The e-newsletter from Forrest WorkshopsFrom the pine...Amateur vs Professional. I spent the long weekend mortaring, sanding, painting, wiring, plumbing, drilling, oiling, cleaning, caulking and puttying. Know enough about enough trades to be completely dangerous. With a modicum of confidence, I can tackle a few semi-handy tasks, from fixing dripping taps to repainting rooms and resealing the vanity unit. However I occasionally drift into "you REALLY should call someone for that" territory (we won't talk about my wiring a new ceiling fan switch... upside down, Miss Jane...) There are little jobs that, were I just too busy or completely useless, I could call in a professional for, but it makes no sense, because I can complete them to a decent standard with minimal fuss or cost (investment or opportunity). There are moderate jobs I can stretch myself on, that a professional would undoubtedly do better or more efficiently, but that my own hands can take care of to a level we can live with. Could be better? Yeah, but law of diminishing returns, and the savings I make, and I had time on the weekend so..... Then there are the hard jobs that really should be completed by a specialist - trained, certified, skilled - where the money is worthwhile. Like the underpinning of the wonky room on the Western side of my house. Those things you honestly can't chew (so don't bother biting). Skill required. Risk aplenty. Time investment and consequence of failure massive... call the gun. There's great satisfaction in completing tasks that are on the edge of your competency levels. Mind though it's a fine line. You're paying an opportunity cost paddling in a pool of skills and tasks that really aren't your bag (what could you be doing for higher ROI in those hours?). And step too far over the line into "incompetent and dangerous"? Any potential savings you think you were going to make... boom. If it's deep skills and experience, or a hyper-schmick finish, or genuine efficiency and effectiveness savings you need in an arena you really don't have the talent for, call the pro. Don't make that an excuse though for the piddling stuff you really can do. Hard work and the sense of achievement of finished jobs is a great role-modelling practice. Troy Forrest, Forrest Workshops & Strategy Road. Talking Workshops Not trying to catch flies with my gob... extolling the benefits of fresh air & strategy sessions. Strategic play – understanding the journey to 88mphHave you seen the "Back to the Future" movie franchise? Where a young Michael J Fox time travels with Doc in a souped-up DeLorean? They need to get their car up to 88 miles per hour to create enough energy to crack open the time wormhole. A critical mass payoff speed; a level of momentum needed to achieve a goal. When you're contemplating strategic paths for your organisation for years ahead, consider that 88mph as it pertains to things you're already working on...
Maybe your projects or strategic priority paths aren't as binary as "zero benefit until you hit 88mph". Maybe the work getting to your target is paying off in smaller ways, in experience, in grounding for the next initiative?
Then there's comparing alternate 88mph targets you aren't yet heading towards (but maybe take you further into the future than the current trajectory)...
Hitting a target speed requires choices, investments, building and riding energy machines, figuring out which
horses are lame (bang), saying no to distractions and being really clear about what that target speed needs to deliver for you once you hit it (and if it won't.....). Because, Marty, where we're going, we don't need... From "McDonald's - Behind The Arches" by John Love, on Ray Kroc. The Green RoomGood wood from smart guest contributors. This edition…. Catherine Wells from Plansure (Financial Strategists & Planners), on engaging a younger generation with a long-term view. Coaching & mentoring questions Thought leaders in the coaching and mentoring sphere, David Megginson and David Clutterbuck employ what they call "MDQs" - Massively Difficult Questions - in coaching conversations (named for their ability to get a coachee to pause, reflection and examine at a deeper level). From their list of over 100, here are 8;
(Got any great MDQs you use? Love to hear! troy@forrestworkshops.com.au) Workshop observation...If you’re going use a room with a view...a. you better be damn compelling, and Seeds3 ways to call bullsh*t when you're hearing it in your team discussion…
Grim view of grey clouds and rain. Rain that brings growth. No grey clouds, no rain, no growth. The Swarm GuideMeet Strategy Road Associate Michelle Bakjac, a psychologist, leadership coach and workplace training facilitator that helps organisations develop and nurture cultures of wellness and resilience. If your team is heading towards or navigating some major changes and terrain shifts, speak with Michelle about strategies and support programs to help your team effectively and confidently brave the new conditions... BloomingHand-written With Comps…How many hand-written notes thanking, praising, expressing gratitude have you doled out this week? 20? 5? None? Could you...
Something about hand scrawl we connect with more deeply than Calibri e-font. A rugged individual... Auckland, city of sails. Only the lonely... Workshops and one-on-one coaching processes are a great way to nurture bonds, feel cared about and deepen connections with other humans. Part of the benefit of that is staving off loneliness. Not the "all my friends have gone away for the long weekend" kind of temporary loneliness everyone experiences, but the deeper internally-perceived experience of disconnection or rejection. Subjective loneliness, felt even when you're surrounded by a city full of people, by family, that, left unchecked, can cause serious pain. Jennifer Latson, in a great article in Psychology Today, talks about ways you can build a sense of social connectedness as a scaffold for your mental and emotional wellbeing, and as hedges against loneliness. Here are some tips she has on protecting yourself & others;
A final one from me - a few years ago, I helped set up a Old Man Basketball competition for Dads at my daughters school. Busy guys that worked long hours and didn't connect with other Dads in a "Dad" kinda way often enough. Once a week, for an hour, running (puffing), having a few laughs, and a cold beer and chat at the end. We built a simple forum that was interesting to the target audience, we kept the commitment light and low, and made it fun (with maybe the most moderate physical health benefits... offset by the beer.). The emotional benefits though? Really strong. Loneliness is tough for lots of people - can you do something about it in your space this year? Latson, J., "Disconnection", Psychology Today, March April 2018, pp 42 - 81. Worth a Bo Peep...I receive these a couple of times each week, a great compilation of current retail news, trends and thinking, from a sector that pays super-close attention to customer habits, practices and changing dynamics. Worth signing on - http://insideretail.com.au. Luft balloons* (imagine...)Repurposing - taking the old, and using it in a new way... ... the formerly functional as aesthetically appealing art Take a fresh, imaginative, closer look at the practices, the pieces, the people, that have been around awhile, gotten a little frayed at the edges, the copper greening, with dust hiding their once-was-lustrousness. Blow it off? Think of a different, fresh, new, better, valuable way they can be redeployed? It HAS an application - it's up to you to find it. Made by a man named Doug... Slide deck specials "Less is more". If you want to pick up a new shell (task, strategic priority, project), Workshop hierarchy of needs Psychologist and motivational theorist Abraham Maslow defined the human "hierarchy of needs" - the idea that there are five levels of needs that we have, and we struggle to move up the hierarchy until lower-order needs are satisfied. In a workshop, here's how that can look...
The trees for the woods…Geddit? Because, it's a pine twig, and there's a traffic co.... Spied by Deb. Scallywags... Wanna sign up?If a mate has forwarded this free e-share to you and you’d like it once or twice a month, click here and type "sign me up, Scotty!" – thanks! Thank you for reading! Forrest Workshops custom-builds and facilitates team workshops on topics ranging from strategic planning, leadership and sales practice development, to innovation, customer experience creation and collaborating with your supply chain in an evolving market. Based in Adelaide, serving clients nationally and internationally, from SMEs to Fortune 500s. NEW! Forrest Workshops For One are tailored Coaching & mentoring programs for leaders, business owners, sales and service professionals. High-touch, deep- and long-term impact support. Contact Troy Forrest from Forrest Workshops on 0430 308963 or troy@forrestworkshops.com.au for a discussion. |