Yes, yes the kitten is very cute. Now, stop looking at it and go and talk to someone...!

In the headlong rush to make progress in the world it’s tempting to charge into ‘doing’ work, in order to look super-productive and be well thought of. However, this is to ignore a key element that we need to remember, if we are going to have a successful modern career – that’s is: People first, work second.

Until we make contact with people, we can’t effectively work with them.

This is because we need them to trust us, we need them to be honest with us and we need them to share issues and concerns with us. Otherwise the second we leave the room, the work we thought would happen starts to unravel, as their doubts creep in and they edge away from their promises.

Making contact requires us to realise that people really are important (not just to pretend either …you’ll be found out if you’re not sincere). I was with a client the other week who, at the end of the session, offered the following feedback:

‘I was dreading today Richard. I didn’t want to meet you for this [coaching] work. And yet …where did the time go? It was great fun. What was I worried about?’

This was great feedback, and I had sensed she was pushing me away, so I had spent half the time simply taking time for us to build an honest relationship. Whilst I can’t remember the exact conversation, here are 5 things I did to make a difference:

1) Listened to my senses …the client looked uncomfortable to begin with.

2) Reminded myself that getting to know someone is work! It underpins future success.

3) Noticed areas of commonality. It turned out that we shared some similarities in our life. Funny that!

4) Allowed the conversation to unfold. As it did so the client unfolded her arms.

5) Had fun. The room had a drinks trolley in it left over from a Christmas party. I wondered aloud if we should taste some of the wine, just to make sure it was still drinkable. Haha! Fun is fun and a smile is a great way to make contact.

Think about your work this week and which people you need to spend time with as part of your successful week? Who needs a bit of your time?

Remember: People is work too innit!

#Book News. JobHunting3.0 has been reprinted and is now just back in stock in Amazon (book and kindle), WHSmiths and so on. If you know someone who is looking for work, whether a first job student or an experienced manager, this is the book to get.

Tagged as:   people · talk
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There is beauty in simplicity

We had a great weekend at Center Parcs recently, perhaps our best ever – in terms of the children being happy and us  parents being calm and contented. I think our success was that this year we kept things simple. Namely:

No electronic games …so no arguments about who had which game or ‘just another 5 minutes please’.

No lunches in overpriced cafe-grill-bar-waffle houses that fill up your stomach, but drain your wallet and your soul …as you wrestle a sticky menu and fidgetting children.

No jostling or queueing when you go swimming from 4pm to 7pm when it’s toddler tea time and families are away from the pool …we take our toddlers and feed them poolside, which is part of the fun. And our big toddlers can go and play on the rapids, whilst it’s quieter there too.*

It was great to have a calm and pleasant weekend and to not feel we’d been mugged for expensive meals, toys, or activities. Geocaching was fun in the Saturday sunshine and family bowling always brings out a little healthy competition. We pre-ordered food from Waitrose, collected it on the way and had some yummy things to eat, without any hassle. Sorted!

We focussed on what worked well, avoided complexity and had a good time.

And we can apply the same thinking to our modern careers, whether managing our business, planning a job change, or navigating through a tough time at work:

• Have some fun, don’t just work work work.
• Spend money wisely, or not at all.
• Learn from past experiences and apply this learning to improve things.
• Less is more, so simplify your day.

We haven’t always got it right, but we did this year. So…

1. What will you be doing well this week?
2. What can you simplify?
3. How can you improve your Parc Life?

Have fun!

*Toddler Dad sometimes goes on the rapids too, but you don’t need to know that.

Tagged as:   simplicity
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