How are you planning to thrive in 2025?

October 15, 2024 by Malcolm Gallagher Leave a Comment

With 2025 just a short “bus ride” away every business and organization leader should be thinking about their 2025 Thrival Plan. Yes, the BIG Corporates will have already done so (or will they?) However, you mustn’t think that your business is too small or that there is plenty of time for thinking and planning.

Time seems to fly quickly these days largely because of the myriad of daily, and supposedly important jobs to be done as a leader. But these “time-grabbing” jobs shouldn’t crowd out your leadership responsibilities of growth. If they do, then you may end up planning for surviving or even consider your business to be diving. We live in such a changing and uncertain economically fluid world that such results may happen. Unless you take action.

Of course, you could be muttering that’s all very well for me to say because I’m not there with you who has that myriad of “today tasks” to achieve before you even think of 2025. However, I do understand and I’ve been there myself many times in the past and worked with many leaders across many sectors who have done the same thing.

At this stage in this post, I want to move away from that conversation and encourage you to think about your Thrive ’25 plan. If you steadfastly think I am too prescient and there’s lots of time before you need to plan, then save yourself some time and leave this post. Join me later on in another posting!

If you’re still here with me, then let me give you some Thrive ’25 thinking. Yes, there’s uncertainty around with geopolitical problems making some markets hard to access. Yes, there are new challenges to meet with the advent of AI (artificial intelligence),. Yes, there are HR problems with a fluid workforce. Yes, customers are today less loyal and their buying behaviors have changed. And of course, there are many more “yesses” like those!

But anyone can list the negatives. And in many cases, they will do so as it may be deemed “safer”. What you need as a leader is to list the positives to outweigh the negatives. If you don’t your competitors or a new entrant disruptor may do so.

I’ve lived my life with the firm Stoicism belief that there are “no problems only opportunities”. You just have to have the growth mindset to want to find those opportunities instead of being drowned by the negatives.

So where does this leave you in your planning of Thrive ’25? Well over the coming posts and across our channels and shows and new membership clubs, courses and coaching you can find the answers you seek. Not all from me you’ll be glad to hear. But also from the 100’s of global experts and thought leaders we interview on our BVTV Global Channels.

I want to start your Thrive ’25 thinking in this post with our Thrive Model. You will see in the image below the steps to consider. How about taking the time now to consider those steps and how you will consider and reflect on them? Then follow me on further posts and our Thrive ’25 Programme to action them. Are you up for that? Here’s the model.

The model is not complicated as you can see. However, it’s essential you don’t miss a step. Trust me, I have done that in the past much to my financial regret!

Let me know if you want a free Zoom chat about the model.

Mail me at mg@bizvision.co.uk

Keep your focus on these 3 to beat challenging times

September 29, 2022 by Malcolm Gallagher Leave a Comment

BVTV 4 Purpose & Resilience Short Blog

If you are lucky to be young enough to have never faced tough or challenging times then this short blog post may help keep your focus.

And if you have had them in the past then the 3 actions will help you remember and hopefully sail through the challenges we all face.

Action 1

Take Massive Action. That likely means firing off in all directions. Get the whiteboard going in the office, (or for your remote teams use the new whiteboard facility in Zoom). Make every day and every hour important. Be creative, be innovative, be daring

When Bill Gates was trying to get Microsoft going he wanted to get into IBM. Eventually, he got them to agree to a meeting. Instead of the usual “week on Tuesday” booking, he said he would be there that day even though he was hundreds of miles away. How often do salespeople NOT take massive action?

Follow our BVTV 1: Growth & Productivity Channel to keep ahead on tough times success.

Action 2

Communicate your solid purpose and values and do it well. In tougher times customers are less trusting, they need reassurance and, above all, they want to know what you stand for, what’s your purpose, vision and values. In other words, they want to know “who are you” as opposed to “what you do”. Review those values NOW and be very critical. Are they values that are truly customer oriented? If not get re-writing and make sure everyone knows them and lives them. It may seem a “soft” thing to do in these challenging times but you will find it will differentiate you, it will rally your team around you and customers and influencers will think more of you. And that leads to better recommendations and sales.

Follow our BVTV 4: Purpose & Resilience Channel to keep ahead on these issues

Action 3

Make sure you have a full sales funnel. In tough times salespeople are prone to exaggeration as regards their prospects!! Deep Dive into your sales funnel now so that you know what’s working and what isn’t. Who is being productive and who isn’t? How can you help them? Then make sure you have realistic projections from this exercise. What are you doing to top up the funnel? How long does it take for a customer to go through the funnel? Don’t leave it to the salesperson to give you inaccurate information, take responsibility and ask the right questions. Be curious.

Follow our BVTV 1: Sales Growth Channel to keep ahead on sales and marketing actions.

Want more help to thrive? Our BVTV Todays Answers Collection of coaching, courses and clubs brings you expert help including today’s popular solution, hybrid coaching.

How to achieve High Impact Leadership and why!

September 28, 2022 by Malcolm Gallagher Leave a Comment

Leadership today has changed from yesteryear. Today’s successful leaders know that their skill set needs to be different and include compassion and humanity if they are to retain an engaged team and grow a flourishing business. They also know they need to look inwardly at their emotional intelligence and outwardly to take their business forward with embedded purpose.

All of this cannot be done lightly, so the word-of-the-moment is IMPACT. In this BVTV Shorts blog, I want to give my SIX tasks I suggest you need to manage so you can be a High Impact Leader. Now I say tasks as, apart from inherent skills, today you cannot simply rely upon what you did before. To achieve HIGH impact, as opposed to average impact, you need to be 6 stars across the 6!

All of the six are derived from my BVTV interviews with global leadership experts and are part of our Hybrid Coaching and Performance Improvement Online Courses.

The six are in a suggested order of your performance development plan starting with:

Self-Awareness. Some may call this self-mastery or personal potential. Whichever you choose it is all about being in control of yourself and addressing any issues of self-doubt or confidence. It’s easier to say than to do as you have to be honest with yourself. Know your impact on others. Improve your EQ (Emotional Quotient). Are you seen as trustworthy? My IMAGES tool can help you. It’s in our Leadership Today coaching.
Governance. This encompasses many things but today’s new generation of workers like to see responsible management of resources and a genuine minimization of impact by a business on the environment. Another way of saying this is good stewardship. Our BizPulse Better Business Scorecard service aims to help you know and show your activity and impact.
Purpose. Today you need to clearly know and communicate the purpose of your business. To most businesses purpose has replaced mission. Carefully craft your Purpose, Vision and Values. You’ll find some great insights into developing Vision with my interviews with the author of the Vision Code, Dr. Oleg Konovalov. Click to link to one of them.
Communication. We’ve dedicated a whole BVTV Channel to help you master the art of Persuasive and Effective Communication. It’s BVTV 3. Your vision, your purpose, your intentions all have to be sold. Sadly too many leaders think this is just a matter of sending out an email, or newsletter and perhaps a pre-recorded video. You’d be surprised how many employees tune into my BVTV interviews to watch their boss and his or her performance! It’s knowing what to say and how to say it.
Engagement. Some like to call this teamwork and, whilst that is an important word, it perhaps doesn’t go far enough to accomplish consistent motivation. It can often foster a “them and us” situation is my personal thinking. I don’t mean that you, as a leader, have to be “one of the boys”, but you do need to master the skill of people engagement.
Consistency. How many times during my coaching career have I asked about a new company initiative to be told by team members that, like other such initiatives, it will be quickly replaced by another? Consistency of message and consistency of actions brings reassurance not just to your team but also customers, suppliers and influencers. Just reflect on what you think about politicians and U-turns to understand the need for consistency!

So that’s my HILT 6 – high impact leadership -for your consideration. Do let me know what you think about them. Have I missed any out that you think are imperative to be included?

If you accept that Leadership Today skills are needed and you want some expert help for yourself or team member then look at my Today’s Answers Collection or send me an email or book a free Zoom Chat