Insights With Trent Munday

How often have you found the answer you were seeking, only to tell yourself, 'Yeah, I already knew that' ? Well, if you already knew it, why aren't you taking action now? Why are you still seeking the answer? The reason, I think, is because you didn't really know it all. Sure, maybe you knew it intellectually or even superficially. But deep down, in detail, in your soul, you didn't really know it. At least not to the level where you were willing to act on it. Or maybe you're just looking for another excuse to procrastinate? Maybe the answer has come from someone lower than you on the totem pole? So then to accept that they have the answer is to admit that you didn't. It's a statement we've probably all made to ourselves at some point in time and it's got some interesting dimensions to it. Let's explore. NB: Thanks to @TheStoicEmperor over on Twitter for the inspiration. #nomoreexcuses #takeaction #procrastination

Ever noticed how successful people just seem to have more luck? Serendipity just seems to look after them. Well, if you want to improve your chances of tripping over a little more luck and good fortune, try expanding your Reach. And it's not just your Reach in terms of people. It's Reach in terms of knowledge and information. Reach in terms of situations and experiences. In short, the more you get proactive and Reach out, chances are the more serendipity you will find. Why? Because Reach is the Ultimate Serendipity Engine. NB: Thanks to Julian Shapiro for the inspiration. #reach #serendipity #controlyourfuture

So often, businesses devote so much time, effort, money and resource to develop a new strategy, only to have it fail when they come to implement it. According to Sam Spurlin, there's a pretty basic reason for that. The fail to implement changes within the Operating System (OS) of the organisation. Your OS determines how your organisation functions on a day-to-day basis. The may you make decisions, level of autonomy, meeting & project structures, etc. And if you need to implement a new strategy in the first place, chances are that's because something has failed at the OS level. If you try to introduce the new strategy into the old Operating System, of course it's going to struggle, and probably fail. So, before you spend too much time on a new strategy, ask yourself if you're willing make meaningful changes to the organisation's Operating System itself. If you're not, you may just be wasting everyone's time. Here's a link to Sam's great article on this - https://bit.ly/3tAVLwx #organisationalchang

A mistake, by definition, is wrong. Right? So how can you make a Right Mistake? Well, sometimes you don't know it was a mistake until much later on. Sometimes it's simply the value and benefit of hindsight. Other times it's because new factors emerged and evolved that you could not have possibly anticipated back when you made your decision. Knowing that you can make a decision today that may turn out to be a mistake, but that it was the right call at the time...is kinda liberating. Sound confusing? I get it. It confused me when I said it out loud.  But still, somehow, in my head, it makes sense!?! #mistakes #choices #decisions

We often hear companies talk about the importance of the uniform to the people wearing it. It connects them to the organisation. Gives them a sense of identity. Well, I would argue that is absolutely NOT the role of the uniform. The uniform is for people outside of the organisation. Your customers. Your guests. Your staff should already know who they are and what their role in the organisation is.  If they don't, a uniform is not going to fix that. By all means, give some thought to how it makes your people feel. But remember, first and foremost, the uniform is not for them anyway. #uniforms #identity #people

The problem with being right is complacency. You stop trying. You stop searching. You stop striving. Whereas those who are still trying to prove themselves right tend to keep pushing until they do. As a result, they can ultimately push past those who were right before, if those people rest on their laurels. And the interesting thing about being right is that sometimes you're actually not really right at all. You're just not wrong. And that's not the same as being right. So, if you're right...just be careful. #right #wrong #keepmovingforward  

At some point in the future, it's going to end. You're going to quit. Whether it's your business, your career or even your daily podcast. ;-) So, if you know it's going to end, decide now, before you begin, what that end will look like. Will it be when you reach a certain target or when sales fall below a specific number? Whatever criteria you decide will signify the end, decide it now, well ahead of the end. That way, when the end does come, you'll be ready for it. You won't be forced to make rash decisions under pressure as panic sets in when you sense the end coming. Actually, maybe you don't need to necessarily decide before you begin. But definitely decide well before the end. #quitting #controlyourfuture #destiny

Once Upon A Time the Milkman used to deliver fresh bottles of milk to our doorstep. Then, the next day, he'd return and collect the empty bottles and replace them with fresh ones. These days, we refer to that as a Circular Delivery Model. Whilst it might seem like a nostalgic blast from the past, it's actually a model that could make a lo of sense for a number of businesses. If you have a product that is consumable and needs to be replaced or replenished, you should consider the opportunities in the Milkman Model. It will get you closer to your customer and so you will be able to get real market feedback. You can incentivise your 'Milkman' to upsell on the spot. And even if the economics don't quite work out now...just wait till Drone Delivery & Pickup becomes a thing in a few years. NB: Here's the BIG OPPORTUNITY...create a Milkman Aggregator Business. Provide the delivery and pickup/return services for multiple products and businesses.  #businessmodels #businessopportunity #knowyourcustomer

Imagine this... You're walking down the street and see a guy off in the distance who looks like your friend Steve. You call out to him. Hey Steveo!  Nothing. So you yell a bit louder. Hey! STEVEO! He turns around. It's not Steve.  So why did he turn around? He wasn't Responding to hearing his name. He was Reacting to the noise. If he sees something he Recognises, like you, his name or a problem you might be able to help him solve, he'll Respond in a meaningful way. If not, he'll just move on. We focus a lot on getting the Response. Creating products and services to serve wants and needs. But sometimes in doing so, we belittle the value of the Noise. Too much Noise is bad, we think. Remember, without the Noise, he wouldn't have even turned around. Sometimes the Noise can be just as important. #noise #response #marketing

I'd hate to think how much money I would have now if I had saved just 5% or 10% of all the money that's passed through my hands over the years. I'd hate to think about how much time I've wasted waiting for my suitcase to appear on the luggage carousel at the airport. I'd hate think about lots of other things too...so I don't! Quantifying the degree to which we've missed out or messed up usually serves no purpose. It's enough just to know that we could have done better, should done better and can and will do better. So don't dwell on the amount by which you failed.  Just focus on doing better. #failure #success #focusonwhatmatters 

This is my new process for communicating and sharing important news, events, happenings of a personal nature. I realised last night, as I wanted to share some news, that my first reaction was to just post it on Facebook. That's where many of the people who I wanted to share this news with 'live'. But then I thought about the potential to draw a negative reaction from other, 'lesser friends' on the platform. Some might be happy for me. Some will be envious. Some jealous. Some would disagree with my decision. Some would even politicise it. So, in the end, I decided to... Internalise - just take a moment to appreciate the news for myself ; Rationalise - identify the 3-5 most significant people in my life and just share the news with them ; Publicise - only then would I contemplate sharing it more broadly across social media...if I must. I reckon that's a pretty process. What do you think? #socialmedia #selfawareness #perspective

If we've learned one thing as a result of this pandemic...it's that behavioural change is possible. But if we've learned two things...it's that it can be hard. Think about all the changes you've made in your behaviours over the past year. Then think about how hard some of those changes were. Now think about how much 'help' you had in making those changes. The government close the borders, shut down the airlines, hotels, spa, restaurants & bars and mandated mask wearing and temperature checking. And even with all that 'help' it was still hard. There are still times we forget our face mask or to social distance. Not because we are evil or stupid. Just because behavioural change is hard. We have a tendency to assume that as long as we are ready to accept and embrace that behavioural change, everyone else should be too. But it doesn't always work that way. So spare a little patience and tolerance for those who are still trying to get on board. NB: On a similar note, if you have a business plan tha

Who are you? Invariably, who we are is closely linked to what we do. And that means, for many people, their job or career are a major part of their identity. I am a Spa guy. I am a Hotel Guy. I am a Painter. I am an Engineer. But what happens when that job goes away, for whatever reason? For many, it means they lose a big part of their identity. I guess it's what happens when someone retires after a long career in the same job or industry. All of a sudden, a big part of their identity is missing. Given the massive uncertainty in the world right now, many people at a risk of losing a big part of their identity, either for a short time or maybe forever. So maybe now is a good time to think about how much of your identity is linked to your job and how much is linked to other things you do. If not, you run the risk of being lost if and when that job goes away. #identity #selfworth #uncertaintimes

We talk a lot about the data. The metrics. Our KPIs. And fair enough. These things are all important. But as Nick Day reminds us, there are other things that simply can not be measured. We can't measure the passion our employees have for the business. We can't measure their intent. We can't measure the impact they can have on an individual customer at a specific point in time. But all of these things are equally, if not more important, than all the metrics and data that we pour over. #whatmattersmost #intangibles #metrics

The Worst Case Scenario...almost never happens. That might seem a little silly to say right now, given the global pandemic we're living through. But I would argue that a big part of the reason we're in such a mess right now is because of exactly that...something like this almost never happens. And so we don't have the systems, processes and experiences in place to cope with it. So, if the Worst Case Scenario almost never happens, you should be using that as an Enabler, as a motivator. But be careful. You could just as easily fall into a habit of using the Worst Case Scenario Test as an Excuse. Here's a link to Ep. 246 of the Show where I first spoke about Worst Case Scenario - https://bit.ly/3gRlZIy #enablers #excuse #worstcasescenario

The more experiences you have, the more people you meet, the products and services you try, chances are, the luckier you get. You will start to be exposed to new opportunities As you increase your 'Surface Area', you will be able to recognise potential synergies and opportunities where perhaps you wouldn't have before. So, the next time you find yourself lamenting the lack of good luck you're having, try to find ways to increase your 'Surface Area'. Get out there and expose yourself to more people, products, services, experiences, etc and you might just find your luck improves. NB: Thanks to Julian Shapiro for the inspiration! #lucky #dothework #selfimprovement

I am a huge fan of Disruption. I think the word itself is overused these days, but the concept is important. The idea of looking at things differently, trying to find new ways to do the same thing, or new ways to do new things is critical to all businesses. BUT...and this is the big BUT... Maybe now is not the right time? Why? Simply because we have all been through a year of hell! Our entire lives have been disrupted. Right now, what most markets really need most is a bit of stability and familiarity. So, by all means, keep looking for ways to disrupt your business. But maybe jus take a breath on implementing those disruption plans. Just for a while. #postCOVID19 #disruption #stability

Famed Tech Venture Capitalist wrote a post back in 2010 titled 'No Conflict, No Interest'. Suggesting that sometimes the trade off of having people interested and invested in your thing is that they may have a conflict of interest. But that's ok. At least they're interested!  And that means they will hopefully have some knowledge, skills, experience and abilities in areas specifically related to your thing. As long as there is integrity, a conflict of interest doesn't have to be damaging. So don't worry too much about avoiding conflicts of interest. First, worry about getting the interest. #conflictofinterest #integrity #transparency

Nobody likes to feel dumb. Sometimes, however, in our effort to show how smart, intelligent and valuable we are, we can lose sight of that fact. When creating information for our customers and clients we tend to favour the smart side. And that's completely understandable, of course. After all, if we don't, why would they chose to pay us for our expertise? But just be careful that in doing so you don't end up making your customers feel dumb. #knowyourcustomer #smartpeople #customercommunication

Oftentimes, when we think about making a good first impression, we focus on the physical elements. How we look, how we dress, how we're groomed. And from a location point of view, we focus on how our office or shop looks. But as suggested in a Tweet from @AscendantPower, if we don't bring the right energy and presence to that first impression, it just won't be that impactful. Certainly, the physical elements can be an important part of the energy and presence too. But don't underestimate the importance of the energy of your people in creating that good first impression. You won't get a second chance. #firstimpressions #positivevibes #energy