Mentoring In The Hybrid & Remote Era

I am a huge advocate of mentoring and coaching. I don’t say this as a coach, I say this as something who learnt a lot from mentors, especially unofficial mentoring, importantly reverse mentoring and silent mentors.

(Remember a coach is someone who has hard goals with deadlines to improve a core set of skills. A mentor is someone who helps to guide you over a longer period often without setting goals but to help you navigate difficult situations and build towards the future. You can have multiple mentors and likely have one coach who will help specialist skills develop and then change, coaches and mentors can overlap)

Having spoken to several businesses over the last year and the majority are worried about their move to hybrid and remote and how it will impact their staff.

Something most overlooked is the coaching element of in-person work and the indirect mentoring many get from spending time face-to-face, in meetings and bumping into each other in the office, going for lunch or grabbing a coffee together.

These are situations that can be re-engineered but have to be engineered as many do not seek out their own internal development and will let these moments not happen because of a screen or poor nudging from leadership.

How to think about improving mentorship moments:

• Organise time slots for mentorship (leadership teams shouldn’t have to do this but if they don’t it won’t be something that naturally occurs throughout the org)

• Set up fika - A Swedish traditional for friends or colleagues to grab a pastry and a coffee together

• Create moments to share learnings and a mentor manual that people can access and learn from

• Create reserve mentorship - match younger team members with more senior members (especially good for those on the leadership team) to understand what the teams feels, see's and the latest changes in their area of expertise

• Create internal mentorship programmes and see if you can invest time into sourcing and matching in external mentors, external mentors are often taken more seriously as they do not have a status or stake in the internal game being played.

All of these will help you improve mentors, amentorship and endorse a mentor programme that likely needs the most senior support in pushing forward.

>> If you are worried about your wider subculture (what I suggest is your department’s culture), I wrote about it in my leadership newsletter leaders letter last year.

Want to go deeper into different types of mentors?

• Internal mentors are usually paired or seeked out, less experienced staff are matched with more experienced members to help navigate the business and have a support network

• External mentors are usually seeked out by the employee or their manager - they can be in a related field or have a lot of similar experiences to help the mentee forward

• Silent mentors are those you learn from, their emails, and the way they handle themselves in meetings, but also are those who have direct impact on you, likely through the content they put out, the podcasts they host or appear on etc.

• Reverse mentorship is critical for great managers and generalists and those who are serious about their career and improving their career internally.

And if you are not taken by what I have said here’s the all in podcast discussing mentorship from 11:18 ↓

Interview Question: Have You Worked In A Service Job?

One of my go-to interview questions is have you ever worked in a service job?

I worked weekends at KFC and Wendy’s, when going through my A-Levels I used to sneak off and work 3-4 hour shifts to make money and move away from education which I was ultimately done with.

I actually really enjoyed the job and met some of my closest friends 25 years later, why?

You learn a lot skills, interpersonal skills, the importance of teamwork and comradery, how to read people’s body language & micro expressions, you learnt multi-tasking, how to handle busy periods and how to deal with “mistakes” (yours or the customers - they aren’t always right!), I learnt how to cook, prep and importantly clean and follow the high standards set by successful chains.
I went on to work in and run bars and put on club nights and all this has set me up in my career and is important muscle memory for me.

In almost every management role I have held, those who can handle pressure and excel in the quiet periods/poor performance periods and asked to step up are those from backgrounds in cafes, baristas, fast food (QSR) and bars.

Thinking about it, some of the best Brand & Product Marketers and Product leads I have had the pleasure of working with have also had strong backgrounds in QSR’s.

I was recommended this video this morning (thanks YouTube) and it reminded me of why so many great employees worked service jobs and if I had the choice I would always look to hire the right candidate with this style of background.

Watch out for how the English gentleman calls out that it is an experience from Arnaldo & at Grumpy Coffee and he leaves happy, although most do it organically the best Marketing team members provide brilliant experiences and are deliberate in doing so as they know it sticks in peoples mind and creates a long-standing relationship.

Practise With The Best

Talent density is massively underrated. It is something we don’t hear enough about within businesses.

If you ever see two high performing colleagues there can be healthy competition, I have a strong belief where possible you should ensure there are more practise periods and projects where you can manufacture practise time and collaborative projects.

In my career there have been a handful of colleagues and team members who positively pushed me, they instantly increased the talent density and would increase the quality of the project or campaign by raising the status quo, having higher standards and having fun sparring with each other and pushing the projects forward.

This Instagram reel of two of the best tennis players on the planet reminded me that you rarely get chance to practise or test yourself against with a world class competitor/colleague/industry rival/foe.

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A post shared by Omnium Banque Nationale (@obnmontreal)

This reminded me of a Simon Sinek and Adam Grant podcast and quote that rings true with me often.

Whenever I heard the name “Adam Grant”, it made me uncomfortable. If I heard someone sing his praises, a wave of envy washed over me. I knew him to be a good person and a nice guy. I respected his work a great deal, and he was always nice to me when we’ve met. We do the same kind of work — write books and give talks about our views of the world.

Although there are many others who do similar work, for some reason I was obsessed with him. I wanted to outdo him. I’d regularly check the online rankings to see how my books were selling and compare them to his. Not anyone else’s rankings — just his. If mine were ranked higher, I would smile a gloaty smile and feel superior. If his were higher, I would scowl and feel annoyed. He was my main competitor and I wanted to win.

Then something happened. We were invited to share a stage at the same event, and the interviewer thought it would be “fun” if we introduced each other. I went first. I looked at Adam, looked at the audience, and said, “You make me unbelievably insecure because all of your strengths are all my weaknesses. You can do so well the things that I really struggle to do.” The audience laughed.

Adam looked at me and responded, “The insecurity is mutual.” He went on to identify some of my strengths as areas in which he wished he could improve.

The question might be do you have a rival that will help you improve? And if yes - you do, do you practise or challenge each other enough?

Does Your Business Need A Refresh, Reset, Reboot or Restart

Throughout my career I have found most businesses get to the point where they are in need of external help and cannot decide what their companies requires, I have broken them down into 4 areas:

1. A Refresh - this is what most businesses want but not what most need, a refresh can include a hiring (or a firing) or a change in a way they work cross-functionally. A refresh often works best within teams or departments where there has been no change or mass change. Many teams work best after a refresh as this creates more focus and less distractions.

2. A Reset - this is what most companies need, they require a fresh set of eyes and a driving force behind resetting the way the teams work together, how they approach their department plan or reset their company strategy. Resets help cross-functional teams to understand each other and the way they work differently.

3. A Reboot - a more deliberate look at the business and departments often leads to difficult conversations and assessing how the teams and their department leads perform and operate. A detailed audit will be needed to identify issues and then guide the internal leadership in improving and rebooting the business performance.

4. A Restart - the view seen as the most harsh but often is needed and needs to be driven by an independent consultant and advisor. What a restart takes a 6-8 week period of investigation, observation and honest feedback. Restarts take a number of bed in and then a quarter to two quarters to influence wider change. Restarts need to be fully brought in by the exec team, by department leads and senior members of the team to create a better, higher-performing environment.

The question to ask yourself now: What does your team, department and business need?
In H2 it is the time to take action and set yourselves up for success in late Q3 into Q4.

Google’s AI Ad Problem

Google’s Issue Is It Put Product Ahead Of Their Audience In A Tasteless Way

You know an ad has caused controversy when the brand turns off comments on their YouTube upload… and then Thursday (1st August) night pulls the ad completely.

Dear Sydney (ad below) is one of those ads that has blown up and not in a good blown up way.

A simple ad suggesting how to use their new Gemini AI product has highlighted several issues with how the general public is reacting to AI and how it will influence parenting in the future.

What Google has failed to see is much fear around AI and its potential impact, especially on parents’ hands on / hands off approach to tech and how many fear lazy parenting and over reliance on tech will impact us all.

Google has forced their AI tech into a sporting event without thinking of the second and third-order effects of the ads.

In some respects, Google has done exactly what an ad is supposed to do, create conversation, on the other hand it has been tone deaf to how people are viewing AI.

Did It Miss The Mark Or Was For The Wrong Ad Audience? Google’s media quote is quite telling: "We believe that AI can be a great tool for enhancing human creativity, but can never replace it," I feel for Google ad communications manager Alana Beale who had to respond to media requests on an ad that missed the mark. Being in-house and responding to advertising campaign concerns or issues is not an enjoyable place or position to be in.

Gemini Gone Too Far? If Google Gemini had just helped the father tweak the say ‘sorry-not-sorry’ line for breaking Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s record that would have landed much better, unfortunately, this shows this ad might just be for investors and shareholders over consumers.

Keep an eye out for the next series of AI apps and chatbot ads, as the feedback, commentary and kickback will be telling in how AI tools might have to be advertised and targeted moving forward.

>> If you liked this post, read about Google’s AI battle. And how Apple’s approach to AI is likely going to win them the long-term AI battle.

Brands You Don’t Have To Say Anything

One of my biggest bug bearers is how brands fell into the trap to say something every time something happened or every time there is a calendar event happening.

Brands let the social media companies mislead them, chasing engagement and using these channels as news platforms hasn’t brought you closer to customers or fans, it has cut your reach and diluted important things you need to say.

Quality will beat out quantity almost every time.

Why? In every training workshops, in most c-suite coaching and founder expert calls I am always asked questions along these lines, should we talk about this news story or should we share something on National X or Y day, the answer 99% of the time, is don’t say anything unless you are directly helping, immediately impacted by the event or you are the go-to resource.

A free tip: Unless your brand is directly involved - it is often smarter and more authentic to say nothing externally. You will have to cut through internal pressure and say no, this is your job as a leader, knowing when no beats yes and being focused on what makes you win.

Remember this deliberate approach doesn’t mean you (and your brand) don’t care, it means when you have something important to say you will get cut through and it will land with your customers.

The less time you spend in a ‘war room’ making hard decisions and press statements (and social posts) - the better for you, the team/department and the brand.

Hodinkee’s CEO Update & “In The Comment Section”

Hodinkee (the watch editorial and ecommerce site) used to be the go to example of what a content brand could be.

It used to be a signal of how to create a media business around a theme, in their case luxury watches.

I have spoken to five businesses in the last five years who all have mentioned Hodinkee and their approach as the example of what they were attempting to replicate in their business. In most cases the investment costs to even consider this will put most businesses off.

Media Companies Of The Future: I do believe every company will become part media company - some channels and media will be a natural media fit based on their business vertical, while many others will struggle to make the transition.

The shift to commerce was a bumpy one for Hodinkee and in their recent CEO update (“A Note On The Future Of Hodinkee”) suggested they were going back to their roots. Their sub-header said it all “Spoiler alert: It looks a lot like its past, and I think you're going to like it.”

Speak With Not To: This blog post is a shining example of how to speak to and with your customers while knowing your customers and their they would respond…

“See you in the comments section!” cemented knowing how to speak to their audience while knowing them and their expected reaction(s), with 453 comments and counting this is highly unusual.

Would any other company get this feedback on-site in 2024? - I highly doubt it.

Moving into August many brands are disconnected from their customers and from knowing how to speak with and to their key audience, it is great to see a brand admitting they made a couple of strategic missteps and embracing feedback on site, rather than social media.

Best of luck to Hodinkee and if there was a coaching moment here, it would be to embrace your audience, keep them front and centre of your messaging and don’t be afraid to admit a mistake and guide them into the future.

My 6 Must Watch And Listens From The Last Week

Here are six incredible listens and watches to help you understand how decisions are made in large business and with elite professionals.

>> Etsy Scale & Ensuring Human+ (So human have to be behind AI product creations Creativity.

My main takeaway is being deliberate in your choices and ensuring you can build your marketplace with long term thinking in mind and adapt to tech changes.

>> Masters Of Scale - Kat Cole’s approach to leadership and why she joined AG1.

My main takeaway is Kat is very personable and extremely thoughtful and driven, if you want to be leading from the front you have to get deep under the skin and understand the true operating model.

>> YouTube creator sensation Cleo Abram on what made Nike almost ban record-breaking sneakers (hint there’s a flow chart and must be on general sale to be included in the Olympics

My main takeaway is tech is always going to help improve times of athletes but unless they are the elite level athletes its likely not going to win too many races and Olympic and governing bodies will review tech and innovation quickly (for safety and fair use).

>> Rory Sutherland delivers one of his best talks about making time to rethink the question and apply behaviour sciences to make better decisions .

My main takeaway is thinking about the question and what humans want will place us in front of creating better solutions, it’s then a choice (as I said in brand is in 2024/2025) not just optimising to the financial leader’s spreadsheet.

>> How 7-Eleven is repositioned itself and building a better shopping experience

My main takeaway is many can learn from building an experience from international stores and building more relevant shopping experiences.

>> Acquired’s long form interview with Howard Schultz on Starbucks history, strategic moves & why being wrong made Starbucks right

My main takeaway is even when you are a listed company with millions in sales even larger brands will treat you badly (Coca Cola in this instance) and their competitors will leap at the chance to collaborate. I have experienced this a number of times and it rarely ends badly…

Ask Fatigue Impact On Your Business

Ask Fatigue is when companies constantly ask for more from their customers without any value exchange.

Here are just a few requests I have had in my email inbox & SMS over the last week:

• More orders

• Spend more

• Share more pics or videos with us (to include in our Marketing)

• More reviews (asking for TrustPilot, Feefo and Google reviews)

• More upgrades (upgrade to x package)

• More UGC requests (for the brand to use in their advertising)

• Spend more for free delivery (to increase their AOV)

• Costs more for returning orders (which used to be free)

• Costs for click and collect (the convenience of collecting isn’t genuinely a value exchange)

• Increase your subscriptions

I am a commercially minded executive, I know first-hand and have felt the pressures companies are under to improve financial performance, however, always asking for more and creating an associated ask fatigue, your business is skating on thin ice especially when the cost of living is higher and the unlimited amount of competitors in your space.

Something I push in my consultancy and advisory roles is to reduce the ask fatigue from your customers and if you ask what is the value exchange you are going to provide? If you cannot provide any value exchange

If you would like to hear me discuss ask fatigue more, here are two resources:

• Podcast Appearance: One more question 

• Conference Talk: Community as the next business moat

My Top 7 Google Workspace Hacks

Improve Your Productivity In Google Workspace

Many people especially leaders struggle when it comes to working more smartly with tools, they don’t learn the tools, they are never taught them and when it comes to time many just won’t invest a few minutes to save themselves hours.

So I wanted to share my favourite Google Suite/Workspace hacks to make your life easier and more effective in and around the suite.

Quick URL → Get Creating: Writing into the browser to create brand new docs straight away

1. slides.new - for Google Slides 

2. sheets.new - for Google Sheets 

3. docs.new - for Google Docs 

4. cal.new - for new calendar event 

Quicker Actions: Use the search feature in the left-right side to take the action / command you would like to from styling to adding a table in docs, a pivot table in sheets, to adding a diagram in slides 

Preview > Edit: Link into a Google Slides rather than send to edit interface -  With your Google Slides URL, look at the URL string and replace /edit with /preview and this link sends the viewer into that slideshow directly without the default edit view (shown below)

Mute: Use the Mute feature to slience noisy email chains or where you are CC-ed in for no real reason - tick email, go to the three dots and select mute

Hide Guestlists: Hide guest list (often this can be helpful with management meetings, big meetings and external meetings) - go into your calendar invite, edit event and untick "See guest list."

Better speaker than writer? In Google Docs - Go to ‘Tools’ and then select ‘Voice typing’. 

Get Ahead With Your Daily Agenda: Have your daily schedule emailed to you In Google Calendar settings > Other notifications > Daily agenda

My Favourite Matrixes & Frameworks

Here are my favourite matrixes and frameworks together on Google Sheets, free to make a copy and use for improved goal setting, better ownership and cross-functional alignment.

Frameworks & Templates

• John Whitmore Model - Aka GROW Goal Reality Options Will matrix for what you want, where you, what could be and what will you do.

• SMART & PURE - Setting the best goals and helping to select the right goals

• DACI - A project management framework helping to clarify ownership and feedback in a project (RACI is more well know)

• RACI - A project management framework helping to clarify ownership and feedback

• Feedback Model - A way to field feedback from colleagues or managers and categorise

• Eisenhower Matrix - Work template to go through what to prioritise

• SWOT Analysis - Self-assessment of strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats (I run through this template with every coaching client and is a foundation we work on top of)

• Subtle Signals Model - Effort vs reward matrix

• Maslow's Hierarchy - Score your engagement

HVE - High Value Employee(s)

Why High Value Employees (HVE) Need To Be Identified, Supported & Have Individual Plans Of Action

Imagine this ↓

Your best-performing member of the department comes to you and suggests they are unhappy and have been applying for external roles.

Your first thought was likely FFS, your second was to try and talk to them and hopefully listen to their points.

Your next action is likely to convince them to stay…

If this comes as a shock, there are likely three things that it could be or that are happening:

1. You are busy and missing the signs from this employee

2. The subculture or company culture has shifted and the employee doesn’t feel connected
   or

3. The company is not moving in a direction that connects with said employees.

Most department leads do not identify who is your HVE (your high value employee(s)). They have an idea but do not actively treat the identified employee as such. They definitely do not have a plan of action for these individuals.

Yes, you can identify them and treat them well and they will look to progress their career elsewhere but many do not actively check-in, you miss their signals from their performance dropping, being continually frustrated in meetings and hearing what they are saying from their silence, you or they actively miss 1-2-1’s,

In some organisations, they train department leads and executive teams to identify and actively discuss key person risk - when someone is that important it creates a business risk for them to become unhappy and leave the business. If you were to take a step back, would your HVE be a key person to leave the business and create a risk to the business?

Do you have a handful of HVE’s or a high-value employee who you need to connect with and work through how they like to work, how you could support them further or know when to get out of their way?

A coachable moment for the week ahead is to review your team (try not to make it a 9-box exercise), identify your HVE and work out a plan of action for them or the HVE’s.

Remember: It is also great to support them in moving on, often high value employees need to leave and it’s ok as their line manager to support them in reshuffling your org and creating the most effective org design.

If you enjoyed this post why not read more of my blog posts here, if you are interested in more actionable coaching blog content read here

Pepsico’s Price Conscious Consumers

Why The Price Versus Value Debate Won’t Go Away For Any Brand Big Or Small.

I recently read a powerful quote about Pepsico (the owners of Pepsi, lays, Tropicana, Quaker, and Gatorade) about consumers buying fewer snacks (to this point it’s referring to fewer snacks being purchased from Pepsico’s brands) and the performance from their CFO.

Below is a quote from their earnings call:

“There is a cohort of consumers that have become more price conscious,”  — Jamie Caulfield, CFO @ PepsiCo.

“They’re looking for more deals to get more for their money.”

“PepsiCo is offering products and package sizes that offer greater value, such as a new 10-item variety pack of snacks that is selling well”
”Shoppers are now less interested in buy-one-get-one-free promotions and want lower price points for single items”.

It is safe to say over the last couple of years consumers have become more price-conscious, we have seen it in spending across the US and the UK and will continue to see consumer spending become more value-based. FWIW Election year always sees a dip in spending.

A topic I raise with almost all of my clients is price vs value, price is part of the debate, however, what most people are looking for value.

Value is an exchange, the value exchange is - what is the feeling I get from a product or service and whether it is giving me value or an experience to connect to a value rather than a price.

If the value exchange is not there is a product or the price has been increased massively (or in recent times shrinkflation) then people will stop buying or look for actively seek out cheaper alternatives. We live in an endless world of competitors and “good enough” competitors.
(Importantly we now live in a consumer world where we don’t just have good, better, best, we have good enough, good, better, best, greatest)

The question to ask in exec meetings now should be:

Are we adding value and are we removing the price from the equation and adding constant value?
If the answer is no, a competitor will be considered or a lower price item will be tried.

In future earning calls I predict we are going to see many companies and CFOs blame:

• GLP-1 drugs (Ozempic etc) and their impact on eating and drinking

• The price of food and the effect of reducing the size of a product while staying at the same price (aka shrinkification)

• Continued extreme weather (hottest summers in the US, wettest summers in the UK)

• Poor performance marketing results (constant algorithmic shifts are impacting both organic marketing and paid media results and typically negatively)

• The election results (whatever your leaning or who you voted for, elections shake things up)

• and the continued blame of price-conscious consumers

If there is a takeaway here I would recommend reviewing how you price your items, how you connect your products (even if it is snacks or drinks) to experiences (I bet you remember your first Coke or your first great experience with food) and consider how you are marketing your product vs the endless competitors who will cheaper or go for discounting to win the battle on the wallet and purse.

The 5 Books Helping You To Improve Your Leadership

Here are my 5 go-to (recent) book recommendations to improve your leadership, whether that’s improving listening, improving the questions you ask, understanding what optimises performance and why mental models and frameworks are key to the most successful people.

1/ Supercommunicators - Charles Duhigg (book link)

Why Read?

• Help you to improve your listening

• Help you to understand how to ask better questions

• Learn how some people are built to ask the right questions, while others just don’t and likely won’t - and why this means there is an opportunity for leaders

Below is another teaser in form of a vodcast with Mr Why Simon Sinek

2/ Clear Thinking - Shane Parrish (book link)

Why Read?

• How to craft your own fate (and not rely on every situation around you

• Improve your decision-making, step by step

• How to place yourself into areas/zones of success

• With many mental models (frameworks) to guide you through your journey

If you would like the cheat sheet, here is the 8-minute breakdown

3/ Hidden Genius - Polina Marinova Pompliano (book link)

Why Read?

• Polina breaks down how successful people have high resilience and don’t break easily

• Learn how the high performers don’t use hacks but leverage and optimise their mental framework

• How the best of the best improve their content consumption (better content diet)

Below is Polina being interviewed by her husband (well-known entrepreneur and business personality) Andrew Pomp Pompliano and breaking down her book. Lastly, Polina’s newsletter The Profile is brilliant and a must-subscribe.

4/ Scaling People - Claire Hughes Johnson (book link) 

Why Read?

• Learn how to scale operations, people management and C-suite leadership by knowing your strengths
  and knowing not to improve your weaknesses

• Why do the hard but right conversations have to happen especially around poor performers - for their good, your good, for the company

• Why managers should have their operating cadence and work with their teams on their preferred ways of working
  

If you want a deeper look inside the book, grab a coffee and enjoy Tim Ferriss interviewing Claire and actively learning throughout the podcast. Claire has had quite the book tour so definitely search your podcast players of choice for more brilliant insights.

5/ Tiny Habits - Professor BJ Fogg (book link)

Why Read?

• If you have heard or read James Clear, you’ll love his actual teacher/Professor BJ Fogg, BJ breaks down how to form habits slowly but surely

• The secret to forming any habit

• make it tiny, 

• find where it fits naturally in your life 

• and nurture its growth.

• Why it applies to work, training and self-development

This is a brilliant podcast with BJ Fogg talking to Nike’s audio team on habits, transforming performance and getting out of your own way.

How Ryan Reynolds Pitches Wrexham To Each Potential Player

Many Department & Company Leads Can Learn From This Simple Approach

Many CEOs and founders can learn a thing or two from Ryan Reynolds on how he operates with Wrexham.

The top takeaway and running theme connection is key:

• Speak to every new player and potential signing

• He asks about their plan and their family (and what else can he do as the club’s co-owner)

• He says he will leave the football to the players but the storytelling and marketing of the club and town - he will handle and do this thing

• Sees what opportunities there are with the player and what they could collaborate on

In my coaching (specifically my exec coaching) I ask executives what are their unique skills and how do they stand out vs other execs from bigger or more well-known companies and go to my advice always centres around if they have high EQ show it and double down on it and layer IQ.
Maybe this is what is going to help you stand out and stand up against different execs or companies.