By now, the effect of a complicated sequence of millions of individual events on an international scale (neatly labeled ‘the credit crunch’ to fuel the delusion that it is the result of just one thing) is beginning to reach most of us in some way or another…

I have been an entrepreneur for many years and traded through downturn and recession – but this feels different.

My friend Paul Simpson (a fascinating character who features heavily in my next book) says, “A crisis does not exist in the events themselves, a crisis is created by the reaction to the events…
My experience (for what it’s worth – and take it with ‘a pinch of salt’ because the past tells us little about the future) is that – in adverse market conditions little can be gained from ‘playing it safe’. Do what other people are NOT doing.

If you are feeling the pinch financially you will need to be creative in finding a way to do it on a limited budget (anyone can throw money around and buy creativity – having worked in the creative industry for a decade, I would suggest that true creativity is generating ideas that have value within the commercial parameters of time or money).

Need some inspiration? Give us a call - we can coach you into your most creative mindset and challenge the boundaries of your thinking…

I watch a lot of talks, lectures and speeches. Every so often one comes along that blows me away. If you have 20 minutes, check this out. It is well worth the investment of time!

Sir Ken Robinson talks about creativity.

Have you ever noticed how much time is spent attempting to find the one ideal solution for everyone; the one message; the one slogan? This would be great if only people were as similar as we delude ourselves to think. If there is one thing that I would love our clients to take away from working with us it’s that people are not robots.

A man walks into a barber shop and says, “Can you cut my hair like David Beckham?”
The barber says yes, and then goes on to deliver an appalling haircut - half way between a short-back-and-sides and a mullet.
The man says, “David Beckham’s hair looks nothing like this!”
To which the barber replies, “It would do if he came here.”

I have been having a conversation with one of my colleagues about pattern detection and self-calibration. In simple terms - how do you know what’s going on with you?

Have you ever heard someone shout, “I AM NOT BEING UNREASONABLE!” when you can clearly see they are. The thing is, at the time, they genuinely think they are not. Our left brain is fantastic at telling us stories, and generally has no awareness of our behaviour or attitude, only the logical part of the argument.

So, even when you are trained to spot reactions in others, it can be difficult to notice them in yourself. The only way to check in on how you are behaving is to search for the feelings in your body. When you are stressed you will almost stop breathing and there will be tension somewhere. The more you become aware of the wealth of valuable messages your body provides, the closer you will get to what’s really going on for you.

Daryll has just returned from another week with his mentor Dr. John Grinder and is ‘bouncing off the walls’ with enthusiasm for the new coaching patterns he has been playing with.

He will be running a one-off day of New Code NLP on the 13th May at our premises in Reading.

If you have never experienced NLP before, this is a really practical introduction in ‘plain english’. Daryll will be using high performance coaching activities including the high performance game used to train pilots at NASA.

For experienced Practitioners, Daryll will be demonstrating how you can make your NLP even cleaner (with less content), more generative (working with ’state’) and more empowering for your clients (focussing on solo application).

The cost for the day is £75 (excluding VAT) and it’s open to everyone so feel free to bring a friend or colleague. The dress code is informal; ensure that you clothing allows freedom of movement.

Numbers are limited and it’s ‘first come first served’. To reserve a place today: Call Swen on 0118 900 1527 or complete the form on our contact page.

Best regards

The team at noggin.

Our premises is Davidson House, Forbury Square, Reading, Berks, RG1 3EU (25 minutes from Paddington by train).

The dress code is informal, ensure that you clothing allows freedom of movement

I was recently asked to write a piece for an accountancy magazine on ’stress management’. The term ’stress management’ is upsetting to me in the first place - suggesting that the objective is to manage the stress you have rather than find ways you eliminate it - as if you have no choice but to be stressed.

I was asked to respond to the following five questions:

What are the most common causes/symptoms of stress in offices?
What are the Special challenges that stress poses for young, ambitious high-fliers?
What are the best ways to prevent and/or combat stress (and why) - and the worst?
Our readers are accountants - who may be regarded as more immune from stress than those in other occupations - is that nonsense and why/why not?
How should employers help their workforce de-stress? What benefits do enlightened employers provide that contribute to successful stress management?

If you want to read my rant… (more…)

About ten years ago I worked in a bar/restaurant during my weekends and holidays. I guess you can describe it as a bit posh with its marble floor, black leather seats and impressive half-round, wooden bar. The main reason for me to be there (besides the pocket money) was to learn, it was during my time at Hotelschool.

This was a busy business and some days of the week there were a lot more people having their drinks at the bar than at others. After a while it occurred to me that this was always with the same guy behind the bar so of course I wanted to find out what it is that he does! “What is going on here?” One evening we were having some drinks after we finished and I asked him for his trick. He started laughing and gave me a one-liner that has stuck with me to this day. (more…)

Last night I was sitting at home clicking through Stumble, one of my favorite websites, when a page was served to me about gut feelings.

A team at the University of Leeds have done research into these feelings. The research shows that on a subconscious level our brain provides us with information, in the form of gut feelings and intuition, based on our previous experiences and what is happening around us. (more…)

It was one of those typical moments for this season; cold, windy, bit of drizzle in your face, I’m sure you know how it feels. I think it was Friday, some of my friends came around my place for a few drinks before going out.

After a while the conversation drifted from the usual small-talk catching up to something I find intriguing since I started working at noggin. Do you ever not see something that is right in front of you? Or drive somewhere without really knowing what happened along the way? Maybe you’ve seen some of the very many optical illusions (like on this website from the University of York)?
(more…)

That’s what you would think before having had the conversation I had a little while ago.

I was in one of the coffee shops in Reading enjoying a nice, hot cappuccino with a few friends. Just a general catch-up, we hadn’t seen each other for some time and after going through the usual small talk one of them made a remark that stuck with me…. (more…)