I loved the story a young rapper told on a chat show shortly after the London Olympics.

He said that he was in Nando’s one Friday night when he suddenly yelled out, to the amazement of his friends, ’S@#t I’ve forgotten to record the dressage!’  As unexpected as it was funny, and a lesson for me in not judging a book by its cover.

Dressage is what many call 'the dancing horses'. The rider knows the movements that have to be made and how to ask the horse to make them.  The horse however doesn't know, and has to be trained in each movement, practising over and over and over again.

Even if you can afford a really good horse, without a rigorous training system and regular practice, it won't achieve its potential.  There’s no shortcut to success.

It’s the same in business.

Your team need to be trained.  They need to understand and learn your systems, and then encouraged to practise and practise until they excel.

Even those business owners who invest in training, often only consider it necessary for new starters, and once they know what they're doing, that's it - job done!

At McDonald's it's an ongoing process - everyone, in every area of the business receives training and development, every month, every quarter, every year.

How else would they keep skills up to date?

How else would they help team members to fulfil their potential?

How else would they keep their people engaged and show them that they're valued?

When your people grow and develop, your business does too.  It makes sense doesn't it?

If you want your business to grow, do two things:

1. Systemise your operation, and
2. Develop your people.

There are no shortcuts.

I know money to invest can be tight so I’ll leave you with a quote from Peter Drucker,
‘If you think training is expensive, try ignorance!’

In case you've missed it The Busy Business Owner's Guide to Removing the People Pain, is a free resource that will help get you started with your People systems.

For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk
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‘I know you believe you understand what you think I said but I’m not sure if you realise that what you heard is not what I meant’.
I wonder how many words have been written over the years on the importance of communication.
I heard a great one the other day where Steinbeck’s ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ had been translated as, ‘The Angry Raisins’.
I laughed out loud when I read it, and it's made me chuckle every time I've remembered it, to the point that I'm sure some people must've thought I'd gone mad.
It's not just the mistranslation; it's the gravitas and drama of one, versus the image of those little wrinkly, frowny faces….tell me that's not made you smile?!
When it comes to employing people, it's important that we communicate clearly and honestly - telling them not only what we are employing them to do, but also how we want them to do it - the standard we expect.
How easy would it be to lose someone we’ve recruited as a personal assistant if they discover the role is mainly filing and making tea?
Your employees need to know where they stand, what they’re aiming for and the measures you’ll judge their performance by.
The sort of people who will hire for your team will want to know the purpose of what they are doing too, they'll want a goal, they'll want to achieve.
If you want your people to engage in your business - to feel passionate about your vision and their part in it - communicate with them, involve them, share your wins, and celebrate with them.
The investment you make in communication will reap rewards in the future.
Do one thing: Think about how you communicate with your people. Are you dictating to 'staff', or leading a 'team'?
If you haven't already, why not download The Busy Business Owner's Guide to Removing the People Pain, to help you get this important area right.

For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk
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I have a problem with process!  There, I’ve said it!
Don’t get me wrong, I love what it does, the results you can achieve through it…but the word itself chips a little piece off my soul - makes me think of bureaucracy, paperwork, jumping through hoops. My mind turns to ISO9001, Lean six sigma and the like - things that are so not me - words that turn me off probably as much as they do you.
I lost count of the number of times, I’d use the word ‘process’ at networking meetings,and see the shutters go down.  I’d use the softer, more business-owner-friendly term, ‘systems’, and they’d think I was a techy, into software and IT.  I used language that put me in a box that no-one wanted to open…’except in emergency’!
I labelled myself as a process person, even called my first book ‘Process to Profit’, when really, I’m a ‘making life easier’ person.  Because the truth is  - the only reason a process or a system exists is to make life easier for you, your team, your customers.  There is no other reason for them.
In changing my language, I changed and grew my business.  People ‘got it’.  They saw what was in it for them - less work, not more.
In a similar way, a young bloke came up to me at the end of a seminar I was attending, and started talking to me about the similarities in what we did. He said he was all about helping business owners to grow their business without all the stress and the long hours; that he gave them the tools and the control that made their lives easier.
Turned out he was an accountant, but had realised the limitations of the label - the way the word would restrict the conversations he might otherwise have.
Words matter.  They turn people on, or turn people off. 
What words are you using that are limiting your conversations?  How are you labelling yourself?
Do one thing: Think about the language you use to describe what you do.  Make it about what's in it for the person you're talking to, and watch your opportunities grow.
Download an excerpt from Marianne's book "Process to Profit' - the label says Process, the content says 'make your life easier' :o)

For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk
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I was reading an article yesterday by Henry Engelhardt - the CEO of Admiral. He’s really big into employee engagement, and said that that when the business was housed in one building, he would ‘walk the company’ four times a day.

He still gets involved in the welcome of every new employee - every single one since 1992 - giving each a piece of a jigsaw to symbolise that every individual team member is part of a bigger whole.

Love it!

He also gives them a share in the business, his logic being that if everyone has a share, then everyone’s shares do better! I guess you just need to look to John Lewis for further proof that that works.

Ok, so this is big business, but which of Henry’s ideas wouldn’t work for you?

Walking your business every day? Getting involved in employing new team members? Giving them a symbol of your togetherness? Or is it sharing your business that scares you?

What might it be like if you celebrated an employee’s 1 or 3 year anniversary with you by giving them a 0.5% stake? A team of ten people would own 5% of your business.  How might that engage them and make them feel valued? How clearly would it say, ‘We’re all in this together’? 

Scary or exciting?

McDonald’s used to pay consultants to find potential new restaurant sites until they realised that nobody would know better what was needed than the people who worked there. Their own people had the best knowledge of the business and their local area. So they encouraged them to send in suggestions for prospective sites and rewarded them when the a new restaurant opened as a result.  They found some great sites this way, and it didn’t cost anywhere near a consultant’s fee.

Great leadership isn’t always about the ‘once more unto the breach’ speech. People value a leader who takes an interest in them, their work and their contribution. Someone who makes the time to listen and ask for their opinions.

As we said last week in ‘Cake before icing’, it’s about getting the basics right before adding the bells and whistles.

Do one thing: floor walk today, even if it’s virtually, and see what you can learn from your team

PS There are two Simple Systems to help you in this area: How to be a Leader, and How to Reward and Recognise your Team

For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk
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Fresh from a long weekend in a very sunny village by the sea, I’m wondering…how’s it going with the pixie dust? Have you been putting your heart into your customer experience for the last two weeks?

Of course, ‘adding the magic’ as someone like Disney might put it, is no good at all if you haven’t got the basics right first.  In fact it will only serve to irritate and frustrate.

As a regular reader of the Frog Blog, you’ll know that I like a bit of British Bake-Off, and I was sad this week to see the lovely Scottish Flora leave the tent.  But throughout the series Flora has consistently made the mistake I’ve just described…putting the decoration before the cake.

Time after time, Mary and Paul would tell her to focus on the baking, get the cake right first, and worry about the frills and fancies, only when the the cake was properly baked. But, eager to please, she would spend time making beautiful decorations to adorn a half-baked, burnt, or blistered patisserie.

Like Mary and Paul, our Customers want us to get the basics right first - to be consistent with the quality of both our product and our service.  They want to be able to trust that we’re reliable, that we always get things right first time, that we will always look to make their life easier. 

The same holds true for our people.

Surprising them with freshly baked croissants, or the offer of a Friday lunchtime drink is great - but only if your basics are in place.  Communication, development, reward, performance management.  Get those systems sorted, follow them consistently, empower your people, reward them fairly, and your little gestures will be received as you want them to be.

Only then will they be delighted by your sprinkling of pixie dust.

Do one thing: Spend ten minutes today to consider if you have the basics right - for your customers and your team.  Don’t waste your pixie dust!

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