Insights With Trent Munday

More times than I care to remember I’ve been accused of being negative. Why? Because I doubt things. I question things.  I see the positive. But I don’t linger on it. For me, the real interesting stuff lies in the doubt. In the negative. I totally understand why that’s seen as negative. It is, by definition, exactly that. But in this context I don’t believe that negative is a bad thing. So, I’m happy to wear that tag of being negative. I’ll just continue to embrace the Positive Power of Doubt #positivemindset #doubt #negative 

Every problem has a solution. If it doesn't have a solution...it's not a problem. And if it's not a problem, you shouldn't be spending any time, energy or effort focussing on trying to solve it. Because you can't. It's possible that the problem can be solved by someone else. If so, great. But if it's not a problem that YOU can solve, then it's not a problem. Not for you. NB: When the brilliant Seth Godin digs into the writings of the brilliant David Deutsch, this is the kind of insight you can find. ;-) #problemsolving #solutions #control

Something is better than nothing. Anything is better than nothing. Or so we're told. But I'd like to call NONSENSE & GIBBERISH on that! Don't get me wrong, I totally agree with the sentiment. Better to try something than do nothing. BUT...if the end result of your try or your attempt is rubbish... don't release it to the world. Don't publish it. Don't launch it. If you do, what you're saying to the world is 'I'm ok with this. I'm ok with rubbish. I'm ok with this sub-standard product.' And that's not what you want. Sometimes, Something is just not better than Nothing. #dosomething #try #getitright   

Resumes are dead. OK. What should take / has taken its place?? That question was posed by Alexis Ohanion on Twitter recently and it prompted a torrent of interesting perspectives, opinions and alternatives. One of my favourites was from Jordan Johnson who pointed out that 'Resumes look backward'. And they do. But what am employer really wants to know if what you can do for them in the future. Granted, past performance is an indicator of future performance. However, it is not the only indicator. And it certainly isn't a guarantee of future performance. Thus, I'd agree that one of the fundamental flaws of the current resume format and process is that it is too backward-looking. What do you think? BTW - here's a link to the Tweet from Alexis that started it all. There's lots of great links within the comments. https://bit.ly/3asuqpC #resumetips #recruitmentprocess #resumewriting  

LEGO - the kids building block company - released a full length animated feature movie in 2014. In doing that, they created a genius piece of Content Marketing. The movie made a $400+ million profit in its own right. But sales of LEGO increased by over $3.5 BILLION...with a B! They achieved that not by creating a glorified ad for their product. They achieved it because they did the exact opposite. They created entertainment. Most us think of content is interesting and informative. Most of our customers think it's boring. Try entertaining them instead. #contentmarketing #contentstrategy #marketing  

The Answer is The Question. And the Question is...Why Do You Care? If you're having trouble getting started writing that article, creating that content or even completing that job application...the Answer is that Question... Why do you care? Because if you can find the answer to that question, then you'll find you just start speaking from the heart, not the head. Why do you care about that job or that company or that subject? Tap into that and you can unlock the answers to the questions you're being asked. #answers #jobapplication #askingquestions

Yesterday was episode 1234 of this show.  1-2-3-4 There was a time when I thought that would be a good number to end on. Finish on an interesting number. But I've come to realise that it was just an arbitrary target which nobody would care about - or even notice. We can sometimes lose sight of the fact that nobody else really cares about our arbitrary targets. We just assume that if we think it's important, others will too. Why should they? If you set milestone targets - like, say, Ep. 2000 - then they might join in your excitement. But don't mistake arbitrary for a milestone. Nobody cares about arbitrary. #targets #goals #perspective

AFL Football legend Jonathon Brown recently made a great point about the addictiveness of the Chase for Greatness.   Everybody wants to be part of a winning team.   Everybody wants their shot at greatness.   And it applies just as much in a work context as it does to a sports context.   Show your team that your are building something great and they will want to be a part of it.   It’s addictive!   #success #striveforgreatness #winning

Service is not the same as Hospitality. Service is transactional. Somebody serves you. Hospitality is reciprocal. I invite you. I host you. A great article by Tejal Rao in the New York Times discusses what can be both a subtle difference and a huge gulf between Service and Hospitality. Here's a link to that article - https://nyti.ms/3e7wLHF #service #hospitality #hospitalityindustry

Getting fit is pretty Simple. You just need to exercise more. But as we all know, that's not always so Easy to do. If you burn more calories than you consume, you'll probably lose weight. Pretty Simple. But not necessarily Easy. Don't just assume that because something is Simple that people will find it Easy to do. Similarly, don't judge yourself too harshly when you have trouble achieving what you know is a pretty Simple target...if it's not also Easy. NB: Thanks to Tim Ferriss & Jerry Seinfeld for the inspiration. #simple #easy #clarity

Many of us find it challenging to regularly post on social media because we overthink it. We're told that to gain more followers we need to post consistently about the same topics. The problem is, we're much more than that. I reckon it's better to view your social media accounts and profiles more as a portfolio of all that you do. Much like an artist would present their portfolio to show all of their skills and abilities. All of your thoughts, ideas, interests. Remember, you can always post links out to the specific post that might be of interest to specific people. So to simplify things, consider your social media as The Portfolio of You. #socialmedia #beyourself #portfolio

It's hard not to take it personally when someone criticises your thing - your product, your service, your company, your presentation, etc. Even though they want to stress that it's not personal, it's just their professional opinion...it is personal. To you. You're invested in that thing. But here's why you really should not take it personally... They can't possibly know all of the factors and conditions and considerations that got you to this point.  They will never have the whole story. So, if they don't have the full picture, how can they possibly provide a complete critique? They can't. So, by all means take note of it, but don't take it personally. Interestingly, the same applies even to a personal criticism too. #criticism #keepitprofessional #selfawareness

Can you achieve career success if you're not doing work you're passionate about? Yes! Can you ever truly find happiness if you don't find your passion? Yes! Would your results be better if you find your passion? Maybe? I don't know. But don't underestimate the power of good old-fashioned hard work. And, oh yeah, luck might have a bit to do with it too. So, if you've found your passion...great! Congratulations. But if you haven't, it's not the end of the world. #passion #passionandpurpose #findyourpassion

Striving for perfection is a good thing. The problem is, perfection is largely unattainable. Of course the other problem is that in many cases, perfection is subjective. So, if it's largely unattainable and subjective, there's a good chance we'll never achieve perfection. And so, holding off on launching your new product, or new website, or putting your thing out to the world until it's perfect, can quickly just become an excuse to avoid doing it. We can't fail if we don't do it. If we don't do it until it's perfect, we don't fail. Be careful that your search for perfection isn't just becoming an excuse. #perfection #excuses #imperfection

Many businesses offer free samples of what they do as a way to try get customers to sign up and pay for their main product or service. If it's an online course, there'll be a FREE webinar to try to get you into their sales funnel. If it's an offline business, it might be a FREE audit or consultation. But why not get these potential customers to pay for that webinar or that audit? Sure, you might get less people signing up to pay for it, but at least those that do sign up are genuine prospects for your main business. PS: A great tip for getting people to pay for your webinar, is to included a 1-1 Private Session with you, the expert, as part of the deal. #leadgeneration #salesfunnels #prospects

We tell ourselves stories all the time. Usually it's to help us justify and explain and make excuses for the current situation we find ourselves in. And that's ok. The problem is it's not always the whole story. It's a slightly tainted version of the truth. It's biased.  Then, when the circumstances change, the narrative no longer fits. So just be careful that you don't believe every story that you tell yourself. At least not without some serious questioning. #storiesmatter #selfawareness #narratives

Employees come to work for your for reasons other than just the salary that you pay them. Customers come to your business for reasons other than just the products and services that you sell. That 'other' stuff has been referred to as The Cultural Capital of your business. From an Employee perspective, is your company a good place to work? That doesn't have to mean it's a fun place to work. If you're a legal firm, a company culture of seriousness and careful consideration is probably more appropriate.  From a Customer perspective, is your business environment appealing to them? The ambience, the branding, and of course the people they interact with. It might be worth pausing for a moment, every now and then, to just take stock of the Cultural Capital that is helps make you business special. #companyculture #capital #USP

I've long been fascinated with this idea of finding your Passion. One of the more interesting elements of Passion is this suggestion that once you find your Passion, things just get easier. If you find a job you're passionate about, you'll never work a day in your life. Right? Well, I reckon that's rubbish! See the things is, the more passionate you are, chances are, the harder you will want to work. And that can be exhausting! You could actually end up being more exhausted if you're doing something you're passionate about, than if you're just working a job you don't really like at all. So...just beware. #findyourpassion #passion #purpose

I've just spent a couple of days in the mountains, just outside of Kuala Lumpur. Literally, on the fringes of this major city, was a completely different world. And I think it's a great metaphor for our businesses. Just on the edge of your existing customer and market set there may be lots of really interesting opportunities. Potential that you didn't even know existed. So spend a little bit of time just having a look around the fringes. You never know what you might find. #opportunityawaits #newbusiness #newideas

As a result of COVID-19, many businesses have been forced to close for an extended period of time. As you start to re-open your business, the focus will no doubt be on having the Covid-Safe Protocols. Making sure you've got all the COVID SOPs in place. But I would encourage you to treat this as a NEW opening, not a re-opening. Use it as an opportunity for a true reset of your business. Review ALL your SOPs, not just those related to COVID-19. Give the place a coat of paint, if you can afford it. Ask yourself if the products and services that you're offering are what the market really wants and needs today. And, just be ready to close again some time in the future. If there's a spike in cases again, you might have to close the doors again. Which, of course, is another opportunity for another NEW opening. Good Luck! #aftercovid19 #reopening #postcovid19business