Are you a perfectionist? Do you have perfectionist traits? 

Engineers by nature have a deep desire to get things 100% correct and perfect. And don't get me wrong, this personality trait is completely functional and needed when it comes to de-risking a project, system or process. In fact the general population who use or are affected by the things you design and create WANT you to use your perfectionist so that nothing goes wrong! 

However, sometimes this perfectionist trait can cause friction within yourself as well as your clients and your team. 

Let me explain. 

Have you ever had a client call you up and ask you to get your deliverables done more quickly? Or a client bring forward a project deadline by a week just because they can? Have you ever had a team member get frustrated with you that you're taking too long on the element that you're working on and it's delaying them getting started?

And when this happened, did you FEEL yourself getting frustrated,...

Well here we go - we're into the run into Christmas! What a year!

What I notice at this time of the year is that leaders and business owners start to get complacent and take their foot off the pedal. 

It’s been a hard and full on year - I know. But if you want to finish this year strong AND set the start of your 2021 up right - then you have to keep going. 

This is where consistency matters. 

It’s the little things you do every day that really matter and allow you to build momentum - and momentum generates results!

Watch and listen for those little voices in your head that tell you things like:

• It's been a hard year - just take the rest of the year slowly.
• Don't worry about following up that client / proposal / opportunity - leave it until the new year.
• I can't be bothered having that hard conversation with a team member or client - I'm tired and don't want the angst. 

Use your calendar to your advantage here. This way you are physically creating...

Something I am noticing more and more - particularly since the whole Covid thing started - is the tendency for wanting to hide until this whole thing is over. 

I get it. This is unchartered territory.

No-one really knows how the rest of this year and into next year will play out. 

This fear of the unknown and not knowing how things will work out is causing people to want to hide, shy away, not take action and just generally procrastinate. 

At the moment - the whole leadership piece is really real. It's actually needed more than ever.

Your team and your business need you to be charting the ship and steering them into calmer waters. They need you to be guiding them, making decisions, speaking your mind and making things happen.

.....and you can't do this through in-action and procrastination. 

A big fear in a lot of my clients that I'm working with at the moment is not wanting to stand out and make a decision for fear of making the wrong one.

I completely...

Today I'd like to explore with you a really simple, but highly effective technique my clients are using right now to set their weeks up so they win. 

It all comes down to being really intentional with how you start your week. 

Most leaders and business owners get to work or get to their office on Monday mornings and they just start 'doing'.

They just start answering emails or phone calls and get stuck straight into delivery mode. 

I'd like you to do something completely different with the start of your week. I'd like you to block out 2hrs somewhere on Monday morning which will be your time to get intentional and strategic about your week. 

In this 2hr block I'd like you to think about, strategise and get clear on your actions around the following:

1)  Business development. This could mean reaching out to a potential client for coffee or lunch, strategising about who you're targeting next with your BD strategy or even sitting down to write a proposal.

...

As an engineering leader or business owner in the industry at the moment - building and showing the traits of a resilient leader is so critical right now.

The people around you need someone to steer the ship. They need someone who is calm under pressure and who makes decisions quickly when they need to. 

Your team and your business can't afford to have someone at the helm who is unsure, hiding and cracks under pressure. 

Now resilience is a difficult skill to master - particularly when you are trying to navigate your own emotions, thoughts and feelings through this pandemic as well as being there for your team and your business.

Today I want to give you 3 strategies to become a more resilient and more effective leader during these challenging times. 

1) Build Awareness

The first step is building awareness of yourself, your thoughts, your feelings and your emotions in any given moment. The easiest way to do this is to set reminders for yourself on your phone throughout...

Today I want to explore with you an area that a lot of engineering business leaders and business owners aren't getting right at the moment.

Everyone is rushing around like crazy, trying to make sense of what is going on in the market and in the world at the moment. They're not sure what the future holds and everyone wants to make the most of the now.

Because of all the rushing - rushing to do BD, saying yes to everything, rushing to get projects done, rushing the delegation process to internal teams etc. - no-one is pausing long enough to get clarity on what it is that they're actually supposed to be doing and actually trying to achieve.

The problem with rushing and the problem with taking action without clarity - is that it leads to mistakes, it leads to rework, it leads to unhappy clients who may start looking elsewhere, it leads to wasted money and resources and it leads to not profitable projects - all of which is completely unsustainable. 

If you're looking to thrive right...

Today I want to explore with you the #1 trait I see in engineering leaders and business owners who are thriving right now.

One word - action.

Those who are staying still are being left behind.

Those who are getting on with things, adapting, changing, taking responsibility and evolving themselves, their teams and their businesses are the ones who are thriving. 

Let’s explore why.

Those who are staying still and watching things happen to them and around them are moving into a disempowered state. They are telling themselves things like:

 - "I can't do this"

 - "I'll wait till this whole thing is over"

 - "I'm afraid of what might happen"

They are afraid of "getting it wrong" or “making a mistake”, are shrinking away from what is happening in the world at the moment and are unfortunately being left behind. 

Conversely, the mindset in those who are taking action, looking for opportunities, changing the way they do things, creating new servicing...

In any given interaction with a client (or anyone for that matter) there are always 3 different viewpoints:

1) Expectation - what they expect will happen or should have happened.

2) Perception - what they perceive is happening or has happened.

3) Reality - what actually is happening or happened. 

Now as engineers, we get really stuck on the reality of things - what is actually true, what actually is happening or actually happened - the real black and white. 

Well, I'm about to tell you that your clients actually don't care about reality...

All they care about is their expectation of what will happen and their perception of what is happening (which is essentially how you manage their expectations). 

If you can let go of focusing on the reality (which is hard for engineers I know!) and focus your efforts on managing your clients expectations and perceptions - then you will absolutely NAIL your client relationships and turn your current clients into clients for...

There is one word that I can't stand - HUSTLE......

It seems to have become a massive buzz word in the world of leaders, business owners and entrepreneurs. 

I firmly believe that if you set your team and your business up smartly and you have the right systems and processes in place - then you don't need to hustle. Your team is performing well, your clients love you and the work you do for them and your project pipeline is full. 

But today I'm going to break my rule and talk about one area that does require an amount of hustle.... 

...and that is in the follow up!! 

Most people think that a potential client will either love them or hate them after one coffee meeting. They think they'll either get work out of them straight away or it wasn’t meant to be. 

But that’s absolute nonsense. 

If you're a stats person (which most engineers are!) then the latest stats are that a new client will need on average 8 touch points from you before they will...

There is the perception that business development and finding and connecting with your ideal future clients is really hard at the moment.

Most leaders and business owners in our industry are used to the old way of doing things in this space.

You know... register for an event, get a copy of the attendees list, find the names of the potential future clients you would like to 'bump' in to, attend the event, only talk to half the people you wanted to because you got distracted talking with colleagues or friends or people you already know, hand out a bunch of business cards and come away from the event feeling kind of good about yourself but actually knowing that you didn’t really make the most of that opportunity and didn’t really make any solid progress on developing new relationships.

Sound familiar? 

Now obviously attending big live events is off the table at the moment. But what if I told you there was an easier way in general to find, connect with and then build...