DEFY EXPECTATIONS

Do Good Consultants make Good Managers? Consultants are everywhere, and for good reason. Governments, industries, and health services frequently invest in them, often making headlines for the sheer amount spent. But why do we hire consultants, and what value do they bring to the table? Some of this spending is absolutely worthwhile, especially when a consultant has skills that either don’t exist within the organization or are only required for a short period. Consultants can also serve as external voices that deliver critical messages senior management might otherwise ignore. A fresh perspective, combined with specialised expertise, can often cut through organisational noise and get things moving. Generally this is accompanied by many in the organisation sitting with their heads in their hands and wondering why no one listened to them! No one can deny that consultants bring value—but it’s important to understand that consulting alone doesn’t provide the skills to run a business. The real magic happens not just in setting the strategy but in delivering on it. Running a business requires more than a neatly bound report or well-crafted recommendations. It’s about making tough calls, navigating unforeseen challenges, and taking ownership—getting your hands dirty in the everyday reality of operations. While consultants can give us insights, frameworks, and fresh ideas, ultimately, it's up to leaders and their teams to bring those strategies to life. It’s about execution, adaptability, and perseverance. That’s something that no outside expert can do for you—only the people within the organisation, with their deep understanding and commitment, can truly make it happen. Talk to us at www.defyexpectations.co.uk if you want to transform your business - we get our hands dirty.

Did AI Leave You Behind? Another day, another AI innovation. It seems like every week there's a new technology poised to revolutionise some part of our lives. For those of us who work in tech, keeping up can be exhausting—but what about those who can’t or don’t? As the AI wave continues to roll out, many regions, especially in the developing world, risk being left behind. So, how do we prevent the world from dividing into those whose lives are enriched by AI and those left struggling? Governments and (more usefully), some of the big corporations are starting to take note of this growing "AI divide." Don't imagine for a moment that this is a charitable move, it is in their interests to close the gap. Google is leading the charge with a $120 Million push for global AI education. At the recent UN Summit of the Future, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced a $120 million fund dedicated to bringing AI education to communities across the world, particularly those most at risk of being left behind. The initiative, which aims to partner with local NGOs and nonprofits, attempts to position Google not just as a tech innovator, but as a key player in ensuring AI's benefits reach even the most underserved communities. Not to be outdone, OpenAI recently announced its new program, OpenAI Academy, aimed at training developers in AI and generative AI technologies. This global initiative is designed not as a school but as a way to provide targeted support to local developers. OpenAI will offer over $1 million in API credits to developers in low- and middle-income countries, giving them the tools they need to experiment, innovate, and contribute to the growing AI ecosystem, hoping to empower a new generation of developers. But the stakes are bigger than corporate strategy. AI has the potential to reshape industries, create new opportunities, and solve some of humanity’s biggest challenges. The risk is that these benefits may be confined to the wealthiest parts of the world, leaving poorer regions further behind. To ensure AI enriches the lives of people everywhere, we need initiatives like Google's and OpenAI's to make AI education and tools accessible to all. If you feel like AI innovation is leaving you behind, you're not alone—but you’re also not without hope. If we hope to use AI to solve some of the problems of our global future then we need to expand the reach of AI education. Talk to us at www.defyexpectations.co.uk if you want to transform your business.

Learn what the 3 communication superpower are and how you can implement them ⚡ Listen to the podcast episode here: https://bit.ly/4dHmXSh #DefyExpectations #Accountability #Wisdom #leadership #transformation #learningjourney #purpose #action #leadershipdevelopment #capabilitybuilding #Accountability #Wisdom

Profit is not a dirty word. In recent debates surrounding Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues, brilliant or toxic leadership, and the role of morality in business, one fundamental question seems to have been overlooked: What is the real purpose of business? At its core, the first purpose of an organization is to make a profit by providing products or services that its customers want, at a price they find attractive. Profit isn’t just a goal—it’s a necessity for survival. This truth applies to all types of organisations, from for-profit businesses to not-for-profits and charities who also don't operate outside the world of profit. Like any other entity, they must ensure they deliver value to their stakeholders. Fail to do so, and they won’t secure the funding they need in the future. Whatever you are generating enough profit is crucial to maintain operations, support innovation, and ultimately fulfill their mission. Without a margin, there is no future. Profit has gained a bit of a reputation for being immoral or inherently wrong. But the truth is, profit itself is neither good nor bad. It’s just a measure of an organisation’s ability to fulfill its purpose effectively. What matters is how that profit is made, and what the organisation chooses to do with it. The ethical considerations should focus on the means of profit generation and the ends to which it is put, not the profit itself. Without profit, no organisation can survive, so instead of treating profit as a dirty word, we should remember its importance and the role it plays in enabling organisations to continue making a difference. Talk to us at www.defyexpectations.co.uk if you want help to focus on your profit.

Does this sound like your business? Does this sound like your problem? 👍 We have a long-term strategy 👍 We have a plan for the year 👍 We have a good organisation 👍 We have great values 👍 We have great people 👍 We have all the OKR’s we need to get us there 👍 All we need to do is execute……. Why is it so hard to Get Stuff Done? Why do you never finish anything? There’s a great quote from Sir Francis Drake who knew a thing or two about success and failure, that rings very true for organisational life today. “There must be a beginning of any great matter, but the continuing unto the end until it be thoroughly finished yields the true glory.” Stand still for a moment and think about the words “thoroughly finished”. How many projects are you involved in? How many things are there on your to do list? How many meetings on “innovation”, on “future strategy” on “employee satisfaction” and on an endless list of “stuff”. Is any of it ever “thoroughly finished” before you have to move on to the next thing? One of my ways of looking at the maturity of a management team is its ability to finish projects and also to give things up. Mature organisations do not keep starting projects they can never finish. They are also good at stopping things. To read more from our blog, please visit https://bit.ly/3ytMi2O #DefyExpeectations #BusinessStrategy #LongTermPlan #OrganizationalValues #GreatTeam #YearlyPlan #SuccessfulBusiness #ProblemSolving #StrategicGoals #Teamwork #OrganisationCulture

“Tell us about yourself”……Advice please LinkedIn colleagues I don’t feel that I would rather die than speak in public. There is a rather silly claim that quite a lot of people felt that way. It turned out to be a rather bad interpretation of the data. I’m quite happy talking about business topics and even some non-business ones. Where I really struggle is that invitation to “tell us something about yourself”. I could do a super-fast outline of my life in general, but I’m old so there is a lot to cram in, I could talk about my career that has ranged from founding a wine importer to running a global internet company and a lot of other things in between. But who wants to listen to a CV?  And none of those things tells you much about the person that is me. Me is also not a topic that I talk about much. I can talk for hours about technology, about leadership, about building companies, and I have a good collection of funny stories, but none of them seem appropriate. I could talk about my children and my grandchildren but again what does that tell you about how I became what I am now. I thought I would turn to my colleagues on LinkedIn. How would you answer the question? How do you make the answer both engaging and true? Talk to us at www.defyexpectations.co.uk if you want to transform your business.

Three reasons why you need a business coach? In the course of a long career I’ve learnt that there are three reasons why you should have a business coach: Firstly it's very lonely being a senior leader. You cannot confide your hopes, fears and problems to your peers, you don’t want to explain them to your boss or your board. But you do need someone to be a sounding board, particularly when you are taking big strategic decisions. Secondly, if you have the right coach who has experience at the level at which you work. (If you are a CEO, they should have been a CEO) you are working with someone who understands the challenges you face and can help you as a thinking partner. A good coach does not need to be from your industry, but they do need to be from your level. CEOs rarely need external industry experience from a coach (they will know more about running power stations, food companies, green energy, telecoms or any one of a hundred industries than their coach ever will). Where leaders need help is in working with all the problems that human beings create. Those sorts of problems are very rarely industry specific. The third area where a great coach can help is in taking an holistic view of your own life and career. There are very few people you can discuss your next move with. Where is this job taking you, where do you want to go? If you are senior then is this your last job, in which case what is your legacy? Or are you looking to move on to something different? What skills do you need for the future and how can you find them in your present role? Getting a clear perspective on your own future can make you a much better leader in your present role. If you know where you are going you can help others and can build succession plans. If you are interested in how we can help you with coaching please talk to us at www.defyexpectations.co.uk if you want to transform your life.

It’s time we took management training as seriously as we take training any other profession where people’s futures are at risk. But why don’t we? Perhaps because being a “leader” has been glorified to the extent that we no longer understand what “management” is and don’t take it seriously enough. Too many people see management as simply giving orders or maintaining the status quo rather than recognizing the strategic skills required to lead effectively, foster a positive culture, and drive performance. Behind every great leader is a bunch of great managers. Winning a war is a great example. You may have a great general but behind them are the managers who see that the troops are in the right place at the right time, trained, fed, equipped and ready to fight. Business is no different. A great leader needs staff behind them that are trained, equipped, doing the right things at the right time. That means great managers. But the great managers are often invisible. They work behind the scenes, they coach, they plan, they manage conflict, they Get Stuff Done. The leader, often unfairly, gets the glory, but the leader is nothing without the manager. Great leaders understand that and seek out great managers. Management is a profession and needs to be thought of and treated as one. Like all professions its practitioners needs to study and practise their skills. They need to be respected for the vital work they do. They are the people who drive consistent success. Talk to us at www.defyexpectations.co.uk if you want to take your business to a new level.

Who gets the best of you? Who gets the rest of you? How can you become a better leader by prioritising what is critical to you? Learn more in our podcast episode with Clint Rusch: https://bit.ly/3ZuSnXB #DefyExpectations #Accountability #Wisdom #leadership #transformation #learningjourney #purpose #action #leadershipdevelopment #capabilitybuilding #Accountability #Wisdom