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Brent Spilkin

Mar 23
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Practice What You Preach And Become Your Own Best Client

By Business Coaching Entrepreneur Motivation No Comments

When dissecting this proverb, “the cobbler’s children have no shoes”, it can be understood as a phrase that describes a person who doesn’t benefit from the products or services of their own profession and as far back as this saying goes, it remains clear how relevant it is in business today.

In my experience with coaching, I’ve come to find that the lack of internal use of services or products that a business provides is a common occurrence within plenty of industries, whether it’s a law firm, advertising agency, or media company – implementing their own solutions seems to be out of the equation.

I don’t quite agree with that logic, as every company should be their own number one client and make practical use of the services (and products) that they provide.

Salaries Are Paid, So Provide The Service To Yourself

 Indeed, it does take time, resources and plenty of effort to provide a great solution to different clients. And as a business owner, you make sure to put your best effort in when giving people the greatest possible value that you have to offer.

But, the same logic should be applied when looking at your company; clients will come and go, leaving the most consistent and important client being your own organisation.

For some strange reason, too many entrepreneurs feel as if they should outsource or pay for external involvement to solve some of the problems that they are perfectly capable of handling within their own company.

I find it quite a common occurrence in ad agencies, where they often look past their own employees to advertise and market their business by looking elsewhere – wasting energy and resources on other people to do the job. The very same thing happens in particular law firms, where legal issues are handled externally, instead of looking at their own highly qualified and capable staff to get certain jobs done.In doing the research and going through a number of case studies, I’ve come to find that some of the most successful companies that exist make use of their own services internally and take this approach quite seriously; often spending up to 20% of their total budget around providing homegrown solutions to themselves.

This becomes even easier (and obvious) to do when staff are already being paid salaries to provide these solutions for other clients.

When you boil it down, it’s simply a case of practicing what you preach. You should put your own services into practice and utilise them to advance your business, while avoiding unnecessary spending.

It becomes a bit counterproductive to spend time and money hunting down external sources to do things that your company is already highly capable of doing on its own. Every business owner should be aware of this when seeking out solutions for their organisation.

You’re technically paying for the service already, so make your own company a client and treat that client with love, respect and attention.

 

More Benefits To Becoming Your Own Best Customer

 Making efficient use of the solutions that you provide within your own business is obviously very useful and will be of great benefit, so it goes without saying that running with the idea of being your own client or customer can bring about even more promising results.

Taking the time to act as a client for your own company will give you more insight into the way that it operates.

You go from actively seeking clients to becoming one – looking at your business from a different perspective. And by using your own products or services, it will help you pick up on issues, flaws and points that could be worked on to build a better brand identity.

This brings awareness around processes or interactions that could be made better for your customers, improving delivery in different departments and discovering areas where money, time and resources can be saved.

Becoming your own customer or client allows for more involvement and understanding, which will aid you in developing a much better solution.

Give it a try, be more involved, practice what you preach and make a far greater impact.

As a business coach, I’m constantly practicing what I preach and have to ensure that it’s my duty to deliver an impactful, remarkable and informative solution to my clients.

It isn’t easy running a business, it isn’t easy being alone at the top, it isn’t easy figuring out the right direction to take when the going gets tough, but it is easy to connect with a coach that has the ambition, drive and desire to make a difference in your life.

I am that coach and I am eager to take the journey with you in becoming the best version of yourself, so that your business will flourish.

Make life easier by contacting me whenever you’re ready:

+2783 253 3339

brent@spillly.com

Mar 16
Love0

The 7 Year-Cycle. Re-invent, Recreate, Re-incarnate

By Business Coaching Coaching Entrepreneur No Comments

Do you remember the old Etch-A-Sketch, or am I just a boomer? For those of you that don’t, it was a pretty amazing toy back in the good old days (look at that, I am a boomer), being made up of a book-sized board and filled with an aluminium powder that you could create sketches on.

By using two knobs, each controlling horizontal and vertical movements to lay out your masterpiece, you were open to a realm of possibilities (if you could actually figure out how to use the thing properly) and by shaking it, the image would clear away – leaving you with a blank screen, ready to start the next new idea.This piece is not about that killer toy, but rather about going through the process of design and creation; only to clear it up and start again with something fresh, new and exciting.

Reincarnate Yourself While You’re Still Alive 

Around 2012, I wrote one of my first blog posts about a pretty dark and confusing time in my life. After seventeen years as a business owner, I threw in the towel and walked away from the years of torment, tears and trepidation that I was facing and made the difficult decision of starting over.

By trying numerous activities and finding solace in distractions, I was taught the valuable lesson of reinvention and coming to terms with who I am and what it is that I want from this world.

I was able to find purpose, a new-found passion for people, life and business; I was able to find myself.

This clarity and direction dawned on me in a profound way, proving that taking a break is often necessary in rewiring and refreshing the repetitive and monotonous nature that life can sometimes dish out at you. In taking the time to trade in years of hard work and sacrifice for a few justifiable moments of simplicity and stupidity – you’ll come to find how rewarding a trade-off like that can actually be.

And this isn’t a new or foreign concept, as there’s a term for people who do this on an ongoing basis – generally university lecturers and a few other fields of work will recommend taking time-off for yourself after every seven years of hard grind; the sabbatical.

After seven years of driving down hard on your work, taking a sabbatical is one of the best things you can do for yourself. I can’t tell you that it won’t be filled with a bout of initial boredom, anxiety and hints of insanity, as a vacation for a full 12 months can certainly be a major shift in gear, especially after forming routines, rituals and a certain rhythm; but it is extremely rewarding to your mind, soul and body.

In taking this time off, you’re going through a sort of pseudo-metempsychosis (or reincarnation) of yourself – allowing a new creature to form within you that is filled with creativity, passion and the reignition of the dimming flame that had you driving yourself to those great heights for so long.

Tabula Rasa – The Clearing Of One’s Slate 

In a wonderful Ted Talk by world-renowned graphic designer, Stefan Sagmeister, there’s a huge amount of emphasis put on taking up to one entire year off after every 7-year run in order to give yourself that much-needed rejuvenation of the mind.

He talks about all of the beautiful insight, vision and invigoration that comes with taking such a necessary break from the constant and relentless effort that goes into working for many years on projects, deadlines and business growth.

The theory of tabula rasa says that we’re born with a clean slate and clear mind, without any innate abilities and that our environment etches our ideas, concepts, notions and abilities onto that slate. There are plenty of arguments against it, as language or talents can be argued to be innate, but if we take the concept and apply it to ourselves after every seven years; we are capable of doing some incredible things.

Similar to the Etch-A-Sketch, once you’ve spent a period of time constructing, creating and working hard to make a beautiful picture; shake it up, clear away all of that effort and see a new, bold and profound ambition come into play.

Adopt and embrace a clean slate, refresh yourself, clean up your act and either take a whole new direction in life, or go back to what you’ve been doing for so many years with a radical, new perspective and love for what you do.

Business owners and entrepreneurs who have been in the game for a long period of time can benefit greatly from doing this, as they can come back with a whole new vision and direction to take their business; perhaps creating a brand-new enterprise with the pent-up child-like wonder that they’ve been struck with.

I’ve taken a huge leap to get where I am today and if it wasn’t for me walking away and taking a much-needed break from the same cycle for so long, I might have ended up bitter and resentful – taking my frustrations out on the people around me.

Learning to embrace and engage in sudden change like that has rewarded me on a whole new level. I’ve become my own brand, adored by my clients and able to make the difference in people’s lives that I have always wanted to make. I’m happier than I have ever been.

Try it for yourself. Shed your skin and come out a better, bigger and stronger creature with a healthy, new appetite for the world and conquer it with a forked tongue. Especially if you’re like me and have put so many years of dedication, time and effort into working your ass off only to find yourself coming to a point of suffering.As a business coach, who’s been through hell and come back stronger than ever, I invite you to take my service into consideration and let me help you decide whether or not this is the perfect time to take a much-needed vacation.

I just need to check-in with the wife, but I’ll be glad to join you on your sabbatical:

Riding out into the sunset on over 1000cc of pure adrenaline, while the wind runs through my not-so-long and luscious locks of hair (a bald head equals more speed, BTW. Less resistance, or whatever).

Contact me, I’m cool with calls, emails, a face-to-face, or even a slow motorcycle race (boomer alert):

+2783 253 3339

brent@spillly.com

 

 

Mar 09
Love0

The 8-Layered Approach To Business Strategy

By Business Coaching Entrepreneur Strategy No Comments

In unpacking the most suitable strategy methods for my clients, I make sure to have them thoroughly understand this approach and how to apply it to their thinking in order to achieve some kind of business objective in the next 12 months.

This strategic approach is split into 8 layers that provide insight and analysis into the goals and measurements required to get some solid work done within a particular window period.

Let’s take a strong, hard look at how exactly it works and in what ways it will help your business shine.

 

The Situation, The Victory Conditions And The Goals

 

When looking at this multi-layered approach, there are first a list of questions that need to be asked and key information that needs some sort of identification.

Taking a look at the very top of the approach, you’re welcomed by the need to identify the current situation you’re facing in your business:

This is done by taking a look at some important factors like understanding your risk analysis using all of the right tools; where you sit financially from a cash-flow and liability perspective; understanding what the market looks like in terms of risks and trends; ensuring that you have the right product set for the market at this particular time and where you are in terms of producing your product; and finally, what the current state of your suppliers and staff look like.

Begin with confronting and truly understanding the current situation you’re in and answer all of those particular factors that apply.

The next piece to look at is your shareholder’s victory conditions:

Identify and think clearly about what the shareholder wants to achieve long-term (around 3-5, or 5-7 years); then mid-term (the next 12 months); and begin to unpack what winning and success looks like from a shareholder’s perspective in the next year of engaging in this strategy. When identifying what’s needed at this stage, you look at what winning looks like and by a set deadline, ensuring that you have all the necessary goals that need to be achieved at a particular time.

The third fundamental piece of information that you need to provide before moving on would be the actual business goals:

In finding the best way to go about this, make sure to break it down into a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal); what would be the single measurement to confirm that you’ve won or succeeded in the next 12 months? Would it be winning a certain account, getting x amount of people or clients, achieving x amount of turnover – it needs to be something that’s measurable.

Take it further and find your SMART goals (Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic and Time-based) and then set those objectives based on each business vertical, such as sales, marketing, operations, HR, finance, the product and the rest of the departments in your business.

After identifying your situation, victory conditions and goals – you can now decide what the initiatives are that you need in order to achieve these objectives.

 

Initiatives, Thrusts And Impact vs Effort

Based on the situation that you’ve analysed, the victory conditions that you’ve identified and the goals that have been set; it’s time to decide on the key strategic initiatives that will be run over the course of a year.

This takes your 12-month goal or objective and has them broken down into four key strategic initiatives that become a quarterly break-down of the year (3 months per initiative). Each of those quarterly initiatives can be divided further into thrusts for each quarter, which refer to the particular things that need to happen in each quarter to get closer to achieving the final year-end goal.

If you manage to complete all four initiatives, you’ll complete your goals.

It’s important to list what you’ll be doing in each thrust (usually 2-3 thrusts per initiative) and achieve them to move on to your next 3-month initiative. However, this can become a little bit difficult to manage all of these things, while running the business on a day-to-day basis.

So, I suggest putting those thrusts into an impact vs effort quadrant, where you can determine whether each thrust is either: low effort and high-impact; low effort and low-impact; low-impact and high effort; or high-impact and high effort.

You’re looking to find the low effort, but high-impact work and pay attention to that, leaving the high effort, but low-impact work to do last.

We want results that we get the most amount of impact from, while doing minimal effort. This has you focus on that first, then on high-impact, but high-effort work; thirdly low-impact, but low effort; and lastly, work that is high effort, but low-impact.

It becomes easier when you can decide which of those thrusts are more important to work on now and which ones can be focused on or left for later in the year.

 

Tactics, Resources, Sprints, Then Control and Measure

Once you’ve established and categorised the thrusts into appropriate positions and which of them will take priority, you can shift your focus toward deciding which tactics, resources and weekly measurements are needed to get those thrusts done.

There may be a need for particulars to get the jobs done, like: people, money, tools and applications, time allocation, smarter marketing – paying attention to the tactics necessary for completing the thrusts in the most effective way.

After identifying those required tactics and particulars, I suggest breaking it down into weekly sprints; figuring out what you’re going to be doing every week (sometimes bi-weekly) to try and push the business forward to achieve the thrust. Then at the end of each quarter, to re-evaluate those initiatives and take another look at those thrusts.

And last, but not least, as you’ll find in every strategy is the control measurement phase:

Identifying when you start doing these weekly sprints, how well the implementation of these actions are working and what other actions need to be taken to achieve the desired results. Paying attention to the what, how, who and when; how do you know it’s actually working?

You don’t want to get ahead three months, look back and say, “that was a waste”. So, it is important to step away from it on a monthly basis and look carefully at what’s been done over the past four weeks and ask yourself if you’re closer to achieving the thrusts and whether or not you need to speed things up, slow things down, realign, or just cancel.

Like with every strategy, you can (and should) always adapt, accordingly.

There you have it!

An 8-layered approach to a solid strategy that will have you achieving your goals like Christiano Ronaldo.

Speaking of goals: you should include me in one of them. Get yourself a powerful and kick-ass business coach that will take your business all the way to the top.

We can hang-out sometime, have a chat, a meeting, a sit-down and discuss where you see your business going in the next couple of years.

It’s so easy to reach me (almost too easy):

+2783 253 3339

brent@spillly.com

 

Mar 09
Love0

A Great Recipe for a Gripping Consultant Coach

By Business Coaching Consulting Entrepreneur No Comments

Just in case you were curious, wondering what it takes to be an ideal business coach or  consultant, what the difference is between those and a mentor and where exactly I fit into the equation, worry not.

For I am here to unpack it for you.

While they all have a very similar ring to them, there are differing definitions for these occupations. Each one is different in a few ways and it’s important to be able to distinguish them from one another, just so that you make the right choice when picking one to bring out the best in your business.

 

So, how do all of these differ from one another?

Let’s start with a mentor: even though it’s someone you know and respect, who offers you both guidance and advice, they tend to come unstructured – with no goals or timelines that are set, remaining unaccountable to their processes and guidance. They also tend to be subjective in their approach, giving you opinions on how, or why certain things should be done.

This is not what I do.

So then, am I a coach? Coaching tends to have a more structured approach – with set periods of time, there are goals made that should be adhered to and accomplished. A coach is also paid for their time, so there’s more pressure and accountability that comes with the package. While remaining objective, they are non-advisory in their nature, tending to stay away from giving advice, but rather have a clear mission to understand where you are so that they can help motivate you and find solutions – keeping you on a path to achieving your dreams and finding success.

Although I touch on some of these points – this is not what I do.

Ah! So I must be a consultant?

Not exactly.

While a consultant also has more accountability and helps in defining their client’s objectives, they often work together with the client to achieve their goals and to bring better results by being part of the process and producing actual work. With a project-based approach, there will be clear timelines and deadlines that need to be adhered to, while they are also very advisory in nature and have a lot more to say when giving direction.

 

“Spillly. WTF?!  What do you do then?”

 

I’d consider myself a hybrid. I sit somewhere in-between coaching and consulting – helping you define your growth objectives and assisting you in achieving them with strategic thinking, planning, advice and an outcome in mind of how to get there. I am objective towards your targets and goals, respecting the objectives that you’ve set to accomplish and will push you toward learning and attaining more to get to your desired outcome.

The role I play in my clients’ lives is that of a silent-theoretical partner – one who is always a call or text away. I act as a catalyst to the success of your business, helping make the right decisions, while inspiring, motivating and educating along the way.

 

Intelligence + Emotional Aptitude 

A person’s IQ (Intelligence Quotient) has been used for many years as a predictor of success and a way to determine how intellectually capable a person is in any given environment. Affecting everything from school and job performance, to income and health, IQ was seen as the ultimate test of character.

Until, EQ came along.

Emotional Intelligence has gained massive popularity in recent years by giving spotlight to empathy and its effects on leadership. It is the ability to connect with people on a higher level, sharing personal experiences and understanding which results in better leadership skills, mental health and job performance.

What if you were to combine these two powerful social commodities?

With my coaching-style built on a rigid foundation of both intelligence and emotion, I’m able to bring the right ingredients to a wide variety of scenarios. With IQ, the ability to logically piece together all the observations over the years gives me the foresight to pick up on risks, behaviours and immediate benefits within your business.

While EQ lends itself to my years of understanding and working with hundreds of staff (as well as clients’ staff) and identifying what makes my clients and the people around them heard and understood. I take a clear-cut route to finding and fostering connections with people.

 

Strategic AND Practical

Not only will there be a need for a healthy combination of EQ and IQ, but there are elements of strategy and practicality needed to make for a well-rounded approach.

In being strategic, there should always be a plan of action that encapsulates the needs, desires and end-goal of my client. Through careful, thorough analysis, I will provide the tools and steps to implement and execute a plan that will bring about the best results.

Being practical means that it’s always better to have a certain level of involvement in the process. Being able to add value and effort where needed, so that results are proven and not just from a theoretical standpoint. Putting in actual creative effort – not only providing ideas.

If there was a coordinate plane to help you visualise where exactly I sit on the axis of both EQ and IQ; Strategy and Practicality; I’m slap-bang in the middle. Blending all of those aspects best I can to complement you and your business.

Fresh Ingredients Go A Long Way

The longer I spend as a family man, a coach and a business owner, the more I learn and grow those commodities. By finding the right fertilizers and giving just the right amount of nourishment, my lessons and advice become ripe for the plucking. Giving my clients only the freshest ingredients to savour all that I have to offer.

A successful business consultant/coach not only has the intuition and ability to use all of the right information at the right time, but also knows all the right measurements needed for their secret recipe.

The desire for your success is of great importance to me. It is my duty to understand your goals and challenge you to achieve more, all within your boundaries and levels of discomfort.

As a business consultant and coach I act as a propellant in helping you achieve success, clarity in your dreams and goals, healthy business growth, financial stability and a sense of joy in what you do.

 

I am a coach that cares;

That listens;

That understands and seeks to find understanding.

So, go ahead. Squeeze the best out of what I have to offer.

Let’s get together for a fruitful discussion and an enticing cup of something strong.

You know where to find me: 083 253 3999 or brent@spillly.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mar 04
Love0

Performance, Culture And Taking On The Terrorists

By Coaching Culture Interviews No Comments

Seeking a high-performance culture, with the highest output is often a top priority in many businesses and the same probably goes for yours.

The stronger and more competent the staff prove themselves to be, ultimately become solid indicators of who you want working for you and contributing to the success of your business.

Who doesn’t like a hard-worker, especially one that produces results at an incredible rate?

In providing my clients with a high-performance culture that has hard-working staff, I make sure to tie-in a soft, nurturing culture that is inviting to the employees; which should be on the top of any business-owner’s priority list.

 

Culture And Performance Matrix 

Most business-owners want to attract high-performance, high-output staff; with fewer people on their pay-roll and that work much harder at building the company, as opposed to having a shit-load of employees where output and performance varies.

In choosing a healthy balance, though, the culture that exists within the business is just as important as the measured performance thereof.

If you ran a business that only had an environment of high-performers, there would be heightened levels of boredom and a looming disinterest in the company and the people running it. So, in combining a nurturing culture that caters to employee relationships and building strong teams with varying levels of comfort would be just as important to the momentum of a healthy operation.

In the following matrix that I provide for my clients, I divide the staff into four different quadrants that look at their different levels of competency, as well as the involvement of company culture. I make sure to put emphasis on the star employees that make the most significant contribution to your business.

On the top right quadrant of the matrix, your best performers and most productive staff members are seated within an appropriate environment of culture and performance. These are the people you should throw money at, they are the future leaders of the company and your best employees. Your goal is to move as many staff into that quadrant.

Conversely, the bottom left quadrant indicates the staff or employees with the minimum performance potential and very low levels of culture; these staff are easily recognisable and have a low productive output, which are better to try and get rid of. They ultimately impede on the performance of the business and can end up driving you mad. In other words, these people must go.

In the bottom right, you’ll find quadrant three, which has what I call the terrorists of the business. They are a great culture fit and are very well-received by the rest of the staff, but are low-output performers. These tend to be the riskiest staff members to have, as they are engaging, humorous and build a strong rapport with the rest of the employees, but, more often than not, motivate other employees to adopt their lackadaisical approach.

Due to their lack of performance, they are often a good target to get rid of, however they affect the rest of the staff in such a way that you’ll be questioned or have to deal with unpleasant rebuttals, as they leave good impressions on the rest of the staff. Complete terrorists, I tell you.

The quadrant to the top left are where your most malleable staff sit; those that have high potential and should be massaged into the right company culture – making them suitable candidates for the first quadrant of high-performing, high-output staff. Love and nurture these employees, find what motivates them and push them toward the first quadrant.

 

High-Output And Strong-Culture Staff Are The Most Suitable Candidates 

A wonderful way to approach this is in the way Jim Collins does with the best of his employees, “we hire five, work them like ten and pay them like eight.”

In using my method and honing in on the right attributes to look for in the staff, you should make a habit of reviewing where it is that your employees sit, especially when doing KPIs or performance reviews.

Cycle through the different categories of employees so that as many of them can reach the level of your most optimal performers, those with a strong culture and high-output. Try to get rid of the terrorists and the poorest performers, while finding the right methods to motivate the best of your employees.

Plot out which employees sit in which quadrant of your business and try to ensure they are a good culture fit and not just high-performing. Ask yourself if they are a right match for your vision.

This is a new way of looking at your staff and you should constantly reflect on the quality of your employees at any given time. I make sure to always apply this tactic as a business coach when working with my clients, as they often struggle with team cohesion and analysis.

 

If this makes sense to you, If it resonates with you, And if you need help to achieve such a cohesive and high-output environment:

 

I’m the right business coach for you.

Hit me up, grab me for a quick cup of coffee, a Zoom meeting, use me and abuse me, I’m a call or email away:

+2783 253 3339

brent@spillly.com

Mar 04
Love0

Credibility – Your Success Currency

By Business Coaching Lifestyle Strategy No Comments

Perception is everything. All that we see and interact with is affected by our judgements and personal evaluations of people, places, brands and our surroundings.

Whether conceived or pre-conceived, our notions about people are a staple to our survival as human beings. We need to judge and discern whether something is right or wrong for us in any given situation and as humans, we tend to be both horrible and remarkable at doing just that.

That is why credibility is just so important. People will always have lasting, if not life-long impressions of you and your character, deciding whether or not you are deserving of their love or their hatred. Trust is fundamental in building a strong network of followers (and no, I’m not talking about Instagram).

 

Build and Become the Brand 

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, an employee and regardless of whether you’re 20, or even 50 years of age, building a brand is one of the most important things you could possibly do to serve you well.

A brand is not to be mistaken with simply having a logo or a website, but how your customers perceive you and ultimately how you have affected them. It is so important to be aware of the impression that you leave on your customers and people in general, because it will ultimately lead to what they spread through word of mouth.

Recently, in a state of frustration, I put out a tweet that said:

Ask yourself the question, “what brand am I building and putting out there?”

Do you leave a positive and lasting impression on every person that you meet? Yes, every person that you interact with becomes important, as you never know where that person might end up tomorrow.

The people that you went to school with, the family that you grew up around and the people that you work with from the very beginning, all have the possibility of impacting your life in some way later on in life. Always be aware that a person’s status or influence in the present could be changed in the future – the junior staff that you started out with could someday end up being CEOs, high-ranking officials, or even your boss. Imagine that nightmare.

The impression you leave can last a lifetime.

 

Start Filling Your Bank With Credibility 

One of the most powerful ways to leave a strong and lasting impression, one that is impactful and unforgettable, is to develop your level of credibility.

Credibility is your ability to leave a positive and memorable point-of-view on your identity, one that says you’re an honest and remarkable person that people can respect, trust and admire.

Through this, you will have the ability to create a strong network of support and a following that you can be proud of. If you’re seen as honest, impressionable, hard-working and capable, you sign-up for unwavering respect and the power to have people follow and look up to you.

In order to grow a successful business, especially in South Africa, you need to have a strong network. This network starts at school and keeps growing all the way through to your employers, colleagues and even your opposition; everyone can be your network.

The power and size of your network is directly proportional to your success.

People don’t necessarily remember the work you do, but rather how you did the work. Were you trustworthy, honest, diligent in every move you made? You become a merchant that trades in trust, giving others the opinion that you are credible; and dare I say it, incredible.

 

Become Viral Like The Coronavirus

Seth Godin, writer of the Ideavirus has an excellent take on marketing and how important the customer is when spreading your brand to more and more people. He talks about becoming like a virus – contagious to your customers, so that they spread your product or service to as many as possible.

Your credibility should do the same thing. You should become contagious in the way that you disseminate yourself, as a brand and as a business owner. Let the love and respect of your character spread like wildfire, so that as many people want to be involved with you.

Apply it to your daily diet and ask yourself, “who am I meeting today and what will those people be saying about me in the years to come?”

Build yourself a trail of ambassadors that will follow you on your journey and share your virus with the rest of the world.

Sharing is caring, after all.

 

Be The Leader That Keeps On Leading

By becoming the leader of your own personal brand, you begin a trend that will open up more networks and a stable, unbreakable following. By taking on the responsibility of reliability and trust, you open the doors to becoming more respected, admired and remarkable.

It starts with one follower that will invite and inspire many more to join in on your mission. I quote Derek Sivers, “the first follower is what transforms a loon into a leader.”

You become like the Pied Piper, leading and gathering people with your harmony of trust and honesty – strengthening relationships and forging an undying perspective on the amazing person that you are.

Are you unique and remarkable?

Or are you forgettable and easily replaceable?

I sometimes find that being trustworthy and honest starts with a firm kick to the groin.

We could also just start out with a strong-ass cup of coffee, so join me for one, we can discuss how to shove you in the right direction. Or if you’re a little bit shy, too afraid to catch the Covid:

 

Call me on 083 253 3999 or email me: brent@spillly.com, Let’s plan a risk-free Zoom meeting, sometime soon.

Feb 19
Love0

Change Quotient – Better than IQ and EQ?

By Coaching Motivation psychology No Comments

Finding comfort, stability and security are amongst our top priorities as human-beings; we seek to find solace in being as lazy as possible, sitting flat on our asses until our legs go numb.

Some of the most intelligent people on this Earth choose to sniff out the easiest possible route to take in life to get rich as soon as humanly possible. That’s why you might find some of the top-tier criminals have some of the highest IQs.

Unfortunately, a high IQ doesn’t always translate to wise decision-making.

Then there are those with extreme levels of empathy, leaning toward the wrong-end of the spectrum of EQ. Tell me something, is it a form of Emotional Intelligence to be so wound-up about something – anything – exuberating such intense levels of empathy that it translates to high-level cringe? Think extremist vegans; feminazis; simps and the like.

Too much emotion can have you crying and even throwing earth-trembling tantrums for the most irrelevant horseshit.

It goes without saying that a healthy combination of intelligence and empathy can go a long way – as a leader, an employee, a business owner… a serial killer.

But without the ability to adapt to change, they don’t hold as much weight.

 Darwin showed us just how powerful natural selection is – the innate ability to adapt to changing environments and circumstances; inevitably resulting in longevity.

Stupid dinosaurs. They couldn’t even outlive roaches.

Even roaches, crocs (not those despicable shoes) and lobsters all stood the test of time, leaving the dinosaurs but a memory forever bound to history books. What a shame.

What a shame it would be if the top of the food chain – i.e. humans – were to act so weak and powerless. Our innate ability to adapt to changing circumstances makes us amazing, capable and with the potential to evolve faster than anything else on this Earth.

In the workplace, in business, in running the world, our consistent battle with adversity is one that makes us better, stronger and far more capable then any of our quadrupedal counterparts.

As humans, we are constantly faced with hurdles and challenges that test our mettle, that push us far beyond the boundaries of excellence and history has proven this to us time and time again.

Adapting to change is etched into our genetic makeup and psyche, it’s so natural and yet we scoff at anything that rocks our boat, anything that brings about a change in flow and direction.

CQ Is the New Black

Our Change Quotient (CQ) is becoming quite trendy and a far more popular indicator of how capable people are in their work environment – whether running a business, leading a team, or being the best employee.

Being able to adapt and change when adversity rears its ugly head is becoming just as important as one’s IQ or EQ and is a powerful determining factor in our capabilities as humans.

With the Covid pandemic pillaging and destroying businesses, jobs and lives, we’re left to see the determination and power in those that are able to navigate the unpredictable storm.

This burgeoning storm, like many others, has brought about immense change in some of the best ways possible; new ways of doing business, new technologies, new competition, new roles, new services and products.It seems like we only enjoy change when it suits us; which should be all the time.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not about changing completely and having to forage for a new identity from the abyss, but we should constantly strive to evolve and grow, especially in times of adversity or extreme change.

Like a tadpole taking on new features and form, becoming something bigger and stronger without losing its identity, its DNA. Or a caterpillar adapting and taking on a newer, more powerful design, one that can take on far more challenges with poise and agility.

Your ability to change is a profound gateway to more possibilities and opportunities.

3 C’s of Change

 I’ve come to find that there are three different factors that bring about change. These three factors force you to evolve, or be left behind and eaten – gobbled up like a McD’s burger in a fat kid’s lunchbox.

Two of the three factors that play a big role in our ability to make provisions for adaptation shouldn’t be the only reasons to propel us forward in life, as they force sudden change:

Circumstance forces you to take a look at yourself, your position and make quick decisions that will have you adapt and survive. Covid, as an example, has forced us to deal with circumstances we were too relaxed to pay attention to. Only when the shit hits the fan, do we take a look in the mirror and say, “it’s time for a change”.

Don’t wait for a circumstance to creep up and swallow you whole.

Crisis demands that you pull up your socks and get the ball rolling with haste, or die. We hate it when it barges in, but neglect to acknowledge that it is a reality that needs to be addressed and planned for. When you’re struck with absolutely no choice, left wondering “why am I here and how did this happen?”, you’ve been battered by crisis and often find it’s too late to gather your things and run.

Everything gets swept up into the maelstrom and you’re left with no option, but to change.

Don’t wait for a crisis and be shocked when it does come kick your door down.

And finally,

Choice is the factor that we should all strive to undertake. Like the tadpole, or the caterpillar, we should seek and choose to evolve and adapt toward a bigger, better form. We need to make the decision, the choice to bring about change and always be prepared for uncertainty. Be eager to adapt and avoid reliance on comfort.

We all have free-will, so by exercising your ability to change and by showing readiness to adapt, you will find that great benefit and strength in adversity become your new norm.

Do you want to go beyond extinction, still alive and well, way past your due date?

Well then, I have just the thing for you…

… My number and my Email address.

It will take a little bit more than just reading this to prepare yourself.

You need someone that will get you armed to the teeth and ready for war,

Ready to take on the next massive shift:

Find change, before it finds you.

+2783 253 3339

brent@spillly.com

..or just follow my mind as it dumps value all over the interwebs… @Spillly with three Ls everywhere; Twitter, Instagram, Facebook..

 

 

 

Feb 19
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Vision Boards For Entrepreneurs: The Wall Of Blue Logos

By Business Coaching Motivation Strategy No Comments

Setting up an environment that carries within it a vision of success is a huge requirement for any successful business owner and in doing so, you motivate not only yourself on an individual level, but the employees and anyone that comes into contact with such a culture.

I’ve come across and use a wide variety of tactics and ways to keep entrepreneurs, staff and my clients motivated to attract better results in as many aspects of their business as possible and have found that the methods I’ll be sharing with you today are extremely powerful in creating such a great environment.

The Wall Of Logos

About six years ago, I was called in for a meeting with a very large advertising agency that was a potential client of mine and being a bit anal about time, I showed up about half-an-hour early for the interview.

Being there that early meant that I was stuck with the friendly receptionist and the various staff slowly dragging their feet into the workplace. I was offered a delicious cup of coffee and patiently waited to be summoned in.

During that time, I noticed a distinct wall of plaques behind the lovely lady and each one had a logo of some famous brand that anybody could recognise; big players in different industries all spread across this company’s wall. What I noticed upon closer inspection is that some were in colour and some were still silver in the shade of the original plaque.

Thoroughly impressed, I thought to myself, “Wow, these must be the clients that this agency works with,” which created even more anticipation to land them.

The time came and I was called into the meeting, everything went as smooth as Jazz and I bagged the opportunity to work with this amazing company. During the meeting, I brought up the glimmering wall of logos and it was explained to me that the brands that are in colour are those that they work with and already have as clients, while the plaques that are completely silver were the clients that they were aiming at getting.

An amazing idea that not only has their goals displayed for the world to see, but also one that motivates and pushes their staff towards a horizon of success.

This way of thinking left a solid impression on me and I firmly believe it to be a fantastic way that the company reminds itself and its employees that they are striving to be the best and will seize any opportunity to be huge in their industry.

The Blue Logo Approach

A few years after my encounter with the great wall of logos, I was working with another client of mine, also a large advertising firm in marketing and media, where I noticed that they had a slightly different approach to the plaque idea.

This company used what could be called the ‘blue logo strategy’, where they specifically targeted brands with blue logos as potential clients and without being confined to a single industry, these brands were all involved in multiple sectors and markets.

If you pay some pretty close attention to some of the biggest industry giants, you’ll come to find that a huge portion of them use a significant amount of blue in their logo: BMW, Unilever, HP, Intel, Facebook and Paypal (Oh! Spillly is also in blue – just putting that out there).

Making sure to tell their staff on a daily basis that those were the particular clients that they were going for, they created an environment with a concept similar to that of the wall of logos at the previous company I mentioned.  They were inducing a sense of motivation and ambition in themselves and their employees to strive towards capturing the best clients they could.

One really cool thing about that was the fact that they didn’t restrict themselves to one industry (like automotives), but to different sub-categories, like blue logos in the tech industry and the banking industry, as well.

This also didn’t necessarily mean that they were only accepting clients with a blue logo, but some of the best brands tend to have blue as a preferred colour choice. (*cough* like my one)

Vision Boards And Attraction

These methods that are used by the companies bear a stark resemblance to the law of attraction and a trick used to attract and manifest certain possibilities in one’s life and environment: something known as vision boards.

A vision board is usually a collection of images, formed into a collage to remind yourself, and others, of certain goals or ambitions that you’ve set out to achieve.

By creating such a device, you condition your subconscious to adapt and attract possibilities and opportunities that will bring about those goals, ambitions or dreams into existence.

Through having the blue logo approach or the wall of plaques, the entrepreneur and the staff all envision and fixate on particular results that they are all striving to achieve and in keeping a visual reminder, they constantly remind their subconscious minds of an outcome that needs to be delivered. This affects their behaviours, body language, communication and interactions with people in order to bring about their desires and breathe life into them.

It’s a fun way to think about who you are as an organisation, the type of clients that you want and how big you want that client base to become.

Finding a similar way to motivate yourself and your staff to excel in and achieve higher goals like this will most certainly be beneficial to your own business, including the environment and culture that it creates.

From the inside, your business will carry and develop an energy that strives for success; while from the outside, people are drawn to the high levels of ambition that you’ve put out on display – making it known that you’re on a quest to becoming a big-player in your industry.

This is a nice and easy trick to make use of and implement in your work environment and so am I.

I’ll be the best business coach you’ve ever invited into your life and business and just like those big corporate kings: my logo is blue, too.

Okay, I won’t keep bombarding you with how awesome my logo is, so if you need to know more about how I can turn your business frown upside down:

Let’s do a Zoom call, a face-to-face, a get together, a coffee:

+2783 253 3999

brent@spillly.com

I’m easy enough to find – there aren’t many bald, bearded business coaches with a blue logo out there. (Again, just putting that out there).

 

 

Feb 14
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Howling at the Money Storm – “What Is Wealth?”

By Business Coaching Lifestyle Motivation No Comments

Wealth is a funny concept. There are many different ways to view it, so to get one universal definition can be just a little bit difficult.

Although it can be defined as how much you have sitting in the bank, or how well you’re doing financially; it can also extend to your levels of happiness in life, with family, comfort or your lifestyle.

In discovering the meaning of wealth, the last thing you should do is compare yourself to anybody, at all. It’s never fair to compare, as it can be so easy to find people that are far richer than you, living a better life – whether for real, or faking it on Instagram – and who are ultimately happier than you are able to be in the present.

So, How Does Spillly Define Wealth?

Great question!

I know people that many would consider ‘rich’, earning close to R500,000 a month, with the best car and access to almost anything you could ever desire; but find themselves so unhappy and miserable in their personal lives: living life divorced with two kids, with maintenance-bonded houses (some on their 2nd and 3rd properties), cars and assets that they can’t afford, private school bills, parents and siblings that are financially dependent on them.

These are people who are capable of going on over two overseas holidays a year and have lives surrounded by complete luxury, but still live on edge and in constant fear of financial insecurity.

A friend of mine is an example of this, earning a massive salary, owns the latest BMW 3 Series, and loves the extravagant lifestyle; however, as soon as Covid shattered life as we knew it, his business was struggling and he barely had 6 weeks’ worth of cash in the bank to pay for that lifestyle and all of those expenses.

From the outside, these people seem rich, but are certainly not wealthy and lack a certain level of financial freedom in their minds.

In contrast, my mother is almost 70, earns roughly R40k per month and spends around R30k every month on her lifestyle costs (car, rent, medical aid, etc), but her investments and assets give her more than her annuity every month. Her interest and rentals that she gets from her properties cover more than her monthly expenses. She is an example of what I would call wealthy – her monthly burn (expenses) is covered, while making more money than what she spends.

The fallacy is that just being rich results in being wealthy.

I define wealth as passive income greater than your burn. The key is to avoid measuring revenue, but rather the burn – what you spend your money on is just as important as what you earn.

Are you bringing in more than what you spend?

Now, how wealthy do you want to be?

If your answer to that question is to be R100 Million richer in the next 10 years and you’re just an employee, then do yourself a favour and just resign today.

It’s simply not going to happen.

The chances of you succeeding as a business owner are also very low. For the most part, the odds are stacked against you. The stats prove just how few businesses last past 3 years in this day and age, especially in a BEE-regulated, post-covid environment and research has proven that most entrepreneurs have a 1 in 5 chance of succeeding.

You need to be aware of where you are in the world and have realistic expectations. It’s impossible to become an overnight success. It may seem like some may achieve such a feat, but the anecdotes tell you how they’ve been around for many years before that success came knocking.

In order to get to a stage of being wealthy, there are certain measures that need to be taken. This starts with setting a financial goal that relates to savings, or annuity structures that will eventually produce more passive income than what you spend.

Pick a lifestyle that you believe is reasonable and in harmony with what you earn.

Identify how much wealth you need and by when, then work backwards and reverse-engineer those numbers.

I’ve come up with an easy and practical equation to help find the answer to your desired wealth:

If, A = Work;

And, B = Life;

Then, X(t) = Projected Wealth by when.

We have the equation A+B = X(t)

By starting with and setting a number for your wealth and when you want to have it by, you can work backwards to plan A (cash, revenue, savings, investments) and how much B (life balance) you will get out of it.

Plan Ahead to Achieve Your Goals

 Unless your plan is to become an earth-foraging hippy, or live in an Israeli kibbutz ( which I’m sure as hell you aren’t, as you’re here right now), then understanding exactly what you need to do today in order for you to lift yourself up for tomorrow and achieve your financial goals – should be a priority.

While salary is comfort; equity is wealth. 

Always try to find what brings the most equity in your life (investments, assets, etc), try not to focus and rely on the comfort of salary.

As with my theory of work-life balance: put in the hard work now to reap the balance later on in life. Pay close attention to what will bring you a passive income, long after salary has reached its due date.

Plan ahead.

Think it through.

And if you’re feeling a little bit anxious, anxious about where you’re heading and how big your X(t) is, you know how to reach me:

083 253 3999

brent@spillly.com

I promise you: My X(t) isn’t as big as yours.

 

Feb 14
Love0

Pushing Through Sir Galton’s Wall

By Business Coaching Entrepreneur Motivation No Comments

Think about this scenario for a second: there are two people, each with an exact set of circumstances in a closed environment; both the same race, age, gender, living in the same city, with the same education and the same opportunities decide to start the same business and provide the same service, but in a period of 2-3 years only one of them does incredibly well and the other fails dismally.

Even though every person is unique and capable of doing similar things, the greatest and best business owners have an inherent drive that differentiates them from others.

At the end of the day, it’s all about who the person is that determines their success.

A Wall Of Limitation 

Around the late 1800s, Sir Francis Galton proposed in his book Hereditary Genius that individuals could progressively improve until they hit a wall of limitation, regardless of education or determination to keep pushing beyond it.

He recognised that people were limited to a certain level of skill, abilities or talent and that once coming into contact with that wall, there was no surpassing it; however, most people never quite get to that wall, instead coming to a place called the “OK Plateau”.

It’s something that I’ve noticed in coaching my different clients and there’s a lot of solid and interesting theories to back it up.

Psychologists in the 1960s discovered three unique stages that we all go through in our journey to learning a new skill or ability and that there is a stage that everybody inevitably reaches called the “OK Plateau”, where we get comfortable and stuck in the process of mastering that particular skill or ability.

This is a prominent feature in all of us and in particular, business owners.

Similar to the process of learning how to drive a car, we start off with complete and total awareness and heightened cognitive function in the way that we process and learn how to make efficient use of the new skill we’re attempting to master, while progressively getting worse at the skill with time after a certain level of understanding and control is attained.

In these three stages that psychologists have discovered, we reach a stage of relaxation and autonomy in the way that we manage a skill, leaving the final steps of mastery or expert-level status to slowly fade from our sights.

The Three Stages Of Skill Acquisition

By taking a look at these three stages, we can see exactly how we move from the unknown to the known, to doing great until a certain point and then to doing a shit job, thereafter.

The first stage, known as “the cognitive stage”, is where we begin learning with great amounts of effort and ability, using strategies and tactics to navigate the new skill in the most effective way, while keeping a high level of awareness on rectifying mistakes that we make while processing this new information.

Similar to the learning phase in driving a car, where we’re alert, aware and constantly engaged in how to best apply this skill, so that we can take the necessary steps to mastery.

Move forward to the second stage, the “associative stage”, where we make errors and mistakes, rectify them and develop better ways to use the skill efficiently and effectively. We start becoming far more adept at the skill and it starts becoming easier to handle.

Again, with the car analogy, we’re going through repetitive sequences and begin forming a sense of comfort in the way that we drive, while not needing as much attention to be paid as it becomes a bit easier for us.

In the third stage, “the autonomous stage”, we’ve come to our most comfortable level in making use of the skill that we’re learning; basically taking the step from ‘learning’ to ‘learned’. In this stage, we act through muscle memory and begin to develop habits that have us finding shortcuts and loopholes in the way we operate the skill. This is where it becomes dangerous for us.

As with driving, when we reach that stage of autonomy, we tend to feel supremely comfortable in making use of the skill, that we recognise when to change gears through sound, we engage in multitasking by listening to music, making and taking phone calls, use one hand and are capable of conversation during this important task.

It’s at this point that we reach the “OK Plateau”, becoming autopilot in our control of the skill and feeling a massive sense of comfort in how we make use of that skill.

This becomes dangerous for business owners and entrepreneurs in particular, as they become relaxed and lose the original sense of focus that they had in the early stages of starting their business. Once money is flowing, the workload is easier to manage and control and learning becomes a thing of the past; the growth and potential of the business becomes stunted.

Everything becomes easier, so you take your foot off the gas and decide to coast, rather than keep pushing towards the wall of limitation; to the point of true potential that you possess.

Don’t Stop At Mediocrity

During this crucial stage, it’s so important to keep away from the mediocrity that comes with being highly-autonomous and in a perpetual mode of being in autopilot mode.

The psychology shows that it’s possible and highly rewarding to push past that plateau and strive towards even higher levels of success. Once you’ve learned how to drive, it doesn’t quite end there, as professional or expert-level driving is a skill that can also be added to that existing repertoire.

 

In the same way, business owners should take themselves above and beyond to the next level and become experts in their field, instead of resting and relying on a state of comfort.

By refreshing yourself, you can push through the limitations that you’ve made for yourself and create an environment of exponential growth and dominance in more than one field, expanding yourself to better and even more promising rewards.

Many entrepreneurs in that stage can often begin developing a nasty bias, known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, where they believe they are the absolute best at what they do, absent of the skills and talents necessary to actually launch themselves past the stratosphere. It’s absolutely crucial to become aware of the limiting self-belief that you actually load on yourself and begin the process of learning and education all over again.

Don’t stop at a point that you think is ultimate success, as it’s more than likely that you haven’t even reached that wall of limitations, just yet.

Your journey just begins when you find autonomy, ease and comfort in the skill you’ve developed. That’s when you take on the next chapter, the next level and enter new arenas to conquer.

I know that I, myself, haven’t quite reached my wall of potential, so I’m still constantly learning and open to as much new information as possible.

In taking this stance, I want to learn exactly what it takes to convince amazing people like yourself to take me on as a business coach – what it will take to make you my client, so I can be pushed even closer to my wall of limitation, while helping you reach yours.

Teach me! Show me the way to your pocket, I mean your heart. (Just Kidding!)

 

This is how you can find me; catch me; cook me; and enjoy me:

+2783 253 3339

brent@spillly.com

I take Whatsapps, Calls, SMS, Emails, DMs (that’s what the kids call it, right?).