Friday 28 August 2015

Do you want to try playing chess with a pigeon?



There’s a big difference between just looking stupid and actually being stupid.  Lets just explore this a little bit;
 
Looking stupid just means that you’ve done something that didn’t quite work out as planned - maybe it was something you did by accident like walk into a lamppost, or maybe it’s something you did on purpose that just backfired – we have all done it in the past, and you can bet that we will all do it again sometime in the future – that’s life!

But whether you did it on purpose or by accident the end result is just the same - you know you looked stupid and everyone around you knows that you looked stupid too!
 
But actually being stupid is something completely different
 
The worst thing about stupid people is that for the most part they don’t know that they are stupid
 
So they will embark on things that everyone else around them can see is really stupid, but they will still argue and tell you why it is the right thing to do.  They will try and justify their own stupidity to both you – and mainly – themselves

And the thing that makes them really stupid?  They have either tried it before (and it didn’t work then) or they will try it again in the future (and it wont work for them then either)


As Albert Einstein once said ‘the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’

It is quite easy to get drawn into to arguments with people like this, but their stupidity can be frustrating to watch – if you have ever watched a car crash in slow motion, when there is nothing that you can do to prevent it from happening – the feeling is very similar!
 
There’s no reasoning with stupid people though - It’s a bit like playing chess with a pigeon (or so I would imagine!)
 
They will strut around knocking all the pieces over, mess all over the chess board and still fly back to their mates and claim victory! (again, so I would imagine)
 
I see quite a lot of stupid behaviour in some of the businesses that we visit when we are doing our business development meetings
 
Managing Directors who say that they have always marketed their business in a certain way – using marketing materials that were designed 20 years ago for a market that existed 20 years ago.  And then they tell me that their marketing is not successful in attracting new customers – but they cannot understand why

This makes them look stupid –this is fine  - as I mentioned above, we have all done things that make us look stupid, but then they very quickly go from just looking stupid to actually being stupid, because instead of realising that they’re not getting the results they want and doing something about it, they will realise they’re not getting the results they want but still carry on doing the same thing


Surely that is the definition of insanity!
 
If it is time to try something different in your business and you would like to talk to us about how we can help you to achieve better things, then call us on 08456 894 894 (for Blue Box Recruitment) or 084 3289 3288 (for Blue Box Consultancy).  If you would prefer to communicate with us via the written word, you can email us at hello@blueboxrecruitment.com or enquiries@blueboxconsultancy.com either way you choose, we would be delighted to hear from you

If you would just like to see the kind of things that we do and the people that we do it with, then check out our websites at www.blueboxrecruitment.com and www.blueboxconultancy.com

Until the next time, take care, be bold and do good business

Monday 10 August 2015

Are you the unreliable friend?



I have touched on this subject in a previous article but I thought it would be worth revisiting as it is a topic that is close to my heart and the lesson is just as relevant now as it was when I first mentioned it

The fact is that we have all got that one friend, or perhaps for you it’s a family member - you probably know straight away who I’m talking about here - the flaky, unreliable one that no one really takes seriously? The one who says they will meet you at a certain time, but you just know they’re going to be late - If they show up at all!
 
That family member who always says they’re going to do something but you know they are going to forget until next time the subject comes up?
 
You know that they mean well and that their hearts are in the right place, but at the same time, you know they’re not someone you can really rely on when push comes to shove!
 
With friends like this - although you probably get on with them on a personal level - there will always be an element of distrust involved with every communication you have with them. 

It is not that you think they’re dishonest in anyway, but when they say something, you almost expect them to break that promise or go against their word in some way or other – it is just who they are and what you have grown to expect from them.  You just can’t take them seriously.
 
It is one thing when you have this kind of relationship with your friend or family member, but when you have this kind of relationship with yourself, it could stir up a whole world of trouble!

And it’s something we’ve probably all done at some point!
 
Let me explain a little bit more; 
 
You know when you make yourself a promise. Something that you’re going to do by a certain time - something you commit to completing or achieving?  It could be something small like contacting a prospect, or finishing a report or it could be something more fundamental like growing your business or delegating more effectively – whatever it is, you have made a promise with yourself, but then when it comes down to it you give yourself some lame excuse as to why you can’t do it today!
 
You stop taking yourself seriously.
 
It won’t happen consciously and you probably won’t even realise it, but when you break your own promises, you are sending a very destructive message out into your universe.
 
Just stop and think about it for a minute -
 
You’ll say thing like – ‘I’ll start my diet on Monday…’
 
Or – ‘Tomorrow morning I’ll get up early and go for a run…’
 
Or – ‘From today onwards I’m going to take the marketing of my business more seriously’
 
Every time you say something like that and don’t stick to it, you’re letting yourself down.
 
You are becoming that unreliable friend that no one really takes seriously.
 
And all of a sudden… The next time you make a promise to yourself your subconscious brain will kick in and say; ‘You said that last week, but you never do…’
 
And you’ll even start to believe it.
 
All I’m saying is, when you commit to doing something for yourself and for your business, stick to it. No excuses!  Start taking yourself more seriously – and others will do the same
 
If you think it is time to drop all those excuses and actually do what you said you were going to do, If you are committed to making your business a success, then contact us now to discuss how we can help you to keep your promises.  You can always call us on our telephone numbers – 084 3289 3288 (for Blue Box Consultancy) or 08456 894 894 (for Blue Box Executive Recruitment).  Our email addresses are enquiries@blueboxconsultancy.com and hello@blueboxrecruitment.com  - we would love to hear from you

If you just want to check us out and see what we do and who we do it with, then go to our websites at www.blueboxconsultancy.com and www.blueboxrecruitment.com

Until the next time, take care, be bold and do good business


Tuesday 4 August 2015

In order to avoid being criticised you just have to do nothing....

The Greek philosopher Aristotle was once quote as saying “To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing”


Occasionally, I'll hear from people in business who aren't comfortable with my style of self-promotion. Sometimes it's from customers or prospects, but more often than not, it's actually from one of my so called "competitors"

It used to really get to me, but now I don't pay them any attention whatsoever.

I've got nothing against them as people - It's just that I know what they feel or think about me, has more to do with them than it does with anything else.

What they're really saying is that they're uncomfortable with promoting themselves in the way I do.

If you're one of those people that's fine - but I feel like I'd be doing you a disservice if I didn't tell you the harsh reality;  People who are uncomfortable with, or don't like self promotion usually have to pay consequences - and those consequences usually come in the form of low sales or not enough money.

Does this sound familiar or ring any bells with you?

When you own your own business, like it or not you have to be the number one salesperson.

Even if you have a team of highly skilled, highly trained sales people - You still have to be number one!

No one is going to have as much passion and as much knowledge about your service as you do.

So it's your job to promote it in every way you can.

I'll take that one step further and say not only is it your job to promote it in every way you can -  It's also your duty!

Think about it - assuming your service actually gets the results your clients are looking for, not promoting it to it's full potential is actually doing them a disservice.

If there's something out there that can solve all their problems, they need to know about it!

And you have to tell them!

A word of warning though – you are going to be hated for it -  People aren't going to like it and you're bound to face criticism from all angles (I'm speaking from experience here).

So how do you avoid it?

You do nothing

Simple right?

Don’t share any opinions on anything, don’t do anything significant, don’t be say or do anything!

People won't even know you exist, so how can they criticise you?

You'll become invisible.

You won't make any impact on the world - you won't make any impact on your market.

You'll be nothing!

If that is the path you choose then best of luck to you.

But for me and the Managing Directors and Business owners and Search Firm owners that I work with, we want the opposite -  We want to have some significance to our clients, We want to help them solve their problems, We want to make a difference.

For us, receiving criticism is an unpleasant experience, but it is also inevitable.

If your actions in the world and in this market are significant then you will draw detractors.

A word of warning though - If you start working with us your competitors probably aren't going to like it - in fact, they're probably going to start making a lot of noise about how they don't like the way you do things - don’t worry, the extra business that you’ll be getting and the extra money you’ll be making as a result will soon drown out the sound - but you’ve got to know what you’re letting yourself in for

If you want to learn how to be better than your competitors (and make them hate you in the process) then contact us now either by email (enquiries@blueboxconsultancy.com or hello@blueboxrecruitment.com) or by telephone (084 3289 3288 for Blue Box Consultancy or 08456 894 894 for Blue Box Recruitment).  We look forward to hearing from you soon


Until the next time, take care, be bold and do good business