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My 14 years’ experience of growing a business from £0-£100m as well as the life that goes with it.

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Simon Says

Winformation This Week...

Yesterday I spoke at the Festival of Entrepreneurs at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. An impressive event, and one to watch for the future. 5,000 attendees in its first year. As always I prepare way more content than I have time to speak about on stage. There is some gold in the bits I kept back. Today I give you my full unedited notes exclusively for Winformation readers.

They asked me to speak on "Talent that scales: how top founders build teams that drive growth". This basically means, how to nail your hiring, induct well and ultimately “keep hold” of your best people. This is relevant if you have a team of 100 or haven't even yet started a business, but want to – and employing people concerns you...as it did me, many years ago. I've focused on actional steps rather than the theory, so you can get going with it today.

In today’s One Idea to Win in Business I share my entire notes for the talk. The first 3 points are below. But rather than clog up your inbox with pages of text, I've included the full 15 actional steps you can take today as a free download, available now in the Victory Vault at the bottom of this email.

Not sure about you, but my mental clarity decreases as my screen time goes up. This is bad news for me, my business and those that depend on me. So, in today’s One Idea to Win in Life I share some things that I've found really work for me when a digital declutter is well overdue.

One Idea to Win in Business

Something For You to Copy

The Inside Hiring Secrets That Turned Us into the UKs Best Employer

I spoke at the Festival of Entrepreneurs at the NEC in Birmingham. As always with these things you never get quite long enough to really deliver everything you know to the audience, it’s edited highlights at best. But their loss is your gain. Here are my 15 hiring secrets that helped us become the UK’s Best Employer as named by the Sunday Times and Investors in People. First 3 points below, the full 15 available today in the Victory Vault, totally free, link at the bottom of this email.

1. 5 Steps. Whether you are about to start a business, or already have 100 employees, I’ve come to realise that understanding there are 4 steps to really nailing the hiring process can make all the difference. It’s not just about finding the best people for the job, it goes way deeper. The sooner in your journey you think about it as a 5-step process, the more success you will see. I have defined the steps as Attract, Identify, Induct, Retain, Exit.

2. Becoming attractive. To attract the best people that will help drive your business forward, you need to become an attractive place to work. This is a whole other 1 hour talk on its own. But human beings want to feel important, and they want to feel they are working with a winning team. Good all year-round PR (not just when you want to hire) is really key for this.

3. Wednesday starters. Why do all new starters have to be on a Monday? It’s the worst day for people to start on. The team are dusty, there’s a little bit of chaos in the air, the roads are busy and generally people need some time to settle in. Your new employee’s day-one and week-one experience is everything, so consider Wednesdays as the start day. 3 days to settle in and then a weekend to let it all ruminate before starting in earnest the Monday after. We like it, it works for us. Try it.

One Idea to Win in Life

Something For You to Change

Why I Charge My Phone Outside the Bedroom (and Other Digital Detox Habits That Actually Work)

Here's one for you, I love M&Ms, but that doesn’t mean I should eat them all day, everyday. The same can be said for screentime. Make no mistake, when you are trying to grow a business life is not always reasonable and work-life balance can sound like a bad joke. But sometimes you do need, and will benefit from a digital diet. Here are some pointers on how to get started when it comes managing screen time.

1. Taking stock. Do you know how much screen time you are getting a week? Your phone knows the answer. It might well horrify you. I have talked many times about your energy levels, are there any apps you are using that drain you of that? If the answer is yes, it’s time to think seriously about taking a big break from them.

2. Charging my phone outside the bedroom. The last 6 months or so, I charge my phone on the landing outside the bedroom. This means I can’t pick it up if I don’t fall to sleep straight away, but also when the alarm goes off, I’m physically out of bed to turn it off. I’m up, whether I like it or not.  

3. Turn your screen black and white. Colour triggers the dopamine. Going back to the early 80’s version of your phone helps stimulate you less and use it less too.  

4. Pick a task for a ban!  Pick one daily task or event where phones are simply banned. It will start to train your brain to embrace boredom once again.

5. Keeping tabs. Remember, if you are working at a screen there is not a competition to have the most tabs and apps open. Even when using screens, be mindful of doing one thing well at a time. Multi-tasking was only ever really meant to working on multiple projects over the course of a few months, not simultaneously. I know that you know that. and I do too, but still, we both need reminding from time to time. 

Win or Wonder?

Ask Me a Question…

No matter where you are on this mad journey. Starting out, scaling up, or somewhere in the messy middle feel free to ask me anything.

Business, life or mindset, I read and reply to every question. The best ones will get featured in future editions of Winformation, with your permission of course!

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Until next week! 

Let’s win, together!