative'. Neither is necessarily true. Stress need not be a 'given', nor need anything that might put pressure on performance be necessarily negative.

That's not to say that stress won't happen. Given the right circumstances it may well become inevitable. It's just that attempting to make inroads into that £8 billion need not start with questions that make it more difficult to succeed.

A better question might be 'How might negative stress be avoided in the first place?'

Now that's a much better question. It straight away suggests answers that are both sensible and doable. Things like;

..."ensure all employees have total clarity with regard to three essential job ingredients, each of which must be in balance with the others; responsibility, authority and accountability". If a person knows (and agrees with) what he or she is responsible for doing, how that responsibility and their performance in delivering it will be measured, and that the support and tools to do the job are readily available and accessible, then the chances of negative stress are considerably diminished.

Or ..."create an environment where energy and enthusiasm are the norm". This can be easily achieved simply by the leadership setting the example and being consistent.

Or ... "ensure politeness and respect is part of an embedded culture". Negativity spreads like a tsunami through an organisation where lack of respect and politeness is tolerated. All it takes to fix it are an agreed set of rules that are enforced.

Or... "turn necessities into opportunities". If things 'have' to be done, find ways of making them useful and upbeat; for example I've got companies sending employees on necessary courses where the employees willingly do 12 hour work days instead of 8 to shorten the time away from work. How? Because we hold the courses on the sunshine island of Tenerife! The costs of getting there are offset by the reduction in days needed and the otherwise recalcitrant employees see the training as a perk and not a chore.

Or ... "have clear methods of working that everyone truly understands". Basic quality leadership where clarity is key; what's agreed gets done and follow through can be guaranteed.

The list may not be exhaustive but it certainly could go on. The point however is to notice that each of the things identified that answer the right question are positive, will support the business aims, and can be done without any need for external intervention.

Businesses can do this for themselves. There's no need to make a big deal about it because the answers to the better question are all centred on leading the business more effectively.

Janet's problem probably has nothing to do with work. It's much more likely to be that her kids have left home and she has a poor relationship with her spouse; having made 'raising the children' her life priority for so long, and buried her head in the proverbial sand regarding her relationship, she's now having to face an uncertain future. It's not an uncommon isse and she's not alone. This lack of balance is much more likely to be the real 'cause' of her problem. But the lack of an open, supportive, enthusiastic, energetic and positive work environment with no clarity around performance issues will have added to her lack of certainty and lack of control. It also becomes a much easier target for blame. The result; her contribution to that £8 billion cost to the UK at a time it can be least afforded.

Ask better questions and you are bound to get better answers

Had Janet's workplace been effectively led she would be using her job as a way to balance her personal uncertainty rather that it adding to it. Reducing stress is not a 'motherhood and apple pie' wish. It's something that can, and should, be achieved.

To learn more about turning necessary training into a cost reducing perk, contact Martin here

Get e-digital or get left behind

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

E-Therapy…whatever next?

It had to happen, and to be fair, it’s about time it did.

We now have just about e-everything, so why not e-therapy…and even e-coaching.

Virtual reality is now almost as real to many people as the world they can actually touch and feel. You only have to watch the behaviour of people going about their everyday lives to recognise that the electronic world is as at least as powerful as whatever’s going on face to face. Witness the person chatting away to their dangling mike or Bluetooth as they do their shopping or walk down the street; or the heads buried intent on accessing Facebook or their email. I’m not ‘that’ old, and I can remember when sitting next to strangers on the train and passing the time of day was expected. Nowadays speaking to someone you don’t know draws attention to yourself as a weirdo, an old person... or maybe both. After all, who needs real interaction with people you don’t know when you have a whole virtual world of ‘friends’ at your fingertips?

So it follows that other personal encounters will go the way of the ‘chat on the train’. According to this report it’s already started; apparently we already spend more time on line than we do asleep, so it makes sense to use some of that time more effectively than merely playing games, doing the weekly shop or chatting to relatives half way around the world.

I’m already on the case

Last week I was actually coaching overseas but the week before I had an early morning coaching session with a young entrepreneur in South Africa, by lunchtime I was carrying out a session with the owner of a facilities management company in the Canary Islands, and during the afternoon I was coaching the driving force behind a new start up business in the heart of Portugal’s Algarve; and all from my UK desk in Baginton! The advent of Skype (and similar services) means that at the click of a mouse I can be chatting face to face with clients anywhere in the world as long as they can access a broadband internet connection.

Next year plans are in place to open an ‘International Academy for Business Coaching & Training’ based on the sunny island of Tenerife. The advent of improved digital services means that a venue like this can now be utilised as a training base; the long hours of sunshine all year round mean that courses can start early in the morning and finish just before dinner (utilising positive environmental neurology*), while allowing students hours of stimulating sunshine to work outdoors in pairs or small groups. Tester events have demonstrated that they will come from all over the world and return home knowing that between residential sessions the digital technology keeps them linked for tutorials and practise sessions.

Move with the times

Anyone that runs a business requiring their customer to come to them or where they must travel to visit their clients would do well to take notice of these changes in behaviour. I predict that it won’t be long before queuing at the doctors surgery will be confined only to those with a genuine need to have hands laid on them. I can see a time quite soon when legal advice will be dispensed via an iPad rather than the stuffy offices or hallowed halls of a law firm. Teaching is already part of the way there but over the next few years the use of digital technology will make today’s levels seem as archaic as the old green screen spread sheets we thought were amazing in the early eighties.

Why should an aspiring singer pay for lessons from the nice-but-very-average school music teacher down the road when they could hook up with a world class expert over the net, and be heard as well as if they were in the same room?
Why not get extra help for your kids from a brilliant and captivating internet based tutor rather than trawling the yellow pages for what’s available locally?
Why not access the best, the most focused and the true expert now that they are available?

The only reason 'why not' right now is that the change is just starting to happen. By the time I’ve finished writing this I can be pretty sure that at least another person somewhere in the world is selling their services via technology; and as every day passes there will be more and more of them, each focused on a tiny niche of expertise that can now yield voluminous results due to the breadth of exposure the digital age provides.

So take a look at your business. Ask yourself what you would do if you were going to compete with you by using technology; if you were a technologically savvy competitor intent on taking your business, what might you be doing? …Because if you don’t ask yourself these questions you run the risk of someone else asking them instead.

Welcome to a new world!

*'Environmental Neurology' is the effect external stumuli has on the creation of pathways in the brain. Probably the most commonly recognised negative effect of environmental neurology is the SAD syndrome (Seasonal Affective Disorder); where a lack of natural sunlight stimulates a form of depression. Positive environmental neurology is the study and application of ways in which to stmulate the brain in ways that are helpful. In this case, the combination of sunshine, sea air and enthusiastic approach to training combine to support more effective learning.

Hypnotic video games teach dangerous behaviours

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Today's latest 'lunatic' idea...Let's hypnotise 25,000,000 people to be unconsciously ready to use violence...then let's complain about the breakdown of law and order.

Oh, and then let's hypnotise a whole lot more to drive like maniacs!... then wring our hands when there's another motorway massacre.

Idiotic? Well, that's what is really going on; as yet more dangerous and violent video games are released onto the market. Idiocy, because games like this teach people to behave dangerously. They really do!

It's utter madness. Video games DO teach and practice behaviours. There is no argument about that. They are regularly used as training aids in anything from driving tests to health & safety training. They are used to embed messages because they stimulate the brain to become confused between what is a real or an imaginary event. The unconscious can't make that distinction when something is bring vividly imagined. The human body responds 'as if' it were real.

That's what makes these killing video games so enticing; they stimulate the brains fight and flight responses in much the same way as a real situation. Of course consciously we know it's just a game and CONSCIOUSLY we recognise the difference. But when faced with an emotionally charged moment of potential madness, our unconscious responses will be whatever we have programmed them to be. Hence why there is now so much concern about the effects of these on society (and my regular calls for them to be banned).

But it's not just violence gamers are being programmed for. One of the other most popular game genres is motor racing and fast driving. Yesterday I drove from Coventry to Leeds and back. It was a wet and windy day. Visibility on the motorway was often poor. All in all it was pretty dangerous and considering the papers and TV news was full of the most horrific motorway pile up in living memory; you might be forgiven for assuming that drivers would be a little more cautious than usual. Not so. There were people gripping steering wheels with grim determination and at speeds and distances that were one tiny incident away from another disaster. Are those dangers to themselves and others all mad? Or might it just be that they're 'other than conscious' programming was kicking in. Obviously I can't know for sure, but based on my observations I'd be willing to wager that, if tested, a good proportion would have some regular use of driving video games in their mental history.

I've no doubt that in my dotage we will all look back with incredulity that such tools of social destruction were allowed to permeate society. I can imagine psychology students of the future asking me why, when our knowledge of the brains functioning was already at such a level, could our profession and our politicians have allowed it to happen. How will I respond? What should I say? That profit those days was put before all? That business interests were placed ahead of social welfare? Or that people just closed their eyes to what they didn't want to see?

'But' the appeasers cry; 'they're just harmless escapism!' The truth is that maybe they are, IF only used once in a while. It's a very different kettle of fish however when they are used for hours on end, day after day, month after month. That is, I'm sorry to say, the intention of their creators. They're goal is to make the game as 'addictive' as possible. They want people to be hooked. Why? Simply because it sells more games, that's why.

It's time we opened our eyes. It's time we listened and took this seriously. How many more pile ups, muggings, road rage attacks and the like will it take before the penny drops? Life IS NOT a game that can be started again when you lose. There is no reset button, no 'pause' and no chance to play again. It's dangerous enough as it is: We get one go, one chance and just one opportunity so why unnecessarily ruin it?

Face the Truth; it IS what it is � and our �Destiny� is in our own hands

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

I'm all for positive thinking. It can help you live healthier and happier. But...and it's a HUGE ‘but’... I'm not in favour of delusional thinking; no matter from what illustrious quarter it happens to be coming from!

For example; I’m afraid I’d be deluded if I were to sit back and applaud the efforts of the local enterprise partnership (LEP) in this area. It is not my intent to be rude or unnecessarily harsh but it is what it is. Indeed I urge anyone reading this to take a look at their website and read through their own proclamations of success; they are few and far between. There appears to have been an awful lot of self congratulatory talking and little in the way of genuine hard, on the ground, action.

A better quality of thinking

Whatever you think pushes you toward a destination; and that destination is your destiny. Therefore ‘quality of thinking’ has to be at the heart of any discussion on business or personal improvement.

The wishful dieter standing in front of a mirror repeating a mantra “I’m getting slimmer every day” when the evidence staring back demonstrates that it clearly isn’t true; is destined for frustration and disappointment. Their destiny is to be fat and frustrated.

The gambler convinced that the ‘next time’ will be the big winner when experience and intellect tells them that in reality it probably won’t be; is destined for pain and loss. Their destiny is to be sad and broke.

The parent who practically ignores their child in private and in public acts as if their offspring can do no wrong, on the pretence that they are being supportive and yet knows in their heart of hearts that they are actually being weak; is destined to raise problem teenagers with oversized egos. Their destiny is to appear on Jeremy Kyle!

The business or organisation that values it’s self by itself and is pleased with the result; is destined to fail!

I had an email today from Travelzoo. I like these emails because they give a heads up on some really great travel deals. However this mornings offering did make me shake my head in disbelief; side by side were two offers: The first was for a two night stay in a 5 star hotel in Prague with an upgrade to the best rooms including flights from London for the bargain price of £169. Right next to it was an offer of one nights stay in the Lake District with dinner for £149. Now, I’m not saying that a visit to the Lakes isn’t pleasant but the juxtaposition of the two offers did suggest quite strongly that one offered far better value than the other. It may well be that the cost of running hotels in this country is much higher than abroad, or that the comparison is unfair; but as a consumer, quite frankly, I don’t care. With my consumer head on, I just want the best deal. That’s why I subscribe to the email. The Lake District hotel is delusional if they think that this is going to attract any more than a tiny handful (if anyone at all) to take up their offer. It’s not the offer per se that’s wrong; it’s the quality of their thinking. The reality is that they probably can’t compete on price driven deals. To pretend otherwise is fruitless. The managers responsible will scratch their heads in frustration and look to blame anything but their own thinking for the lack of take up. (It’s bound to be a problem with the economy etc!) However what they’ve actually done is created their own destiny with delusional thinking.

It’s this kind of lack of quality thinking that creates horrid business destinations. I see it week in and week out as an integral part of my job. The whole point of doing what I do is to improve the quality of thinking in a business, because it’s only then that new and much better results are made possible.

Pressure from property developers (for the great and the good to be deluded)

Delusional thinking is all around us. Yet again I heard a representative of the regional LEP who, having lost out on a Government backed enterprise programme, was making a pitch for the local authorities to back a ‘go it alone’ scheme. Clearly the intent behind this is to try and leverage cheap land for building from local authorities on the promise of job creation. I hope to goodness the leaders of such authorities wake up to the problem of delusional thinking and that they don’t fall foul of it. The reality is that access to development land does not equate to new jobs. That’s not an opinion; it’s a FACT. If available land for development did equate to new jobs then there would be building going on like blazes on all the currently available sites. But there is not. Why? Because that land isn’t owned by the public purse, it’s owned by private investors who want a fair rate for selling it. There is no queue of foreign or new business entrepreneurs waiting to buy industrial units or office space. The only people who will make anything from the release of new land for building from the public purse are the developers (if and when they can eventually sell it), and the only jobs they’ll create are the short term building jobs as they seek to capitalize on their ‘good fortune’. Local authority land and permission to build on it does NOT create jobs. Those who pretend it does create a terrible destiny for all of us; unchecked urban sprawl, industrial wastelands full of nothing but the ghosts of imagined occupiers.

Cheesy initiatives

It’s hard not to wince at the list of so-called achievements or cringe at the personal self aggrandizement of senior members within groups like the LEP. Initiatives like that of developing a 100 business mentors in 100 days is so flawed as to be laughable. Indeed it would be funny if it were not so potentially damaging; as most successful business leaders are NOT great mentors. The high levels of self confidence and brutal decision making ability that might have helped make them successful are the polar opposite of the skills required for effective mentoring. It takes a good deal of training and skill to be an effective business coach and mentor as it’s a technically and emotionally challenging exercise. To suggest otherwise is tantamount to allow an untrained surgeon to assist with a heart operation just because he’s an experienced vet on a pig farm! Likewise the initiative to develop business social networks and case studies are at the level of naivety and innocence a group of sixth formers might come up with; and as for the 100 jobs in 100 days…well, having heard a live interview on local radio on the day it was announced I’m surprised heads weren’t hug in shame. When asked directly what actions had been taken to generate new jobs there was effectively no reply at all; because apparently there hasn’t been any. How deluded does a group of people have to be to think that simply by ‘saying’ they are encouraging something that it will actually happen? We’re back to the fat person standing in front of a mirror.

The person wanting to lose weight needs to eat less and exercise more; then develop a mantra that supports them doing that.
The person wanting financial growth needs to stop gambling and start a personal financial plan.
The parent wanting to really support their child needs to start acting with parental responsibility.
The hotel owner wanting to attract new business needs to stress what they do, or have, that’s better than the competition.

AND…if we want to really get a healthier local economy we need to start accepting the reality of our situation and look critically at what we have within our gift to improve; not pretend that by lining the pockets of a few developers or serve the self interest of anyone taking an interest for their own ends.

The groups wanting to help grow local economies need to get to grips with the real and present barriers to success that each and every business owner faces.

It IS possible to identify the barriers to business success and overcome them. In our region alone if all the viable small and medium size businesses became significantly more effective at achieving profitable growth and at the same time became even more effective at reducing wasted effort or cost; then their destiny would be to rapidly develop into organisations that hire more people and grow. There ARE things that can be done but they are not of the ‘magic wand’ variety. They are not about someone from somewhere coming in and doing it for us or making it easier for us; they are about taking control and responsibility for our own destiny.

The path we take leads to an eventual destination. The direction of that journey determines that destination. That destination is our destiny; hence our destiny is truly and genuinely in our own hands.

Money makes the world go round

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

There are many ‘rules’ in business but of them all my favourite is ‘Follow the money’

Decisions are made for all kinds of reasons. The one thing they all have in common is that they stimulate an emotion strong enough to push us into action. When all is said and done if it ‘feels’ like the right thing to do; we do it. If it doesn’t; we don’t. Logic has a part to play. Logic helps us determine the emotion. But don’t kid yourself, decisions may be argued with logic but are always stimulated by emotion.

It is reported today that in the past 6 months petrol consumption has decreased by 15% and the resulting loss in fuel duty to the treasury has been £1bn. That’s a billion pounds more the Government has to find to finance our countries debt. If we continue to move in decreasing circles then we will slide further into the black hole of indebtedness; the circle is our pie, and if that pie shrinks then there is less there for all of us to share. We need to grow the pie.

Growth comes at a cost but we have to get away from ‘pay up front’

‘Achieve now and then pay only from your new funds’ would be a far better approach than the one we have of ‘Pay up front and then struggle to make a profit…if you are lucky!’

One client of mine rents a warehouse. The space next door to him is vacant and there is no permanent wall between the two units. The landlord of the property is happy for him to use both units while the second one remains empty. If he could utilise the space he’d be able to take on more work. If that work became steady he would then be able to pay the council tax on the second unit. However the local authority insists that if he so much as steps foot in it he must immediately begin paying the tax; so insistent are they that they send round inspectors unannounced to make sure he hasn’t crept over the boundary. The system requires him to ‘pay up front’.

More than 10% of town and city centre shops are empty. Of the rest a growing number are charity or thrift shops. Our high streets are grinding to a trading halt, not because of a lack of desire to trade, but because the costs of attempting to are so high. Landlords and local authorities are standing by while a once thriving retail culture crumbles; and the reason? Because rents and local taxes are unrealistic and have to be paid regardless of business performance; another clear case of ‘pay up front’.

It’s scary!

The problem with emotion is that when it comes to making decisions, it is fear we feel the strongest. Fear holds us back. Fear prevents us from grasping, or even seeing, new opportunities. Fear can be debilitating. It makes sense then to do whatever we can to remove fear from the emotional equation when attempting to stimulate business growth. But take the fear away and it’s a whole new story. I recall the case of a new marina development on the south coast some years ago; it looked set to open with a boardwalk of empty shops and cafes because of fear of risk. Yet someone from the development company with the wherewithal to recognise what was happening stepped in and changed the rules. Instead of ‘pay up front’ they offered to ‘share in successes’. Retailers were taken on a ‘percentage of revenue’ basis for their first year or so. It gave them a chance to start making money before having to start paying it out. Once settled they reverted to a more traditional approach. Needless to say, it’s still a thriving community of shops and restaurants.

I’m doing my bit! CBBC

An old client of mine who runs a department of local government, responsible in part of aspects of business regeneration, recognised the problem with the ‘pay up front’ culture and asked me to come up with a creative idea for supporting growing businesses.

“The trouble is” he said, “that once a business has got over the initial problems of start up it must then find ways to capitalise on its strengths and grow; it’s right then that they need a really solid business coach like you, but they can’t afford it. At the time they need help most they are too scared to invest in anything like that”.

Having been there myself I know it’s true. When you’ve survived the first couple of years and are still in business it feels like every penny counts; because they do! Value judgements get skewed; cash has become king and no matter how ‘great’ a deal something is, if it isn’t essential to the running of the business then it doesn’t get purchased. How then do you bridge the gap between where they are and where they would really like to be? How do you move a small company turning over four or five hundred thousand a year to one that generates four or five million?

I can tell you how it won’t happen. It won’t happen by focusing only on survival. It won’t happen by just working hard to stay afloat. It won’t happen if things stay the same. It can happen if someone helps to cut through the fog. It can happen if you are prompted to ask new and challenging questions. It can happen if you begin to think sensibly and confidently about ways to profitably grow.

The CBBC programme is available only for business owners that I believe have the potential to grow their business significantly. It’s not for everyone and I won’t take on just anyone. But it is an alternative to the ‘pay up front’ approach to business coaching and it is a way that a few select business owners are working with me right now to beat this recession and to grow their own pie. The bigger the pie, the happier you feel about sharing it.

Are Violent Games responsible for Violent Riots?

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

A new study reveals that some youngsters can't tell the difference between the real and the virtual world

Of course they can't. Anyone who has ever trained another person, coached someone through change or hypnotised anyone to behave differently could have told them that. The brain is a processing mechanism. Much of what goes on in our heads happens without conscious thought or control; therefore it can't tell the difference between a vividly imagined event and reality.

We train people to respond without thinking in emergency situations. We don't make learner drivers get into real danger but condition them with computer generated illusions. We teach through spaced repetition and the use of imagination.

This is precisely what violent and destructive video games are doing. In another newspaper today was a report about a 32 year old Australian living in London who was stabbed while protecting an old lady from violent abuse. When threatened he suggested the assailant wouldn't do anything stupid in front of witnesses, but so conditioned to vicarious violence was the young knife wielder that he didn't care about an audience, and so attacked anyway.

The only reason these hideous 'games' are allowed is because the industry that makes millions from them claims there is no evidence to support a ban. The truth is however that they are a huge problem. The tobacco companies argued for years against the truth. They didn't care who was damaged so long as the dollars rolled in. I fear the same is true in the violence ridden games industry.

Studies are now backing up what people like me have been claiming for years. We must not allow greed to get in the way of common sense

Young people protest. Every generation recorded from the time of Plato has rebelled. Yet only now do we see open violence, thoughtless vandalism and cruelty. The only thing we psychologists can be certain of is that there is always a reason; it might not always be an obvious or a good reason, but there will always be one. Hence there must be a reason for this change in group behaviour. There must be a common denominator that had shifted behaviour from what would otherwise be expected.

I predict that future studies will show this to be the conditioned exposure to such behaviour by the use of video games. Some of the very people whose stock was plundered by the weapon wielding mobs were those who peddled them the source of the problem behaviour in the first place.

It's time to get serious with censorship and remove this damaging material from the mainstream. There is no justifiable reason to condition young people to act with dangerous and anti social behaviour. Banning material like this is no more an infringement of civil liberties that banning the sale of weapons or explosives; if we want to reduce violence then they have to go.

To have Martin speak at your company event or seminar contact Martin@martingoodyer.com

Do you have high potential?

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Dragon Coaching - opening the door to achievement

No Kung-Fu or ancient mystic rituals I'm afraid; much as that might be fun, the reality is that 'Dragon Coaching' is far more down to earth. Nor does it have anything to do with boat racing or athletics, although it does have much in common with the latter.

There is a harsh reality about creating a successful business from scratch. Mighty oaks do grow from acorns but their journey from vulnerable seedling to hardy tree is fraught with danger. One significant mistake or missed opportunity and the potential to become a fixture on the landscape can be lost.

Most start up businesses won't make it past their first few years

Of the ones that do, few will have genuine high potential. Of those, even fewer will access the support they need to actually realise that potential. They will weigh up the investment in hiring high end performance improvement coaching against more pressing and seemingly immediate cost issues; and be pressed by fear into a damaging decision. They will convince themselves that they don't need the help, can't afford it, or don't see the benefit of it. That's a bad move; understandable, but a bad move all the same.

I've just come back from the Great North run. I was lucky enough to be part of the 'celebrity' group and so not only got to hang out with some well known faces, but also some seriously good runners. One of those instantly recognisable faces was speaking to an elite runner-turned-coach saying that he'd love to do a better time but "wasn't built for it". The coach laughed and replied that nobody is built for it; but as long as you're reasonably fit to start with, that with the right coaching, anyone can run a fantastic race! His proof was the young actress he'd been working with who'd just ran a time that many professional athletes would be proud of.

Not all businesses are fit enough to start with to benefit from serious coaching. The running coach wouldn't take on someone with zero potential; nor will I. Dragon coaching takes it's name from the 'Dragons Den' style of venture capital investment. In their case they invest hard cash gambling that they'll make significant returns. Dragon coaching, (or 'commission based business coaching CBBC), is similar; the coach invests skill and energy into a business in return for a share of the growth they've helped create. Just like the sports coach, a Dragon coach knows that results may take some time. The coach has to be prepared to work with their client and wait for the results of their joint efforts to bear fruit. It's a win-win proposition for both parties.

"Working with Martin is the best business decision I've ever made"

So said one of my CBBC clients. I'm his Dragon coach. We have a 24 month agreement. Using the monthly revenue his business was already achieving as a base, we agreed a modest percentage for all additional revenue growth over that for the next 2 years. At first he didn't have to pay very much at all for the intensive coaching he received. Months later however he was more than happy to pay handsomely for continued revenue growth. By his own admission he'd never have felt able to hire a coach like me, but the 'Dragon Coach' option with CBBC had opened a door that would otherwise have stayed firmly closed.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to open the door to another high potential business. I'm only going to take one, so if you think that might be you, either come along and meet me at the Business Growth Show (I'll be meeting people at the Speed Networking events) or drop me a line.

PS The photo is of me at the start line of the Great North Run with Jason (the Juicemaster) Vale and his lovely girlfriend Kate Beswick…notice a certain X Factor winner standing just behind us!

Looking good versus actually doing some good

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Decisions taken in haste are often repented at leisure

So the government had decided that it is necessary for the benefit of all the planning restrictions on the use of green belt land are to be relaxed. If you live in the middle of a built-up area that probably sounds a good idea. If you believe that giving developers the opportunity to profit from green field sites will help young people get on the housing ladder, then you might also agree that it sounds a good idea. If you worry about getting a job and you accept the notion that this change will improve your chances of getting one, then why wouldn't you think it's a good idea? The trouble is, in the cold hard light of day none of these things are true;

Urban sprawl is scary

Even if you live in a built-up area, the loss of green space currently acting as a buffer between your area and the next urban development will be a bad thing. If you want evidence to prove that, then just take a look at any inner-city where green fields of any shape or size are long gone.

Yesterday I had a meeting in Battersea in a relatively smart office near the river. I went by train. To get there I alighted at Clapham Junction and walked the half mile to the office. The concrete jungle, a site of recent riots, was oppressive and scary. It wasn't until I got to a small park that things started to feel just slightly better. I'm sure developers will once have claimed that the land was too valuable and the housing need too acute, to leave any appreciable green space around the developments. Yet what have they actually achieved? I can't speak for those who live there, but I can say that I would find it a horrid place to live. I just happened to be in that area but there are thousands of urban developments like it around the country. The relaxing of the planning laws will simply ensure that there are even more; this country may end up with more places to shelter, but it will be an infinitely less desirable place to live.

Young people won't get a look-in

When developers get their hands on green field sites their goal is to maximise the profit. They could care less about the high price of housing and the difficulties young people have about getting on the housing ladder. I'm not saying they should care; just that it's a mistake to assume that they do. Relaxing the planning laws to allow building on country land close to villages and towns will see a flurry of planning applications to build the most desirable homes that fetch the highest price. The results may be that there is more choice for the middle class, middle income or midway through their life house purchaser, but it won't change the situation for young people.

Unless you’re a builder there will be precious few extra jobs

Every time there is a mini boom in housing, and make no mistake, relaxing planning laws and releasing green field sites will cause one; builders do become harder to find. They may create a few jobs at the bottom of the construction ladder, but for the rest of them, they make hay while the sun shines. They charge more for their services and hence building costs go up not down.

The release of green field sites for industrial buildings rarely succeeds in creating new jobs either. A company may move from one part of the country to another if they happen to get offered a good deal by a developer; the jobs gained in one area only make up for the jobs lost in another. The incidences of large industrial international moves are few and far between. If there was a raging desire to come to this country to do business there are ample available sites up and down the country. Industrial developments that were granted permission on the basis that they would bring much-needed jobs to an area remain half empty or worse. Relaxing the planning laws may sound like a positive move to attract new business but in reality it is smoke and mirrors. New business will not come, new jobs will not be created and all that will happen will be the creation of yet another sad and empty set of industrial wastelands, sat on what once was a green field.

Lessons to learn?

It is the sign of a desperate government that they provoke public outrage (and hence attention) by trying to appear to make positive leadership decisions, when in fact the issue is merely a distraction. If they wanted to do something positive then they could start thinking about ways to house a growing population without creating for them a 'hell on earth'. We probably do need to rethink the way at least part of the housing market works; other countries have explored ideas like longer-term mortgages for example, I'm sure we could be equally creative. Rather than rushing in with high-level policy changes made in haste, perhaps it would be appropriate and beneficial to debate alternatives.

If you agree with this sentiment and would like to stimulate a debate then please sign the e-petition, the link for which is here: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/14837

Issue-thinking rather than structured-thinking

There are lessons here for any business. Sometimes when external pressures are extreme it can feel like we have to do something… anything! It can feel better to at least do something that sounds positive even if in reality it will make no difference at all, or possibly even in the long term make things worse. This is a classic example of issue-thinking as opposed to structural-thinking. The former leader caught up in the emotion of the issue, either defending a position or arguing against it. The latter however ensures that you keep your real end goal in mind.

Run a network event or business seminar? Get Martin to come and speak by emailing martin@martingoodyer.com