Simplificator! Nicholas Grobler

Learning how to use the web, build a business and the finer art of smiling…

The simple truth about The Law of Attraction

Posted on April 4, 2008 - Filed Under Awareness

This was a recent chat conversation I had. I shared all the things I have learned about the simplicity of success (And I am still trying to actually do this every day, never mind in every moment :)

Do not judge yourself, ever.
Be kind to yourself, always.

Do your best in every moment, remember when you are sick, your best will look different from when you are healthy, be kind to yourself
Practice this, and practice and practice and then…when you really, really live this, then…

The following truth becomes real…

The Universe conspires with you to turn desire into reality, but the Universe does not have a sense of humor, it listens and reacts.
So if you want financial success in your life, do not think “Someday I will be…”
Think, act, do, talk like someone that is already financially successful…live as if it was true now.
This means there can be NO, NONE, ZERO thoughts of lack in your mind, in your speech, in your walk of life.

The last thing.

The Universe cannot give you what you cannot be responsible with.

Be able and willing to take responsibility success. Starting with what you have today. Spend more time developing yourself than growing your wealth, because your wealth WILL grow directly proportionate to your ability to handle it.

And that’s it.

P.S. I believe the above applies to any success I wish to achieve.

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Words Matter. Talk About People: Not Customers, Not Consumers, Not Users

Posted on February 26, 2008 - Filed Under experience design

User Experience

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experience_design

Words Matter. Talk About People: Not Customers, Not Consumers, Not Users

A short summary of this article. The title says it all. We face the dilemma of seeing the people that use our carefully built websites, products and services as “customers”, “consumers” and “clients” and forget they are people. I like to think of the product or service I wish to create a business of in the following way…

In your mind get the face of a person you know, a person you have a great deal of respect and admiration for, someone you go to for advice and will listen to the advice given. Once you have this person clearly in your mind sell your product or service to them.

You would want only the best for this individual; you would not sell an inferior product to them, of lesser quality. You would need to feel completely confident about your product.

Just remember you are selling to people. Your product must give them a unique, powerful positive experience. If in any way you feel uncertain about your product or service quality, rethink the offer. Remember, there is a difference between good quality and perfection. Strive for perfection; do not use it as a benchmark for selling your product or service.

Talk to the people you are selling to or planning to sell to, talk to them personally. Avoid getting a market research company to do all the work for you, sink your teeth in and get your hands dirty.

http://www.jnd.org/dn.mss/words_matter_talk_ab.html

Talk to me

Skype me on nicholas.grobler I would love to hear from you.

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Coming to the United Kingdom? What you need to know…

Posted on February 19, 2008 - Filed Under Learning experience

The first step is your visa.

Younger will people have a choice between two types of visa:

The criteria for the highly skilled are quite strict and it is more expensive. The Working Holiday visa is much easier to get. If you do not have at least a BA degree, do not even bother applying for the Highly Skilled visa. In my situation I chose to work after school, figure out what it is I want to study and then do a degree, which I am still busy with right now. I came over to the UK on the Working Holiday and the company I join will sponsor me with a two-year work permit. I will complete my degree in this time and then apply for the Highly Skilled visa.

Once you have sorted your visa, you can buy your plane ticket, the earlier you buy your ticket, the cheaper it will be. If you can pay the R3000 for the Working Holiday, and you cover all the criteria for the visa, there should be no problem, so book your plane ticket far in advance, if you know you want to do a UK stint.

I highly recommend you buy a First Contact starter pack. If for nothing else, then buy it for the help they provide with a UK bank account. This process is a mission and Barclays have a deal with First Contact, so you are guaranteed an account with a few days. You have to have an account to get a job. First Contact also offers other services with the Starter Pack.

You arrive in the UK.

Find a place to stay. Look on www.Gumtree.co.uk, you will find relatively cheap places there. If you can afford to, stay away from the cheaper areas and house shares, you might just end up with forty people. I used www.homesafrica.co.uk to find my home.

Make an appointment to get your NI (National Insurance) number as quick as possible. It takes weeks to get this number after the initial interview. If you plan on doing construction, you must have this number. At your First Contact meeting, which is included in the Starter Pack, they will tell you more about this.

Get a job.

There are loads of jobs available for unskilled people. If you have a degree, you would probably want to get a job in your industry. This might be a bit tougher. Some positions are specifically for graduates look for these. They are also perfect if your plans are long term and would want to be sponsored for a work permit.

I am looking for a skilled position and this is proving to be a bit of a challenge. The old adage holds very true, “It is not what you but who you know.” I do not have a strong network in the UK and have to rely on my own efforts and the efforts of the recruitment agencies I contact and of course the very noble efforts of my CV. If you have any experience, get a decent CV written for you by professionals. It is your autobiography on two pages, or your paper-thin dagger running around the internet. I bought the services of a cheaper service, because my little stack of rands was getting alarmingly low. If you can afford to buy a decent CV writing service, pay them their VERY high rate, typically around R2000 – R3000. Get it done before you leave your home country for the UK, the recruitment system here relies heavily on a good CV.

Monster offers a CV service, I did not use theirs, but I would think it should be good. Just do a search for CV writing services based in the UK. Bradley CV’s have been around for some time, I used www.cvcl.co.uk, they are much cheaper, but the CV they wrote for me is not producing results. Do your research and decide for yourself. My advice remains, go for the quality, never mind the price, if you can.

If you have a strong UK network of friends and friends of friends that can help you out with a job, lucky you. I do not have that right now, but I am busy building my network. Ask your friends for leads, but the golden rule, “Don’t pass the monkey”, all this means is, “Stay responsible”, finding a job is your responsibility, not those of your friends. If you make others feel they must help you get a job, you will lose their support. Ask them to pass your CV on, or a number or setup a meeting with a possible employer or person with a strong network, but remain in charge of the process of job hunting.

Reach out to others. I give this advice, but I struggle to follow it myself. I know that for some of us reaching out can be more of an undertaking thank for others, but keep on practicing. If things get tough, it can also become hard to stay positive and keep on moving forward. I feel that we can only all we know to do to put ourselves in the way of opportunity, and when the opportunities comes, to choose the one we feel will best fit with our road forward.

Drop me a mail if you want advice. (nicholas.grobler[at]gmail.com – replace [at] with @)

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French salad and Graham Stewart

Posted on February 14, 2008 - Filed Under Awareness

Today was a good day.

It was one of those days I felt that I did what I could do, a day without fear.

I met Graham Stewart today, and it was good. A fellow traveler I thoroughly enjoyed talking with. I believe we found a link. We talked about different things, work, dreams, knowledge, where we are, that sort of thing. While we were doing this we ate a very good French salad of shrimp, basil, nuts, feta and a vinaigrette – even better because our waiter was a lovely French lady.

I met Graham because of Joy Tang from One Village Foundation. Joy is one of those individuals with strong dreams, but even a stronger drive to turn these dreams into reality. Thanks for the introduction Joy, although we have never met face to face, neither have you and Graham, you introduced us and Graham and me met face to face – isn’t cyberspace wonderful!

Graham made the decision to come to England a while back. I love this story… He knew only two people here. On arriving, he simple went outside, walked the streets and asked people “Where can I find your wise people?” Some people just looked at him funny, other asked him if it was some kind of project. It was a project of sorts. Not long after he was referred to a community leader, who referred him to four people he felt was wise people and he was on his way to building his network. (It is not what you know, it is who you know, now what did all that freakin studying do…grrrrrr)

Among the things said, here is some of the wonderful mutual discussion that meant much:

I learn and I learn and I learn, is life not wonderful, we can only be and the rest will, well, be…

It remains my dream that every human being will open their eyes in the morning and know no fear. I know this might be Utopian, but I would like to play my part in this. That every being will say, this is what I do, I do this now with all of my energy, and I do this fully conscious of where I am and that I exist – simply.

Thanks for the day, Infinite Intelligence :-)

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Lessons with Unre Visagie - Reflective questioning

Posted on November 30, 2007 - Filed Under Process entrepreneur

Lessons with Unre: Reflective questioning and few related topics

Reflective questioning

"Only reason can convince us of those three fundamental truths  without a recognition of which there can be no effective liberty: that which we believe is not necessarily true; that which we like is not necessarily good; and that all questions are open." Clive Bell

— A good place to learn about Reflective Questioning is in psychology —

Reflective questioning is in essence playing back what the client said to ensure you heard them right. For this to be effective you must not have an opinion, just listen and at the end say, “I heard you say…”, “Is this right?”

The second thing to remember are we all living in our own Ostrich egg and all we see is the sides of our own Ostrich egg. On the sides are pictures of previous experiences, belief systems, judgments and we see these pictures and interpret the world of others from these pictures. The clients you work with do exactly the same. Reflective questioning is a method for me to facilitate clean, clear communication. Maybe I am not a natural at this, that is irrelevant, take the process of “Reflective Questioning” and apply it, in time I will learn and the process will become my own.

See: Hiring the Best – Martin Yate

After a meeting with a client, Unre told me that I do not reflect enough on what the other person is saying. I listen and think that I heard them correctly where many a time I do not. This is dangerous. Very few people realize how dangerous. I can promise you, many business and private relationships shipwrecked because we thought we heard and understood something, and on reflection realize we missed the plot completely. This happens to me.

To find solutions for a client, we need to understand EXACTLY what it is they want and then follow this methodology:

See: Good To Great model.

 

How does the client questioning process work?

Do not have opinions when you consult with your client.

While talking with the client allow the client to ramble and tell you everything. Do not interrupt him; keep a repository of “nice to haves” on a separate list. This rambling part of the process facilitates bonding with the client, as I mentioned in a previous post as well.

Once a partial rambling are complete, try to translate this into possible solutions. First, determine if this is a high priority problem, if it is, dig deeper, if not, put it on the list and help the client to continue rambling – from rambling comes bonding – from rambling comes solutions – from bonding you join the client’s team.

If your client considers you part of the solution and issues do arise, it is easy to solve them. If your client sees you as the solution provider, you become the focus and part of the problem. Do not be trapped here, listen to your client from the get-go and develop a firm relationship; always stay part of the solution. When there are problems, it is as if you want the same thing, you have the same problem, and the only question is “How do we solve this?” – And please do not ask, “How do we solve this?” – Come ready with good suggestions as possible solutions. You are a team; you want the same thing, now go from there.

From personal experience, when we worked in our team and sheit happened, if I just asked Unre what do we do now, he would either ignore me or coach me. When I come with solutions, it creates energy and triggers and more possibilities start taking shape.

When talking with a new client, ask him what they have done in the past to solve the problem, if anything. What worked well and what did not work so well. This will help you get a feel for how the client work and you can create a more effective proposal.

It is wrong to be right and It is right to be wrong. Be a solutions catalyst, this means you do not have opinions about something. If you do not have opinions, only suggestions, you never have to defend yourself, if there is a more effective solution, use that and do not get stuck on the solution you suggested, acknowledge the more effective solution and build on that. Suggestions are triggers, nothing more, keep on going until you identify the specific most urgent needs, then find effective solution and now you can start designing the implementation plan.

During this coaching session I realized once again that if I want to build my own company, I want to build it based on Artifacts, or Processes. My company must not rely on my energy and personality(poor company) to keep it going it must run on processes. If something like this, where Unre felt I need to focus on my reflective questioning skills, a process kicks in and Unre can comfortably talk to me about it and support me in finding solutions. Where if there was not a process of “Do not take things personal” I might feel the need to defend myself and the focus moves away from a great new learning opportunity to staying stuck in old belief systems.

See: Read the book of the Hewlett Packard story.
See: The Walk and Talk manual (Historically called The journey book)

Thanks Unre!

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Lessons with Unre Visagie - While developing the sales-pack for catalytic communities

Posted on November 30, 2007 - Filed Under Process entrepreneur

Business lessons with Unre Visagie.

The purpose of this post is to share the lessons I learn. They are presented in short paragraphs as the conversation progressed. Short – WHAM – BAM and to the point, these specific lessons Unre coached me on because I am developing the sales-pack for Next S Catalytic Communities. I need to communicate and show that there is untapped commercial value if one were to optimize the value flow between different members of an existing network.

In this coaching session:

The lessons as the coaching session progressed:

Find a way to manage your clients’, client better and participate in the cash generated from the extra value flow. If the client does not have cash now but you really want to work with the client, find a way to participate in the value flow, for example percentage of shares or a barter transaction. When developing your product, sell the product to early adopters, get the client to help you develop by creating urgency with the client, the client becomes part of your team and help you clarify the product because they want to use it to serve their constituent more effectively.

See: The adoption cycle - Geoffrey A. Moore, Crossing the Chasm

If your product is new and you need to break into the market, focus your selling on early adopters. Identify reasons for working together; sell the raw product to the early adopter as an opportunity to develop the product together to serve their clients more efficiently - leverage the increased value flow to clients’, client. In the early stages, you might run into cash-flow problems and will need to do some ice-flow hopping - jump from one short term solution to the next - stressful stuff :)

See: Early adopter

My personal strengths in a project is during the initiation of a project. I find it hard to play all the different roles, I will hire for the parts where I am not strong, or find collaborators for the project. Find out exactly what the clients problems are and identify with the client where their biggest chance for profits are.

See: Questioning skills

If you have developed your sales-pack Martin Smith can help you clarify even more.
(Contact me at nicholas.grobler[at]gmail[dot]com if you would like to speak to Martin)

Include in your sales pack a short list of trigger questions to help you identify the specific needs of the client. Remember this is just a trigger list; it will get the thinking process started. If the client needs to tell you everything about their problem, and then listen to them, let them clear their mind through this exploratory process. Then bring them back to problems needing solutions. This initial process is a process of bonding, getting to know one another and creating rapport. If you are all business and no play, the project becomes very dull. Add color by allowing the client to make you are part of the team.

See: Exploratory questions

If you develop a clear sales-pack for your business, others can easily sell your product; they do not have to have your expertise to sell the product because they have your sales-pack. Have a clear focus for your sales-pack. I focus on catalytic communities and how to turn an existing network into a community; with the single purpose of creating more value flow for an existing network.

See: Next S Catalytic Communities

Apply the different entrepreneurial processes to add even more value to the client. The only catch is, these processes needs to become part of your subconscious thinking to apply them on the fly and recognize the gaps as they arise, but if you do not start to use the processes, you will never get there.

See: Nicholas Grobler - Processes Entrepreneur (I am in the process of publishing these processes)

After listening to the client (questioning styles), ask the question “How will we apply this to the immediate needs in your business”. This will separate the needs from wants and the likes. Does the client have budget and what is the time constraints involved? If the client does not have budget or urgency, then set another date to meet again when the client might have budget and urgency. If there is urgency but no budget, but you still want to work with the client, then barter or take a percentage shares in the project.

Get access to networks to sell your product, else you are screwed. Reach out, make connections or become valuable to someone with a big network, build trust and get access. When getting your product out there, throw out a big net and hope to catch the few clients with immediate needs and budget for what you have to offer. Get your product offering clear and get it our there.

Create panic and deadlines for yourself. This works, believe me, it is the only way I get the job done. There must be compelling events. Set up meetings, join networking evenings and ask to talk about your product, get your sales-pack in the open, and create compelling events for yourself.

Spend time on premises with the client. This has a two-way effect, you understand the clients’ needs better and you are able to filter better clients from current clients. Play the numbers game; ask the client “Who else do you know that might need something like this?”

Offer what you have to the client and barter for extra money flow, use the extra money to invest back into your product.

Once the money flows, we tend to focus on the business of the day and innovation is left behind. Do not stop innovating. Look at current and future clients and identify opportunities that have the potential to deliver a return of 35% or more, make the client aware of the opportunity and the client pays for R&D. This is called client needs based innovation.

See: Good to Great

To build a community applies to any business relationship; offer to build high value closed communities for the client. As the clients’ client joins this virtual community they eventually learn the to manage their online identities and become aware of web 2.0 principles. Of course these two aspects must be built into the high value community and you must understand these topics. You could add any such areas you are expert on to the community.

See: Next S Catalytic Communities

Use a little smoke and mirrors when first developing your sales-pack. It must be enough to get you going, as you invoice you will spend the money on strengthening and perfecting the platform. As you work with the early adopter clients, you identify problems and develop solutions.

See: Early adopter

Do not hire employees, hire agents that build their own business on the platform you created, and participate in the money flow. The business becomes agent driven and not employee driven, the agents have a vested interest in seeing the business grow, employees do not necessarily have this view. If the agent identifies problems and develops solution modules for his clients, the platform is open to them to sell these modules to the clients of other agents that might have the same need.

There should preferably be an overlap between your value system and that of the client. Write your value system into the sale pack.