Wake up …Get ready …Go!
Time 7.00am
Drive to the Fine City of Norwich and park. Find the café and greet my client, order lovely cooked breakfast and plan a piece of development work for 2015, training senior managers to gain confidence and develop collaborative, thoughtful, leadership skills.
Time 10.30am
Drive up the coast into North Norfolk and park at Wells-next-the-Sea near to the beach café. Ever seen the film Shakespeare in Love? The bit at the end when Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow) walks back up a long, wide, pristine, glorious beach – that’s Wells and Holkham. It’s a paradise place. I meet my client and we sip hot drinks and then walk for 3 hours in the cool air, proper beach walk coaching. A great way to unwind and breathe and develop new skills.
Time 5.00pm
Drive home and prepare for an online workshop, teaching ‘selling and marketing’ skills to lovely, skilful therapist colleagues across the world. Skype is a wonderful thing and I can be International Rich from my secret superhero base in deepest Norfolk.
Time 7.00pm
Go Live! Two hours of online tutoring, sharing best practice, 5 top tips and the day when I messed up and learned what selling is really all about (feel free to email me and I will tell you).
Time 9.30pm
Small sherry. Well, you have to kick back sometimes don’t you? Then prep for next meeting.
Time 10.00pm
Three-way ‘GoToMeeting’ online discussion with colleagues in Australia. My focus as a TA-thinking organisational development specialist is to ask: What does the organisation need? This is my favourite question and keeps people focussed on the greater good and helps to avoid subjectivity. We have a great meeting and I type my notes in real time so my colleagues can see my thinking and can reflect in the moment.
Time 12.30am
Meeting ends, time to prep and pack. Off to London tomorrow, er today, to coach a senior manager in the NHS. Don’t believe all the press hype about the NHS being stuffed full of middle managers who soak up costs and don’t add value. From my experience these good ladies and gents work under enormous pressure and deliver real results. Imagine running an organisation with a budget of £100m where you can cure people. Or kill them. Hi-octane stuff.
Time 1.30am
Bed… up at 5.00am to catch the early train.
…This was a real day, one of many such days. I know you work hard too and I’m noticing how the variety didn’t exist for me four years ago – no business breakfast meetings, no beach walks, no online tutoring and no use of technology to meet people and work globally. I work super hard and I love my work and I’m proud that I’ve adapted.
How have you adapted this year?
How will you be working differently in 2015?
What does your business need you to embrace?
Breakfast meeting anyone? Beach walk?
Next week: Don’t Do A Bit, Do Lots…