If communications are turning sour, pick up the phone...

Peppermint Beach, Western Australia

If you feel a virtual discussion is starting to turn sour, pick up the phone, or if possible, meet face-to-face.

Virtual back and forth can easily be misinterpreted, go off the rails, and escalate in the wrong direction, so if you have the opportunity, speaking directly is the way to go.

The nuance of listening to another person's voice; the language they use, the speed they talk, the tone and pitch they use; all provide clues and benefits in terms of understanding what the other person is saying, and more importantly, how they are feeling.

Developing good communication skills and being able to talk to people from all walks of life takes practice, and you'll stumble and skin your knees from time to time; but the upside, and real connections that talking delivers, are 100% worth it.

Cheers, Garrick

Reach me at garrick@garrickjackson.com

Keeping it real in business...

Bremer Bay, Western Australia

I doubt many things I see online.

With AI, CG, and deep fakes proliferating, anything fringy, radical, or provocative needs to be taken with a grain of salt, in my humble opinion.

It's super easy to be drawn in and triggered on any number of topics.

Maintain a degree of scepticism; look behind the veil; and proactively search for contrarian viewpoints to ensure you're not locked in your own echo chamber...

Physical activity, family, friends, surfing, hobbies, phone calls, and real face-to-face interactions with customers, prospects, and your network have always been valuable: and are more important now, than ever.

Focus on 'real', 'quality', and 'value'.

Don't abandon technology - it's amazing, useful, and entertaining - but real relationships; real communication; and real interactions are hugely valuable and are worth retaining as part of your approach to business and life.

Cheers, Garrick

Reach me at garrick@garrickjackson.com

Positivity in business...

Geographe Bay, Western Australia

In business, positivity and optimism are infectious.

Those who are positive and optimistic, even when faced with challenges and things outside of their control, almost always perform better than those who take a 'glass half empty' view.

Teams are energised, and problems are proactively and rigorously tackled and solved.

It's easy to gravitate towards negativity - we're all human - and problems across business are plentiful, but if you consciously pursue a positive approach, the benefits are evident.

Cheers, Garrick

Reach me at garrick@garrickjackson.com

Communication around mission is key...

Telos Islands, Indonesia

Businesses have lots of moving parts.

You may have sales, product design, purchasing, pricing, finance, administration, engineering, production, marketing, human resources, legal, IP, and the list goes on…

Communication between, across, above and below these departments or functions is critical to ensure the overarching mission is achieved.

There are many thoughts and opinions on the most effective communication methods and styles, however, that’s a discussion for another day…

Today I just wanted to touch on the concept of communication…

A common issue across organisations is a lack of communication between leaders and their staff and teams.

Leaders often assume their teams have implicit knowledge of what is going on, however daily operations and effectiveness show that this is not the case.

In the absence of clear communication, staff will inevitably make up their own version of reality, and in their defence, this is a logical and rational course of action to take.

The problem is, this version of reality is unlikely to align with what the business owner or leader specifically wants, or had intended.

The result is misalignment, frustration, and substandard performance across the business.

When a team or staff members don’t understand the mission or vision, the responsibility for this lies at the feet of the leader.

Communicate with your people often and clearly.

Check-in regularly to ensure they understand the mission.

Look for cues that indicate a lack of understanding or comprehension, and proactively intervene and realign what’s going on.

Be prepared to repeat yourself on occasions, or change your approach depending upon your audience.

Communication is an ongoing process that has no end. Relaying and communicating your ‘Leaders Intent’, will be a function requiring your attention until you are no longer a leader.

Don’t see it as a chore or wonder; “why don’t my people understand”; see it as an opportunity to engage with your team, help them to develop and achieve, and enjoy the journey.

Cheers, Garrick

Reach me at garrick@garrickjackson.com

Maintaining balance between business & life...

Canal Rocks, Western Australia

As a business owner, it's easy to sacrifice things of personal importance as you put time, effort, and resources into growing and running your business.

I often come across founders and owners who had passions such as mountain biking, surfing, going to the gym, camping, fishing, or attending events with family and children, that no longer engage in these passions or activities.

Business can be all-consuming, and inevitably there will be periods of 100% focus to the exclusion of all else - just be wary that these periods don't turn into years...

It takes a conscious effort to ensure you carve out space for passions, family, and downtime - but it's worth the effort in the pursuit of some balance.

Cheers, Garrick

Reach me at garrick@garrickjackson.com

Focus…

Geographe Bay, Western Australia

In a world full of distractions, focus is a behaviour that is extremely hard to maintain for many people.

Focus is a rare commodity; with a million well-crafted distractions being thrust at you every day; every hour; every second.

When we come across someone who is focussed it is noticeable – they have a different presence about them.

Inevitably they are successful in one or more aspects of life – be it family, business, sport, or another interest.

In terms of your business or job, focus can yield some amazing outcomes – from focus comes change – and the change driven by focus is almost always for the better.

If we focus on customer service, we will see how we are currently serving our customers; including any shortcomings; and put changes in place to improve.

If we focus on inventory we’ll see that dead or ageing stock that’s weighing down our business, and take actions to improve our stock and cash situation.

If we focus on our accounts, particularly the monies owed to us, we’ll inevitably pick up the phone, to collect those outstanding monies, reduce our debtors and minimise bad debts in the future.

As we all know (if we think about it and are honest with ourselves), our ability to focus is sabotaged by all sorts of factors, both internal and external.

Social media, e-newsletters, emails, texts, that person standing in the doorway - all demand our attention and drag us this way or that if we let them.

Focus and discipline often go hand in hand.

Take 5 minutes to list 3 items you need to get done – be it family; business; or something for you.

Pick one item and focus on it today – by tonight you will have either nailed it; put a plan in place to nail it; or realised it’s not an issue. 

That sense of progress and achievement will be worth it, as well as the real benefits from having focused and moved forward on the particular item you identified.

Cheers, Garrick

Reach me at garrick@garrickjackson.com