Insights With Trent Munday

360 Degree Performance Appraisals have been around for a while. The process of getting feedback not only from your boss, but also your co-workers, subordinates, etc., makes sense. However, no matter how many people point out our flaws, if we don’t accept it, we find a way to convince ourselves it’s just not true. Today, with so much of our work interactions happening via Zoom, we might have a new feedback mechanism...The Zoom Playback Opportunity. Record your Zoom meeting, watch it back later, and analyse your behaviours and interactions. That kinda takes the 360 Degree Appraisal to a whole new level. nb: Thanks Phil for the inspiration on this one. #zoommeetings #performanceappraisal #selfawareness    

One of the great frustrations if you're a bit lower down on the ladder in your organisation is when you've got a great idea but upper management doesn't see it the same as you do. When this happens, there's a pretty simple reason for it. The bosses have determined that your idea just isn't going to move the needle. It's not going to make enough of an impact. And usually, they'll be looking for it to move the needle in terms of Revenue or Brand and PR. So, if you're pitching your idea to the bosses, try to show them how it can move the needle. Otherwise, they're probably not going to give it a try. #movetheneedle #makeanimpact #newideas

We often refer to our Career as a Journey. But, building on what David Schwarz said in this insightful article about securing a position on a Board ( https://bit.ly/3dkMhiQ ), maybe it's better to think about your Career as a Process. A journey almost implies it's more of a meandering thing that just kinda happens. A process though suggests something more deliberate, more structured. On a journey your path is often determined by the elements, the environment and the circumstances. But with a process you can be an active participant. Your actions can determine the outcome. So, today's homework... Are you on a Career Journey...or in the midst of a Career Process? #careerprogression #careerplanning #careerchoices

Most businesses like the idea of having an experienced team. And most consumers like to think there's an experienced team behind the product or service that they're buying. However, there is always a risk that having an experienced team can lead to stagnation. It's hard for the experienced team to keep generating new ideas, to stay on the cutting edge, to challenge the status quo. They are the status quo! The best way to avoid this is to have a mix of Old vs New, Experienced vs Novice. What mix? What's the right ratio? What's the formula? It depends on your company, the company dynamics & the people within it. But you should absolutely be aware of where your company is on the Experience-Stagnation Curve. And, if you're getting closer to the Stagnation end of the curve, maybe it's time to get some fresh eyes in. #experiencedteam #stagnation #statusquo

If you're thinking of your calendar or your diary as simply a place to schedule and track your meetings, then you're getting it all wrong. Julian Shapiro reckons you should think about your calendar as a ledger of the time you've traded away. You've chosen to schedule those meetings. You could have done other things instead. And maybe those 'other things' could have been a more effective and efficient use of your time. Maybe you would've had time to spend time on something that would bring more value to you or your organisation if you hadn't scheduled those meetings. If you were to do an audit at the end of the month on all the time you spent in meetings vs the value or benefits gained...would you be happy with the result? If not, perhaps it's time to balance the ledger. #timemanagement #timemanagementtips #scheduleplanning

Just to be clear, I do NOT consider myself to be any sort of authority when it comes to fashion. Still...I can't help but wonder why we don't see more action around fashion startups targeting the 45+ bracket. Surely this would be a good market. These folks are a bit more mature, more aware of what they want and have more disposable income to pay for it. Maybe I'm missing something? Maybe there actually is a vibrant startup scene around 45+ fashion? But if there is...I've never heard of it. #fashion #startups #generationx

Branding is important. No doubt about it. Understanding you are and what you stand for as a business, a company and as a brand. Understanding your Mission, Vision and Values. It's all super-important. BUT...if you don't have any customers, it will all be for nought. So, it's ok to focus on getting customers first. You don't need to have all your branding stuff sorted out on Day 1. It can grow and evolve as both you and your business do. #branding #buildingbusiness #customersfirst

If you really want to get some perspective on joy, just watch a 3 year old child in the park. They find joy in the simplest of things. Maybe watching a leaf fall to the ground. Or even just a bird flying by. And in turn, it never fails to bring a smile to me face too. I always coming away from such an experience challenging myself to try to see the world through their eyes. Invariably, of course, life soon gets in the way again. But whenever you need a jolt of inspiration to find joy in the simple things, just watch a young child in the park and try to see the world through their eyes. #perspective #children #joyfulliving

There is a subtle difference between Winning and Earning. You Win the lottery. It's a random game of chance. But you Earn the victory when your team beats the opposition. It was your effort and team work. The feeling of Earning is very different to that when you simply Win. A sense of achievement and accomplishment. It's an important distinction to keep in mind when creating your marketing and promotion strategy. You could give your customers a gift based on a Lucky Dip or a Door Prize. They Win. Or, you could award the gift to the customer who shared their best photo of them with your product. They Earn that one. Remember, it's a very different feeling for the customer. They feel far more engaged with your business is they Earn the gift, rather than if they simply Win it. #winning #earned #reward

Every industry has Key People of Influence.  You know who they are in your industry. And if you are not one them, you probably want to get close to those who are. It's all about getting closer to the sun. Here's a great, simple, effective way to do that... 1. Search the content created by that person 2. Take a few quotes from that person 3. Add your own thoughts, opinions, questions about that quote 4. Then post that as your own new content PRO-TIP Create social media tile that has the quote, an image of the person and add some subtle 'branding' of your own social media handle. Post it and tag the Key Person of Influence. Better still, send that person the social media tile for them to share with their network. Why would they share it? Simple. We all have healthy egos AND we like having no friction. If you send me a nice social media tile with my quote, chances are I'll share it. NB: Make sure you give attribution to the article, conference, etc where you found the quote. #socialmedia #influen

It does make perfect sense that your plan for TODAY should be mindful of YESTERDAY's plan and also the plan for TOMORROW. But that doesn't mean it's the right way to make your plans for TODAY. The problem comes when you spend too much time focussed on considerations in yesterday's plan or on where you'd like to ultimately end up tomorrow, that you lose sight of what's important today. Right now. You can find yourself trying to just make things fit. Instead, you should approach today's plan as if it's Day 1. You walk in today, you have what you have. Can't change anything about what's already done. Don't worry too much about the end game.  Just focus on what you need today. #dayone #hereandnow #focus

I think we'd all accept that the world is not just Black or White. It's Grey. Yet when it comes to something like Professional Ethics, we tend to think that it is Black or White. But it's not. That's why I believe it's important for you to understand where your own Ethical Line in the Sand is. Know it. Get comfortable with it. Be prepared to live with the consequences of it. And, like all lines in the sand, be aware that it may shift slightly over time, depending on the prevailing winds and circumstances. #drawtheline #lineinthesand #integrity

Your Hero Product is that one product that your customers really love. The one they can't get enough of. It's important that you understand exactly what it is about that product that makes it a Hero. Why does everyone love it? What makes it special? Then, as you build product/line/brand extensions, you'd better make sure that they have the same special thing. If not, you'll just end up creating Zero Products. #heroproduct #brandextension #secretsauce

Some like to believe that the difference between Truth and Reality is really just a semantic one. It's just words. Well, maybe. But there can be a Semantic Gulf between Truth and Reality. Not just a little difference. It can be a massive gulf in between. The Truth is, the harder you work, the better your chance of a promotion. The Reality is, if you're not the boss's favourite, then no matter how hard you work, you may never get that promotion. That's just the Truth...AND...the Reality! nb: Credit to 'Operation Buffalo' on Netflix for the great quote! #truth #reality #realitycheck

Back in Ep. 1068 I spoke about how, 'If You Can Make Them Stop...There's An Opportunity - http://bit.ly/3eY6Xj9  One of the best ways to do that inside your store is with creative merchandising. But the problem with merchandising is that sometimes we try to be too creative. Too clever.  We spend lots of money on fancy displays that don't really create that STOP moment. Brian Roemmele shared an image of a really simple example of great merchandising. A multi-shelf display of 100+ Heinz mustard bottles and just one of those bottles was displayed upside down.  It really stood out. And the additional cost of this display? Zero! So, when you think about merchandising, think about just one thing... Make Them Stop. That's it. Nothing more. #merchandising #selling #creativity

If you think you know the answers, then there's no need to diversify your approach. You just do what you know. When you don't have the answers, you're much more likely to try different things until you find out what works. In the context of today's business environment especially, it might be a real good idea to assume you don't know the answers...even though you might think you do. With so much uncertainty in the world right now, having some diversity in your approach is probably a good thing. If you do, you should be more able to adapt when it turns out that you didn't know the answers. What was true before simply may not be true tomorrow. nb: thanks to @naval for the idea & @visualizevalue for the great graphic #diversifying #agile #businessstrategy  

The reason you can't break through, the reason you can't get people to pay attention to your thing, is there's just too much noise out there and people have short Attention Spans. Right? Wrong!  According to Julian Shapiro it's our Consideration Spans that is the issue. The time within which we decide whether we want to continue. People still listen to a 3 hour Joe Rogan podcast. People still binge watch an entire season of a series on Netflix. So don't obsess about making your content short. Obsess about making it good. And then obsess about hooking people in quickly. If you don't do that, they'll just give their attention to someone else. #attentioneconomy #attentionspan #marketing

It's fascinating to me how much time and effort we spend agonising over having the right answer, when in fact there is no way of knowing what the right answer is. If you don't know what the right answer is, remember that the only answer you can really give is... ...the answer you feel comfortable with. Some would say the right answer in this situation is the truth. Whilst I'd agree with that to a certain extent, there is the Truth...and then there is the Whole Truth. Just because I have given you an honest answer does not necessarily mean it's the whole truth. So reconcile yourself with the knowledge that the only answer to give when you don't know what the right answer is...is the one you feel comfortable with. #answers #questions #truth

'I think bringing your own chopsticks and a spoon is a good idea.' That's part of a conversation I overheard today between two elderly Chinese ladies in Kuala Lumpur. It got me thinking. Is this now going to be a thing? Will we need to start bringing our own cutlery to eat in a restaurant? How long will a shift in behaviour like this persist after Covid-19 fades from our memories? And the BIG THINK... What other cultural shifts, like this one, are happening and how can we leverage these shifts into future opportunities? So, tell me, what cultural shifts are you seeing that will likely remain well into the forseeable future? #postcovidworld #cultureshift #opportunities

Gary Vaynerchuck says 'One Step Back is Always A Good Strategy'. Whilst I wouldn't necessarily agree that it is ALWAYS a good strategy, I certainly agree it's never really a BAD strategy. We're often scared of taking a step back, just in case we get stuck back there. But sometimes it's not only necessary, but also a good idea.  It gives you time to reflect. To take a breath. To catch up. To re-focus and re-align. And, as we touched on in Ep. 1198, this Covid-19 crisis may actually give you the Cover to take that step back now. Think about it. It'll be pretty easy to explain to a potential employer in a year or two why you took a step back in your career at this time. So, don't overthink it. If you feel you need to take a step back right now, take it. It's probably not a bad strategy. #careerjourney #careerprogression #careerchange