Archive For: Management

What’s in Your Head?

It seems to me that one of the worst voices we listen to is that one that is in our head. What do you hear when someone gives you feedback?

If someone is giving constructive criticism do you jump to, “Typical I’ve stuffed up again”.
If someone gives you a compliment do you hear, “They’re just saying that”.
When you achieve fantastic results do you hear, “But I could have done better”.

The voice does not serve you well. It can often sound like a parent, an old teacher, a sibling or a jealous rival. You are best often to ignore or silence the voice. When the voice kicks in, tell yourself; “That is NOT what they are saying” and listen to what the feedback actually is.

When someone is giving you feedback the best thing to do is accept it. You may not agree with it, but there will be value in it. To know someone thinks you have done well or to find ways you can improve what you are doing or to accept that you are not perfect but you are improving is a far more valuable way to deal with this situation.

So what is that voice saying now?


Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy

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What is Your Perspective?

Perspective can have such a significant impact on how we see a situation.

I live in Melbourne where we have Trams as a form of public transport. When I am in a tram, I want all the cars and pedestrians to get out of my way because they slow me down and I just want to keep moving. When I am in a car, I want the tram to go away because I have to stop more, the traffic is slower and pedestrians just step out on to the road – they slow me down and I just want to keep moving. When I am a pedestrian, I want all traffic (be they car, bus, tram, motorbike or pushbike) to get out of my way because they don’t consider me and get in my way – they slow me down and I just want to keep moving.


When I shift my perspective, my journey becomes more pleasant. When I’m in my car, if I recall how I feel when I’m on the tram or a pedestrian, I become more considerate. The same thing happens when I’m a pedestrian or on the tram considering how I feel when I am on the other modes of transport. My situation is still the same, but a shift in perspective makes the situation more pleasant and somehow it seems quicker and less draining.

What about you? What situation do you need to change your perspective on? Is it dealing with your kids, your partner, your boss, your colleagues, your pets, that guy at the train station, the person selling Big Issue magazines, or maybe it is how you relate to yourself? What is your perspective?

Enjoy!

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy

Photo: Joe Armao

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How’s (House) your Wealth?

Last night I was fortunate enough to hear Cheyanne Brae talk about Wealth Creation through Property and Property Renovation. I was fascinated and inspired by her depth of knowledge and willingness to share ideas.

I need to be open here and say that

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I am a big fan of Wealth Creation via property and Wifey and I continue to follow our property plan. But this blog is not about how you should invest in property, it is about taking action.

At my presentations I hear a lot of people talking about investments, talking about properties, talking about goals, talking about superannuation and talking about what they will do. But when all is said and done, there is a lot more said than done. As Cheyanne said last night, get educated about your investment area. Learn from others mistakes before you make your own. Then you have to take action.

Don’t one of those people who say “If only I had done something 10 years ago”, “If only I had bought that property 10 years ago”, “If only I had bought shares 10 years ago”, “If only……..”.

In 10 years time, now is 10 years ago. What will you do today to build your wealth?

Enjoy!

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy

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After the Crash!

Melbourne Grand PrixIt was the Melbourne Grand Prix here yesterday. A day of noise, colour, excitement, people and crashes. Many crashes. Many expensive, jaw crunching, bowel clenching crashes.

Warwick do you think that the driver would say, “Well that’s it. I can’t race anymore”? I doubt it.

I suspect the whole team will ask, “What did we do wrong? What can we do better or different? What can we learn from this?”

That sounds like a winning thing to do. Why then as individuals do we make mistakes and then think we can NEVER do that thing again? Or berate ourselves so much over minor incidents?

Let’s learn from the pro’s and ask ourselves:

What did I do wrong?
What can I do better or different?
What can I learn from this?

Then get back in the drivers seat, buckle up and have another go.

Enjoy!

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy

Photo Credit: The Age

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It’s Tragic – but it’s real!

It is horrendous.

Within a day over three country towns have been disintegrated. Over 190 people have been killed. Animals, domestic and wild have been killed and maimed. Thousands of people have been traumatised and tormented. Places I have visited and have fond memories of no longer exist. The footage and stories of survivors and victims are like an action holocaust film.

But it’s real!

Victoria has been burnt. The fires are not out yet either. The pain is far from over. The wounds are so fresh – mental and physical. The number of people still to be accounted for is significant. It is hard to believe that it has happened less than 50km (30 miles) away.

Humans are Fragile

It has taken so little to kill so many. Mother nature is so strong and unpredictable. It will take time but there will be positives in this situation. Not just the stories of miracles, courage and strength but the lessons of determination. To me this shows how short our lives are (even though they are the longest thing we will ever do) and how important it is to continue on

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with our dreams and our goals no matter what.

Never Give Up!

At times in the past I have wondered if the effort to do what I do is worth it. Wouldn’t it be easier to just plod along and not strive as I do. This has reinforced that no one should settle. No one should live at anything less than the maximum that they can. Don’t put it off. Do it now. Don’t give up.

For those living through the horror of losing family, homes, pets, livelihoods, my thoughts are to never give up. Get help (there are so many who have come to help), get guidance (many health practitioners are donating or providing cheaply services to aid you) and keep moving.

If they can do it, why not me.

Life is tragic, but it’s real. What holds you back from being all that you can be?


Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com
www.getmoreblog.com
www.getmoreshowsuccess.com

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It’s Hot!

It’s hot. Damn hot. Melbourne is going through a heat wave with multiple days over 40 C (about 105 F).

Who Cares?

Fair question. Many parts of the world have temperatures higher than this all the time (hello Middle East) but they don’t moan like we are. You know we are moaning. At the very least I am blogging about it. Twitter is rife with it. The newspapers all have the delightful headline “SCORCHER” – or something equally as witty. Tennis commentators waffle on for ages about it. Radio commentators all go on about it also.

What Can You Do?

Here in lies the key to my blog. The answer is – Nothing. The weather is the rare topic that we talk about all the time and can do nothing about. What ever you mention about it, someone has it better and someone has it worse. Tweets of “it’s hot” were countered with “at least you don’t have an ice storm like we do”. Sometimes just talking about it makes it worse. While it is hard not to talk about it, it will still be hot when your conversation has ended. All you can do is make yourself as comfortable as possible (popular ideas are to go to air conditioned cinema or the beach) and get on with life.

What Else Is Like That?

How many times in business or life does this situation occur? There is always something that you can bitch and moan about and all it gets you is more distressed, more unhappy and more focused on something you can do nothing about. It could be your family, a health affliction, someones behaviour or even the weather!

How will you deal with it? Australian author Kim Falconer deals with it using her underpants! You need to read her blog to find out the details.
I like the two killer questions:

  • What’s my part in this?
  • What can I do differently?

They will always generate an answer that lets me take responsibility for my situation and move on.

What do you do? Let me know.

Enjoy!

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
http://www.warwickmerry.com/
http://www.getmoreblog.com/
http://www.getmoreshowsuccess.com/

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I Broke the Rules

It was my fault.

I knew the rules but didn’t meet them.

It still pissed me off!!!!!

I was flying to my band camp (Summer Song) and i was excited! I had a 7:30 flight and was flying Jetstar. For those who don’t know Jetstar is one of Australia’s low cost airlines – effectively a bus with wings. They have a policy that check in closes 30 minutes before the flight takes off and if you miss check in, you miss your flight.

I was clever I checked in from home using webcheck in. All I had to do is check my bag and I was good to go. So on Thursday morning I got up early, woke Wifey (who was my chauffeur for the day) and headed off to the airport.

Unfortunately traffic was a little tight but no worries because my baggage was in a carry on bag so if I was late i would just carry it on. I got there at 7am. Joined the queue to check bags at 7.02am and spoke to the check in person at 7.04am. He informed me that baggage was closed. “No worries”, I said. “I’ll just carry it on”. He said it was a little heavy and I had to see the service desk.

There I was waiting in line to see the service desk dude getting concerned how close it was to the flight. When the service desk dude finished with his customer I mentioned (because I was four people back in the queue) to him that I was concerned I would miss my flight. Then he said I had been taken off the flight and I would have to reschedule.

That’s when I felt like a four year old in a lolly shop with no money. Adrenalin surged, I was going to start shouting and blame Jetstar. They would be sorry and I would never fly them again. I would tweet everyone and………. it was all my fault.

I knew the rules and I didn’t stick by them. I was late to check in. Jetstar are known for their strict adherence to this policy. I had joked with a friend the week before about how she missed her flight for last year’s camp.

I didn’t add a buffer. When planning anything I always like to add a buffer for when things are not perfect. Traffic was heavier than I thought and 5 minutes delay cost me.

I was too heavy. My baggage was 3 kg too heavy for carry on. I knew there were limits and I know Jetstar is strict. Next time I will pack differently.

I didn’t blow up and blame them for all of my woes. I still have issues with their policies but I knew their policies and didn’t follow them.

The best thing I did was take responsibility for my actions. My fault and no oneelses.

So here I am at the airport, one day later, $70 poorer and rescheduling my trip.

Where do you need to take responsibility?

Picture by Ben Templesmith

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Are Trade Shows Dead?

I read on Twitter that Trade Shows are Dead.

Gordon Haff from CNET news wrote how technology has made many Trade Shows irrelevant. You can see the article here. It’s a good article and has some solid arguments. But I disagree.

Scobleizer blogs that Social Networking has also killed, or at least wounded Trade Shows. But I disagree.

Of course I would think that. I make money consulting to Trade Shows and companies that exhibit at them. Let’s look a little further, beyond the initial cynical reaction.

I think that Trade Shows as we knew them maybe dead, but not completely dead. Trade Shows are an incredibly expensive exercise. Floor space, booth costs, staff costs, promotional items, pre-event marketing, post-event follow up and opportunity costs can total to staggering amounts. Naturally, senior executives are considering ROI numbers and asking is it worth it.

Are Trade Shows Worth It?

The answer is a definite maybe. So many companies are not smart about their Trade Shows. They hemorrhage money for little return. Their booths are way over the top in an effort to be “the best”, their give aways are ridiculously expensive and not aligned with their message, they do not qualify prospects, they have the wrong people on the stand, they don’t followup effectively but worst of all, they have no idea why they are really there at the show. Naturally the ROI numbers are not there.

Trade Shows are speed dating for your customers. Your target market is walking up to you and saying “sell your stuff to me”. Prospects go to willingly buy from you, or at least do further research on your products/services and your direct competitors. A smart operator will make a Trade Show pay off big time. It is knowing why you are there, doing the pre-event marketing to get your prospects and clients in, having the right people in the booth with the relevant training about what they are to do, qualifying your prospects (even have them tiered), creating a buzz at the booth to get people in, following up within two days and then having a post-event review to look at what can be improved next time.

A smart operator will also realise while their competition is pulling out of shows, they will have a bigger market share. If they work the

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show well, their ROI can be increased.

Social Networking and Trade Shows

Social networking and technology in general has had a significant impact on Trade Shows.

Webcasts, Teleconferences, Viral Videos and many other forms of technology now mean that messages once given at these shows, can now be delivered far more effectively. As Haff says, companies like Apple have an easy access to the market place via their stores so you can touch and feel the product without the hustle bustle of the show.

Social networking also increases the buzz. Look at Twitter. Whenever their is a show on, blow by blow descriptions of presentations, booths, exhibitors and even the people attending are posted with pictures for all to see. This then attracts those thinking “is it worth it this year.”

It’s not Dead, it’s Resting

In the words of Monty Python, the Trade Show is not dead, it’s resting. It’s format is tired. The old way doesn’t work. Once the Trade Show does a bit of navel gazing, you will find the invigorated New and Improved version!!

The technology will never replace the face to face meetings of clients, colleagues, customers, suppliers and random interactions that you have at a Trade Show. But the technology of having virtual trade shows, webcast product launches and announcements, blogging latest releases and other forms of social media to interact with “your herd” mean that there will be an integration of this technology with the traditional Trade Show.

I look forward to it.

I look forward to the continual evolution of this market place. But some things will never change. The need for planning, setting KPI’s, knowing how ROI will be measured BEFORE the show/marketing activity, having the right people in the right place at the right time, pre-event marketing, post-event followup and the role that the senior management team have in the event.

The intent is the same, but the execution will be different. Face to face, technology to technology or just watching it all happen on your PDA.

I am looking forward to it immensely.

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
http://www.warwickmerry.com/
http://www.getmoreblog.com/
http://www.getmoreshowsuccess.com/

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How to be a No Show

It is always the big question. Should you exhibit at a trade show or not? Especially if you are a bigger player in the market where people will be expecting you there. If you decide not to show you have to take action on it.

As and example, Adobe have decided not to show at Macworld this year.

What would have been disastrous would be if they just didn’t show, or worse if show organisers said they were going to be there so Adobe would have to go on the defensive. Now I am sure Macworld wouldn’t do that, but other less scrupulous event organisers may try and “bully” or “influence” a significant player to exhibit at their

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show. What Adobe did was communicate via the media that they were not exhibiting. You can read the article here.

You will notice that although they are not exhibiting, they will still have a presence at the show. Some are saying that, along with a large number of layoffs, Adobe are feeling the pinch of the current financial crisis. Whatever their reason, their approach to managing their “No Show” has been well done.

While I am still of the belief that now, more than ever, exhibiting at a trade show is a great thing to do, if you are going to be a No Show, you need to manage it well. You may not have the bucks that Adobe’s PR department does so lets learn from them!

Enjoy!

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com
getmoreblog.blogspot.com
www.getmoreshowsuccess.com


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Check Your Facts

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get all fired up about what I think and not what I know. Let me explain.

Out the front of our house are about 10 large pine trees. The previous owner planted them about 15 years ago thinking they would be a nice 1.2 metre (4 foot) hedge. Being trees rather than shrubs, they grew (and grew and grew and grew and…) and now they are about 6 metres (20 feet) high and skillfully blocking all of the sunshine that could be shining into our house.

When discussing getting them cut down my wife and guessed it was going to cost about $5,000 – $10,000 based on an old quote from a few years ago. Being a little financially conservative, naturally I allowed more for the $10,000 than the $5,000. So we didn’t worry about them. They are not a priority and we could get them cut down at a later date.

For some reason last week, I had the feeling to find out how much it would cost to get them removed. There was a firm who I had seen around a bit and I knew them to be reputable and will full insurance coverage. I rang and booked for a quote (and then promptly forgot about it!)

When they came around today, I was pleased to find out it was on $2,500 to get all the trees and stumps removed. We will still probably defer it as it is not a priority, but it is good to know the facts.

How many times have you or your company made decisions without the readily and easily available facts? Guesses, ideas, feelings, vibes, intuition and plucking it out of the air can not compete with facts. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes these things are good enough or even essential, but sometimes it is the facts that make the difference.

So for this week, my challenge to you is to channel your inner Joe Friday (from Dragnet) and ask for “Just the Facts”.

I guarantee it will make your decisions a lot more clear cut.

Enjoy


Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
http://www.warwickmerry.com/
http://www.getmoreshowsuccess.com/

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How to Get Up when you’re feeling down

Ever had those moments?

Everything seems to be cruising along nicely. Relationship is good (if not getting better and better), friends are good (still get invites to go out), hobbies are good (love cruising on the motorbike or doing what you do), health is good (could always do more exercise and eat less but on the whole it’s good), work is good (love what you do and do what you love), weather is good (sunny day after a bit of rain) so basically, life is good!!

Then it hits! Wham! You feel like crap!

It has no obvious source or reason, you just feel bad. Self doubt kicks in, your self esteem crumbles little by little. Arrrrrggghhhh!!!

Ever had one of those moments?

We all do. They will pass. The secret is to look at ways to help them pass faster. Here are a few that my clients have found very successful:
Music – play music that works for you, something that makes you feel more powerful
Exercise – any form of exercise will help endorphins start flowing and give you some of natures “happy juice”
Location – change your physical location. It could be just going outside, it maybe going to the beach, something that gives you different perspective
Talk – chat with a friend or colleague about what is happening for you and more importantly, what is happening for them. It takes the obsession off ourselves and turns it into caring for others
Write – ink what you think. This will get the never-ending tape out of your

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head and on to paper. By the way, typing doesn’t count, the physical act of writing is required

There are plenty of other ways to get a sense of reality and move through the downer. Work out what is best for you and have it on standby for when these times hit.

If nothing else, follow the words of the late great James Brown.
“Get Up, get on up!”

Enjoy!

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy

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Clean Feed or Internet Filters?

There has been a lot about clean feeds and internet filters that has come across my radar this week.

In summary, the Australian Government wants to filter the internet so that “naughty” sites will not be accessible. Different community groups and user communities have been expressing their opinions for and against the ideas. There are technology issues such as any filter is quickly made redundant by the people is was supposed to protect (the same way Dad used to bring me the headache drug bottle with a child proof lid because he couldn’t open it and I could – I was in primary school!). Filtering will slow the internet down – the technology tests have proven it but commonsense does too. Look at any pool filter and you will see the water does not flow freely, it has to be pumped or sucked through, why should internet be any different.

There are issues in administering the filter. Who decides what is black listed and what is not? Who has input to the decision making? What guidelines will be used? Who creates the guidelines?

There are issues in the ethics of the internet filter. Should this be done? Does it impact our free speech? It it for the greater good? An extreme case of this can be seen in the film Serenity (that I have watched a couple of times this week). For the good of the whole the government meddles and causes a disaster. I know it is fiction, but how does the meddling start?

The thing that gets me is not whether the government should or should not have an internet filter , but why are they getting involved. Is it because parents are too lazy to do it for themselves? Many teacher friends of mine comment on how parents expect the teacher and school to teach EVERYTHING to the student. Not just reading, writing and arithmetic, but manners, ethics, social behaviours and a myriad of other skills. Granted the internet and technology is rapidly changing and it is hard to keep up, but surely it can’t be too difficult to have them use the internet in a room where they can be supervised or limited in the number of hours they are on the internet? Heaven forbid that parents have a discussion with the child about pitfalls of the internet!! Next thing you know I will expect parents to listen to children read aloud to them!

The bigger issue that I see happening is one of responsibility. It is becoming rarer than ever in our society. Yet the people who take responsiblity for their actions and their lack of actions are the ones that move ahead in their life. They are not looking for an easy way out, a person to blame, someone to handpass the problem to, they look at what is their part in this issue.

In my life and in my presentations, I share with people what I call the “Two Killer Questions.”
They are:
What is my part in this?
What can I do differently?

It means that as an individual I can look at what is my responsibilty. So with Clean Feed and Internet Filters, what is it that I want for my kids, myself or my workplace? Has this situation come about due to some action or inaction on my behalf? Maybe I have no part in the current situation but I want it to be different.

What action must I take. Do I need to supervise people, limit certain sites in the workplace, communicate an internet policy, write to the government and let them know my wishes?

Responsibility means that I have the ability to respond. I can take action to get the results I am after.

Beyond the internet filters, beyond the clean feed, beyond raising a family but in life as a whole, I strongly urge you to take FULL responsibility. It doesn’t mean you have to do everything, you can ask for help (I am here if you need me!!) but do take responsibility for your choices, your actions and your lack of actions.

Remember the two killer questions:
What’s my part in this?
What can I do differently?

Once you have done that, it’s easy!!

Have a great weekend

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com

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Yes, you can say No

This comes up time and time again in my workshops, with my coaching/mentoring clients and even with my friends. So I wanted to clarify this.

It is OK to say No.

You may not feel that way, you may feel that if you don’t do it no one else will. Or maybe you can’t say No because you “should” say Yes. You have a rule that family members, friends, colleagues, bosses, workers “SHOULD” perform in a certain way.

From my own bitter experience, I have found out that saying Yes all the time is great for everyone else, but really bad for me! They get everything they want and I get exhausted and resentfull. But the really kicker is that they want you to say No. They may not think it, but they do.

Your boss will continue to ask you to do things and when you are at full capacity, they want you to say no. Your friends will keep asking for favours and expect that if you can’t do it, that you say no. It may not seem it at the time but they would much prefer you to say No up front than get to their deadline and have you inform them that because you have too much on that you couldn’t do it. Your family would much prefer you say that you don’t want to go along to the family trip versus whinging and moaning about it for months afterwards.

Yes, the short term is painful. Letting people know that you can’t or won’t do, say or be what they want is challenging. But the long term payoff is so worthwhile. Once you have established the boundaries of what you will and won’t do, each party has a far better understanding of each other. Their are fewer assumptions and expectations and fewer opportunities for mixed messages.

So start practicing today! What do you need to say no to it? How can you say no respectfully and with care? Maybe you could start with smaller things and work your way up once your No muscle has had a bit of a workout?

But don’t forget to practice the otherside of the equation also!! If someone says No to you, don’t hassle them or berate them. Allow them the courtesy of saying what they need to for them. As we know, saying No is not always easy, but it is always worthwhile.

Enjoy!

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com

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