Samuel Johnson’s allegorical tale, ‘The Vision of Theodore’, provides a warning of the dangers in the pursuit of happiness, via a character named ‘Habit’ who would cleverly bind the unwary in chains; and then, once bound, would take them to the “caverns of despair”. “It was the peculiar artifice of Habit not to suffer her […]

My daughter has given me permission to share the wonderful news that I’ll be a Grandad next May, (although she did add “but not in your weekly four-i Dad” – oh well!). When I told the news to one of our Leadership Groups last week, it sparked a conversation of lessons we had learned from […]

For years we’ve asked the same two questions after every event and meeting that we produce: 1. What worked well? 2. Even better if? And whilst we will continue to ask these questions to all our members, partners and sponsors, we recognise that the www.ebi process lacks something very important. To read the rest of this […]

I’m asked a lot of questions – here’s a selection from the last few weeks: How can I grow market share? What’s the best incentive programme to recruit top performers? How can I increase fees? They all relate to current business issues, and on first appearance seem highly appropriate to ask, and deserving of a […]

I once read that “the price of clarity is the risk of insult.” I think that’s one of the main reasons why many people avoid dealing with issues. The problem is then compounded as the issue repeats or grows. Which begs the question, is the risk of insult worth it, to nip an issue in […]

Almost twenty years ago, I attended a presentation from Richard Olivier on the leadership lessons of Shakespeare’s Henry V. Reviewing my notes from two decades ago, I’m reminded that what is very clear, is that effective leadership has always been made up of just a handful of key ingredients, the first of which is imagination. […]

Last week, we opened up our regular financial briefing for Property Academy members to anyone interested in hearing the common sense and wisdom from Roger Martin-Fagg, (a brilliant behavioural economist), who correctly forecasted, months ahead, the results of the last three general elections, both the Trump and Biden victories, recessions, booms and busts and was […]

Last week our Future Leader Group  learned how to tell stories. They were coached by former BBC journalist and expert storyteller, Steve Rawling, who covered many stories in his 20 year career, from the frivolous to the most harrowing, (for example, Steve interviewed hundreds of family members who lost a loved one, murdered by Harold […]

The odds of winning the Best Estate Agent Guide award for Sales & Lettings combined are 15,000-1, (there’s only one overall winner and there are 15,000 brands that are automatically entered into the assessment). So, what are the odds for winning it twice, back to back? Well, the headline has the answer to that question […]

I’m extremely fortunate to have been coached by, and to have learned directly from, some incredible people, and right at the top of the list is Stephen R Covey, (author of ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People‘). On two separate occasions, I spent a morning with Stephen and had the opportunity to dive deeper into […]