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Monday, 26 March 2018

A Message to Cricket Australia

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For those of you that know me, you will know that sport has no place in my life.

But even for someone who is not interested in sport, you cannot hide from that fact that Australia recently got caught cheating in a test cricket match. As someone who is not interested, informed or in the slightest way effected by this, I feel that it puts me in the ideal place to give a message to Cricket Australia.

Dear Cricket Australia, YOU IDIOTS!

While this is quite clearly the fault of the individual who cheated, the captain who let him and the coaches who allowed this to happen, it has to be asked, what kind of culture do you have that allows this idea to be entertained, let alone acted upon?

The sport itself is synonymous with fair and professional behaviour. If something is off kilter, it is commonly said, "Well that's just not cricket." We aren't talking about underarm bowling or aiming the ball at the body of the player, we are talking about sanding the cricket ball down in front of at least 10 TV cameras. How stupid do you have to be to do this in front of that many cameras and use fluro yellow paper to do it?

Is the pressure to win that great? Is your need for money that huge? Are your ratings dropping that much?

How long do you think it will take to recover from this? Our New Zealand friends STILL talk about bowling underarm.

I suspect someone will end up as a scape goat, the media will over analyse what happened to them growing up, it will be declared a one off, aberrant occurrence and it will get swept under the carpet.

OK

But you have to ask yourself, as an organisation, what signals have we sent that would in any shape, manner or form indicate that this would be ok? What can Cricket Australia do to ensure this doesn't happen again?

If I was a sponsor of Cricket Australia or any of the independent players, I would seriously be considering my investments at this time. (Can I humbly suggest you consider investing in the arts?)

And you, Dear-Reader, what about how you and your business operate? What is your culture like? No-one is perfect but it is important to remember that we reap what we sow.

Warwick In Action

Warwick Merry - The Get More Guy, is your high energy, results focused, action oriented, no holds barred tour de force Master MC, keynote speaker and Exhibiting Specialist. He ensures your attendees Get More from your event. His MC work is like insurance for your event. It guarantees things will run smoothly and on time. As a speaker, he is like a dose of sparkling mineral water – a bubbling, burst of healthy, sustainable energy for your attendees. If you need a burst of inspiration, cogitation and celebration at your next event you MUST book The Get More Guy, Warwick Merry.

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Get More, 38 Winmalee Drive, Glen Waverley, VIC 3150

Tuesday, 20 March 2018

100 Beatings

Could you handle 100 Beatings?

My personal trainer, who is also the Sensei and owner of Dynamic Martial Arts, decided he was up for a challenge, and it was for 100 Beatings.

Technically, this is the 100-Man Kumite and only 28 people in the world have ever done this. At a high level, this challenge is fighting 100 two minute fights with a 30 second break in between.

You can tell from the image that he is not really smiling, it is just a grimace of pain to hold himself up. Notice how his crisp white outfit is almost translucent from his sweat and filthy from being hit so much. Imagine what his body is like!

Throughout his long preparation, we have been talking about the kind of challenges he would be facing. He knew that the mental challenge would be harder than the physical (although he knew the it was going to hurt ... a lot!)

Speaking with him today, two days after the fight, he said that he was expecting to have had enough at about round 50. To his surprise, that feeling of "I have had enough" came at about round 20.

He was hoping that some of his opponents may have given him a little pity at some stage but that never happened. He said that they came out fighting and they did not stop. In return, his opponents said that he gave as good as he got.

When his daughter jumped on his lap this morning, he screamed out in pain. He hobbles rather than walks and he knows it will be another day or so before he returns to some degree of "normal".

But as many sports coaches have screamed over the years, the pain is momentary while the results last a life time.

Sometimes our challenges seem never ending.
We are tempted to give up and turn away.
The pain seems intense and never ending.
At every curve, someone seems to be taking another swipe at us.

So you have to ask yourself, how badly do you want it?

The results you are after, how badly will you work for it?

How much pain (both physical and emotional) will you simply just "take" as your strive for your goal?

While he is not yet ready to fully enjoy it, I have no doubt that for the rest of his life, Chris will have the great satisfaction that he faced 100 beatings and succeeded.

No one can ever take that from him.

What can no-one ever take from you Dear-Reader?

PS To hear more about Chris and how he runs his Dynamic Martial Arts business, check out the most recent episode of the Get More Success show. Simply click this link or the image below.

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Monday, 5 March 2018

Your Systems Suck

Image: Shutterstock

I love systems in business. I am a huge fan of Michael Gerber's system implementation ideas that he proposed in his book, The E-Myth revisited. The short summary of which is, "Systems run the business and People run the systems."

But your systems suck! They suck if they are focussed on the wrong thing.

Let me tell you about the new cafe in our area.

After spending a colossal amount of money on shopfitting, the cafe at the bottom of the shopping centre near me has finally opened for business. Always one to support a new local, my gorgeous wife and I went there for lunch.

A mature woman who looked like the owner seated us, was very friendly and put us in a booth near the back, overriding the reserved sign. We guessed she was the owner as she joked about how it wasn't reserved if she was seating us there.

She took our drinks order and left us with the menu. All pretty good and what any typical customer would expect so far.

A different waiter came up after a few minutes and asked did we want to order drinks. We had ordered but he didn't know that, and it is not unusual for this to happen. So far all good.

Then we asked to order our meals. His response was, "I can't take your order. I will get someone to take your food order."

OK - that was a little weird. Maybe he was new, didn't know how to order food yet or something else. Certainly the food order person would be right over.

A couple of minutes later a waitress brought over our drinks. Yay! We had a little joke with her and then said, can we order some food. Guess what she said .... "I can't take your order. I will get someone to take your food order."

You have got to be kidding me! Ah well. Maybe she is new too. The cafe hasn't been open long.

After a couple of minutes a third waitress (fourth if you count the boss who seated us) came over and asked, "are you ready to order?"

We ordered, ate, did the crossword and had an amazing conversation that you would surely be jealous of if you saw a picture of it on Facebook or Instagram!! (Ok, it was just your typical couple chat in a cafe)

As we left, the person who I paid, who looked like the other co-owner as he wasn't wearing a uniform like the others and was a mature man, asked, "How was everything?"

I couldn't let the opportunity pass. I told him it was a little weird that when we ordered, two staff members were unable to take our food order. Were they new or something?

Here is what he said, "No it's not weird. Maybe they are new but we don't want the kitchen to get slammed, specially when it gets busy. If it gets too busy wait staff can make mistakes so only two people on the floor can take food orders. It's not weird."

So their systems exist for them and not for their customers. The fact that their customer (me) is saying that it is weird because I didn't know what is going on meant nothing. This is all about making their kitchen process smoother.

The fact that he didn't really care what I thought or said was also a bit strange. If you don't care then don't ask.

Your systems suck. They are not about making the customer experience better they are about trying to control the flow in the kitchen at the expense of the customer experience.

If your kitchen is getting slammed then look at your ordering or kitchen process. Surely it can't be that hard?

What it means for us is that we have lost all interest in returning to that cafe. We had noticed the private table out the back and I had made comments on how it may be good for a family function or for a small client get together.

Not now because their systems suck.

What about you Dear-Reader? Have you designed processes to make your life better or easier at the expense of your customer?

Quite simply, do your systems suck?

PS The latest issue of the Get More Success Show is out.
This episode is all about how to Punch and Kick your way to Success with Chris Malloy from Dynamic Martial Arts.
Click on the image below to have a listen.

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Get More, 38 Winmalee Drive, Glen Waverley, VIC 3150

Monday, 26 February 2018

Five Minutes vs 40 Years

I was fortunate enough to host the Opening Ceremony of the Global Speakers Summit in Auckland, New Zealand recently.

As a fun MC kickoff, I performed what I refer to as my Impro Slam Poetry. That is where I ask the audience a question (in this case, What do you want to get from the conference?) and then get about 10 words or statements from them.

Then, off the top of my head, I create a piece of poetry that I make fun, entertaining and relevant to the event. It's got a lot of energy, I love to do it and the audience are always amazed at how it is done.

Afterward I am always asked, "do you have part of it pre-written?" And the answer is "NO." It is not a trick, it is a skill. Each time I do it, a poem is made up fresh using the words provided.

It's not five minutes of trickery, it is 40 years of skill.

It's the same with what you do. You can probably create or tweak a spreadsheet without thinking about it, or whip up a powerpoint slide deck without thinking about it. Maybe ride a unicycle or stitch up a dress or even speak a foreign language. These skills are something you build over time but look impressive when you only see the end result.

So Dear-Reader what are your skills? What can you do that other people think is amazing but you know it is years of practice that builds the skill?

More importantly, what is it you WANT to be able to do? That is what you need to start working on today so that in 10 years it looks like magic!

Warwick In Action

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Monday, 19 February 2018

Are You There?

One of the key elements of marketing I learned very early in my time as being a member of Professional Speakers Australia, is that there is a huge difference between being good and being there.

Many people are focussed on being good. Getting everything just right with the right image, the right text, the right message, the right style, the right level of rightness!

Others put something pretty good together and just start getting it out there.

People in the second category seem to get more business than the first and those in the first category seem to get more frustrated!

A case in point is the document above (you can click on the image or this link to see the document in detail). I have had the vision for this document for some time (about four years) and I just haven't been able to get it exactly how I wanted it. It is my speaker "1 Pager" so it has a lot of information about me and what I do.

I wanted to present it in a way that wasn't all about me. I wanted my prospects or clients to read it and think of their own problems and how I can help solve or address them. I wanted people to laugh a bit and have an understanding of who I am and how I work.

After a fair bit of work, I think I got most of that. But it wasn't perfect. Shifting my focus to being good, I just got some printed and have started sending to clients and prospects with my special gift. (Let me know if you are interested in receiving a hard copy with the special gift or finding our more about what I do.)

As I was putting the packs together, I noticed two minor mistakes that most people wouldn't even notice. I am sending them anyway. I have fixed the mistake for next time but the first print run has been completed.

Now I will see what sort of results it wields - I guarantee it will get greater results than me just thinking about it for another four years!

There is a massive difference between being good and getting it perfect, and being there and getting paid!

What about you Dear-Reader? What are you working on that is not quite good enough and just needs more attention that honestly could be put out to the market place where they can get value from it right now?

Don't just be good, be there!

Warwick In Action

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Monday, 12 February 2018

Do You Serve?

Image: ShutterStock

I was lucky enough to spend Sunday in beautiful Adelaide, one of Australia's prettiest cities. The City of Churches as it's known.

I must confess, it was a long day. Up at 5:30, off the airport, fly, get collected at the other end, drive to venue, setup the AV, run a five hour session, back to the airport, through security, straight to the plane, fly, airport, drive home, relaxing by 7:30pm.

I did all this, gave away $500 worth of product, offered 15 hours of consulting/coaching services, and got paid $0, zero, zilch ... nada.

Now I am not seeking praise or attention (ok... maybe a little attention) and I happily gave of myself and my products and services. This was done, not with the intent of commerce, but with the intent of service.

Currently I am the National President of Professional Speakers Australia. Over the years I have taken multiple roles within the organisation and will continue to do so into the future. The reason I serve is that it makes our association stronger, our industry more robust and it also creates great connections for me.

While I don't approach a service position thinking "What can I get from this?" I have found that I will always get a return. For example, the workshop I ran on Sunday. Part of it was about creating a speaker "One Pager". I had a vision for my one pager for some time but had procrastinated too much to actually do it. I couldn't speak on the importance of having one with out actually having one, so running the workshop forced me to create my vision of a one pager, and I am very pleased with it.

Service pays in ways you can't imagine.

What about you Dear-Reader?

In your industry, in your family, in your hobbies - do you serve?

PS The latest episode of the Get More Success Show is out. Click on the image below to hear a conversation with Steuart Snooks on Taming the Inbox Tiger and getting your email under control.

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Get More, 38 Winmalee Drive, Glen Waverley, VIC 3150

Monday, 5 February 2018

Plan Backwards for Success

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The year has started and no doubt you have some plans in mind. You may have even done some formal planning. I have found the best way to make your plans actually happen is to plan backwards.

This method applies whether you are planning an event, a project, a sales target, or simply planning to by a house.

Dr Stephen Covey has as one of the seven habits of highly effective people to "Begin with the End In Mind." For us this means looking at what do we want to achieve and by when.

For example, maybe you want to achieve $200,000 in sales this year. That is the goal, the target, the thing that keeps you inspired. I would be using language about that. "Project 200k", tracking for 200k or something to ensure it keeps top of mind.

The next step is to work backwards.

If you are wanting $200k this year then how much is that per month? Let's face it, Jan and Dec are hard to get anything done (well Jan has already gone!) so you are looking at $20k of sales each month.

So let's break that down even further by continuing to work backwards.

What is your average sale size?
How many proposals do you need to make a sale?
How many meetings do you need to get a request for proposal?
How many sales calls do you need for a meeting?

This will then set your daily plan for you and you will always know what to do.

For example, let's assuming the following. Your average sales size is $5,000. You historically send out three proposals to make a sale. You need two meetings to get a request for a proposal and make five sales calls to get a meeting request.

Working backwards, to reach $200,000 you need 40 sales of $5,000. Based on ten months this is four sales a month.

Each sale need three proposals, so that is 12 proposals a month or 3 a week. To get a proposal request, you need two meetings so that is six meetings a week. Each meeting takes five sales calls so that is 30 sales calls a week or six calls a day.

What this means is that to reach $200,000 you need to consistently make six phone calls a day.

This process works for all kinds of planning. If you are yet to plan your goals for the year, I strongly suggest you plan them backwards.

If you do that Dear-Reader, you can almost guarantee you will achieve the outcome you are after.

PS Can you do me a favour?
My Podcast - the Get More Success Show, has been nominated in the business category for the Podcast of the year awards. As well as a judged section, there is also a Peoples Vote section. I would truly appreciate your vote for the show. Simply click here to head to the voting page and follow the instructions. Thanks so much!

Warwick In Action

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Get More, 38 Winmalee Drive, Glen Waverley, VIC 3150

Monday, 26 March 2018

A Message to Cricket Australia

A Message to Cricket Australia

Tuesday, 20 March 2018

100 Beatings

100 Beatings

Monday, 5 March 2018

Your Systems Suck

Your Systems Suck

Monday, 26 February 2018

Five Minutes vs 40 Years

Five Minutes vs 40 Years

Monday, 19 February 2018

Are You There?

Are You There?

Monday, 12 February 2018

Do You Serve?

Do You Serve?

Monday, 5 February 2018

Plan Backwards for Success

Plan Backwards for Success

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