5. “Pressing Pause:
the key to business success and
personal resilience”
Susan Grandfield
The Business Journey
7th May 2014
Creating focus I Developing capability I Achieving aspirations
6. Imagine….
Creating focus I Developing capability I Achieving aspirations
• Re-focus
• Re-balance
• Gain clarity
• Expand your awareness
7. The Challenge
Creating focus I Developing capability I Achieving aspirations
• More information
• More choice
• More change
• More pressure
• More fear
• Less time
8. The Neuroscience
Creating focus I Developing capability I Achieving aspirations
• “Doing” quickly exhausts our pre-frontal cortex
• Our 24/7 life-style results in ambient neural activity
• Our threat response is active more than is healthy
• 95% of what we do is subconscious
• We can re-shape our brain – neuroplasticity
9. Pressing Pause
Creating focus I Developing capability I Achieving aspirations
10 minutes each day:
• Increases your ability to focus
• Improves your memory
• Improves your decision making
• Reduces stress and anxiety
• Increases your self-confidence
• Improves your mental and physical health
10. Want to know more?
Creating focus I Developing capability I Achieving aspirations
• “Mindfulness: finding peace in a frantic world”
Mark Williams & Danny Penman
• “Thinking, fast and slow” Daniel Kahneman
• “Make your brain work” Amy Brann
11. Thank you
Creating focus I Developing capability I Achieving aspirations
mob / 07940 386 358
e-mail / susan@sgdevelopmentsolutions.com
skype / susangrandfield
web / www.sgdevelopmentsolutions.com
twitter / susangr1
facebook / sgdevelopmentsolutions
22. Remember Important Dates
• “Dates are best retained by connecting them
with important dates already firmly
established in the mind” Dale Carnegie
Cigarette advertising is banned in the UK – 31st July 1965
British Army leaves Northern Ireland – 31st July 2007
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards end one month jail sentence – 31st July 1967
23. • Take time out to plan ahead
• Acting well in advance of lease event will save you money
• Leaving it too late will weaken your negotiating position
26. mlm
here to calm the waters
mlm here to help
calm the waters
Restructure
Solutions for businesses facing distress
Allan McLeod
mlm Solutions
27. TITLE
UK Debt
“At the end of March 2014, Public sector net debt was
£1,268.7 billion
equivalent to 75.8% of GDP.” – Office for National Statistics
July 2013
28. TITLE
The Scottish SME market
FSB Scottish Members Survey Nov 2013 –
• 47% of members borrow to ensure cashflow
• 37% of those members borrowed less than £5,000
• Whilst 67% of those members borrowed more than £5,000
Scottish corporate failures remain static at around 1,400 insolvencies per year.
Rise of the “Zombie” business. Definition - businesses which are burdened by heavy
debts, generating just enough revenue to pay down interest but usually with no
realistic hope of getting themselves into the black let alone making a profit.
In summary, debt continues to be a significant challenge within our community.
30. TITLE
case study - Project Foil
Profile Long est. Ayrshire family business started by Director’s father. T/o
£200k. Strong customer profile.
Issues Debt of £60k, £20k personal guarantee, no profit, director’s salary
£400pm. Tight cost control.
Solution Reshape the business.
Focus on sales strategy. Intro to Business Coach to focus on sales.
Outcome Business has now return to profitability and is reducing the debt
burden. Director taking a salary. Long est business survives,
employees continue, creditors will be paid in full and have continuity
of future supply, trading & professional relationships continue.
31. TITLE
case study – Project First
Profile Rural hotel operated by Partnership. Partnership consisted of 4
family members. T/o £600k.
Issues The 2 local competitors had closed in recent times. Historical debt of
£200k, including a demand from HMRC for £100k. Partners joint &
severally liable, and all facing bankruptcy. £250k equity in hotel.
Solution Reschedule the debt using Business DAS over 8 years.
Outcome Creditors to be repaid 90% of debt, compared to nil if bankrupt.
Equity in property protected.
Hotel continues to trade profitably.
All 4 partners protected from bankruptcy.
Trading & professional relationships continue.
32. TITLE
case study – Steel Engineering Ltd
Profile Manufacturer est. in 1922 specialising in large scale fabrication for
the Marine & Energy sectors. T/o £10m, 100 employees. Blue chip
customer base.
Issues Board changes in 2012 led to change in strategic focus to
renewables market. Substantial investment in equipment for
renewables market, large cost overruns on key projects. This led to
a rapid and severe downturn during 2013. Unsecured debt grew to
£4.4m, which the Company was unable to service, creating severe
creditor pressure.
33. TITLE
case study – Steel Engineering Ltd
(cont’d)
Solution Restructure the business -
1. Board level changes 2. Reduction of workforce
3. Re-focus on traditional markets 4. Reduce occupational costs
5. Return financed equipment 6. Compromise debt via CVA
7. Implementation of key KPIs
Outcome Work pipeline was rebuilt and the business now at full capacity
Workforce reduced to 60 employees
Creditors agreed to CVA , which will return 65p in £
Compares to 2p from Administration or Liquidation
Best outcome for Landlord
Continuity of trading and professional relationships
34. TITLEReshape Reschedule Restructure
Insolvency
Tools
Our approach
Key messages –
• If it’s broke, fix it !!!!
• There is a wide range of tools at our disposal.
• Timing is critical, the sooner tackled, the better the result.
• Use your network. It’s your greatest free resource.
35. mlm
here to calm the waters
mlm here to help
calm the waters
www.mlmsolutions.co.uk
Allan McLeod
07500 373715
amcleod@mlmsolutions.co.uk
Imagine a weird freak of science means you have an extra 10 minutes in your day. Woo hoo! What would you do with it?I am sure there are a million and one things you could do with an extra 10 minutes in your day but what if I told you that you had to power off your mobile, shut down your computer, close your door and DO nothing?For some that’s heaven for others that is hell!Either way, how often do we give ourselves the time and space to DO nothing?We measure success based on outputs which just encourages doing. We don’t tend to reward people for doing nothing!Yet, doing nothing is often exactly what we need.Doing nothing enables us to - Refocus, rebalance, gain clarity and expand our awarenessIt is scientifically proven that taking time out of all of the doing to just be can have a dramatic effect on your productivity, performance, health and happiness!So, this free thing, which we can all do without going on a training course, it just makes sense.
Well, let’s just put it context. Why is pressing pause and taking time out from all the doing so beneficial?For many of us we are facing a challenge and that challenge is about how we balance all of the demands on our time.Today we are faced with more:Information – info overload, digital age, internet, 24/7 accessChoices – 6 choices just to buy a latteChange – all aspects of our lives (shopping, holidays, business), faster pace and more ambiguityPressure – to do/be/have more, impact of social mediaFear – a belief that there is not enough to go round, scarcity drives fearLess time – not a reality but our experience because of all of those demands.Every client I work with feels they just don’t have enough time.What is the effect of all of this?
Well, the world of neuroscience has really opened up over the past 15 years or so with the increased access to fMRI scanning, so we can actually see what is going on in someone’s brain as they deal with these challenges.What we know is that:All the doing is exhausting our pre-frontal cortex, it is our CEO and we really, perhaps over rely on it. It gets tired easily yet we keep putting it under pressure to perform. When it gets tired we make poor decisions, we act in an overly emotional way, we become distracted, forgetful, lazy and lethargic. That impacts on our willpower also, so if you find yourself eating a lot of rubbish or snacking, it could be because you are overusing your PFC.Certain parts of our brain are being activated more than they need to be due to something called ambient neural activity. Which means certain neural pathways are working away in the background because our brain is constantly in the “on” position with email alerts, notifications on your phone, facebook etc. The effect of this can be as significant as losing a nights sleep.Because of all of the change that we are having to deal with and the uncertainty that can bring, many of us spend too much time with our threat response activated. It used to be that our threat response would activate when we were faced with a big woolly mammoth which is unlikely to be the case now (although I haven’t met you boss!). But the uncertainty about jobs, financial security, a feeling of increase competition etc are activating the amygdala, the ACC and the PFC and result in the production of cortisol which are energy sapping and potentially dangerous to your long term health.We are very habitual creatures. 95% of what we do is subconscious and so that means we behave and react often without really thinking. That can be a great way of dealing with the millions of bits of information we need to deal with every day but what it can also mean is that our behaviour and our thinking get stuck in a rut and because we are so busy doing doing doing that we don’t notice that what we are doing isn’t working any more.The good news is we can change all of that. It is possible to create new habits and to influence the way we think about change and how deal with all of those challenges and in as little as 6 weeks your brain can look different as a result. But the only way you can do that is by firstly becoming aware of how things are for you right now. And if you are in doing mode all of the time that chances are you won’t notice.
Pressing pause for 10 minutes each day helps in making these changes in your brain.Mindfulness, which is really what I’m talking about when I say press pause, has been proven to influence the activation of the ACC, the PFC and the amygdala. It also influences the Insula which is the part of the brain which links the mind and body.Trains your attention by building the muscle of focus which means you are more likely to be able to concentrate for longer on other tasksWe often engage with thoughts and fixate on them. Dwelling about the past or worrying about the future. Pressing pause brings you back to the present.When your mind is allowed to wander, unconstrained and unprompted it is able to access your creativity, it naturally seeks connections between thoughts which you cant do when you are engaged in doing all the timeTuning into your body is not just good for your health but also for how you make decisions. There are more neurons in the gut than in the brain so it pays to really take notice of what your body is telling youSo, this free tool you have which you can start from today will help you re-focus, re-balance, gain clarity and expand your awareness. Just imagine what that could do you for your business……Is it worth giving a go?
Here are some books I’d highly recommend if you are interested in finding our more.