I’m often surprised at the things people are prepared to do in the crazy world of rock ‘n’ roll but just occasionally I am even more surprised when business people take a bold step to help market themselves and stand apart from the crowd.
Such was the case recently when The Business Woman’s Network decided to produce a nude calendar of their membership in the style of Calendar Girls. Quite aside from the confidence required by these women to do such a thing, this unique phenomenon has a much more serious reason – that of fundraising for a Hospice.
So give these nude business women some of your kudos and more importantly some of your money. I got involved today as their leader Mandie Holgate, asked me if I would be prepared to go naked …. NO.. thank goodness … to deliver a keynote event to launch the naked calendar at their next event on July 7th in Essex. I have agreed to deliver this free on behalf of them and the hospice.
We’ll be exploring aspects of ‘nakedness’ aka being your authentic self in the context of leadership, drawing on examples from the world of business and music to help us explore the subject from different perspectives.
So come on down – as I said in the promotional material – you don’t have to take your clothes off to have a good time…
Speaking of which I must say that, although I rarely watch TV, I was mesmerised by Lady Gaga on Paul O’ Grady’s show last night. Lady Gaga is a great example of someone who knows how to present themselves. On the show, she presented herself nude in the folicle department…. take a look at this stunning piece of authentic performance …
If the Nude Business Woman’s Calendar is even half as good as Lady Gaga’s performance last night, they will be rightly proud of themselves. Book yourself in for the launch party – Leadership, Nudity and Rock ‘n’ Roll 7th July – Essex – its nearly FREE!
Peter Cook is the Rock’n’Roll Business Guru, delivering exceptional corporate events and keynote speeches that blend business and music.
The business coaching industry has grown into a monster. Business coaches come in 57 varieties, just like tinned food products from H.J. Heinz. In the average coach’s attempt to differentiate themselves from the crowd, some have come up with increasingly complex models and approaches in order to blind their clients with ‘pseudo-science’.
That said, coaching is often mentioned as a critical component of much personal and corporate success. So, what wisdom lies beneath the hype? Although it may not be trendy, I reach for a classic approach which just works. Borrowing our blog title from Scandinavian glam popstars Abba, the GROW model articulates the essential things that any good coach will do for their clients. Simply stated, GROW stands for:
Goals – What does your customer really really want to achieve? Reality – Where are they now? Options – What innovative options may be considered? Wrap up – What will happen next?
A great coach systematically moves their client from ‘might do’ through ‘can do’ to ‘will do’. Some coaches make the GROW model an explicit part of the process, following it in stages, others use it as a flexible template from which they operate with flair. My choice in these matters comes down to what the client wants / needs / expects rather than my own whims and preferences.
In this series of blogs, I will briefly explore each stage of the GROW approach from the point of view of asking great questions that provoke movement on the client’s part. This ‘Socratic’ (question based) approach is just one style. In practice, I often mix a questioning approach with feedback and good old plain advice when there is a need for this, but we’ll stick to the question based approach here. So, when getting someone to focus on a goal, here’s some great starting questions to help frame the desired outcome:
What do you really really want to achieve, as opposed to what you might just like to achieve?
What’s essential versus nice to have in terms of improved performance?
If you could have it all, describe a day in your life? Is that realistic?
If you got your needs met, what would be the impact on you and the people you work with?
What would have to happen for you to walk away feeling this time was well spent?
If you had some outlandish wishes about your needs, what would they be? If you could only have one of these, what would it be?
What would happen that is not happening now?
What outcome would you like from this session? How will this be of real value to you, in the short, medium and longer term?
Peter Cook is an author, business consultant and keynote speaker, specialising in exceptional corporate events and keynote speeches that blend business and music. Peter does 1:1 and group coaching sessions as part of the work he does to move clients from innovative thought to profitable action.
I recently visited the NORIBIC iFactory (Innovation Factory) in Derry to participate in a “Jam, Jamming and Innovation event”. At that event I met the Scottish Jam entrepreneur Fraser Doherty and discovered what jam has to do with jamming and innovation, thanks to the amazing people that run NORIBIC.
Fraser Doherty runs Superjam, having got his taste for entrepreneurship at the age of 14, whilst watching his gran cooking jam in a pan in her kitchen. Fraser started selling his own jam in his village. He subsequently set out to make a sugar free jam. After appearing in a local Scottish newspaper, his company ended up on the shelves of all the major supermarkets via a media storm. His story is enthralling, not least because of the many setbacks he faced At the age of 21, Fraser is already considering what he wants to ‘give back to society’ via his free jam, scone and musical afternoons for elderly people. That’s some going!
Unlike many entrepreneurs who hit such early success, what really appealed to me about Fraser Doherty is the fact that he has not acquired an ego to match his net present value. He has humility and soul that many business owners could learn from.
Fraser’s talk was followed by my own input about jamming and innovation. I had not realised the links between Fraser’s input and jamming until I had heard him speak. But the links are clear:
• Be clear on your aim
• Master your own expertises
• Learn to work with others with expertises that you don’t have but need in order to succeed
• Listen as much as you play
• Take advantage of unexpected deviations from your plan
The mini video below shows the results of NORIBIC’s Jam, Jamming and Innovation event. It’s only innovation but it seems they liked it!
I’ve since acquired a copy of Fraser’s book of jam recipes, which is beautifully illustrated with fantastic recipes. I will shortly get hold of his new book, Super Business.
Peter Cook leads The Academy of Rock, delivering exceptional corporate events that blend business and music.
Along with many others I am sure, I still tend to consider credit cards as something akin to the latest piece of gadgetry, the only thing I need to have in my wallet to purchase almost anything I can think of, subject to credit limit and the small proviso that I am able to pay off the debt.
In fact Barclaycard launched it’s first credit card in the same year as the England football team won their only World Cup, forty five years ago on 1966!
That it has stood the test of time is testament not only to forward thinking banks, but also to their constant updating of a basic system that has over the years progressed from rudimentary to state of the art with the latest chip and pin technology.
I was encouraged to take out my first Barclaycard in the early seventies as a means to pay for fuel rather than paying out cash, in those days credit cards were still misunderstood by many and outlets accepting them few and far between, the most likely businesses being garage forecourts and restaurants.
In the passage of time credit cards have become ever more popular and their must be few places around the world where cards are not accepted. But the growth in credit card use and the readiness of banks to allow their customers increased credit limits and lower minimum payments led to much abuse long before anyone had ever mentioned the words ‘credit crisis’.
For many years before the crisis, financial institutions inundated the public with unsolicited mail with offers to transfer their debt to another bank with an interest free period.
Terms and conditions ensure that you are in employment and earning at least £20k per year amongst the other important stuff that should be considered before signing up for this deal.
But if you have a credit card load of debt, why not apply for the Platinum card and continue making your regular payments to reduce the amount that you owe with 0% interest?
A PAYE umbrella company is an organisation that can take the strain out of a contracting lifestyle, allowing workers to enjoy the freedom and benefit typically associated with contract work, without many of the headaches that this kind of working can create. PAYE stands for “pay as you earn” and is a reference to the type of hands off taxation that is enjoyed by those in traditional employment roles, but which are not extended to contract workers and the self employed.
Most contractors enjoy the variety and flexibility of their working lifestyle, but find that the responsibility that comes with it can be a burden. Keeping track of timesheets, invoices, payments and taxes can be a struggle and for footloose and fancy free contractors can prove a real pitfall of what is otherwise a great way of working.
This is where the PAYE umbrella company comes in. Independent contractors can choose to become an employee of the umbrella company and in so doing can lose a lot of the responsibility while keeping to a working pattern that works for them.
Working for an umbrella company allows employees to continue to seek and accept work in the same way they would as an independent contractor, however, when they find a fitting position the umbrella company will enter into a contract on their behalf and ostensibly supply them as an employee to the company seeking their services.
Employees of umbrella companies need simply to keep a record of the hours worked or contracts completed and submit these to their account manager who will, in turn issue invoices on their behalf and collect their earnings.
At this point the umbrella company will deduct the contractor/employees tax and national insurance contributions on a Pay As You Earn (PAYE) basis before forwarding the balance of earnings on to the worker.
As such independent contractors can leave the responsibility for the tiresome element of flexible employment, such as bookkeeping and chasing payments, to a third party, freeing them up to spend more time working, or simply enjoying the fruits of their labour safe in the knowledge that their financial affairs are in the hands of the experts.
And, as an employee of a PAYE Umbrella company, workers are entitled to all the same statutory benefits as those employed in a more traditional role – including statutory sick pay, statutory maternity pay and even child care vouchers to help them return to contracting work even after they have had a family.
How Does PAYE Umbrella Employment Benefit My Employer?
Umbrella companies charge a small handling fee to process the affairs of contract workers on their behalf and so, essentially they take a small amount out of each of their employees earning that is put towards their own profit.
However, when workers weigh up this expense against the cost of their peace of mind and the convenience of a hands-off approach to their taxes most feel it is well worth the investment.
