Perspective.....the ability to find perspective allows you to see things as they really are. It's that ability in any given moment to step out of yourself and have a birds eye view on a situation and assess it for what it is. Perspective allows clarity of thought and that mindfulness leads to better decisions, more creativity and greater satisfaction with life.
The greatest challengers to perspective are time and awareness.
In today's unrelenting modern lifestyles the time for perspective is seldom allocated. Secondly with our minds bombarded more than ever before with information at speeds never before experienced in human history our awareness of our feelings, of situations is challenged and ignored. We become expressions of that which we have knowledge of but not necessarily understood. And that knowledge without understanding applies to ourselves.
We all understand the problem. What's the solution? Awareness is the key. But to give awareness an opportunity to change our direction, our perspective we need to allocate the time to gaining perspective.
Our advice is simple: time block it.
1) Allocate to start 10 mins in the morning and 10 minutes at night to mindfulness. This may start as simply a quiet spot where initially you don't think of anything. So don't take your smartphone with you. Now if you can't find a quiet room at work or home, then multi task. In all seriousness this might be time spent in the lavatory or in the shower. If that's all you can grab then take the opportunity.
2) Move next to assessing your life and how you feel about it. Ask yourself how you feel about certain aspects of your life, rank it on a scale of 1 to 5 and then write about what you want in the future and how you want to feel. This is a great exercise to do as a couple. The areas you are assessing include : relationships, health, fitness, philanthropy, community involvement, friends, spirituality, hobbies, work, house and home, finances, personal space, education and personal development.
3) Identify the three most important areas for you and assess whether you are spending enough time and resources in these areas.
4) By now that 10 mins hopefully has moved to 15 now you need to start a dialogue with your self and significant others : try setting time aside and this may start as only once a week that you and your partner just talk about your world and perhaps it's just as simple as a download of the week. Take turns. Listen don't solve.
5) Start focussing on what's really important (identified in 3)
Check in with PCE after a few weeks and let us know how you did.
Tuesday 29 October 2013
Sunday 20 October 2013
What Award Winning Businesses Do Well
Last week the Association of Financial Advisors named its 2013 Advisor of the Year.
All the businesses and advisors that were nominated were put through a rigorous process that involved an assessment of client engagement as well as systems, processes, community involvement, leadership and the advice proposition.
What made the 6 finalists and ultimate winner stand out from the crowd?
It is apparent that clients value the financial planning process. Data from the Beddoes institute confirms that once clients start taking advice they get incredible value out of the process. They are happier, more likely to refer and maximise the possibility of living a financially secure life. Clients point to aspects such as the personal qualities of the advisor, understanding the process and feeling that the advisor understand them, as key components of client satisfaction.
What these businesses, these finalists, do goes beyond those client pre-requisites.
These award winning businesses :
- have defined in client terms what it is that they do so clients can easily articulate the value in their own words
- consequently have referral rates from existing clients well into the 90% levels
- have dynamic, client focussed communication methods that allow trust to be built before they have even met a protective client
- on meeting a new client, take the client through a process that defines what a clients values and motivators are with clarity and resonance
- they deliver advice that is connected to these values and the advice is delivered by a team
- have teams that understand what it is that they are providing and the impact on each individual client
- set benchmarks in the client journey and celebrate and acknowledge theses milestones with clients
- have multiple methods of communication with their clients
- are active in their community
- lead industry discussions
- share their experiences and successes with peers
But most of all these award winning businesses know who they are as a business as individuals and are true to label.
They celebrate themselves, their clients, their staff and their community each step of the way.
Congratulations.
All the businesses and advisors that were nominated were put through a rigorous process that involved an assessment of client engagement as well as systems, processes, community involvement, leadership and the advice proposition.
What made the 6 finalists and ultimate winner stand out from the crowd?
It is apparent that clients value the financial planning process. Data from the Beddoes institute confirms that once clients start taking advice they get incredible value out of the process. They are happier, more likely to refer and maximise the possibility of living a financially secure life. Clients point to aspects such as the personal qualities of the advisor, understanding the process and feeling that the advisor understand them, as key components of client satisfaction.
What these businesses, these finalists, do goes beyond those client pre-requisites.
These award winning businesses :
- have defined in client terms what it is that they do so clients can easily articulate the value in their own words
- consequently have referral rates from existing clients well into the 90% levels
- have dynamic, client focussed communication methods that allow trust to be built before they have even met a protective client
- on meeting a new client, take the client through a process that defines what a clients values and motivators are with clarity and resonance
- they deliver advice that is connected to these values and the advice is delivered by a team
- have teams that understand what it is that they are providing and the impact on each individual client
- set benchmarks in the client journey and celebrate and acknowledge theses milestones with clients
- have multiple methods of communication with their clients
- are active in their community
- lead industry discussions
- share their experiences and successes with peers
But most of all these award winning businesses know who they are as a business as individuals and are true to label.
They celebrate themselves, their clients, their staff and their community each step of the way.
Congratulations.
Thursday 10 October 2013
How to get more "likes" on your corporate Facebook page
So you've set up your Facebook page for your business, and you have a good engaging website, maybe even some videos : client testimonials and "why" videos......you've built it....."they" should come......where are they???
You have 137 Facebook page "likes" and your articles / posts attract a handful of "likes" and certainly no "shares".
What's gone wrong.
You've fallen victim to McDonaldisation.
As pointed out by Macionnis and Plummer, 2012, much of social life is being or has been defined by the principles that guide the operation of fast food chains. Close intimate social groups have given way to fast, efficient but distant ones.
We live a great part of our lives via networks. And these newer networks have if you let it forgotten the oldest ideas of sociology that we move through life with a sense of belonging : our social groups are founded on associations with those that we identify with and interact with.
So if your posts on Facebook are one way....your product, your opinions, your sales pitch you are ignoring the basics of group dynamics ...that the group encompasses people with shared experiences, loyalties and interests.
Social groups think of themselves as special and as a collective "we".
What you are trying to do on Facebook is create a primary group. Sociologist Charles Horton Cooley, identified primary groups as small social groups whose members share personal and enduring relationships with sincere concern for each others welfare.
Members : belong together, have strong links, view each other as unique and irreplaceable.
By contrast a secondary group is large, impersonal, and has weaker emotional ties.
Your content to be engaged, of value, shared, liked needs to tap into the values of a primary social group.
If your intent is to attract a certain ideal client, then you need to understand what primary social groups and interactions your ideal client has. What are those values and experiences?
Only then can you have meaningful engagement with them.
Why else would a garden shears company Fiskars have a group of scrapbookers as a major contributor to R&D and a resultant 300% increase in sales. Because Fiskars listened and understood the social connections that their ideal clients had and tapped into that primary social group with value.
Your action plan......have you really though about your Facebook content, who it is aimed at and is it of value to them. Or rather have you just applied the same direct marketing techniques that didn't work by direct mail ....so why on earth would they work in a virtual community?
You have 137 Facebook page "likes" and your articles / posts attract a handful of "likes" and certainly no "shares".
What's gone wrong.
You've fallen victim to McDonaldisation.
As pointed out by Macionnis and Plummer, 2012, much of social life is being or has been defined by the principles that guide the operation of fast food chains. Close intimate social groups have given way to fast, efficient but distant ones.
We live a great part of our lives via networks. And these newer networks have if you let it forgotten the oldest ideas of sociology that we move through life with a sense of belonging : our social groups are founded on associations with those that we identify with and interact with.
So if your posts on Facebook are one way....your product, your opinions, your sales pitch you are ignoring the basics of group dynamics ...that the group encompasses people with shared experiences, loyalties and interests.
Social groups think of themselves as special and as a collective "we".
What you are trying to do on Facebook is create a primary group. Sociologist Charles Horton Cooley, identified primary groups as small social groups whose members share personal and enduring relationships with sincere concern for each others welfare.
Members : belong together, have strong links, view each other as unique and irreplaceable.
By contrast a secondary group is large, impersonal, and has weaker emotional ties.
Your content to be engaged, of value, shared, liked needs to tap into the values of a primary social group.
If your intent is to attract a certain ideal client, then you need to understand what primary social groups and interactions your ideal client has. What are those values and experiences?
Only then can you have meaningful engagement with them.
Why else would a garden shears company Fiskars have a group of scrapbookers as a major contributor to R&D and a resultant 300% increase in sales. Because Fiskars listened and understood the social connections that their ideal clients had and tapped into that primary social group with value.
Your action plan......have you really though about your Facebook content, who it is aimed at and is it of value to them. Or rather have you just applied the same direct marketing techniques that didn't work by direct mail ....so why on earth would they work in a virtual community?
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