While I complete the qualification, I’m offering great value coaching this summer so please contact me if you have an issue that needs resolving and are interested in a solutions focused coaching approach. Please complete the contact form on the website and I will get back to you promptly

I’m pleased to sign up to the #PitchPositive pledge which aims to drive positive outcomes and improve mental health across the advertising industry. Looking after talent should be the No 1 focus

You know that scene in an action movie where there’s a car chase and one of the cars is going really fast in reverse, handbrake turns and then keeps going just as fast in the same direction but facing forwards?

I did that last week.

Many people said that the business would evolve from the original proposition. And indeed it has. What started as Consultancy has developed into Coaching, Mentoring & Consultancy. All under the umbrella of Growth.

This made me wonder about all the ‘the behind the scenes’ people we take for granted in business. They are equally as important as the headline stars but rarely get the recognition. Without them, the show would simply not go on.

Coaching is about building confidence and trust to help someone gain clarity in order to improve understanding, behaviour and development. Coaches are like hares – they use their ears to maximum effect, can work fast or slow and like the outdoors.

Like all great offers: When it’s gone… it’s gone 😊

Outside of the modules we’re in pretty much daily correspondence on What’s app, supporting each other’s learning and sharing coaching experiences. Based on something someone said on our first day, we call ourselves the Ninja-Fairy Coaches.

Taking the Coaching course has reminded me of the benefit of simply listening and giving people space to express thoughts and opinions.

I’m touching on the rise in behaviour of not responding to emails or other messages when in mid-dialogue. The equivalent of being on the phone and just muting yourself mid-conversation and never un-muting.

I’m in a group with 8 fantastically talented people from a variety of backgrounds who are supporting each other in our learning journeys. As we’ve all discovered, there is a significant difference between leadership, mentoring and coaching.

Ethically sourced hats off to everyone who is trying to make a difference, however big or small.

I decided this had to be a metaphor for kickstarting 2022. Please select from the following:

- Great coaching and training pays off

- Take a pause and stop being in a rush

- Sometimes it is worth following the herd

- Politeness never hurts

- If you want to achieve something, there’s no point in being sheepish (sorry)

Typically, I receive about 1,350 views per post. The lowest had 400 and the highest (a Life post) had several thousand. I’m guessing I used to interact with fewer than 1,350 people per week, so feel that this a reasonable number.

On the occasions when my wife joined me for work events, we had one simple rule in place. If I’m talking to someone and don’t introduce you, that means I can’t recall their name, so please go ahead and introduce yourself. It seemed to work OK.

As we all know, some people have no concept of time. 10 seconds is not long enough for your life story, work history and a break down of the multiple services you offer. Yet that’s how some interpreted the brief. It took me back to the days of the CEO telling me they’d only need 5 minutes for their pitch intro, which meant I allocated 15 😊

Over the years I got used to various bits of ribbing about terrible commercials or friends telling me they pay no attention to ads, despite them being dressed in branded labels and driving expensive German cars.

I’ve tried to remember how I learnt any of this stuff. It’s not like they used to teach it and now they’ve stopped. So presumably it was by seeking advice and through trial and error. Anyone who read my recent rant about customer service will know that I haven’t really mastered any of it anyway.

An eager property management company visited our development for an hour and promised a proposal within 3 days. That was 6 weeks ago. I’ve left voice messages and sent texts and emails and they’ve never responded to any of them.

Because we are so devoted to the puppy, we presume the feeling is mutual, and he does seem to like us and miss us when we go out. However, he also whined for 10 minutes the other day when the window cleaner left, so maybe he’s not that choosy. In my business, I picked up some clients very early on and I will always be extremely grateful to them for giving me the confidence that I was on the right path.