Today is my mother’s funeral.
Time is short, opportunity is scarce and the number of opportunities that we get to help somebody to find their story, that they can live inside, remember and elevate are very small.
Thanks mum ❤️
The language of successful managers
When I look back at the number or courses I have attended where there has been a lot of smiling and nodding. I often wonder about how many people then go back to their organisations and continue doing what they think works. Managerment who continue to only look at the numbers, seeing the agents/distributors as tools rather than members of the team.
The language that successful managers use:
How can I help?
What do you think?
Your work matters
I trust you and our team
I appreciate your commitment
Thank you for working hard
I was wrong, I am sorry
Your career path is my priority
Do you have the tools to succeed?
The path to excellence
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”
Prevention is better than a cure
Dear managers,
Your team need you now more than ever, they need emotional support. I know you may be consumed with solving problems and overwhelmed with keeping your organisation running. Your team members may also fear that as you hold the key to their future advancement, you may view their request for help as a weakness. Therefore, you may want to take in an external mentor. A mentor can play a critical role, providing the team with someone who can help and guide them when they’re scared, burned out or confused, and all off the record.
Managers, please contact me via e-mail to arrange a meeting. While virtual mentoring may not be as satisfying as the in-person kind, there is evidence supporting its efficacy. In ways large and small, one person can make a lasting difference, even a few words, mentioned in passing, can last a lifetime.
Yours faithfully
Stephen
Perfection doesn't exist
I don’t believe in perfectionism! You need perfection in manufacturing and measurable systems, but perfection is the biggest killer of creativity. According to the Harvard Business Review: Perfectionism is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it can motivate you to perform at a high level and deliver top-quality work. On the other, it can cause you unnecessary anxiety and sometimes annoy your colleagues. Currently, the system isn’t built for discovery, it’s built for being told and when it makes no sense, I struggle and question the logic.
“One of the basic rules of the universe is that nothing is perfect. Perfection simply doesn’t exist.....Without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist.”
To see and be seen
After my many years of learning, unlearning and relearning about myself, my relationship with the fashion/lifestyle industry and my place within the system, I can’t start talking about fashion without naming the external elements that allow this industry to exist. Just like any other business, fashion companies provide solutions to specified sectors of global communities answering their needs based on the individual and collective life continuum that the community requires to coexist.
“Fashion must be the most intoxicating release from the banality of the world.”
I think fashion is art, it’s commerce, it’s function, it’s expression and what comes next will be marvellous! Fashion is about storytelling through clothing! It’s about the stories behind them and the ones you create around them. Contact me via e-mail and let me know what you think?
Listen to the little voice
c/o NLP Daily
Many of the happiest men and women in our society today are those who, at a certain point, got up and walked away from a situation that they finally realised was not making them fulfilled or happy. And they had the courage to decide that they were going to do what they loved to do, rather than what they felt they had to do. They looked deep within themselves and honestly assessed their own natural talents and abilities.
Aspiring vs being
c/o Shutterstock
“Money won’t make you happy... but everybody wants to find out for themselves.”
Sales is a performance game
In sales, our brain, our memory, our ability to recall our process, where we are in the deal and what we should be doing is pretty important. Whether we are in front of a client, on the telephone with them or giving a presentation, there are so many going through our minds. We have to have acts, systems, processes for remembering the things that matter - to make sure we are hitting the point whilst we are still listening. Not getting lost in the weeds and forgetting the steps they shout be taking to move the deal forward.
How many times after the meeting do we ask, I wish that I had asked that question? This is hard and if we don’t practice it outside of the moments, what ends up happening is that we miss what’s going on. In the game of sales, memory is a critical element of our sales ability - we have to remember facts about our product, company, how we compete but we also have to really remember and think about what the other person is thinking, what they care about. I think this is why sales is a performance profession. Sales is not just knowing what and how and having the facts, it’s how you present them and how you execute your game.
What are you grateful for?
Dr. Robert Emmons said, “You can’t feel envious and grateful at the same time. They’re incompatible feelings, because if you’re grateful, you can’t resent someone for owning things you don’t.” When we express gratitude, our brain releases dopamine and serotonin - two hormones that make us feel lighter and happier inside. I think we experience gratitude when we move our focus from what we don’t have to what we do, and when we take time to appreciate and be thankful for those who have contributed to the abundance in our lives. Contact me via e-mail and let me know what you are grateful for.
Last night changed it all
The racist abuse of England players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka is unforgivable. I just hope that these young men receive the psychologic help required, as sadly the abuse will continue throughout their lives.
The power of mystery
“Do not use your energy to worry. Use your energy to believe, to create, to learn, to think and to grow.”
The choice is yours
Image c/o Aspen Garfoot
Everyone has a choice of how to react to their various experiences. I was brought up to be like Teflon - the non-stick version. My mother would say, “Don’t let other peoples opinion of you become your reality.” I think that it’s essential to take responsibility and learn from the experiences, and I have seen others who are clueless about what happens to them.
“Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you. ”
Have a great day and learn from your experiences.
I travel light
I don’t think that complete objectivity is possible! That’s a massive statement, but in reality If I led a media channel, for example, even if I didn’t mean for it to, it would naturally reflect some of my passions. So, when you have similarly educated people with similar backgrounds running all of the main media institutions, even if they don’t intend it, the outcome will obviously be biased. This week’s UEFA EURO 2020 Semi-Final between England and Denmark showed the problems with nationalism and how it makes people delusional and ugly. It’s hard to get better until you become humble.
I think the beauty of an action comes not only from when it becomes a habit, but also from its sensitivity, consciousness, clarity of perception and accuracy of response. The older I get, the more I realise that I am not compelled by any conditioning or programming from my past experiences or from my culture. Jamaican parent, British societal values and Danish awakening has stamped everything on me, fortunately, I am now in a position where I no longer react on the basis of my upbringing. I have learned how to experience things fully, both good and bad experiences. How to learn from them and then drop them, and move on to the next moment, uninfluenced by the previous ones. I travel light as I am uninfluenced by labels and titles, I just treat people with respect.
Rome wasn't built in a day
“People take different roads seeking fulfilment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost. ”
Life = C+C+C
The pandemic has exposed and increased inequality worldwide, leaving many to struggle for a basic level of economic security. Many people, myself included, have begun to reevaluate what makes life worth living. The things I’ve missed and appreciated the most are friends, family, experiences, nature, connection. I really hope that people have gained new values, and used this time to stop and think about the meaning of life. And ask themselves about what they would like to achieve both personally and professionally. What do you want to do with your life?
I recently lost my mother and whilst writing both her obituary and eulogy, I questioned myself about the meaning of life. In her honour, I have already begun to make changes in my life, for example, saying no and being far more selective about how I spend my time and with whom. I think that we all have the ability to transcend our egos, connect with other people and contribute to society.
One never stops learning
c/o Adobe stock photo’s
Understanding how to build a sales team both inside and outside is an incredible gift. Personally, I thrive in an environment where I can meet and work with great people, and this may have emerged from my sporting past. Everything I do, I really want to do well. Football is a performance game just like sales, whether you win or lose, you are measured by your performance. Sales is about getting better every single day, developing your skill set and putting them into practice.
I’ve led sales teams of representatives (agents and distributors), customer success (back office), product managers, marketing department. My strengths are understanding a business and people and my weaknesses are understanding the corporate politics in organisations. Contact me via e-mail in confidentiality and let’s arrange some sales training for your team.
“You never stop learning. If you have a teacher, you never stop being a student.”
An “A” = 12 in Denmark
Final exam in the morning
The past is a good predictor of the future
Deep thinkers always listen to what you have to say because it’s another opportunity to learn. I think everything we experience is the result of something we feel. Yet much of what we feel goes unnoticed, sometimes it is suppressed and at other times it is actively denied. When we are at constant war with ourselves we cannot make much headway in a world that is not really made for us. Contact me via e-mail and let me know what you think.
“Don’t seek the truth; just drop your opinions. Drop your theories; don’t seek the truth.”