How To Boost Your Productivity With A Trick The Best Doctors Use

Ever been in a doctors office and seen labels on every shelf, surface, drawer, and cupboard for precisely where to put each cotton swab, syringe, and wipe? If so, you are likely in one of the most efficient and effective health offices. Every time I see this prolific use of labeling I ask why it’s there and I get a similar answer every time: speeds up our work, avoids time wasting looking for items, and reduces errors. Having the same layout in every examination room prevents time wasted finding equipment, makes it easy to know when to replenish supplies, and speeds up taking care of patients. 

Sound like something your company could benefit from?

Since moving house, I’ve spent the last 90 days with my whole wardrobe in cardboard boxes while waiting for our new wardrobes to arrive. So not knowing where to find my clothes was a huge frustration every morning! Never mind trying to organize laundry each week. I’d walk around in circles trying to find a particular outfit or decide where I could put something away. Finally this weekend with the closets finished I could unpack my clothes and everything now has it’s place! I put away laundry into record time this afternoon and it was a pure delight picking an outfit to wear out to dinner tonight!

Having a system for where to find things isn’t limited to doctors offices and wardrobes…the number one complaint I hear from new hires is “I can’t find anything quickly” Imagine if it was predictable where to find information and everything was labeled? 

TeamsSlackZoomTextEmail blended communication doesn’t help either. Knowing where you received information is essential to then try it to retrieve it again at a later date. Your new hires and long serving employees alike need to know where to find the essential information and tools to do their job. 

Any one want to borrow my label maker?

Cheers!

Dedicated to growing your business,

Val

P.S. I hope you enjoyed this week's VAL-uable Insights, sign up here to get them in your inbox each Monday morning: http://valwrightconsulting.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Cheers! Proud News: Announcing My Next Book. Want To Read It First?

Coming in January but you don’t have to wait that long to read it. 

I have a few advanced copies I can share, if you want to receive a preview copy comment with “yes please” to be considered. 

Be sure to pre order your copy at your favorite local bookstore to support your local small business. Or you can preorder it online at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, Target, Booktopia.au,  Waterstones, Amazon.ca

What’s it all about?

Words That Work: Communicate Your Purpose, Your Profits and Your Performance

Never have our words mattered more than in the last 18months. How we lead, how we have shown those around us that we care, how we make sure that our intentions, purpose, and passion are all aligned. 

As a CEO or senior executive, the stakes are extraordinary in every conversation. Millions or even billions of dollars are in jeopardy during board meetings, investor calls, media interviews, customer interactions, and employee conversations. The most successful executives know this and invest their time preparing in a thoughtful and intentional way while continuously improving their knowledge and skills in how to communicate to drive profitable growth.

Throughout this book we will pause and deconstruct words that work and words that do not work. I will give you a rapid list of alternative words to say in a multitude of situations. If you have an inattentive brain like mine, you can skip 

to the appendix where you can find the shortcut to the complete list of actual phrases and words that simply work.

Want to know more? Let me know and I’m happy to share.

You might be wondering: —-Wait Val did you really just write this book - didn’t you just release your last one Rapid Growth Done Right?

Yes. I wrote this in lockdown. Actually, I hand wrote the book as my hands and eyes were so fed up of my computer during 18months running my business from my attic storage room turned office, I had to find a new way to get my ideas on paper so I went old school!

The delight of working with executives across multiple industries for the past 29 years is that I have real life experiences and living case studies to reflect on, make connections from, deconstruct, and share the results of. 

Of my three books I’ve written this was my favorite to write, not least because of the encouragement from the executives I work with and the team at Kogan Page about the value of this book. So if you have worked with me before, you will “hear Val” loudly in this ultimate guide to what to say and when to say it. 

Let me know if you want to be considered for an advanced copy or want to discuss pre orders for your team that we can personally get delivered to individual addresses around the world. 

Cheers!

Dedicated to growing your business,

Val

P.S. I hope you enjoyed this week's VAL-uable Insights, sign up here to get them in your inbox each Monday morning: http://valwrightconsulting.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Why Silence Works Brilliantly And How To Stop Others Talking Too Much

I’ve just finished a three day strategy retreat with an executive team of an unbelievably successful business. What they told me at the end of the event, was how valuable it was to hear everyone on the team share their insights and ideas for innovation. This allowed rapid understanding and an explosion of ideas for growing their business in unexpected ways. 

I’m guessing most people who open this email are not the people who need to read it most so let’s start with advice for you first. 

Yes people annoy me doing this!

If you feel this way chances are not getting your voice heard. You can make changes that will help people you work with by saying one of these phrases:

• “Rather than jump in and discuss this, I need a minute to think, let’s reflect personally and reconvene in three minutes to discuss”

• “Let me share a counter view to what I am guessing many will be thinking…”

• ”I find a pre read helpful for important topics, can we all commit to doing that in the future?”

If you eye rolled to this idea and made it this far this advice is for you:

This is a stupid concept!

If you think this, it’s likely you don’t realize you might be the first to talk in a meeting or conversation. It’s not bad…But it might be stifling others around you to share what they are thinking if you always jump in with your opinion first, so consider this:

• for the next week draw a picture of every group conversation with a series of parallel lines. Name each line as to who is talking first second and third.

• Practice by taking a later order in the conversation.

• Notice how people react to you when you jump in first second or third.

This often happens with our three daughters. We have to tell them not to talk over their sisters and wait their turn to speak. But. In waiting their turn they need to actually listen to what is being said, same applies at work. 

Are you listening and learning the value of everyone getting to speak?

Meanwhile, look out in your inbox later this week for news of my next book!

Dedicated to growing your business,

Val

P.S. I hope you enjoyed this week's VAL-uable Insights, sign up here to get them in your inbox each Monday morning: http://valwrightconsulting.com/newsletter-sign-up/