by Paul Simister
on June 16, 2018
Welcome to Pillar 2 of the Eight Pillars of Business Prosperity which focuses on how to win Your Inner Game.
In this series of modules you will clarify a strong vision for what you want personally and for your business.
You’ll also discover how to make your vision impact on everything you do so you take consistent steps towards achieving it.
From Where You Are To Where You Want To Be
In Pillar 1, Your Key Numbers we looked at how you create a set of measures to monitor where you and your business are at any time. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on June 15, 2018
Pillar 2 Your Inner Game – What’s It All About?
I define coaching as a process to help you to move from where you are to where you want to be.
The Eight Pillars of Business Prosperity is my coaching system.
Pillar 1 gives you tips on how to establish where you are by learning how to measure and manage for profit.
Pillar 2 focuses on helping you to define where you want to be.
It then gives you guidance on how you can win your Inner Game by identifying and taking the actions to move you from where you are to where you want to be.
This section is all about you and how you will influence the direction of your business and the choices made in it.
When I first started working with small business owners, I was rather dismissive of this self help category, wanting to get stuck into helping to define the strategy, the marketing and the financial control and performance measure systems.
The more I work with business owners, the more I’m forced to accept that this can be one of the most important areas. If you’re familiar with my four pathways model to success or failure, I amended it to the five pathways. A poorly performing inner game can do a lot of damage even to a business that is strong in the other four pathways.
[continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on February 21, 2018
The full title of this book by Scott Hallman is
“The 7 Success Drivers to HyperGrowth: How America’s Fastest Growing Entrepreneurial Companies Achieve Greatness“.
In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I rated the book at the FIVE Stars level, this means that I consider it excellent.
Here is what I posted.
Packed with important lessons
Many years ago, I bought an excellent audio training product by the author that provided detailed implementation advice for Jay Abraham style marketing and profit building strategies. Since then he’s been one of my favourite experts and I’ve been looking forward to the time when he publishes his first book. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on October 17, 2017
The full title of this book by H William Dettmer is
“The Logical Thinking Process: A Systems Approach to Complex Problem Solving“.
In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I rate the book at the FIVE Stars level, this means that I consider it to be excellent.
Here is what I posted.
A clear explanation of TOC Thinking Processes
On the one hand, the Theory of Constraints Thinking Processes can be powerful tools for investigating the current situation and identifying vital ways to improve the system in ways to meet the goal. On the other hand, they can be daunting to prepare and/or to understand because of the acronyms, unusual terminology and complexity of both the diagrams and their underlying rules. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on October 5, 2017
There isn’t an extended title with this book, it’s just
“The Choice“
written by Eli Goldratt and his daughter.
In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I rated this as a FIVE stars book, which means I think it is excellent.
Here is what I posted.
The most important Goldratt book? A look at the importance of inherent simplicity
I was reading the transcript of an interview with Eli Goldratt, the main author behind the Theory of Constraints and he described this as his most important book.
More important that The Goal?Before I read The Choice, I was sceptical but now I have read it, I can understand why Goldratt said it. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on July 28, 2017
It’s common practice to think about maximising your return on money invested and to have some kind of measure to track it but do you consider how to maximise your return on time?
The twin problems of:
- Lack of time; and
- Having too much to do;
are common issues for business owners and they can contribute to the business getting stuck in a rut. The business owner wants to move forward but seems unable to take the actions necessary.
This is why the thinking in the Stop Start More Less Matrix is important. It recognises that, to do something new or to do more of something good, you have to buy time from yourself.
Time is finite. No one has more than 24 hours in a day or 168 hours in a week.
Your task is to get the most out of the hours you choose to work in those 24 hours. In other words, your aim is to maximise your return on time. I first blogged about Return On Time in June 2009 while I was thinking about the importance of respecting the attention and time of your customers. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on December 13, 2016
The full title of this book by Ken Blanchard, William Oncken Jr and Hal Burrows is
“The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey: Free Up Your Time And Deal With Priorities“.
In my review on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a FIVE STARS rating. This means I think the book is excellent.
Here is my book review.
If you’re rushed off your feet, this book might be the answer
When I first read read this book in the early 1990s, it was a huge wake-up call.
No wonder there weren’t enough working hours in the day as I allowed my staff’s monkeys to jump onto my shoulders. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on November 30, 2016
The full title of this book by Pat Flyinn is
“Will It Fly?: How to Test Your Next Business Idea So You Don’t Waste Your Time and Money“.
In my review posted on Amazon.co,uk, I gave the book a rating of FIVE STARS. This means it is one of the few books I consider to be excellent.
Here is my book review.
An excellent guide to test-driving your new business before the blood, sweat and tears start to flow
This is a super book to help you assess your exciting idea for a new business before you fully commit to it.
Whilst many of the ideas can be carried across to the physical world, it’s particularly suitable for information marketing and app/software development. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on November 24, 2016
We have more things to do than time to do them in and this is why these summaries of well known books can be so useful. They capture the big ideas without the padding.
Summary: The E-Myth Revisited: Review and Analysis of Gerber’s Book
I have a love and hate relationship with the full book, The E-Myth Revisited.
Will the summary have the best bits without the worst? Yes, it’s excellent and I gave the summary a full FIVE stars rating in my review on Amazon.co.uk.
Here is my book summary review.
An excellent summary that gives you the important ideas of Michael Gerber without the irritating bits
I believe The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It is one of the most important small business books ever written. I recently wrote a blog article about the 12 best business books for business owners and it was the first I mentioned. Not because it provides all the answers but it does a great job of highlighting the problems and their causes. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on November 8, 2016
The full title of this book by Matías Birrell and Javier Arévalo is
“Forget the Urgent!: Rather focus on the important: A business dialogue based on the best seller ‘The Goal’ by Eliyahu M Goldratt“.
In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of FIVE Stars. That means I think it is excellent.
Who Should Read This Book?
- Anyone interested in the Theory of Constraints.
- Small business owners who want to improve.
The Big Idea
Every business faces constraints unless it is able to generate an infinite amount of money. [continue reading…]