I heard a story the other day about a man who was worried that his wife was going deaf. One day he thought he would test this out.

She was in the living room with the door open and he called from the top of the stairs, “Lisa, can you hear me?” - no answer.

He tried again from the foot of the stairs… still no answer.

Worried by this time he went to the living room doorway and said, “Lisa, can you hear me?” 

“For the third time, YES!” came the reply…

We all like to think that we listen, but do we...really?!

In last week’s blog I talked about the importance of positive language - being mindful of what we say and how we say it. 

The truth is though that our team will probably judge us more on our ability to listen  - and crucially, to hear what’s being said.

When a member of our team expresses genuine doubts, do we hear them, or do we dismiss their concerns as negativity?   We all know people like the two old men from the Muppets who don’t actually do anything, yet criticise everyone else’s efforts.  It's really easy to dismiss this type of person as negative.  But what about those who come up with a good idea, or an alternative system, or a different/ better/ easier way of doing what you've always done.  Do we also dismiss these people, even though they clearly care?

You can't build a truly high performing team, if you think you're the one who has to have all the ideas, and see all the potential cracks in your systems.  You can't ever free yourself from working day to day in your business if you don't trust your team, and listen to what they have to say.

Many a business has faltered, failed or not reached its full potential because ego has run the business, rather than a leader who actively seeks the opinions of customers, team members and peers.

As business owners, we should all have faith in our own ability, our brain and our gut instinct, it's got us this far, right?  But we are also leaders, working with a hand-picked team of committed individuals who share our values and are inspired by our vision, so why would we not make the most of that combined brain power and ability?

As Ray Kroc, who grew the McDonald's corporation from one small business to a global empire would say, 'None of us is as good as all of us', and it can say a lot about your culture if that is your philosophy - if your team know that they can freely raise concerns, or make suggestions, and be confident that you will not only listen to their words, but also hear what they say.

Do one thing: ask your team to rate on a scale of 1 -10 how freely they can express their opinions to you or make suggestions to improve your systems

Have a great week!

For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk
​

Staff! Colleagues! Team members!  Lend me your ears!

I’m developing a series of Simple Systems for £7 at the moment - ‘How to’ guides for small business owners to help you to set up the simple systems you know you need, but just don’t have time to think about.

The reason I mention them, other than the early plug, is that in writing the content, I’ve realised that I have a real aversion to the word ‘staff. There’s something about it I just don’t like.

It’s a cold, unfeeling, unfriendly word and it got me thinking about the importance of the language we use in business, and how much it can convey.

When I hear ‘staff’ I see:

• A body of people
• A faceless entity
• Doers not owners
• A group of people who work together in the same building

​
When I hear ‘team’ I see people who are:

• Part of something bigger than themselves
• Sharing a common goal
• Individuals working together
• Belonging
• Have pride in what they do
• Taking ownership

​
It’s a small thing, but faced with being staff or a team member, I know which makes me feel more valued. 

It’s like the difference between saying, ‘Paul works for me’, and ‘Paul works with me’.

Small things, that matter.

Our British culture has taught us not to over-enthuse, to have a ‘healthy’ cynicism, to mock, or even despise cultures where positivity and enthusiasm is the norm. Naturally, this can affect our day to day language and conversations with others.

We all know someone who puts a negative slant on everything, who criticises everyone, and bemoans on a daily basis their hard life.  It can be funny to be around them for a while, but if you were working with them day after day, it would be wearing. Their words, as well as their demeanour, bring other people down.

As business owners wanting to get the best out of our Team, we need to guard against these individuals, and also watch for tell-tale signs in the way we talk. 

Are you the person who would watch a little girl carrying a full cup of juice and say, ‘Careful! Don’t spill that?

Or would you say ‘Clever girl’?

If you delegate work for a client to one of your team do you say, ‘Whatever you do, don’t make a mistake’?

Or do you encourage them with ‘It’s important that this is spot on, that’s why I’m asking you to do it’?

Does your everyday language make your team feel valued everyday? 

Do one thing today: listen to how you’re talking to your team, your customers, your peers, and work on that positive slant.

For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk

Did you know that the biggest participation “sport” in the UK is fishing?

Seriously!  I couldn’t believe it either!

I tried fishing once, and nearly put my sister’s eye out with a hook but that’s another story.

Finding and keeping new customers can be a bit like fishing. Deciding what bait to tempt them with, getting them to bite and then gently reeling them in. Pull too hard and they’ll escape, keep your line too slack and they’ll escape, choose the wrong bait and they won’t even bite.

It’s a ‘reel’ skill (sorry) and can cost you and your business a lot of time and money while you learn it.

If you’re doing a lot of fishing, and have also reeled in a number of fish, big and small, it’s also important to think about who’s holding the rods?

Is it you?

Are you holding all the rods in your business - holding onto and controlling responsibility for every aspect of your operation - or are you trusting your team to look after them for you?

Answer yes or no to the following statements if you're not sure:

• Once I have made a sale I trust my team to look after my new customer while I go out to make more sales
• I recruit people whose skills are different to, maybe even better than mine and/or I outsource to experts
• My operating processes and training system allow every team member to have total ownership of their work
• I trust and encourage my team members to build client/customer relationships
• My role has evolved as my business has grown, and I’m no longer still the chief cook and bottle-washer
• 
  

If your answers are predominantly “no”, take a second to stop and think what that might mean for your team, for your customers, and for your business growth.

If you micro-manage and the team can’t take responsibility will they grow or suffocate?

If you check everything they do, will they take any responsibility for getting it right?

If you’re holding a hundred fishing lines how special does that hundredth customer feel?

And if you’re hanging onto all those lines, who’s casting fresh ones? 

The worst case scenario – you lose existing customers, don’t gain new ones and potentially have high turnover or a seriously unhappy team.

Trust is at the heart of every successful business.

If you started out on your own and you did everything, it can be hard to let go of 'your baby' but once you expand and start building a team, you have to let go.

Of course you’ll always have ultimate ownership of every aspect of your business, but each team member will also have ownership of their part and feel they are making a valued contribution to every success.  

You've heard the saying, 'Teach a man to fish'? 

Well your job now is to teach, to build simple systems and show your team how to use them, to allow them to grow, and in doing that to allow your business to grow.

To teach, and then to trust.

'We win or lose as a team'.

The good news is that trust is a fairly easy issue to address once you have the will to address it.

Do one thing: Answer the questions above honestly and then decide:

What am I going to delegate?
By when?
How?
Who to?
Where?

With the plan–review-improve cycle in mind, decide how you’ll measure success and how often you’ll review.

Then, when you've done that, decide what you’ll do with your freed-up time! Fish for more clients… or just go fishing?

For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk
​

A recent study of Alzheimer’s revealed that the best way to keep your brain functioning is not the daily crossword but physical exercise.  I didn’t know that.
I mean I’ve always known that exercise is good for you in loads of ways, but this particular benefit, was news to me.
Although…
I have noticed for some time now that when I’m out with Biskit (our mad as a box of frogs Spaniel) the walk, the fresh air and being out amongst nature, do seem to combine to get my creative juices flowing.
Some days it’s fair to say, I have to force myself past the blocks, to stop thinking, “I can’t afford the time”, stop focusing on my big list of things to get done. But as soon as I’m out I start to feel the benefits.
My walk regularly brings me back to what’s really important in my life, to my bold vision, the stuff that gives me goosebumps, and I remember what I’m working so hard to achieve. I always feel re-energised, refreshed and, when I take a walk at lunchtime, ready for my afternoon activities.
It’s true to say that some of my best ideas have come to me in the middle of a field and I’m often racing into the house to find paper and pen before I forget them. Some days of course I’m just rushing in to get out of the wind and rain!  But on a gorgeous sunny day it’s good to remind myself that growing my business in the right way (through systems and a well-trained team), will give me the time and the freedom to do more of this too.
Being a business owner can seem like a constant uphill struggle, so it’s good sometimes to look back and see how far we’ve come. None of us can afford to rest on our laurels but we can occasionally give ourselves a break and a pat on the back for what we’ve achieved so far.
In Stephen Covey’s book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, he encourages us to “Sharpen the Saw”.  Taking a break during the day, and taking your holidays every year, are a couple of great ways to do this.
What are you doing to sharpen your productivity?
Do one thing:  Ask yourself, “What do I do every day to stay sharp” and build whatever you come up with into your diary for next week.

For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk
​

This time last year I was planning a trip to see the start of the Tour de France in Leeds.

Being a Man United fan rather than a Team Sky fan I went for the spectacle and the buzz, more than the cycling. Although having dragged myself over the Pennines a couple of times doing the coast to coast by bike I have a very real appreciation for how fit these guys are.

Cycling is unusual though. One man wins, receives all the plaudits, and goes down in the annals of sporting history, yet it’s a team sport.

The only way that one man wins is because his team mates are willing to employ team tactics, sacrifice themselves, even give him their bike if his is damaged, to give him the very best chance of winning.

The team leader trusts every man in his squad and their commitment to the team and to his success, is total.

You could say the same about Formula 1. Each team member knows their job, knows how crucial their role is in delivering success, and as a team, they perform like a well-oiled machine to enable the driver, who takes the glory.

Taking that idea into your business, how well-drilled and committed is your team?

Would they get off their bike and give it to you if you had a puncture, or would they ride past laughing?

Do they celebrate business success as if it was their name above the door?

Do you give them the opportunity to feel this way?

In "Process to Profit, I talked about how we achieve consistently high levels of business performance...

“We hire people who really want to do the job; we train them in our processes and systems, then we practice over and over and over again. We correct and coach individuals when they make a mistake, we celebrate when they perform well. It is a whole team effort; we win or lose as a team.”

That's the Formula 1 way, it's the Team Sky way, it's the McDonald's way.

Is it your way?

Ask yourself:

• If a team is a group of people who trust one another...do I have a team?
• Do they perform like Formula 1, or are they more Wacky Races?
• Am I always hands on, doing their job? (if you are, who's doing yours?)
• Is my team generally going in the right direction but everyone does things “their way”?
• What would it take for you to build a team that you trust enough to leave them to it?
• 
  

It may seem several steps too far right now, but...

Do one thing: make it your goal that 12 months' from today you will have replaced yourself in your business by building simple systems and a great team to run them.

And if you don't know where to start or how you'll get there, we're here to help you - one step at a time and one system at a time.

This time last year I was planning a trip to see the start of the Tour de France in Leeds.
Being a Man United fan rather than a Team Sky fan I went for the spectacle and the buzz, more than the cycling. Although having dragged myself over the Pennines a couple of times doing the coast to coast by bike I have a very real appreciation for how fit these guys are.
Cycling is unusual though. One man wins, receives all the plaudits, and goes down in the annals of sporting history, yet it’s a team sport.
The only way that one man wins is because his team mates are willing to employ team tactics, sacrifice themselves, even give him their bike if his is damaged, to give him the very best chance of winning.
The team leader trusts every man in his squad and their commitment to the team and to his success, is total.
You could say the same about Formula 1. Each team member knows their job, knows how crucial their role is in delivering success, and as a team, they perform like a well-oiled machine to enable the driver, who takes the glory.
Taking that idea into your business, how well-drilled and committed is your team?
Would they get off their bike and give it to you if you had a puncture, or would they ride past laughing?
Do they celebrate business success as if it was their name above the door?
Do you give them the opportunity to feel this way?
In "Process to Profit, I talked about how we achieve consistently high levels of business performance...
“We hire people who really want to do the job; we train them in our processes and systems, then we practice over and over and over again. We correct and coach individuals when they make a mistake, we celebrate when they perform well. It is a whole team effort; we win or lose as a team.”
That's the Formula 1 way, it's the Team Sky way, it's the McDonald's way.
Is it your way?
Ask yourself:

• If a team is a group of people who trust one another...do I have a team?
• Do they perform like Formula 1, or are they more Wacky Races?
• Am I always hands on, doing their job? (if you are, who's doing yours?)
• Is my team generally going in the right direction but everyone does things “their way”?
• What would it take for you to build a team that you trust enough to leave them to it?

It may seem several steps too far right now, but...
Do one thing: make it your goal that 12 months' from today you will have replaced yourself in your business by building simple systems and a great team to run them.
And if you don't know where to start or how you'll get there, we're here to help you - one step at a time and one system at a time.
For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk