Eve Abbott - Organiser Extraordinare - was featured again on The Marketer's Podcast (January 18, 2006). You would think that she and Alan would eventually run out of interesting insights, management and marketing jewels, but this epi-pod clearly demonstrates that they are just warming up.
I'm going to experiment with a little different format for documenting some of the podcasts I want to post about. In the past, I would get hung up, especially when the podcast was a little long, waiting to finish listening to the whole thing and trying to decide what I really thought about 'the whole thing.' This time around, I'm going to try chunking each podcast so that I can post my notes and impressions on a more real-time basis. Each podcast post will start with a brief intro paragraph (or two, or three. . .), then will have a series of "E.T." couplets. First a little excerpt or comment about what caught my attention (the 'E') followed by the resulting train of thought (the 'T').
In this particular podcast, they cover a lot of ground including human motivation, communication, New Years resolutions, website and small business strategies, exercise and fitness, and lots more. It's pretty obvious that the two of them have either made extensive studies of NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) techniques or have a natural talent for it. It's fun and often inspiring to see how they take abstract, clinical processes and put them into practice to help their businesses and their clients.
Alan: "The cogs were turning as I was learning..."
Brilliant visual image - easy to image and remember
Eve recently sold her old internet domain, www.organize.com. For years she has refused inquiries by telling people to come back when they were willing to begin bidding at at least $50k (USD), and finally someone did. Eve doesn't disclose the actual selling price other than to indicate it was greater than $50k and less than $99,999. Now she is in the middle of transitioning to her new 'asmartwaytowork.com' web identity.
I'm jealous - of course. How many other domains are out there with names that are the keystones for an entire industry?
Eve is also taking the opportunity to radically change her business model and gives a lot of insight into her rationale during the podcast.
Refreshing to hear from someone that truly believes that they can pro-actively re-engineer their life.
Eve: The small business person operating outside the organization (establishment) has a richer experience.
It's scarier, but potentially a much, much more satisfying experience. Not for everyone, but if you have the type of personality that can venture outside the womb then go for it. Reminds me of the comments made on a Science Friday podcast about Ben Franklin having the freedom to be so creative because he was outside of the establishment (Britain/Europe) at the time.
Alan: "Doing half-assed marketing consistently is better than doing brilliant marketing erratically."
The tortoise and the hare. Marketing according to Aesop. I see a new book in the making...
Eve: "The 'big deal' is the light bulb going on when you've internalized it."
Exactly. the challenge for all communicators is figure out how to reach into the listeners brain and flip that light switch on.
Eve: referring to 12-step programs - it's hard to stop (change) old, ingrained behaviors. It's easier to take-on (adopt) new behaviors that address the same area but also deal with the problem's root cause.
It's not enough to 'Just say no.' There has to be something to 'say yes' to at the same time, otherwise we quickly fall off the wagon.
Eve: talking about her experience trying to stop drinking sodas (carbonated cola drinks) and to drink more water - "Drink more not sodas."
Perfect. Re-framing and rephrasing. Positive frame. Phrased for easy acceptance by her brain.
Alan: asked about his New Years resolutions - fitness goals and consistency. Finds that work tends to replace exercise and fitness. Committed to getting back on the fitness program.
Hopefully that means he will put together a few more Kickbiking podcasts...
Eve: talks about the interlinking of fitness and work, and how to re-engineer your day to incorporate the exercise you need.
Eve: explains the need to match your approach to your own needs. Visual people see the big picture but have difficulty with the details. Need to link the details in a positive way back into the big picture context.
Eve: Reward yourself. Get small bits of success regularly. Get hooked on it. And arrange things so that you commit publicly to someone else
Eve: Most people have no idea how they really spend their time. Gets into a discussion about time management, keeping a log, ...
Eve: talking about selecting and working with clients - "Who can I find that will see how much I can help them?"
Brilliant. Most of us, myself included, tend to be happy with whatever clients happen to come our way without considering whether or not we can actually help them, or more important, whether or not they will see and value what we have to offer.
Alan: Create a (your) path of least resistance to your (desired) outcome.
Take ownership of your own destiny. Re-engineer your life. First, know yourself (your self.)
Eve: explains how she has incorporated exercise into her daily life, including doing shoulder rolls while standing in line at the bank.
At the end of the week she's had hours of exercise that's not dedicated 'exercise time.'
Eve uses the phrases, "You know what I'm saying." and "You see what I'm saying." frequently. Verbal handshakes to verify communication and allow the opportunity for the discussion to rewind and replay if necessary.
"You see what I'm saying." - of course not. You're saying it, not drawing it. If you were drawing it I could see what you were drawing, but I can't "see" what you are "saying." She does this to communicate using as many listener modality's as she can.
Eve: talks about the word 'should' and how it always comes from the outside.
When we use the word 'should' we are responding to our mother, father, boss, the establishment, some authority figure - not to our own internal self.
Eve: "If you don't really want it from inside, it won't happen." Worse yet, you may use it to sabotage yourself.
There's a lot more - a lot more.
Related links:
Eve Abbott and Alan Stewart on Resolutions - podcast post - January 18, 2006
ASmartWayToWork.com - Eve's new website
Comments