The Thought Curator

I love a good quote, and this one is from the forefather of modern day management, Peter Drucker:  “ Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights, while looking out the back window.” From a forecasting and pipeline management point of view I’ve also heard said, in several ways, that you need to be looking forwards rather than backwards.  If you think of it visually you have a small rear-view mirror, where it is often hard to clearly see out of, however, looking out the wide front windscreen you have stereo vision… This metaphor works well in the context of managing a sales organisation and pipeline; not being focused on business results (the rear-view mirror), however, focusing on activities that ultimately deliver the results… Thanks to Jason Jordan and Michelle Vazzana who wrote ‘Cracking the Sales Management Code’ for that bit of advice. A great book for any sales leader interested in the right metrics to mea...

   Two of the most important lessons I’ve learned, is knowing when to pivot (change direction), and how important focus is. The Pivot: While developing The Cave Network (a future social enterprise that will help men improve their world by giving back with purpose), I’ve done plenty of research on start-up strategies and one thing that the experts talk about is that you need to be prepared to pivot.  I’ve taken this advice and decided to action it with my day job at Pin Consult.  I have pivoted away from being a consultant - who can help your business develop strategy, through to training your sales team in objection handling. I am focusing on one of my passions - helping individuals clarify their goals, discover their direction and purpose, and then teaching them a framework to achieve those goals.  Which brings us to Focus. Focus: I have been humbled by all the advice I have received since starting my business earlier this year. On more than one ...

In the past nine months, I have learned more about myself than in the previous twenty five years working for Fortune 500 multi-national organisations.  That is not to say that I didn’t learn a lot over those twenty five years, I did. And I worked for some great companies, with some fantastic people, however, having recently dug deep I realise now that I wasn’t being completely true to myself. I have learned the power of being authentic, how important it is to understand your value, and focusing on what it is you want to be doing.  And if you’re lucky like I am you can also make a living from it.  I have been humbled by the kindness of my friends and network.  How people are prepared to give you some of their time (arguably their most valuable asset) to hear your story, and then tell me a little bit about theirs. I have decided to do what I really love, and believe I am good at, helping individuals and businesses clarify their goals, discover their di...