First published 3 February 2020 on Your Best Year Starts Here with Nigel Risner.
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I'd had an idea just as we started recording, so we went with it. A personal manifesto. We'll write down vision and values for a business because other people need to get it, but how often do we do that for ourselves? It gets a lot more real once it's on a sheet of paper.
Nigel was ahead of me on this one. His old business cards had his mission statement printed on every single one. He'd tell people that if he wasn't living up to it, they should say so and he'd change the card. These days he's gone all animals and his title is Chief Zookeeper. Mine have three words on the back that spell out CEO, because I think that job title needs redefining. And I don't like the word boss. To me it's about control.
That got Nigel onto leaders and managers. You lead people and you manage things. Chairs don't care who looks after them. There's no manager of a dog pack either, there's a leader. I said a lot of bosses just grab whoever's free and make them do the job, even when they're the wrong person for it. Nigel's line is that if you can't get someone going, you let them go. If you don't, you're as responsible as they are.
Then I told him how I sort clients. A is for avatar, the ones who are fun to work with and spend money. B is for beware, because they only do one of those. Nigel looked a bit worried about what C was going to stand for, given we've got young listeners. It's C you later. He's letting two clients go in 2020 himself (no names), and we finished on football. Him on an Arsenal physio who got the best players back on the pitch quicker than anyone. Me on Southampton relegation battles, where one or two points make all the difference.
What stuck
- Write down what you stand for. It feels more real on paper than in your head.
- You lead people and you manage things.
- For every B client, ask if they're coachable. If not, they're heading for C.
- Nigel drops a couple of clients every year so he's got more time for his best ones.
- Less is more. Pick a small number of things and do them properly.
So you lead people, and you manage things. So you can't inspire chairs.
Nigel Risner
I don't like the word boss, 'cause to me, boss is about control.
Neil Martin
