We watch very little TV in real time, just set the PVR and it records the whole series. Then we forget to watch it because we’re recording too many series – but that’s a different problem! And very much the same with business – and here we start to brush on new techniques and new ideas to go with the technology – cloud accounting, digital tax accounts, shared electronic calendars, CRM systems, etc., etc. If we don’t grasp them with both hands and shake them, the (business) world moves on and suddenly we’re adrift and watching the world speed away over the horizon. Learning and lifelong learning is a necessity, not an option. Right, so now we’re keeping up to date with the latest this, the latest that – and drowning in apps you never use if you’re too much a techie. But there are the softer skills and the more internal bits that shouldn’t be neglected. I believe I’ve mentioned Becki, my life coach before. Catch up with her at BeckiHoulston.co.uk – well worth a look and the title comes today from something I said at our latest session. To pinch from her website: “Most people do not fully understand quite the extent that they are holding themselves back in life. Having a Personal Coach, or Life Coach, is a smart choice for individuals that want to overcome problems or upgrade current aspects of their lives. Everyone would benefit from having the support of a good coach. It is about understanding how to get the best out of yourself in any situation and getting rid of anything that is causing interference in achieving your goals.” I’ve highlighted the last sentence – too many times in business the main thing holding you back is not the conditions in the outside world but – YOU. It’s often the simplest things:

• Hate paperwork? Find someone who doesn’t who can come in on an hour or two a week.
• Need assistance with social media? Outsource much of it to your daughter (well that’s what I did).
• Not understand social media? Don’t worry, probably 80% of those using it don’t understand it all that well, they just get to understand what works. A little aside – an item on the news this morning detailed the amount of time people now spend on social media sites. That wasn’t what caught my attention, it was the proportion of people using social media to communicate to people in the same room! You can tell I’m not a millennial can’t you?

• If you’re good at it, do it.
• If you’re not, ask yourself does it need to be done.
• If it doesn’t, stop doing it!
• If it does, pay someone else to do it and get on with what you want.