So I’d love to share with you the ideas that hit me the hardest because they’ve already motivated me to upgrade my strategy for the next 3 years – I need to think bigger and faster!
Will Greenwood MBE
Our keynote speaker was Will Greenwood, of rugby World Cup winning fame. I was introduced to him at coffee and had absolutely no idea who he was; such is my vast knowledge of sport! Nonetheless he was one of the most outstanding speakers I’ve heard, with hilarious stories about how they turned a losing rugby team into a world beating one.
- You need a huge, shared, and inspired vision – one that scares you
- You don’t need to know exactly how you’ll pull it off
- Break down the seemingly impossible goal and create a roadmap of small and manageable targets
- The vision needs to be worked at daily, not stuck in a drawer until next year – you have to live and breathe it
- It’s about doing the little things right all of the time – attention to the detail is critical
- Do 100 things just 1% better all of the time – keep making every part of your business that bit better
- The only thing we can be sure of is that things won’t go to plan, so we need to expect and plan for the unexpected. Don’t be surprised by surprises!
- Get the right people on the bus and you don’t need to manage them
Stuart Ross – high growth business coach and founder of the High Growth Summit
Stuart is already my growth coach so I should know this stuff, but these reminders really gave me a good kick just where it was needed!
- Set a vision that you don’t yet know how you’ll achieve – if you do know, it’s not challenging enough
- You won’t achieve it easily; you’ll have to do things you’ve never done before
- Every quarter set a goal that’s significantly outside your comfort zone
- You’ve got to be committed, not just interested
- You’re already busy, so what do you need to STOP doing so you can achieve your goals? Write a To Stop list
- Spend 3 hours a day on things that grow your business
- Who you mix with, and the books you read, is who you become
- An expanded mind never goes back to its original form
- You’ve got to take some risk to achieve growth
John Dabrowski – mental toughness expert
John’s an ex-professional basketball player having played at international level, and now coaches, trains and speaks on mental toughness and the mind set it takes to become successful. John is another of my coaches (yes, I do like coaching!) and keeps me on an even keel when things get that bit too overwhelming.
There are 5 pillars to mental toughness, leading to peak performance:
- Commitment
- Motivation
- Confidence
- Control
- Laser-like focus
- Learn and take action, and you will change your life
- It’s never too late to get it right
- It’s how you respond to a situation that counts
Martin Knox – brand design guru
Martin works with many of the UK leading retailers, consulting on and designing brand identity. He had some brilliant insights into how you just need to be yourself and live your purpose:
- Know what success means to you, how you’d measure it, what does it feel like, and what are you prepared to give up to get it.
- Follow what feels right and it will usually work out
- Do what you think and feel is your purpose, think about the lasting effect and impact of what you do
- Do what you love and get really good at it
- Doing things in a different way can be really powerful
- Crusade against mediocrity
All in all an outstanding day. One I’d absolutely recommend to you if you really want to take your business to another level. I’m sure I’ll be sponsoring next year’s event too, so I’ll let you know the date when it’s announced.
If anything in my roundup grabs you, why not make a quick list of 3 things you can do differently? (oh, and then actually do them!)