Grey Matters: Blog
The Great British Brexit Bake-Off.
Tuesday 28th June 2016
Why the UK EU Referendum was designed to produce a bad decision. How we make decisions When you make a decision, whether you're buying something, hiring someone, doing something, the same broad logic should apply: 1) First you understand the problem or problems you're trying to address, and identify the outcomes that are required - these are your success criteria. 2) Then you explore solutions that will address the problem you've identified. 3) Next, you'll evaluate how well the solutions address your most important criteria. If there are many options, you might create a shortlist of acceptable solutions. 4) You might even try out viable solutions or have a more detailed "Bake-Off" 5) Before moving forward there is a value-based measurement. Does the the solution give me enough…
Inspiring Rewiring
Monday 9th May 2016
I recently listened to a radio interview with a gentleman called Daniel Kish. His story is so inspiring, and highlights the boundless possibility of the human mind. Daniel describes how, having lost both of his eyes to retinal cancer as an infant, he was able to "recruit the visual cortex of his brain to enable him to see with a different sensory input". He has effectively rewired the connections in his brain to harness a sensory power that we usually associate with bats and dolphins. Daniel uses what he calls "flash sonar" to echo-locate objects, and build a visual image of his personal environment. He now helps other visually impaired people to make these remarkable new neural connections for themselves, transforming their…
Harnessing Trust
Thursday 21st April 2016
Trust is the most enigmatic of things, it cannot be rushed, forced or solicited. You can spend years building trust, and then destroy it in a momentary lapse. And yet, more often than not, its one of the most powerful reasons your largest clients will continue to award new business to you. Indeed, if you've really got it, they'll often invest time to provide unique insights, helping to refine and align your offers into winning bids. Naturally, as it offers such advantages, account managers want to build trust with their clients and harness it. But it has always puzzled me that an account manager, quick to cite customer relationship or trust as the primary reason for winning a new contract,…
In a nutshell. A plain English challenge.
Friday 18th March 2016
Have you ever tried to succinctly explain your job to a child in a way that they understand, and find interesting? It shouldn't be difficult for me. I've spent 20+ years in B2B account selling. I pride myself on being able to clearly articulate offers to my clients. And I have passion for my work too. It has motivated me each day with fresh challenges & constant learning; I've worked in great teams, and secured some great deals; and my career has allowed me to meet many inspiring people. So, surely conveying my job to my 10-year-old daughter with clarity and enthusiasm would be as easy as falling off a log? Its Enterprise Week at her school next week. Children have…
New Beginnings
Friday 1st January 2016
My reflections on time off between roles and starting a fresh career. When I decided to leave BT Global Services to start a fresh career, I was determined to take some time to do absolutely nothing first. Decompression time between careers has been a brilliant experience for me and I heartily endorse an extended break - detached from mailbox, calendar, phone and messaging - to anyone who is fortunate enough to be able to engineer it. With an empty calendar and inbox comes a fizz of energy and amazing clarity of thought. My mind (once it got through its no-tech, cold turkey phase) was brimming with possibilities, cogs were spinning, connecting the things I really wanted to do, with the things I'm…