Three books I recommend to everyone

Here are two books and an audio book that I recommend to everyone...

Performance Coaching for Leaders - 4 Nov 2008

Performance coaching for leaders. Being a leader presents daily challenges. Come and share your current challenges and receive down to earth advice on how to deal with them.

Practice coaching skills appropriate to your situation.
Understand what mindset you need to be a leader.
Learn how to maximise the development potential of your people.

Date: Tuesday 4th November
Time: 9:00am till 4:00pm
Venue: Vision Development Consultants
Cost: £245.00 (Fully Inclusive)
Tutor: Lisa Spencer Arnell
Capacity: 12 people

About the Workshop:
As a leader you are automatically charged with the responsibility of developing your workforce, how you communicate and empathise can make all the difference between a motivated team member and a disenfranchised one. By Exploring what coaching is and isn't and the business case for it in your organization, you can Develop the essential skills and mindset of an innovative Coaching Leader in order to maximize the development potential of your people. We will demonstrate the coaching process and appropriate tools/techniques for your individual situation.

For detailed information about any of these workshops please contact Brendan on 0115 941 8242 or e-mail at Brendan@visionconsulttraining.co.uk

Understanding Communication Through Life Drawing - 28 Nov 2008

Date: Friday 28th November
Time: 10am till 4:00pm
Venue: Vision Development Consultants
Cost: £245.00 (Fully Inclusive)
Capacity: 8 people

About the Workshop:
This one day workshop will explore the language of life drawing and how the lessons learned can be transferred into effective everyday communication techniques. Please note that all participants will be involved in the drawing process and that a life model will be used.

For detailed information about any of our workshops please contact Brendan on 0115 941 8242 or e-mail at Brendan@visionconsulttraining.co.uk

The Psychopath in Leadership Workshop - 20 Nov 2008

Date: Thursday 20th November
Time: 10am till 4pm
Venue: Vision Development Consultants
Cost: £245.00 (Fully Inclusive)
Capacity: 12 people

About the Workshop:
A workshop which explores the psychopathic tendencies which we all posses and how they affect our leadership qualities.

For detailed information about any of our workshops please contact Brendan on 0115 941 8242 or e-mail at Brendan@visionconsulttraining.co.uk

Formula for Success Workshop - 12 November 2008

Creating your own Formula for Success is about understanding what you want and the steps you need to take to implement it. Examines the role your focus plays in achieving your goals Helps you discover what obstacles you need to overcome Assists you in putting into place your own formula.

Date: Wednesday 12th November 2008
Time: 10.00am-4.00pm
Cost: £245.00 (Fully Inclusive)
Facilitator: Sharon Roberts
Capacity: 12 people

About the Workshop:
The formula for Success workshop is about understanding and developing your own personal formula for continued success in both your private and business life. This will enable you to understand the individual elements which when combined will determine your personalised formula to success and unlock more of your potential which will result in you taking your business further.

For detailed information about any of our workshops please contact Brendan on 0115 941 8242 or e-mail at Brendan@visionconsulttraining.co.uk

When you were a child did you ever have

A kaleidoscope? They still fascinate me today because with a simple flick of your hand you can create a whole new world.

You may not know but my husband Brendan who runs the company with me is an artist. One thing I realise now about artists is that they have a completely different way of looking at the world. And at the way we do things.

I love the Irish joke about someone asking for directions and when given them being told, "But if I were you I wouldn't start from here".

What's this got to do with running a business you might be wondering?

Well so often when we're stuck with a business problem it's because we keep on looking at it in the same way. And from the same position.

One technique you can try if you're stuck, and it works for personal problems as well, is to move physically. If you're sitting at a desk, then get up and go and sit on the other side of the desk. Sounds crazy I know but you literally are now looking at the problem from a different perspective.

You have flicked the kaleidoscope and suddenly another avenue of sight has opened up. To mix my metaphors up you can now see the wood from the trees.

I saw a great example of that when I interviewed Davide Berruto the CEO of Environment Furniture a company in Los Angeles making furniture from recycled materials. Having come into the furniture business from a different background his attitude was to move away from the traditional ways to market furniture and develop his own style. His company now has stores in Los Angeles, New York and Dublin and he supplies custom made furniture to the A list in Hollywood.

So instead of using the usual furniture marketing companies he employed artists to think about his marketing. One of his markers about working with people was - "Are they working for all the other furniture companies?" He knew that if so he wanted to get as far away from them as possible. Meeting people who have the courage to shift like that inspires me constantly. Because they take risks that most of us won't.

Last month at an NDE presentation I listened to two serial entrepreneurs talk about their attitudes to business. What came across from both Bob Pynegar and Derek Mapp was that the courage to take the risks and the acceptance that you will fail has to be part of your essential make-up as an entrepreneur.

When asked how many times they'd failed they both said that it was more than they succeeded. Failing faster is what's required. The nerve to jump in to try something, test it out and reject it if it doesn't work.

Here's to failing faster this month... in order to succeed.

Taste the nation, cooks wanted for ITV

Passionate Cooks Wanted!


Are you a talented cook who is looking for that big break? Are you fiercely proud of your county and want to see it go all the way? Do you want to learn from some of the countrys finest chefs?

If the answer to the three questions is yes – then read on!

If you have a passion for food and want to represent your county in a national cookery knock-out, then this is the show for you. You must be available for filming for the odd day from November 2008 to February 2009.

If you want more information please contact our Head office on 0115 9418242

Formula For Success Workshops

In the Formula For Success workshops that I gave on Wednesday at the EMCC I challenged the delegates to think about the habits that held them back from achieving what they wanted.

From the level of comment and questions I seemed to have disturbed people and aroused feelings they might not want to face. One of the things that I've had to do this year to reach my goal of a global business has been to move out of my own comfort zone. So I now make no apologies for challenging others.

I told them about my book Formula for Success, (launch date 14 February 2009) and several delegates came and talked about how they also wanted to write. My question was, "well why haven't you?" Like entrepreneurs the world over, I don't believe in waiting until the perfect time. There is no such thing. There are opportunities out there waiting for all of us, all the time. It's up to me and you to get our opportunity heat seeking glasses on. Let's get on with it.

Sharon