What makes a ‘professional’ professional?

Having coached professional service providers for several years a question that comes up from time to time is “what does it really mean to be professional?” If you look up the word ‘professional’ in a dictionary you’re going to see a definition along the lines of ‘a calling or occupation’. The word ‘professional’ means to be engaged in a...

Is making money a worthy goal

‘The lack of money is the root of all evil’ George Bernard Shaw Just recently I attended a two day workshop on ‘coaching mastery’ with Michael Neill (www.geniuscatalyst.com). , During the second day, when talking about building your business, one of the questions that Michael asked was “Is making money a worthy goal?” As I’m just putting the finishing...

The power of your voice

This article is very much focused on the process of influence and although it has been published before it’s a great reminder that it’s not just what you say that’s important, it’s how you say it too. I’ve listened to many speakers and you really notice the difference between the experienced and the inexperienced. It’s so often the small details that can make...

How to find more ‘ideal’ clients

Everyone in business wants to work with ‘ideal’ clients. These are the kind of people with whom you have a great relationship, who highly value what you do for them, consider what they pay you as an investment and are happy to recommend you. So how can you find more of these people? This may well be easier than you think. If you haven’t yet done so, the first place to look is...

The six principles of ethical influence

The idea of becoming more influential always seems to generate a lot of interest and I remember last time I gave a presentation on ‘the power of influence’ it was standing room only. There is a huge amount of material available on this subject but there is some that stands out as particularly powerful. A few years ago I was fortunate enough to attend a seminar where Dr. Robert...