TRAINING SOLUTIONS THAT WORK
A Challenger Brand
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- 29 Nov 2018
New Zealand as a country is a Challenger brand. For a small country on the bottom of the world, we punch well above our weight competing successfully against nations much bigger than us in agriculture, food & beverage, tourism, fashion, manufacturing, technology, sport and many other sectors. Being a Challenger is about a mindset; it ... Read More
Never stop…running!
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- 18 Oct 2018
In a couple of weeks (actually 16 days but who’s counting?) I’ll be joining 50,000 others and running in... Read More
Leadership & the Ryder Cup
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- 04 Oct 2018
Earlier this week I watched golf’s Ryder Cup – a massive biennial team event in an otherwise very individual... Read More
5 Lessons I’ve Learned from My Cancer Journey
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- 22 Jul 2018
I’ve had cancer. Twice. I’m not long out of hospital following my second cancer surgery in 9 months. After the first surgery (two surgeons, 13 hours!), I had 6-weeks of radiotherapy, which was pretty hideous. This time around, the surgery was only 3 hours and much more straight-forward (as much as having a tumour removed ... Read More
75% of leads at Field Days lie fallow
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- 05 Jun 2018
With New Zealand’s largest agricultural show on the horizon it is time to look at the value we derive... Read More
Business is buzzing in the B:Hive
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- 04 Apr 2018
Co-working has long been a trend amongst independent professionals and freelancers, with Harvard Business Review reporting back in 2015... Read More
What makes a great leader?
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- 25 Feb 2018
Bill English’s resignation has seen the usual scramble of possible replacements jockeying to position themselves as the next big... Read More
Productivity, Effectiveness and Happiness
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- 13 Feb 2018
What is productivity? It’s a fascinating question with the announcement last week that Perpetual Guardian has introduced a 4... Read More
The only thing constant is change
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- 25 Jan 2018
We’ve all heard that people don’t like change. This stems from age-old theory that we are creatures of habit... Read More
Keeping promises is the key to success
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- 05 Nov 2017
Whoever coined the adage “promises are made to be broken” clearly wasn’t in business with a brand to protect.... Read More
It all means nothing if you can’t close a deal
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- 09 Aug 2017
Q: what do a Managing Director, an Account Manager, and a delivery driver all have in common? A: They... Read More
Kiwi politeness costs us customers!
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- 01 Jul 2017
Too many New Zealand businesses are losing a golden opportunity to attract more customers – and all because of... Read More
Stop dropping your pants!
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- 18 May 2017
Boosting sales performance is possibly the one thing a small or medium-sized business can do to increase their profitability,... Read More
A ‘Never Stop’ Attitude
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- 27 Apr 2017
Rowing is a sport in which hard work is a given; there’s no doubt that it takes extreme levels... Read More
New year, no new year’s resolutions
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- 21 Mar 2017
I’m not setting a new year’s resolution this year. I’ve been there before many times and still have the... Read More
Go the extra mile to exceed customer expectations…
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- 11 Sep 2016
…or, at the very least, make sure you meet them! A few Sunday evenings ago, I headed to my... Read More
Training with FranklinCovey
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- 07 Jul 2016
Not too many people know this, but David Forman is the sole NZ licence holder for global personal development... Read More
Practice Makes Perfect
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- 19 May 2016
I’ve recently taken up playing squash. Well, it was actually a year ago, but if you watched me play, you would be forgiven for thinking it was only last week I started! A year into the game, I’m so frustrated that I’m not yet challenging Susan Devoy’s records for world domination – especially when I ... Read More
Growing my Circle of Influence
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- 18 Apr 2016
It’s almost May and I haven’t written a blog post all year. I’ve had great intentions to which is... Read More
The ‘January Blues’ are here
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- 20 Jan 2016
The ‘January Blues’ are here – provoking many New Zealanders to think about changing jobs. The start-of-year blues are... Read More
Great Leaders Create Winning Cultures
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- 01 Dec 2015
From the moment Beauden Barrett scored that spectacular kick chase try it was a wrap and for the second... Read More
Cutting Through the Commodity Clutter
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- 17 Jun 2015
Driving home from Fieldays at Mystery Creek last Thursday, it struck me just how many things farmers have to... Read More
Gold Mining
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- 15 Oct 2014
A few years ago I bought new furnishings and appliances from a large high profile retailer with branches across... Read More
A high desire to be perfect
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- 19 Jun 2014
At the recent ASTDA conference in Dallas Texas and with a jetlagged mind (that was already full of the... Read More
We do what we say – Big Rock Planning
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- 22 May 2014
We have been incredibly busy for the past few months and like everyone, really struggle to fit in all of the planning and preparation that we should be doing. But in a real effort to ‘walk the talk’, we started a Friday afternoon planning regime that I would like to share with you as it ... Read More
Differentiation is the biggest issue facing sales leaders in NZ
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- 01 Mar 2014
A new Colmar Brunton survey shows the issues faced by sales leaders in NZ and what their top performers... Read More
12 Tips of (a great customer experience) Christmas
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- 12 Dec 2013
We’ve hit December and the countdown to Christmas is well and truly underway! It’s even more important to deliver... Read More
Customer Service is an attitude, not a department
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- 29 Oct 2013
This is an oldie but it’s so true! While most companies focus their customer experience training on front-line customer-facing... Read More
Listen to customer complaints
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- 22 Sep 2013
Not many like to complain – so listen to those who do! Kiwis typically don’t like to complain. So when they do, it pays to listen. For most, a bad customer experience usually leads to them voting with their feet – they never go back. A complaint is usually the customer’s way of saying they’re ... Read More
The dumbest customer service question ever!
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- 25 Aug 2013
One of the most common things I hear is walking into a retail store is the age-old question “Can... Read More
The importance of eye contact
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- 17 Jul 2013
The eyes have it! Maintaining eye contact is so important – it helps create that all-important connection by making... Read More
Why a CEO should train with the troops
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- 03 Jun 2013
I went to a great in-house training session lead by one of our facilitators last week. What really stood out to me was the CEO and CFO of the company not only set the stage for why the training was mission critical for their business, they actually stayed for the entire two-day training programme. This ... Read More
Why you should train sales staff to sell new products
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- 01 May 2013
We have recently been engaged to train staff on selling a new product range. This is not just a... Read More
Lifting the retail sales game
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- 12 Apr 2013
Last year PWC reported that online shopping in New Zealand is expected to grow at 12% a year to... Read More
“Choose a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life” – Confucius
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- 09 Mar 2013
I have recently spent time reflecting on some stuff that, for me, is vitally important in life. See if this rings some bells. You’re at a party and get introduced to someone. “Gidday, (your name), nice to meet you….so what do you do for a job?” “I’m a (fill in the blank)” “And how do ... Read More
Survey highlights need for more relevant business training
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- 15 Sep 2012
The recent Colmar Brunton-David Forman Business Training Survey found that only 28% of New Zealanders felt that they received work training which is linked to their career development and goals. And only half felt that the training helped them be more effective in their roles. Scary figures when the training budget for many is so ... Read More