The Silver Lining
At the Sydney Olympics Nick Rogers and his team mate Joe Glanfield came fourth in their sailing event. Two points short of the bronze medal – they were gutted! After a […]
The Flip Side of Passion
Can you remember having to do your job with one hand tied behind your back? I bet it was one of the reasons you chose to ‘go it alone’? Run […]
Step Out Tuesday – An Area Directors Toastmasters Diary
I mentioned Blue Monday in a blog post yesterday, it affects many of us in business when all the good intentions of our new year resolutions have dissolved. My antidote […]
Smile; It’s Blue Monday
Are you feeling a little overwhelmed with your stay of execution of this year’s resolutions? If, like me, you are experiencing a step back every time you take two forward; […]
Pit Stop! A Toastmaster Area Director’s diary
We are now a third of the way through our time as leaders of the Dorset Toastmasters clubs. How do you think we are doing? If you are anything like […]
The Priority Matrix
A useful method of planning your use of time is with a Priority Matrix. This depends on two criteria: Urgency; a job with a fixed deadline. The close the deadline the more urgent the task Importance; something that has a major impact on your job or which you put a high value on.
The Golden Quarter – A Toastmaster Area Director’s Diary
“Everything we do in the first three months of the year is amplified when it comes to our overall performance in the year. Every new member of an existing or […]
Stepping In or Stepping Up – A Toastmaster Area Director’s Diary
I went to Ferndown Speakers in my official capacity as Area Director this week. An unbelievable example of people ‘stepping in’ at the last minute to ensure the meeting was […]
Follow Through and Follow Up – A Toastmaster Area Director’s Diary
For a period of five years, I was the Regional Controller of what became a very successful remote team of New Look Area Managers. The success was theirs and theirs […]
One Small Step – A Toastmaster Area Director’s Diary
What a brilliant day! The evaluations from the officer training day suggest there is some room for improvement so I look forward to honing my skills for the next one […]
One Trick Pony – A Toastmaster Area Director’s Diary
I joined Toastmasters in 2008, to learn to talk on an ad hoc basis without stumbling over my words or the content; that’ll be mastering Table Topics then! Seven years […]
Empowering your staff with business intelligence
Free Training Needs Analysis! In a recent review 43% of people who leave their jobs cite their ineffective manager as the reason. That’s huge! Since the value of most businesses […]
Tiny Things Matter – A Toastmaster Area Director’s Diary
Toastmasters International Area 42 is located entirely within the beautiful county of Dorsetshire. It is currently composed of four clubs: Hallmark Speakers – Bournemouth | Ferndown Speakers – Ferndown | Casterbridge Speakers – Dorchester and […]
Make Meetings Matter – operational management
“Scientists say that coffee and donuts release chemicals into the brain that create the illusion that meetings are a productive way to get things done.” Randy Glasbergen Business life is dominated […]
Climbing Everest? – business planning
Building a business is a bit like climbing a mountain. You wouldn’t climb a mountain without the proper and the best gear would you? You would make sure you and […]
Quality Recovery Time – Management
I was reminded of an ah ha moment that came from a book by Michael Neill entitled You Can Have What you Want. Thing is! I don’t have a problem […]
The Passion That Drives Us
Many (many) years ago when I was about 10 or so, my friends and I had a space ship. We built it from scaffolding poles, planks of wood, space hoppers […]
The Toastmaster Challenge
I’m frightened to death, most of the time, about thinking out loud in public, so I cover the cracks as best as I can with foundation, powder and paint. I’m […]
Personal Challenges in Business
Exactly a month ago I was in Poland on a ski lift looking down at myriad black dots on the mountain side. Some were zipping down skillfully negotiating the smaller […]
What if????
I love these two little words that offer the white space to explore. When you are faced with a dilemma that you can’t resolve in your head, the big what […]
Just Listen – Speciality Speeches #2
Uplift the Spirit Objectives: Identify and understand the basic differences between inspirational speeches and other kinds of speeches. Learn how to evaluate audience feeling and develop emotional rapport. Develop a speech style and […]
Three Wheels on My Wagon
Don’t read this post … oh too late. If you’ve read the title, THAT tune is already in your head for the next … (your guess!) I heard it on […]
The GOAL Keeper
Whether we like it or not setting goals is a powerful way of making sure you get things done. Research done by Yale university found that in 1992, only […]
Fly in the Face of …
An idiom – to be the opposite of what is usual or accepted His decision to start his own business certainly flies in the face of good judgment. What’s […]
I don’t want a Banana Nut Muffin
A couple of days ago I renewed my connection with Gwyn Jones via a text message. Today, I bumped into him at the end of an East Dorset Business Network […]
The Power of Positive Thoughts
Do you have a problem with uttering positive affirmations? I do. It’s not that I disbelieve the power of positive thoughts – it’s just that I had yet to find […]
A Mob of Kangaroos
I love some of the descriptive nouns we, humans, allocate to a collective or should that be a cluster? Last week, was the final of three, in a land down […]
The Boss from Hell
There is no right or wrong to your perception of work life balance. What is right for you, may not be right for others but it should be how you would like it […]
Evaluate to Motivate – a Toastmasters Successful Club Speech
Not all that long ago I did a presentation on my top tips for beginner speakers. They were Breathe! Prepare! Practice! I’m going to repeat the same mantra for beginner […]
Silence is Deafening
I often get accused of being silent. In another dimension, my New Look team accused me of being manipulative with my silence – especially when they came to me with […]
New Beginnings
I read an article on keeping new year’s resolutions (as you do at this time of year) and was immediately taken with one of the suggestions. It was to share […]
Laura McHarrie @ The Hidden Edge 