The latest thoughts from David…

The happiest person I have ever met was penny-less.  She had enough to eat and a roof over her head but very few of what she called ‘luxuries’.  At the time it seemed everyone around her was buying (and sometimes parading) expensive garments and gadgetry, yet this didn’t seem to interest her.  Had she not been my mother I would have called her a fool. Read the rest of this entry »

An insight from Nicki…

Are you one of the many people, like me, who makes lists?  It’s certainly a great way to remember stuff that would otherwise likely be forgotten. Read the rest of this entry »

The latest thoughts from David…

In Tom Rath’s book, Strengths Finder 2.0, he quotes some research on the chances of employees being actively disengaged based on their managers’ focus.  I found it startling and obvious at the same time.  Where a manager’s primary focus is on weaknesses this leads to a 22% chance that his/her employees will be actively disengaged.  Ignoring employees altogether leads to a 40% chance which makes sense when you consider the basic human need for attention (anyone with children will be nodding at this point).

BUT (I hope that you noticed how big that but was) when the manager’s focus is primarily on his/her team’s strengths the figure drops to a mere 1%. Read the rest of this entry »

Lucy explores a question which comes up a lot around these parts

I was running a presentation past the bunch recently to get their feedback. The presentation was to be used to demonstrate why we’re quite unique in what we do. At the end, the most valuable feedback was, “It still doesn’t actually tell me what Rambutan does.” Read the rest of this entry »

Yoda from Star Wars had all the best lines, and often they were stunning coaching questions to really make you think. This got Craig thinking about size and assumptions…

How often do you make assumptions based on size? For example do you see a big person and assume they eat a lot? Likewise if you saw a thin person and assume they must exercise loads?

Size plays a big part (excuse the pun) in our business lives every day. How often have you thought about speaking with someone senior to you, or a new client from a company larger than yours, and thought ‘oh I can’t chat to them, they’re too senior or too big for us as a company’?

If this has happened to you, what is the mindset you are choosing? What you think about yourself or your company will impact on who you dare to talk to and how you talk to them. How much do you believe in yourself or your company?

If you have eight people in your company would you dare win a contract with an international business? If not, why not? Size doesn’t determine success, professionalism or expertise.

Challenge yourself and think like Yoda, from Star Wars: he asked Luke Skywalker, ‘Judge me by my size do you?’ just as he raised the X wing fighter from the swamp, after the much larger Skywalker had failed.  And the reason he failed? He didn’t believe in himself and  his ability!

Some interesting thoughts from David

If you are my boss and you want me to do something new then consider this. You’ll get a better response if you can tell me ‘what’ you want me to do as opposed to what’ you want me to do and ‘how’ you want me to do it. Why? Well because if you leave me to figure the second part out I’ll be more engaged with the task. I might not get it right first time or do it the way that you would but I’ll grow as a result and like you more. Sometimes managing people can feel a bit like herding jellyfish (difficult to get everyone moving in the same direction and it can sting quite a bit) and this can cause managers to over-manage (or tell people ‘what’ and ‘how’) to get things done. Be warned…resist the temptation…you may be surprised how well engaged jellyfish*¹ perform.

 *¹ this is probably overuse of a fishy metaphor which you should never^*2 do   

^*2 unless of course you are Pike Place market in Seattle in which case ‘fill your boots’

It may be a cliché, it may not be true at all but I’m sure most people will have heard the story of the cleaner at NASA.

The story tells how President John Kennedy once visited NASA. He came across a cleaner and asked him what his job was. The cleaner replied: ‘My job is to help to put a man on the moon.’ There is some discussion of whether this story is true or not, but what it illustrates is the cleaner’s complete alignment with the aims of NASA, and the collective mission and strategy.

Recently Lucy and I were reminded of the story when we visited The Children’s Trust here in the UK.  The Trust provides care, education, therapy and rehabilitation to children with profound multiple disabilities, complex health needs and acquired brain injury. We did some focus groups and some one-to-one interviews for The Trust and, without exception, everyone we met was totally aligned and passionate about helping children.  Might seem obvious for therapists, teachers and care staff to feel this way but what about ‘Bob from maintenance’ or ‘Maria from housekeeping’ (pictured)… same story!

Maria, housekeeper for The Children’s Trust

Maria, who looks after all the housekeeping for the site, has worked at The Trust for 28 years. When we asked what motivated her to do her job she said, ‘When you see a child start to talk or get up and walk you realise how important The Trust is and why you come to work’.

We’re recruiting!

We’re a successful business that is growing and we’re now on the hunt for another person to join the team as a ‘consultant and trainer’.

We’d like them to start as soon as possible and ideally be located in the Midlands, within easy travelling distance of our offices in Market Harborough.  The work we do with clients is all over the country, and sometimes even in Europe. However, unlike some consultancies, we never find ourselves permanently on-site with a client for months on end, travelling (and therefore long days) is often involved, plans can change at the last minute and you will sometimes be away from home overnight during the week (we always provide a tent and a blanket for these situations).

The successful candidate will have an awesome blend of the right skills, the right attitude, lots of relevant experience and values that are consistent with ours. Read the rest of this entry »

Lucy recaps the day Rambutan spent at the University of York with Ben Hun-Davis, Growing for Gold.

Last Thursday saw a rare appearance of the whole Rambutan bunch at the same place at the same time. Having been invited by the University of York to help them showcase their new Ron Cooke Hub, we designed and ran some taster session workshops that would allow visitors to see the Hub in an innovative way and get some Rambutan refreshment too.

Following a fascinating opening talk by our very own Olympic gold medallist, Ben, we offered workshops on leadership, presenting, time management and listening; all vital business skills and all delivered in 30 minutes (time is money as they say!). In true Rambutan fashion the style of the workshops was interactive and memorable. We got some amazing feedback, summed up nicely by one attendee who commented: “Very inspiring. Fabulous!”

We’d like to thank the University for asking us along. We had a great day!

Fiona recalls her first week as one of the Rambutan bunch

And what a week it was! After a whirlwind tour of the office and some mini challenges from my new starter workbook, I was tasked with looking at the company website (next on the list for a revamp) and updating some of the social media streams; two passions of mine which I hope will successfully enhance the business going forward.

By the middle of the week, I found myself putting my publisher skills to the test, working on a business proposal with David. The biggest challenge was getting used to the formatting and branding used by Rambutan, something quite unique compared to other companies I’ve worked for in the past. I think it’s all starting to sink in but no full stops at the end of bullet point takes a bit of getting used to!

It was great seeing the Rambutan team in action and I have really started to feel like one of the bunch. My understanding of what they do may still be a little limited, but it’s quite clear they do it very well. As with any new job, there is a lot to learn but I’m up for the challenge. This Office Maestro is ready to get stuck in…

*¹ The hours spent cutting out those nuggets need not be mentioned