Author: admin

I’ll be honest here, I’ve never seen the attraction people have with birds. They have beaks and wings and all seem the same to me. Standing in a wet and cold field to watch a small brown blob sit on a twig seems about as interesting as watching someone make a cake. Mind you, I’ve become strangely addicted to BBC1’s Bake Off, so strange things can happen.

And happen they have. I live next to a river, which is like a kind of slippery bird motorway. We have owls and tits and glorious goldfinches and a little egret and his friend the kingfisher (who sits on the bank and dazzles the fish into submission). I have bird feeders full of nuts and seeds and enjoy watching the long tailed tits perch prettily and nibble away.

The other day the sun was out and as I walked back into the house, after the school run, to begin fighting the paperwork on my desk I stopped and looked. Really looked. The swan couple were chatting to their four, fat, fluffy, grey cygnets and eating juicy stems and paddling about. As the start of a working day goes, it was heaven. Swan heaven. Sun and swans and a glittering river and in that moment I felt calm and serene and happy.

I thought I’d share the happiness with you as it’s easy to be gloomy and miss the magic of life around us as we toil towards retirement. It’s easy to see birds as boring and not notice how they are delicate marvels of precision engineering. We can live in the moment and enjoy that moment for what it is.

This week stop and take time to notice life around you. That brown blob on a twig might be more interesting than you realise!

Next week: The Best Marketing Question In The World?

Please book a coaching session, or a workshop. If you know of a team who would benefit from practical communications tools, TA goodness and the chance to laugh and learn, then let’s get a date in the diary.

We can agree a price and payment terms!

Or go for coaching, if you know someone who is struggling at work, needs a confidence boost, or is keen to develop into a new role!

(Career coaching by Skype is available for graduates who need support).

And…

Whatever you choose I will say to you:

“In the event of the cancellation of any booked work with less than ten days written or emailed notice we reserve the right to invoice the full fee.”

I recently had to remind a client of this when they wanted to cancel a session, with the possibility of “perhaps rebooking it in the New Year, if we have some more budget then…”

After I had reminded them I’d invoice anyway they said…

“Aha, well then we’d be happy to pay the invoice and find a new date for the work next month.”

Seems reasonable to me, as I can’t resell a day at short notice. A win-win for us both!

A few years ago a client booked and cancelled. Twice. And they paid the two invoices and I never did get to deliver the work. A win-win again, although I won both sides in this case!

Having a cancellation policy is vital.

What does yours say?

When did you last add it to an email, when you breezily quoted for a piece of work after agreeing dates over a latte?

This week make friends with your cancellation policy and share it with clients. Have fun!

Next week: Swan Heaven