Continuous Professional Development – who would give something that is fundamental to the survival of the species such an inept and irrelevant title? It sounds like something that has come straight from an academics handbook with no consideration whatsoever as to how important it is for the individual, their career or their business. The dictionary interpretation of CPD is ‘the means by which people maintain their knowledge and skills related to their professional lives, CPD…

Of course the pure “marketeer” will always say there is a need and benefit from having them; however the other side of the argument would say it’s a waste of paper everything goes out in emails as PDFs now. I believe the tough and annoying answer here is it depends – on the purpose and the outcome that you are looking for. Recently I was handed a folder from an organisation that support businesses with…

The good advice that you just didn’t take – lyrics from the 1997 Alanis Morrisette song How often have they been true in your life? How often have you not heard or not chosen to take tips and advice from different people in your lives? It’s not a fair question because every day we have all been fed information and thoughts from well-meaning friends, autocratic bosses, teachers and members of our families. But if we…

As careers progress and ladders are climbed individuals move further away from that team environment on the shop floor. This was the place where everyone was equal, the common goal was to work, do a good job and hopefully get a promotion or a transfer to the next level at some stage in the future. If something went wrong you asked a colleague, if you didn’t know the answer you asked your mate next to…

In simple terms, if you decide not to write a newsletter how will people know your opinions, thoughts and experiences? How will you establish yourself as the best person to go to in a field of knowledge or as a thought leader, if nobody knows what your views are? I am not referring to the short headline world of Twitter and Facebook but the world of crafted newsletters – more than a blog but not…

When you are faced with the knowledge that you will not grow old, have children of your own, or see your next birthday, life takes on a totally different meaning. There is no more procrastination possible – you can choose to curl up and disappear quietly or you can step up and make the most of your time left. When I first met Stephen Sutton I knew of his fight with cancer that was now…

The art of Spin Dr’ing has grown and sadly it has a great deal of negative association with it nowadays, ranging from political sleaze to blatant lying. This is not new, nor is it restricted to particular parts of the world or population – it’s just propaganda – stories based on some truth, half truth or no truth at all. Governments and leaders have for centuries embellished the truth about wars and battles, hidden the…

The word credibility can be an emotive word – in its simplest terms it means evidence or a proven track record at doing a particular task. That can vary from an experienced professional footballer that plays in goal and their credibility demonstrated by a record of 121 clean sheets in 200 matches (let in no goals) vs. the former CEO of a blue chip multi-national organisation who has demonstrated their skills at the top of…

There is a simple life formula that has been around for many years that I have to say I subscribe to wholeheartedly:- P=P-I  – Performance = Potential + Interference There you have it – life should now be simple for you, business will be hugely successful and all relationships will be a breeze! Not really.. but it can have a massive impact on you when breaking it down into its three component parts. Performance- this is what…

Every day of every week we meet new people, work with clients and prospects or deal with suppliers and controlling our diaries and calendars can prove very difficult. However for me the most frustrating emails are the ones when the recipient is totally unhelpful in getting to the point of commitment to a meeting or phone call. You have to do all the leg work and thinking and no matter what you suggest or come…