http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/ Progress Productions Pty Ltd Articles http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5407 http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5407 How many times have you heard it? “We need good leaders!” “It's about time we had some decent leaders around here!” “What this business/team/organisation needs is some good old-fashioned leadership!” Yet we are caught up in one of the greatest dichotomies of our time. I call it The Spock Paradox. No, I don't mean the guy with the pointy ears, but the baby doctor, the man who... http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5406 http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5406 Some years ago, my amazing aunt Sister M Walburga of Our Lady’s Order of Compassion came to visit Sydney to attend a live-in week long seminar, entitled ‘New Life’. So what? Aunty Rose, as we call her, was 84 years old at the time. I boldly teased her about the apparent incongruence of new beginnings at her level of maturity. More fool me! She is a particularly strong-minded, feisty, intelligent woman who has... http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5405 http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5405 If you have responsibility for getting results through people while keeping your costs under control, you’ll already have discovered that the challenge of motivation and retention in your organisation is a bit like trying to keep frogs together in a wheelbarrow! You're up against at least as many different personalities as you have chairs, with varying levels of expertise, energy and enthusiasm, all of which can turn downwards... http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5404 http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5404 Is anyone else out there tired? Even occasionally overwhelmed? There’s just so much to do – so many opportunities – so many ways to be of service and value – so many things we SHOULD be doing (if you’ve been to the same speaker conferences I have) – and so little time... So here’s what I’ve learned. After lymphatic cancer, treatment and recovery, it’s... http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5403 http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5403 When I was very young, my mother was always telling me to watch my p’s and q’s. I never could figure out what they meant then, but many years later in a demanding sales management role, I began to understand a few of them! For the last 15 years, as a professional speaker and business consultant, 3P’s and 2Q’s have been useful guidelines – see if they make sense to you... Purpose When people... http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5402 http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5402 He strolled into my office, this love of my life. Taller than I ever thought possible, long and lean, with the stoop of many teenagers in mild shock over their own height, and with the off-hand manner so necessary for "cool". He sat on the spare office chair, back to front, and leaned across: "Mum, I want to talk to you about something". "Of course, Nick" (as we do, we... http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5401 http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5401 When you're giving a gift to someone you care about, you usually put some time, effort, energy - and money - into the wrapping (or get someone else to do it for you!) With anticipation half the pleasure, it's rewarding to create excitement and enthusiasm for the gift before it's revealed. And so it is with our own image. It's not only a legal requirement that we clothe ourselves in most places; it's also a means of communication for us! By... http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5400 http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5400 It’s a cliché to say we’re under pressure. I guarantee that 99% of you found it a challenge to find the time read this. (P.S. Thanks!) Someone told me that according to the ancient Mayan calendar we are now operating in 16 hour days, not 24! We continue to operate with our clocks on 24 hours, but the hours are shorter. Hard for me to handle too, but now I know why I can’t fit everything in! We know... http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5399 http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5399 I read the other day of a local bus company running its fleet of diesel buses on canola oil. True. No modifications needed to the engine, an initial 10% increase in fuel costs expected to reduce, and the only pollution is the smell of cooking fish and chips! The metaphor for business change is powerful. Every day in businesses everywhere, people are offered possibilities for improvement. There are changes required in thinking, the... http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5398 http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5398 “You can be part of the steamroller, or part of the pavement!” - Bob Savage, IBM It's become a cliché to say we're under pressure. I guarantee that 99% of you who are reading this now, found it a challenge to find the time to do so. And that doesn't take into account the thousands of others who didn't make it a priority! We know that all things are impermanent. But didn't they used to change more slowly?... http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5397 http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5397 We all know that SME businesspeople are far too busy to work on their business, and focus all their efforts on working in it. Don’t we? So exit planning seems impossible. We think that we ARE the business and it can’t run without us. And when our lifestyle and health degenerates, we feel trapped powerless and stuck. Not fun. So here’s the deal. Step outside your business and get process driven. I know this is... http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5396 http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5396 You know there are three kinds of people – those who make it happen, those who let it happen and those who wonder what happened! How many times have you lost a deal, lost a customer, lost a good staff member – and wondered what happened? Where did I go wrong? What did I do that didn’t work? What did I do that DID work, so I can do it again? A lot of the time we wing it, don’t we? And there’s... http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5395 http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5395 1. HAVE A PROCESS Not a script, because you’re not a parrot, but a clear and well thought through sales process which you discipline yourself to follow in every circumstance. A process with simple steps allowing you to assess and measure your own performance after every interaction, so you know where you went well and where you fell over. We’ve developed what we call The BEST Selling System (of course!) with four... http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5394 http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5394 Aren’t you sick of Formulas for Success? Here’s a difference! I won’t claim authorship of this one – but I will claim experience, and undying gratitude. Many years ago one of my best mates gave it to me, originally noted by Steve Brown of the Fortune Training Group. He said: There are three reasons people will fail. They don’t know what their job is They don’t know... http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5393 http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5393 A few years ago I was given a useful definition of insanity: “Doing what you did yesterday and expecting a different outcome.” Uh-huh. I agree – it's crazy! Yet so often we want improved skills and enhanced performance – but we fail to create the will to change. Every single development will require change. The C word. Why on earth do we resist it so? Check how many of these could be true for you. Or... http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5392 http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5392 “Sheer survival in tomorrow’s business environment demands extraordinary leadership abilities today!” Are you sitting at your desk scanning this article with your head going ‘Oh no, not another article on Leadership?’ Do you feel as if you have seen and heard more than enough on the topic in recent history? You’re not alone. Unfortunately it’s become almost as overdone... http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5391 http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5391 Catherine Palin-Brinkworth moved to the Gold Coast in September 2003, following an 18 month stay in her beach house at Emerald Beach on NSW‟s mid north coast to recover from lymphatic cancer surgery and radiotherapy. “I knew I did not want to go back to Sydney – too toxic – but I was nowhere near ready to take it easy!” Catherine chose Hope Island initially, but is now based in Paradise... http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5390 http://catherinepalinbrinkworth.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5390 Building a business, I’m thinking, is as challenging as building anything – whether it’s a house, a boat, or a piece of furniture. It’s that mysterious process of creating something valuable out of bits and pieces. If it were a recipe, it could be: take one good idea, add heaps of energy and hard work, gradually mix in well thought-out systems and strategies, and pour out through a set of highly...