Friday, 21 November 2008
Obama vs McCain - What can your business learn from the election?

One of the pod casts I subscribe to is the Harvard Ideacast. A recent edition featured a discussion about the "authenticity" of business and how essential this is to success now. The discussion used the US presidential candidates as examples of two individuals with different levels of perceived authenticity. Barack Obama is clearly a deep-thinking intellectual who takes cares great over what he says, and clearly understands the need to be "true". The pod cast went on to explore this as an example of how we (voters/customers) make our choices based on how authentic the person/business is, rather than basing the decision on purely personal gain or financial benefits.

The change from Bush to Obama by the US electorate was a massive one in terms of the values of the US electors that this reveals. This is mirrored by the changing criteria of consumers throughout the developed world.  One of the reasons for this is simply that we are now able to judge such difficult virtues as authenticity (in other words honesty, being consistent and true to our values). The internet and instant availability of information means that there is no hiding place for those who have secrets and who do not practice what they preach- they will be found out by someone and that person can share what they have found with billions of people around the world in seconds.    

Some of the best examples of this are the tokenism of many companies when it comes to green issues and corporate social responsibility in general. It is still possible to get away with faking an interest in this, just about, and may people do. But social networking websites and customers review and comments are taking an ever greater role in buying criteria of all of us when we make buying decisions, and we are less and less inclined to accept what companies say about themselves and their products. 

The lesson from this is that you and your business have to be authentic and true to your values or you will not survive for long in the modern web 2.0 world. As explained in my earlier blog on the "Happier" book, we enjoy what we do far more if our work reflects our true values. If you don't enjoy what you do, your people will sense your false smiles and will be less inclined to deal with you, and then they will share their feelings with the rest of the world who will also choose not to use your services (or to vote for you, if you are a politician). 

Please tell me what you think about this- andrewg@kandh.co.uk or 07977 074492. 

Thursday, 16 October 2008
The Seven Habits of Highly Profitable K&H Clients
(With apologies to Stephen Covey)

As accountants, we are in the privileged position of knowing just how much money all of our customers are making. We also work very closely with them, often over several years or even decades. I have noticed that the people who make a lot of money and grow wealthy share certain characteristic or habits that most of the less successful people do not.

Here is my personal account of what I think the main habits shared by the most successful K&H clients that I have worked with:

1. They have clear desks, and they have clear uncluttered minds that are capable of focusing on one thing at a time.
2. They are great listeners and are always hungry for advice, feedback and outside ideas.
3. They know where they are going and what they want.
4. They instinctively prioritise their day to day activities according to their goals.
5. They are passionate about details, but without being perfectionists (a hard balancing act).
6. They return phone calls and emails promptly.
7. They have accurate, timely, relevant management information, including accounts, at their fingertips.
   
   Stephen Covey (author of 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effectively People') wrote another book called 'The Eighth Habit'. If I were to add an eighth to my list it would be:
   
   
8. They don't blame other people when things go wrong.

I will leave you to decide on the deeper personality/psychometric traits that are revealed by these clues.

I would also be interested to know how well you do on each of these areas, if you were to give yourself a 1 to 10 score on each one. (Mine comes out at 65 out of a possible 80, or 8.1 average - let me know if you agree!)  You can call me on 07977 074492 or email andrewg@kandh.co.uk.

Friday, 12 September 2008
What do Great Ormond Street Hospital and Formula 1 teams have in common?

One of the biggest challenges I face in working with business owners and their teams is trying to get the systemisation message across. In other words, trying to explain how every business (every thing?) can be improved by introducing consistently applied procedures.

The objection I often hear is that "our business can't be systemised because every situation is unique/my people won't do it that way/I need to apply professional judgment/it is dehumanising etc etc". The worst culprits for using this objection are "professionals" such as accountants!

On the E-Myth blog is the story of how Great Ormond Street Hospital has learned from Formula 1 motor racing teams how to streamline (systemise) the patient transfer procedure from the operating room to the intensive care unit.

http://www.e-myth.com/cs/user/print/post/innovation-operation-pit-stop

In a related article there is a quote that sums it up for me:

As Nigel Stepney, Ferrari’s then technical manager, asserts: “It’s not about having the best people and just putting them together. It’s about a group of people who can work as a team.”

See http://www.nesta.org.uk/how-can-formula-1-be-useful-for-healthcare/ for more.

To see exactly how they do this, here are the slides with the patient handover system: Handover Training Slides (This needs to be opened as read only).

I hope this serves to illustrate that everyone including the most technically skilled professionals can benefit from systemisation. Also it is not just about making more money, it can also improve lives directly and increase the chances of survival, as the above example illustrates.

Wednesday, 13 August 2008
How to Eat an Elephant

Speaking as a vegetarian, I must first make it clear that I am speaking metaphorically, as I am sure you will have guessed anyway...

The most common reason that clients give me for not working ON their businesses (eg not doing the strategic work, systemising etc) is that they are too busy. Too busy working IN the business (eg managing people, selling, doing the accounts, making the tea etc etc). Admittedly, the size of the task is huge and as daunting as eating the proverbial elephant.

The clients in question are often working 60 to 70 hours a week so their reason is a genuine one. However, I know from my own experience that it is always possible to make progress on the strategic stuff IF you manage your time well.

A recent blog on the E-Myth website gives some thoughts on how to tackle this problem under these headings:

• You Can’t Hit a Target if you’re Aiming at the Sky
• Focus on the Results, Not on the Work
• Approach that Elephant Strategically

The most time consuming "working ON" area is systemisation for most businesses. Remember that a fully systemised business is worth 87% more than an averagely systemised business, so tackling this problem has to be worthwhile.

Have a look at the whole article at http://www.e-myth.com/cs/user/print/post/how-to-eat-an-elephant and please do let me know if you think this will help you eat your elephant. 07977 074492 or andrewg@kandh.co.uk.

Thursday, 10 July 2008
Making a fortune - the secrets of Asian business success

One of the best ways to learn how to succeed at anything (including business) is to emulate people or groups that are already enjoying that success.

Asian-owned businesses in the UK are one such group. These now crosses from first through to second and third generations and span manufacturing and services, entertainment and fashion, hotels and property, food and pharmaceuticals.

Spinder Dhaliwal, author of Making a Fortune - Learning from the Asian Phenomenon, has identified six key traits of the Asian business success phenomenon in the UK, that we can all learn from.

1. Tenacity
TV programmes like The Apprentice and Dragon's Den have popularised the idea of the brash go-getting entrepreneur. The truth is that hard (and "smart") work, perseverance and true grit that has driven the Asian business community in the UK. Most Asian-owned businesses are more famous than their owners - for example not many people associate ebookers.com with its founder Dinesh Dhamija. Jim Collins in his book Good to Great showed how sustained success is more likely in businesses with lower profile leaders.

2. 24/7 work culture
Up until the first big wave of Asians arriving in the UK in the1960s, Britain had a 9-5 working culture. The Asian entrepreneur gave us with the open-all-hours corner shop and the late night take-away restaurant, fuelling the UK's development of a 24/7 economy. This resulted in entrepreneurs like Gulam Noon who credits the restaurants for opening the doors to his supermarket ranges of Indian chilled and frozen foods. The same is true for Karan Bilimoria and Cobra lager. In adapting this for our own benefits it is of course crucial that life/work balance is not lost.

3. Family
Of course, a few high-profile successes disguise the fact that in reality of a multitude of small firms struggling for survival. Many of the corner shops so closely associated with Asians would not be financially viable if you costed in the true family labour costs. Now, these shops are going into the hands of the next generation of immigrants as younger Asians opt out of working the same hours as their parents. That generation is much less accepting of the working habits of their parents (this applies across all cultures of course, not just Asian).

4. Woman
Women have played a pivotal role in the success of the Asian family business (despite cultural, social and economic barriers). But until the recent emergence of high profile Asian female entrepreneurs like Perween Warsi of S&A Foods, women were rarely given the limelight and remained the secret weapon in the Asian family business.

5. Multicultural and linguistic advantage
Even if the next generation of Asian entrepreneurs lack the motivation that drove their mothers and fathers, they are gaining competitive advantage by capitalising on their linguistic skills, cultural knowledge and business contacts both here and overseas.

6. Self-reliance and adaptation to change
The success of the Asian business community is based on self reliance, family involvement and incredibly hard work - all qualities which have built small businesses in the UK for centuries. As an immigrant population however, the Asians have had to adapt to a huge amount of change and their story teaches us the value of flexibility.

The E-Myth
Of course, every business can be made more successful by taking on some of the lessons of books like Michael Gerber's The E-Myth Revisited. All of the above traits can be built upon by clearing defining personal and business goals, empowering the team, creating systems and all the other things that Michael Gerber talks about. The ability to harness this extra potential depends on a willingness to invest time and money to learn new skills and embrace new ideas. (I will discuss in a later blog the characteristics that K&H's most successful clients share based on years of working a huge range of small business clients. This includes being open to new ideas, including reading books like The E-Myth.)

If you would like to know more about the Asian business success, have a look at a book by Dr Spinder Dhaliwal Making a Fortune - Learning from the Asian Phenomenon (Capstone) £14.99.

Please let me know your thoughts on this, and let me know if you think there are other reasons for the success of Asian-owned businesses- andrewg@kandh.co.uk or 07977 074492.

Friday, 20 June 2008
How trustworthy are you? Take the test and find out.

You may know your IQ but what is your TQ (Trust Quotient)? David Maister, the professional services firm business guru, has on his website a diagnostic tool to help you assess just how trustworthy you are.

Trust is crucial to holding together the networked relationships that define the new economy. The ability to trust and be trusted is essential to business and personal relationships. You can now find out how trustworthy you are, why this is so important and what to do to improve your TQ.

The Trust Equation is:

C + R + I
TQ = ---------
S
Where:

TQ=Trust Quotient (trustworthiness)
C=Credibility
R=Reliability
I=Intimacy
S=Self-orientation

My score was 6.2. My greatest strength (apparently!) is Reliability, and greatest weakness Intimacy.

The test is at: http://trustedadvisor.com/trustQuotient/dm. It only takes about 2 minutes- please have a go, and let me know your results- 07977 074 492 or andrewg@kandh.co.uk.

Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Seven ways to boost your personal money making potential

My blog of 18 April about the money skills of extremely prosperous people was very popular- about 80% of you who opened the last e-proactivity read the blog. So I thought I would follow it up with some of my own thoughts on how to ensure you are physically and mentally able to perform at your peak, whether the objective is financial or anything else.

This also coincides with the decision of Feisal Nahaboo (MD of the Probiz accountants network that K&H are members of), to enter into a partnership with the UK's exclusive Heartmath provider. (Heartmath is stress relief and personal performance enhancement system that uses breathing and visualisation techniques with huge scientifically proven benefits. See http://www.hunterkane.com/ for more information.)

So, here are 7 (why is it always 7?) ways to boost your personal performance and money making capabilities, based on my own experience:

1. Eat healthy food
2. Take regular exercise.
3. Don't eat/drink anything that just gives you a short-term boost because when the effect wares off, you will suffer a proportionate decline eg coffee, alcohol and similar stimulants and drugs.
4. Explore natural supplements- eg Ginkgo Biloba, Ginseng (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/713087.stm) and Omega 3/DHA.
5. Meditate or use similar techniques (such as Heartmath- see above)
6. Explore alternative health remedies when you are ill, instead of just taking the pills that your GP prescribes.
7. Associate more with people who practice the above ("You are the average of the 5 people closest to you"= from the Slight Edge book (see http://www.amazon.com/Slight-Edge-Secret-Successful-Life/dp/0967285550)

I will talk more in a later blog about my personal experience of Heartmath and some of the effects on me of making changes in the 7 areas above.

One thing that is becoming obvious as I work with clients and see who is successful and who is not, and that is the fact that "the key to success" is actually several keys. These keys are about much more than just accountancy and business advice in the traditional sense, and I believe it is crucial that we at K&H take a holistic approach to the advice we give to make sure our clients get value from us. This includes thinking about their physical and mental wellbeing and in some cases helping coach and support them in these and other areas.

Do you agree? Please tell me - 07977 074492 or andrewg@kandh.co.uk.

Tuesday, 20 May 2008
The real cost of running your car - £1.14 a mile?

According to the recent AA Magazine (issue 7), for the average new car in the £30k+ cost bracket the cost per mile of running it is 113.79p! For cars costing £20k to £30k it goes down to 79.35p, and so on down to 36.84p for those costing £10k or less.

Of course, these figures include fixed costs like road tax, insurance, depreciation etc, which will not be affected that much each extra mile that you do. On the other hand, these figures were before the last fuel price increases.

If you have been happy to use your car for work to get the tax free 40p a mile this might come as a bit of a shock, as it did to me.

The magazine offer some good advice on how to cut these costs, including:

1. Have your car serviced regularly to ensure maximum efficiency
2. Check tyre pressure regularly
3. Remove roof racks or boxes when not in use
4. Don't start the engine until you are ready to go.
5. Drive smoothly and accelerate gently so you avoid braking unnecessarily
6. Change gear early, without labouring the engine
7. Use the air conditioning less (but do put it on once a week to maintain it in good condition)
8. Slow down- driving at 60 rather than 70 mph can save up 17.2% in fuel
9. Switch the engine off if you are going to be still for more than 3 minutes
10. Make sure you aren't paying for insurance extras that you don't need and think about having a higher excess.
11. Don't overestimate you mileage in your insurance policy- the average car does just 8300 mile a year.
    

Also, when choosing a new car:

• don't get one any heavier than you need (weight is more of a factor in fuel consumption than engine size)
• consider the type of fuel you should have and where it will be used- some cars are exempt from the congestion charge
• get a manual not automatic
• Think about depreciation- the average car loses 40% of its value in year one (but Mini Coopers lose only 10%)
• Think about buying a 1 or 2 year old car, but make sure that much older cars (5 years+) have low mileage otherwise it may be a false economy

See http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/running_costs/ for more information.

Of course, there are numerous ecological arguments to support the need for the above as well. Cars have for some time been seen as a status symbol: the bigger and more expensive the better. I would be interested to get everyone's views on whether the tables have now turned so that it is better to be seen as green rather to have a traditional status symbol-type car. Please let me know - andrewg@kandh.co.uk or 07977 074492.

Friday, 18 April 2008
The seven money skills of extremely prosperous people

I mentioned in my last blog post about all my half-read books. Well I have started to get through them (strange how a public confession of a failing prompts you into action). One of the books I have now complete is The Minute Millionaire.

In essence this book is about how the money you make is a barometer of the value you are adding to the people round you (assuming you are accumulating your wealth "ethically"). There are lots of great ideas ion the book and what follows is based one of the more interesting sections- Seven Money Skills of extremely prosperous people. These are:

Moneyskill #1 - Value - they value each pound/dollar like a money seed and recognise that even a very small amount can grow into a fortune given time and the right investment choices

Moneyskill #2 - Control - they control their money down to the penny, eg always looking for the best value, balancing their books (eg doing bank reconciliations!), taking advantages of discounts, checking bills for errors etc

Moneyskill #3 - Save - they enjoy saving money- at least 10% of what they earn.

Moneyskill #4 - Invest - they have a systems for investing money, eg using an emergency "bucket" for 3 months' worth of living expenses. As that bucket overflows it goes into other buckets with different levels of investment risk.

Moneyskill #5 - Earn - they have multiple steams of income, eg rental income, business profits, salary, interest, dividends.

Moneyskill #6 - Shield - they protect themselves with trusts, limited liability companies/partnership, insurances etc

Moneyskill #7 - Share it - If the above creates a rather unpleasant image, this last one will dispel it. They are also very generous, donating at least 10% of their income. Money multiplies fastest when it is divided.

If you scored yourself 1 to 10 on how well you are doing on each of these measures, what would your score be? My score was 45 out of a possible 70 (an average of 6.4 out of 10).

Please let me know what your score is and whether you think that score matches your overall level of prosperity - andrewg@kandh.co.uk.

Thursday, 27 March 2008
What makes a business book worth reading?

I just counted the unread and part-read books on my bookshelf at home and was amazed to find that there are 20 of them. Many of these were books I started reading literally years ago.

On the other hand, I read a book that my client Julian Sharples recently bought me a (The Inside Advantage) within a few days. (Thanks again, Julian.)

This made me reflect on what makes a really compelling business or personal development book (pretty much the only sort I of books that I read these days).

For me to want to read a book through to the end it must be:

1. Written in the right style. Many authors recognise this, eg The One Minute Millionaire is actually two books: even numbered pages are conventional, factual style and odd pages carry the same message but as part of a story.
   
   
2. Have the right layout. I find dense blocks of text hard to wade through. Anything with graphs, varying fonts and text sizes are much easier to take in. I think the books in the Q-Learning series are great.
   
   
3. Relevant to where I am or to where my business is now. It can be the best book in the world but if is is about start-ups and mine is a mature business I will not get much from it.
   
   
4. (Sometimes) up to date. eg a marketing book that predates web 2.0 and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) etc is unlikely to offer all the help that it should. On the other hand, the message in some book is perennial. The Inside Advantage was published in 2008.
   
   
5. Free of padding. Surely not every point needs to be illustrated by a parable or example? The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is a great book but it would be a lot better if it were half as long.
   
   
6. Recommended by someone who understands the reader's preferences and needs (especially point 4). We give out the E-Myth to many small business owners because such a large part of that book so relevant to them- even if they don't or can't accept that fact!

These are just my personal criteria. Please let me know what factors influence how much value you get out of a business/personal development book- for example I know a lot of people who swear by audio versions for use in the car, MP3 players etc.

Sunday, 2 March 2008
The Firewalk and the Phoenix

A friend of mine once had a copy of a book called something like “101 things to do before you die”. I am pretty sure that walking on a bed of hot coals was one of the 101 challenges listed.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Firewalk experience, this is a ritual that has been used in many societies, ancient and modern, to test the mental strength of those taking part. The challenge is to maintain the mental focus and determination to overcome fear and every instinct of self-preservation and walk bare-foot on a surface over 1000+ degrees.

Pauline Williamson (our MD) and I successfully completed the challenge a week ago, with barely a charred toe between us. This was part of day 1 of Anthony Robbins’ famous Unleash the Power Within (Firewalk) “seminar” covering 4 days from Friday 22 to Monday 25 February.

So what did it feel like? The simple answer is “hot”!

Much more interesting was the experience of preparing for the firewalk. But that was completely overshadowed by what happened on day 3 of the event.

This climax on day 3 did not involve any physical challenges or anything that can be effectively described in writing. Sufficient to say that it is like having an extremely personal group therapy session (with 8000 people) at which you visualise your past, present and future(s) using NLP techniques to “re-condition” your mind to remove limiting beliefs about yourself etc. Many participants liken this to a rebirth- like being a Phoenix emerging from the firewalk flames. I don’t think I am known as someone who exaggerates or over-dramatises, but I came out of the experience describing it as one of the most profound experiences of my life.

For me, the world is a subtly different place since that weekend, and the firewalk was done by a subtly different person.

In my experience working with business owners, the main obstacle preventing them from moving forward is their fear of failure and the limiting beliefs that they hold about their own abilities. The UPW event is the quickest and easier way to overcome these and start to take on new challenges.

If you are not afraid of being taken out of your comfort zone ( in many ways), then this is an experience that is a must for you. If you are afraid of going out of your comfort zone then it is absolutely essential for you.

If you’d like to know more, I’d love to tell you more – please call me on 07977 074492 or email me at andrewg@kandh.co.uk.

Thursday, 14 February 2008
Succession planning- Online tool

Following my last post about some of the issues involved in selling businesses, I have found an online planning tool that I am sure will help many people get started on the planning process and start to make them aware of the relevant issues.

It is on the excellent Business Link site at: www.businesslink.gov.uk/successionplanning

Please let me know what you think by emailing me at andrewg@kandh.co.uk or calling me on 0118 923 5802.

Monday, 28 January 2008
Selling your business- when and how

Despite all the talk of recession, there seem to be a lot of talk at the moment about selling businesses. (Interestingly though, no one is talking about buying business, so who are sellers going sell to?)

The reason for this mainly seems to be the increase in the tax rate by 80% from 6.4.08 (for most business owners the rate of tax goes from 10% to 18%). My feeling is that by rushing a deal through before 6.4.08 to save tax is likely to be a false economy- the buyer's bargaining position will be much stronger if he or she knows that the seller is working to a deadline.

But there is another less urgent reason. This was highlighted in a recent E-Myth Worldwide newsletter. This looked at the demographics of typical business owners, mainly in the US but the same applies in the UK.

If you own a small business, you are probably a baby boomer aged between 43 and 61 years old. The article goes on to say:

"Whatever your age, be aware of the coming tide of businesses for sale as boomer business owners retire, liquidating businesses for retirement assets. What are your plans for your business? ...sell soon ? ...sell later ? ...have the kids take over ? ...just close the doors ?

A solid exit strategy will anticipate trends and steer towards your favoured goals. And having documented systems in place will increase your business' value, and will ease the transition to new ownership.

What's Your Exit Strategy? It was Benjamin Franklin who said "By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail." We recommend that you design an exit strategy before the market is awash with businesses for sale. Perusal of the popular press turns up numerous articles on this coming tide, as do web searches on terms like "boomers selling their business". The approaching events are clearly on the radar of mergers and acquisitions firms and financial advisors.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers found half of US business owners plan to sell in the next decade. Another source expects 40% of family-owned US businesses to sell within five years. What should you be doing now? Factors favorable to sellers include times of economic expansion, low capital gains tax rates and low interest rates. Negotiate cautiously, as small business owners are likely to sell exactly one business per lifetime, while active corporate buyers work multiple deals each year.

Consider that

• Active buyers have the advantage in business valuation and negotiation
• Business-valuation-by-owner is often low, typically minimizing profits for taxes' sake
• Business owners are often impatient to sell
• A vital negotiating point is the strength of your documented business systems and financial statements. Turnkey systems add to a business' value and ease the assumption of control by new owners. In this area particularly, an E-Myth'd business will have a value significantly higher than a similar business without documented systems."

Many of the business owners I speak to have an unrealistic idea about what their business may be sold for. It is never too early to start thinking about the steps that need to be taken to increase the value of your business.

Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Does money make you happy? No work does!

Much is spoken about the importance of goals and goal setting in business and in life in general.

It is rare that anyone takes a step back and asks why we are striving for the things that goals are suppose to give us.

In other words, will having goals make you happy (assuming that happiness is everyone's ultimate aim, for ourselves and for others)?

A book I have just read called "Happier" (by Tal Ben-Shahar) examines this in more detail and draws some interesting conclusions that all of us who are involved in giving business advice should, I believe, keep in the back of their minds when giving that advice. In a nutshell:

• Happiness as a result of pleasure and purposefulness in life (just one or the other of these is not enough)
• Purposefulness can come from striving for goals (not from achieving them!)
• BUT the goals must be "self concordant" ie consistent with our own personal values and beliefs
• When we are working towards a goal, we can get into a state of "flow", where the balance between boredom and stress is just right and when time passes very quickly.
• We have more of these "flow" experience at work than during our leisure time.
• Money does not create happiness (except in so far as money is the measure by which you judge your progress towards your goals).

The conclusion from this is that should be happier working than playing! This is contrary to all the received wisdom about what "work" is and the anomaly is caused by the fact that there is a deep rooted prejudice in our society against work (including school work and studying). This prejudice creates a barrier that prevents us expected (and therefore getting) any enjoyment or happiness from our work.

Other business writers (including David Maister) have long talked about the fact that financial success inevitably follows from doing work that you enjoy with people that you like.

To me the actions that come out of this are:

• First, read the Happier book yourself
• Then find work that you enjoy doing, and happiness and financial success will follow.

Let me know what you think by posting a comment or emailing andrewg@kandh.co.uk or call me on 0118 923 5802.

Monday, 10 December 2007
Exercise - and improve job performance by 15%

I read an article recent that talked about the how we are all searching for the Holy Grail of more energy and how most of us end up getting the extra energy from quick fix sources like caffeine and sugary food and drinks.

The excuse we use to justify this is that we need the energy to do our jobs and we do not have time to tackle the problem in any other way.

This is particularly relevant to business owners. When I ask business owners how many hours they work each week, the average answer is about 60. In other words, they are doing the equivalent of nearly two full time jobs. And that doesn't include the mind-time and sleepless nights caused by the innumerable stresses inherent in most peoples business.

The article explained that in reality, the "energy" we're chasing is simply mental alertness.The article was part of an e-newsletter from www.AcidAlkalineDiet.com. Here is more from the article, including 3 tips to get more energy naturally and improve your job performance by 15% in the process:

1) Exercise - It doesn't matter what time you exercise, just be consistent. Fit it in based on your schedule and personality. If you have to do it first thing when you wake up, just do it. Don't even let yourself think about it. Just get started. Focus on intense strength training for 20 minutes followed by a brief interval training session to boost your metabolism all day long.

Exercise is a drug. Like caffeine and nicotine, exercise causes the release of many chemicals into your blood, resulting in mental stimulation and an improved sense of overall well-being. Exercise just makes you feel good.

2) Eat smaller, more frequent meals. Skip the cycle of starving and feasting characterized by no breakfast, a high-carbohydrate lunch, and a huge dinner. Instead, eat breakfast and then continue to eat every 3 hours for the rest of the day. Research shows that a high-fiber breakfast helps control appetite and increases mental alertness all morning, and improves your ability to process information. Do not skip breakfast and rely on a coffee to get you through the day.

Got no time? C'mon! You're an adult, you can get up 10 minutes earlier to have a protein shake, some almonds, and an apple. You're not in high school anymore. No excuses!

3) Eat only whole, natural foods, such as fruits, vegetables,organic proteins, raw nuts (not roasted in oil), Green Tea, water.Trying to run on processed foods is a recipe for an energetic disaster. Stick to whole, natural foods during the day, snacking rather than binging on big meals, and you'll never feel like dozing off. If a food is from a bag or a box, it doesn't deserve a place in your nutrition plan. Avoid all added sugars. Surely, you're already sweet enough!

Bonus Tip! Take mini-breaks during the day to work on your mobility. Work environments zap our 'energy'. From poor posture, to eye-strain from computer screens, your office, cubicle, and car seat will suck the life out of you.

According to Men's Health magazine..."British researchers recently found that when people exercised during their workday -- regardless of the duration or intensity of the movement -- they were less likely to feel fatigued, and that translated into a 15 percent improvement in job performance."Daily exercise breaks are essential to not only boost energy, but mobility. Each day, as your computer sucks you into its visual vortex, your upper body becomes rounded forward and tense. You need to reverse that movement.

Here's how...Stick up Stand: With your back to the wall and feet about 4 inches from the wall. Place the back of your arms against the wall with upper arms parallel to floor and forearms at 90 degrees. Stick up your arms over head while keeping your arm against the wall at all times. Slowly return to below the starting position tucking your elbows into your sides and bringing shoulder blades together. Repeat for 12 reps. Do this every 60-90 minutes. In addition, get outside into natural light whenever possible.

Let me know how you get on!

Thursday, 15 November 2007
How to make the coffee

At K&H, when we embarked on our systemisation programme in 2004, one of the first systems to go live was how to use our coffee machine.

It is clearly not just us that think this is a priority, as coffee is used the example of how to start systemising (or "systematising" to the Americans) in the resources section of the E-Myth website: http://www.e-myth.com/pub/htdocs/resources. You can get a copy of the system here: http://www.e-myth.com/media/pdf/CoffeMakingActionPlan.pdf.

The serious point about this is that it shows just how easy it is to start to put systems into place in a business, as long as you have the intention and attention, in Gerber's words. You just write down, step by step, what you do and then save this somewhere that everyone can access it easily.

What was the first system you wrote in your business?

Please tell me about this and your business systemisation challenges at andrewg@kandh.co.uk or by posting a comment here.

Thursday, 1 November 2007
Be Thin To Cut Cancer- BBC (Post script to my previous post)

Following my last post, my co-director Pauline Williamson has brought to my attention this from the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7069914.stm with the results of a survey by the World Cancer Research Fund.

This seems to "prove" the point about the link between diet and serious illness and (in my interpretation) our ability to perform at our peak, in every aspect of life, including business.

Wednesday, 31 October 2007
Do you need a great body to have a truly great business??

I have to confess I have fallen behind with listening to the podcasts that I wrote about in my earlier blog. The reason is that recently my time in my “university on wheels” has been spent listening to some other material on a different (but related) theme.

The numbers that this will help change are things like: life expectancy and the percentage of maximum physical wellbeing that we experience. It has already changed (reduced) my weight and waist size!

The subject is diet and how most of us are (put very simply) poisoning our bodies with bad foods and then using other poisons (medicines) to disguise the symptoms. In a bit more detail: the reasoning is that the pH (acid/alkaline) balance of our bodies is thrown out by consuming acid forming foods (like sugars, fat from processed foods and animal sources etc). These are the underlying causes most of the ailments that are usually blamed on viruses and diseases.

The good metaphor is that the diseases are like the mosquitoes on a stagnant pool of water (our bodies) and that to get rid of the mosquitoes we must clean the pool and not simply try to deter the mosquitoes.

This metaphor is used by Anthony Robbins and his audio programme Living Health (see http://www.learnoutloud.com/Catalog/Self-Development/Diet-and-Nutrition/Living-Health/4485 and elsewhere).

The same message is in the book The pH Miracle (http://www.phmiracleliving.com/) and for a more punchy version of a similar message also have a look at http://www.skinnybitch.net/ (thanks to Caroline Eveleigh for this recommendation)

Why is this relevant in a business blog?

Anthony Robbins view is that without a sound body (our temple) we can never achieve our potential in business or any other aspect of life. It is not good having a great, profitable business if we sacrifice other aspects of our lives to achieve it. We must have balance in the wheel of life (see http://www.transitionslifecoaching.co.uk/resources.php)

I personally have lost count of the number of clients who have told me they work double the normal working week, 60 to 70 hours or more.

I agree with Anthony Robbins about the need for balance. What do you think?

Why not come to the next K&H BBF, the title of which is, coincidentally, based on the Benjamin Franklin quote "Business Planning - Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail". This is on 13.2.08 - see here for details- http://www.kandh.co.uk/bbf.htm. I hope to see you there so you can tell me what plans you have to sell your business.