Advice, tips and inspiration to help you perform at your best
What was your favourite book of the Summer? Mine was - by a long way - Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. I urge you all to read it. If you haven’t already you’re in for a treat. I’ve also noticed that it’s been made into a drama series on Apple TV. There’s a lot to enjoy. One of the central storylines is how the protagonist stars in a TV cookery show, but teaches it as a chemistry lesson. I thought it was wonderful. Great cooking is all about understanding chemical reactions.
I’m a big podcast fan. I listen to a new episode most days, usually on a dog walk, wearing my big, blue headphones. My tastes are varied: politics, culture, history, drama - anything. Here’s one I really like - Let’s Make This More Interesting. It’s an eatbigfish podcast, where Adam Morgan seeks to understand how we gain an audience’s undivided attention and avoid one of life’s biggest sins - being boring.
Does anyone really enjoy ‘networking’? I can’t think of anyone who does. But it’s something we all need to do if you’re tasked with generating new business. It’s especially important for small businesses and entrepreneurs who need a constant stream of income. For those of us who hate it, what should you do?
I love the concept of being in a ‘flow-state’. It’s a state of true happiness. Something I always strive for. It’s where you feel fully immersed in what you’re doing. Time flies. You’re focused. You’re in the zone. It’s a rare state. It’s present during challenging, engaging activities. When your body and mind are in-synch.
In a recent workshop I gave the example of the Playlist feature being a key reason behind the success of Spotify. This sparked a conversation around how original this idea was. Someone said, ‘well of course, the Spotify Playlist is just a modern version of the mix tape’. Spotify subsequently made the iPod redundant.
This week I facilitated a half-day workshop for a pharmaceutical company. It was the first time I’d worked with them so the people and the context were all quite new. All seemed to be going well and I called a break at about 10.30. Someone who described herself as the ‘tall German woman’ then said to me - ‘so Tony, where’s the music?
Ways of working continue to evolve. During the pandemic we all got used to working remotely. We grappled with different online tools. We worked out the best way to run online meetings until we got pretty good at them. Then in a post-pandemic world, we started to experiment with hybrid workshops. That strange combination of having people both in the room (IRL) and people on line.
In a previous post I wrote about the tell-tale signs of a deep client relationship. When you know you’ve created a strong bond with your clients. However, how do you get there? How do you create a strong foundation of trust? Here’s some suggestions.
Jamie Oliver has been publishing cook books since 1999. He burst onto the scene with ‘The Naked Chef’, the fresh new face of tv cooking . Since then his output has been prolific. He’s now amassed over 30 books and he’s a best selling author. Everyone I know has at least one Jamie Oliver cook book and he has endless Channel 4 shows. There’s no sign of him slowing down.
Recently I wrote about online vs irl workshops and the key differences. But what about the other version - the dreaded hybrid workshop? This is where you’re facilitating a real-life session with people in a meeting space and at the same time, people join remotely via Teams or Zoom.
Over the past couple of years, we’ve become more proficient in the art of planning and facilitating online workshops. Tools have evolved, and tech has improved. We’ve trained ourselves to use it better. During lockdown It was the only option and the fear has dissipated. Now the world is opening up again, we have a choice. Do we revert back to ‘in real life’ (IRL) workshops? Or do we stick with the new ways? Let’s explore.
I discovered the whole topic of ‘Grit’ by watching this short TED talk by Angela Duckworth a few years ago. I found it really enlightening and encouraging. The big takeout was that what really distinguishes the best and worst performers in life is how gritty they are. Not talent. Not IQ. Grit.
I first came across Stoicism when I started listening to the ‘Tim Ferris Show’ podcast a couple of years ago. He often referenced the Stoics during interviews with many of his guests. It became a theme. I then stumbled across the work of Ryan Holiday who champions the writings of the Stoics via his social media channels and books.
