So Where Do You Get Your Inspiration?
It’s been some time since my last post; forgive me, I’ve been busy! July was my best month since I started my business - most new customers, most days worked, most new courses and interventions delivered. In short it was brilliant and everything I’d hoped for when I left the corporate world.
Then everyone went on holiday! All my customers went on holiday on literally the same day, how unhelpful and inconsiderate. It’s left me a bit quiet but I’ve used the time well; I’ve put together a big delivery programme that needed loads of attention and caught up tasks that had fallen to the bottom of my "to do" list. I’ve also had time to read a few of the books that have been stockpiled on my Kindle. My favourite so far has been “How to Win” by The Secret Footballer with help from The Secret Sports Psychologist. The book hits on two of my big interests – football and the psychology of doing and winning. So many of the techniques I use personally, and are part of my training programmes, get a mention - from establishing clear intentions, committing to action and visualising success. Sports psychology is still not completely embraced here in the UK especially in professional football, a good friend has worked with several clubs from boardroom to youth team and I’m sure he would agree. When the England team failed in the last World Cup the media took delight in the fact that taking Dr Steve Peters, author of The Chimp Paradox, to help the squad had made little or no difference to England’s fortunes.
One of the programmes I’ve been writing during my enforced break from delivery has been a Football with Goals course for guys serving time in prison, I will definitely be referencing “How to Win” during the training to help illustrate the points I want to drive home. It got me thinking about all the unlikely places I’ve taken inspiration and how I’ve used them in my training and coaching interventions.
Nobody explains how "perspective" challenges our ideas of what truth is better than Obi Wan Kenobi in Return of the Jedi. Darth Vader was responsible for killing Luke’s father… from a certain point of view. By the way, Darth Vader is a great role model for Project Managers who are up against tight timescales just so long as they don’t get carried away with the Dark Side of the Force! Gordon Ramsay rescuing useless restaurants makes Strategic Alignment come alive and easy to understand… “you donkey!” etc etc.
There’s many relevant business lessons to take from a Christmas Carol, Mr Fezziwig in particular knew how to motivate and develop a workforce as far back as 1840 and who better to explain the seductive power of deep and unconditional listening than Casanova – who was so much more than history has chosen to remember.
Want to know about resilience? Listen to some Gloria Gaynor cos’ nobody knows how to survive better than she does. The Wizard of OZ is a great analogy for the power of positive labelling and validation from an authority figure. Arthur Scargill (a union leader from 70’s & 80’s Britain who caused Margaret Thatcher’s government all manner of disruption) illustrates the idea of “opposing forces” as does Oscar from Sesame Street – the green moany puppet who lives in a bin – who is a great example of how negative armies are built quicker than positive ones.
Need to point out that there is a resource shortage; how about the “we’re going to need a bigger boat” quote from Jaws or if you have to explain to your team why you have to take on another project try quoting the Sergeant Major tasked with keeping the British Red Coats focussed on surviving the Zulu army onslaught. “Why us Serge…?” asks a young private. “Because we are here!” the grizzled old soldier responds.
To finish I often use an obscure line from a film called The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai. “No matter where you go, there you are” during coaching, because like the soldiers in Zulu – you have to deal with whatever is front of you and deal with your own thoughts and emotions at the same time, there's no escaping them!
If you’d like to find out more about the training I deliver and you’d like 25% off your first booking – check out my website: https://onedegreedifference.co.uk or contact me directly: [email protected]