by Liz Gooster (MC11) with Sarah Fenwick (MC06)

Intensive care represents the knife edge between life and death and extreme illnesses require cutting edge research to provide solutions. Despite intensive care being one of the most sophisticated areas of hospital care, hypoxia – lack of oxygen reaching the body’s vital organs – is a common problem for patients in an intensive care unit. Approximately 80% of people in intensive care suffer hypoxia and until this can be controlled they can’t be treated effectively. For both scientific and ethical reasons it’s difficult to conduct research on critical care patients. In response to this, Xtreme Everest, a not-for-profit organisation led by doctors and scientists from UinversityCollegeLondonHospital, University of Southampton and DukeUniversity in the US, is conducting an innovative research project which uses the shortage of oxygen experienced at high altitudes to simulate the hypoxia that affects people in intensive care.

Along with fellow Meyler Campbell graduate Sarah Fenwick, whose brainchild this adventure was, I am participating in this research. What this means is that we’re going on a charity trek to Everest Base Camp in March and are volunteering as research subjects – what I like to call ‘donating our bodies to medical research’. As part of our contribution to the project we get lots of medical tests done on us – we’ve already had the first set done in London and there will be three more rounds in Nepal, in the field labs that will be very impressively built and run by the scientific team. The logistics of this are mind-boggling – and I am very amused by the fact that they will be setting up exercise bikes in Base Camp so we can pedal on them, breathe into masks and have our oxygen use measured!

One in five people in the UK will end up in intensive care at some point in their lives, and 40% of these will die: startling statistics indeed. So the results of the research project will be put to very good use in understanding how to help improve people’s oxygen levels and get better outcomes from their care. You can see more details about all the science stuff, which is fascinating, at http://www.xtreme-everest.co.uk/

As well as our bodies, the other part of our contribution is in fundraising. We are funding the expenses of the trip ourselves, and on top of this are looking to raise as much money as possible to further the research efforts of Xtreme Everest, who are running the project. If you would like to donate to support this research, Xtreme Everest, Sarah and myself would be extremely grateful. You can make a donation on my Just Giving page at http://www.justgiving.com/Liz-Gooster or on Sarah’s at http://www.justgiving.com/Sarah-FenwickXE2

Thank you for your interest!

by Stephen Newton (MC2003)

You Tube is the second most widely used search medium on the Internet after Google.  Placing short videos on You Tube allows you to be visible to potential coaching clients.  It also allows those clients to “get to know you” in advance of an initial meeting.  Many coaches feel that making videos for You Tube is simply “too difficult”.  This article outlines how to make such videos relatively easily.

Three factors largely determine the success of your You Tube video:

• Content
• Sound quality and
• Lighting

The content can of course be pre-prepared.  In terms of length it should be between three and five minutes.  Anything longer than that will tend to lose the attention of viewers who will tend to come to You Tube for short, sharp, relevant bites of information.  The content will need to be of immediate relevance to your chosen audience and it should allow you to make an interesting, memorable and perhaps controversial comment or offer an insight.  The aim is to provide information and at the same time give potential clients a sense of what it will feel like to be in a session with you.  A friend of mine describes this as “seriousness of purpose but levity of approach”.

Whilst you will need to have a clear idea of what you want to say, it is in my view a mistake to script it too heavily.  A conversational delivery style tends to be more authentic and allows you to be seen to “be yourself”.

Sound quality is improved hugely by using an external microphone with your video camera rather than the in-built mic.  This means that the camera will need to offer a microphone socket.  Look for a “lavaliere” or “tie-clip” microphone.  One that is wired – i.e. has a wire connecting it to the camera – is simpler to set up and will be cheaper to buy.  A perfectly satisfactory wired lavaliere mic can be bought on Amazon or from Maplin for around £20 or less.  However, the sound quality produced by mics from well-known firms such as Sennheiser will be better although the cost will be well in excess of £100.

There is no need for a complex, professional camera to capture video in this type of situation.  A Kodak PlayTouch costing around £90 on Amazon will do a perfectly adequate job.  It has an external mic socket and is able to capture video in HD format.  It also allows editing on camera and instant uploading to You Tube via an in-built USB connector that plugs straight into your computer.

You will need to mount the camera on a tripod in order to ensure wobble-free video.  Any basic camera tripod will work.

Effective lighting is reasonably easy to achieve.  If you sit with a window to one side of you, it will tend to throw the other side of your face into shadow.  It will be better to sit facing a window or beneath a Velux-type roof light.  Avoid direct sunlight as this casts shadows and tends to cause you to squint into the strong light.

If you want to use electric light, you can get good results with a pair of ordinary Anglepoise-type lamps, one positioned to each side of your table and pointing towards you at about a 45 degree angle.  Tape a sheet of paper in front of each lamp so that the light shines through it, acting as a diffuser.

Use “daylight” bulbs in the lamps.  This means that the colour of the light is akin to daylight rather than the “warm white” of an ordinary incandescent bulb.  Avoid ordinary fluorescent bulbs; they cast a green tint on your face.  However daylight fluorescent bulbs are fine.   If possible place a further light above you (known as a “hair light” in the film industry) which will create natural shadows on your face and avoid a two-dimensional look.

Rather than simply sitting in front of a blank wall, you can stretch a black sheet behind you.  Position two lamps on the floor or on a low table behind you, shining upwards onto the cloth in such a way that the beams form an “X”.  In one, use a red “reflector” type bulb and in the other a blue one.  This creates an interesting background that looks highly professional.  It avoids the need for complex editing techniques such as “green screen”.

This type of “studio” takes less than ten minutes to set up and allows you to produce very good results.  Rehearse your content once or twice so that you minimise the likelihood of fumbling but can remain conversational.  Set the camera going, sit down at the table and talk through the content in a conversational manner.  Stop the camera and edit out the sections at the start and finish that you don’t want, using the in-built software.  Connect the camera to your computer and upload the video to You Tube.

Since 2001, Stephen has worked as a coach and consultant focusing on the implementation of corporate strategy (or its adaptation so that it can be implemented).  His work often entails leadership and operational management development.  Stephen also has expertise in business development and marketing and has written two books on the subject.  Find out more at www.dloassociates.com.  

by Stephen Newton (MC 2003)

Following the Bootcamp on Tuesday it occurred to me that many in the MC community would like to know about some of the free or low cost software available to run their business.  During the Bootcamp, I made the point that whatever Office-type software you choose should be compatible with MS Office (because that is the default choice for most organisations that are likely to be clients…).  However, that does not necessarily mean that you need to use Microsoft stuff.

In order to obtain software free of charge or for low cost, you have two choices:

• Web Apps (where the software and in many cases your data live on a web server hosted by the supplier).  An example would be Google Docs.
• Open Source software, which is developed by a community of developers working pro-bono.  An example would have been Open Office (which essentially does what MS office does but free of charge).  However the backbone of Open Office has been taken over by Oracle and the development group has moved on to create Office Libre; essentially the same thing but truly open source.

There is also a lot of “freemium” software available where a basic version is supplied free of charge but in order to get additional features you must pay a fee.  An example is AVG anti-virus protection.

I have not used most of the following myself but they all come well-recommended.  In many cases you will need a modicum of technical knowledge to make the software work effectively.

 I am not a fan of Cloud-based systems because it is not clear to me either that the security is robust or what recourse you have if the provider were to lose your data.  I suspect you would spend a long time being transferred between call centre staff in a far-away land trying to resolve the issue.

If you are looking for low-cost hardware, and are happy to use stuff that is new but not necessarily a current model, take a look at IJT Direct.  There are a great source of low-cost inkjet and laser printer cartridges and have now branched out into laptops, desktops, screens, flash drives, SD cards etc.

By Liz Gooster (MC12), Meyler Campbell Special Advisor

What exactly is Twitter? According to Twitter’s own website, it’s ‘a real-time information network that connects you to the latest stories, ideas, opinions and news about what you find interesting’. But to the novice, this twittering, chirping, messy online community can seem overwhelming. The only way to really get a sense of what it’s all about is to plunge in, join the conversation and check it out for yourself. So if you do dip a digital toe into the twittersphere, here are my top 10 tips to getting the most out of Twitter.

1)      Think carefully about your Twitter name, or handle. You can use your real name, your company name, a tag that captures your brand or personality, a nickname, whatever you want. It depends on why you’re using Twitter: make sure your purpose is congruent with your username. So, if you’re a CEO looking to build your credentials as a thought leader, maybe @bigteddybear isn’t quite right for you. Plus, it’s already taken: your Twitter name has to be unique, which is why you’ll see things like @bigteddybear41.

2)      Work on your Twitter bio. You only have 160 characters for this, but it’s important because this is your shop window. It’s what people see first and will help them decide whether or not they want to follow you and hear what you have to say. As with your username, use your profile to convey the right image, whether personal or professional. Upload a photo or an image and add a link to your website if you have one.

3)      Find people you want to follow. You’ll see the tweets of everyone you follow in your Twitter feed. You can search for people by their real name, even if that’s not their Twitter username and the beauty of Twitter is you can follow anyone you want to, even if you don’t know each other and regardless of whether they follow you back. Search for keywords that reflect topics you’re interested in to find people tweeting on these subjects. Twitter will also make suggestions for new people for you to follow, based on who you’re already following.

4)      Look at the people who are following you. Check out their profiles and tweets before you follow them back to make sure you want to read their stuff and be associated with them.

5)      Start tweeting! And remember, you only have 140 characters, so keep it pithy! Think about why you’re tweeting and check before you tweet that your message is in tune with the image you want to build.

6)      Tell, spread and interact. Don’t just broadcast news about yourself – that’s the equivalent of being the bore at the party who constantly drones on about themselves and ignores everyone else. Aim for your tweets to be a mix of new content about you; retweets (RTs) of interesting tweets you’ve read and think other people might like to see; and responses or conversation-starting messages to other tweeters. Use hashtags if you’re tweeting about popular topics (eg #wimbledon) to make it easier for people to find your tweets.

7)      Don’t get too personal. Twitter is all about engaging with people, and it’s best to be authentic. But don’t share more than you’re comfortable with, and be mindful of your own boundaries about privacy – once a tweet’s out there, you can’t get it back (see also Tip 9). For private messages, use the direct messaging (DM) facility, which is the Twitter equivalent of an email.

8)      Manage your Twitter feed. As you follow more people, your Twitter feed will start to get very full. You can’t read every tweet, so test out ways of filtering to make sure you see tweets from the people and on the topics you really want to. Create lists of groups of people that reflect your interests (eg business contacts, celebrities, cookery experts). Try out social media dashboards such as Tweetdeck, Hootsuite and Seesmic to help manage your feed.

9)      Never drink and tweet! Your tweets are there for ever, and anyone can see them, so drunk or sober, make sure that you’d be happy for your mum, your boss, your best friend and your worst enemy to see what you’ve written or linked to.

10)  Have fun. Twitter is a fast-paced, energetic, real-time way of communicating about anything you want, with anyone you want, anywhere in the world. So above all, just enjoy it!

Liz Gooster is an Executive Coach with The Alliance and Editor-at-Large for leading business publisher Kogan Page. You can read her blogs at www.lizgooster.com and http://goosterontheloose.wordpress.com/ and follow her on twitter at @bizclasscoach and @publishingcynic

by Meyler Campbell

You may have noticed that at Meyler Campbell we have been avidly supporting Anne Waldron’s tandem skydive jump on behalf of Breakthrough Breast Cancer through a couple of fundraising business events in which all proceeds going towards this amazing cause.

1. Anne Scoular Fishbowl on ‘Big Five’ Coaching –14 June, 4-6pm – £85 donation
2. Coaching Cats – an exploration of coaching in the legal profession 21 June – £60 donation

Please go to the following link for details http://www.meylercampbell.com/news/giving-back.html

How your money has helped

The money you help to raise has been fundamental in the fight against breast cancer. This week, three major pieces of research have been published by Breakthrough Breast Cancer. All have been funded in part by Breakthrough, with involvement from two of key scientists, Professors Jorge Reis-Filho and Andrew Tutt.

They have helped reveal:

1. Nine new genes which drive the development of breast cancer – a huge leap forward.
2. A greater understanding of how breast cancer develops even at its very earliest stages. This means that we should, in the future, be able to detect problems earlier so that a woman can receive treatment before her cancer progresses.
3. A previously unknown process that happens to the cells in the body and which is a driver in breast cancer development. By understanding this process we hope to be able to create targeted treatments in the future which, for example, might be able to stop the cancer from developing.

The ramifications of this work in terms of how we diagnose, treat and prevent the disease are potentially huge. You can read more about these on the breakthrough breast cancer website

This work shows how far we have come since Breakthrough was founded 20 years ago. But it also shows how important it is that we carry on, and work harder and faster, until we reach a point when breast cancer is a disease which is no longer life-threatening.

Your support has been vital in helping us to get this far. It is now needed more than ever.

We’d love to see you at one of these fundraising events, it’s for a great cause and even if you are unable to make it, you can still make a donation via uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AnneWaldron.

Thank you

by Saiyyidah Zaidi-Stone (MC11)

We are all seeing an increasing number of professional articles and academic journals regarding happiness in the workplace, but does it really matter? Well, when the Harvard Business Review is writing about ’The Economics of Well-Being’ and independent research confirms that firms with a higher level of happiness amongst employees experience a higher level of profitability we pay attention.

The problem is that while money is easy to count, happiness is a tricky thing to measure. In many ways the impact is like the change from black and white TV to colour- it can be revolutionary. Embracing workplace happiness may require a leap of faith but from working with corporate and public sector clients it’s a pretty short leap and provides the basis to nurture a stronger bond between employee and organization. Imagine the impact of knowing that what some of your employees really want is fruit bowls in the kitchen rather than a monthly night out? A small intervention which saves money and gives staff what they want rather than what you think they need. Research confirms that companies which provide genuine emphasis on not just making a profit but also on positivity increase loyalty; reduce attrition; enable higher creativity, motivation and confidence whilst increasing productivity. It’s a no brainer to me!

As a business coach how do you take this new knowledge and apply it in the coaching context to enable your coaching clients (and their teams) to maximise performance and productivity?

As a positive psychologist I am familiar with many positive psychology questionnaires used in the workplace and for me one of the best is that created by Jess Pryce-Jones and her team at iOpener. The People and Performance Questionnaire is easy to grasp and provides results framed around the framework of the 5C’s: Contribution, Conviction, Culture, Commitment and Confidence. On 18 April 2012 on behalf of Meyler Campbell I hosted a coaching fishbowl where we were privileged to witness Jess coaching with the tool. Without going into too much detail lets just say that the insights created for the coachee through the use of this tool were incredible. The attendees were mesmerized and many had questions relating to the use of the tool and the impact on the coaching session. The use of questionnaires in coaching sessions increases insight and awareness for the coachee and enables the coach to serve the client better through the rich information available for discussion. Given that many of us are already using personality and strengths tools within the coaching setting I see the iOpener tool as a significant addition.

Following on from the success of the coaching fishbowl Jess has made an extraordinary offer to Meyler Campbell Business Coach graduates. The full accreditation for the use of the iOpener tool for organization development, team and individual coaching usually takes 2 days and costs £1500.

In recognition of the calibre of Meyler Campbell business coaches Jess has offered a one-off online webex to accredit anyone wanting to use the iOpener People and Performance Questionnaire on a 1:1 basis only. This will take place on 14 June 2012, 5pm. You’ll get 3 credits to use the tool and be asked to do a small write up to achieve accreditation as a coaching practitioner. The cost would be a minimum £100 donation to the Art Room, a charity which offers art as therapy to children to raise their self esteem, self confidence and independence www.justgiving.com/theartroom. Once the donation is made business coaches are then asked to email Racheal.butcher@iopenerinstitute.com with the name in which the donation. You will then will receive information on how to join the online event. There is limited availability and donations should be confirmed by 7 June 2012 to secure a place.

Assessing well-being can serve many purposes beyond merely enhancing well-being- it can be used to re-craft jobs, negotiate development challenges and build relationships with colleagues and superiors tools like this often play a central role in business coaching- my advice is for you to take up this offer as soon as you can!

To find our more about the People and Performance tool go to www.iopenerinsitute.com. There’s a free mini report so you can see what you’ll get.

Saiyyidah Zaidi-Stone
Dip Arch, RIBA, FILM, FAPM, MSc (Dist)

www.mcleanstone.com
saiyyidah@mcleanstone.com

by Moray McLaren (MC12)

I have been speaking to Anne and other Meyler Campbell friends about the possibility of organising an annual retreat for the community. Anne has kindly agreed to circulate this exploratory note.

The idea is to host a weekend retreat – where we can catch-up with friends, recharge batteries and have some interesting conversations – while enjoying the great food, wine and autumn sun in Barcelona.

I live in Spain and when Anne told me that 2012 is the 10^th Anniversary of the first Meyler Campbell graduates, it seemed like too good an opportunity to miss.

At the same time, I know how busy everyone is and that our personal time is very precious. Before putting this into action, I would really welcome some feedback on what would make this a success, our annual social and learning weekend together in the Catalan countryside.

More specifically:

• What are the hot topics we should be discussing?
• Who are the inspirational people we would like to hear / get to know?
• How best to relax and spend time getting to know each other?

(I am also tempted to ask, should we bring along our significant others – my wife hears so much about Meyler Campbell that she would be curious to meet you all).

No surprises that the suggestions I have received to date have been the fun stuff… hill walking along the coast, morning yoga / mindfullness, wine tasting, long lunches and great company.

Needless to say, I am looking forward to hearing what you think. My e-mail address is moray.mclaren@iberianlegalgroup.com. Please copy my secretary Paula who will be coordinating the responses (paula.brienza@iberianlegalgroup.com).

Best wishes,

Moray

OVERVIEW

What?

 Meyler-Campbell 10^th Anniversary Retreat

Where?

•  Sitges, the upmarket resort of Barcelona
• A 20 minute taxi ride from Barcelona Airport
• Dolce Sitges, a 5 Star, purpose built hotel spa and education centre on the beach
• www.dolcesitges.com

When?

•  Late September / early November 2012
• When England gets cold and Barcelona is still enjoying the autumn warmth
• We will circulate potential dates to those who are interested in attending

 Contacts?

•  Moray.mclaren@iberianlegalgroup.com
• Paula.brienza@iberianlegalgroup.com

Further information?

•  Hotel: http://www.dolcesitges.com/photo-gallery/photo-gallery
• Sitges: http://www.gositges.com/photo-gallery/photogallery.html
• Barcelona: http://www.barcelona-travelguide.com/pictures/barcelona-photo-gallery.html

by Anne Scoular

In a macabre sense it’s a sign coaching has arrived – we’re being targeted by the Revenue, I see in this weekend’s FT: “Time is running out for tutors and coaches to alert the tax man about outstanding tax bills. HMRC’s Tax Catch Up Plan, which was launched last year, gave people employed in these professions until January 6 to own up to any irregularities and until 31 March to pay any outstanding amounts. It might be too late for the first deadline, but the terms will still be better for people who own up and pay what is owed (including any penalties), according to accountancy firm Menzies. HMRC’s approach is that it is always better for taxpayers to own up rather than being found out. Those that it catches up with later may pay stiffer penalties – up to 100 per cent of the tax owed – and a criminal investigation”. (Financial Times, 24-25 March, Money section, p. 35.)

But before we get too excited about the backhanded compliment of HMRC recognising our existence – and calling us a profession, even better – the clue is in the phrase “tutors and coaches”. I assume they’re out to get people tutoring and coaching children for exams, and being paid small sums in cash. Although some of the core skills of “life” and business coaching are similar, I’ve always felt strongly that business coaching is very different. One clear reason is, if the client is the organisation, then the contracting is immediately another order of magnitude more complex: the client is not the person sitting across the table from you, it’s the organisation – and in business coaching there are often one or two or three more stakeholders involved too – the line manager, HR, L&D, another dotted line on the matrix somewhere. Now there’s another reason: our clients are organisations, hence all monies go through proper channels, and the tax hence properly paid too. (Am not for a moment suggesting coaches working in fields other than business are fiddling their books – people are usually drawn to the field for reasons of authenticity and the chance to live a slightly less mad life, and in recent years we’ve seen other cases where the Revenue get bright ideas to go hunting for alleged malfeasance and find none when they get there.) The transparent nature of the way we need to work within organisational procedures, procurement policies, etc, means decent business coaches needn’t fear the knock on the door in the middle of the night – but for many coaches, the “admin” isn’t the most fun part of the work. Times like this though, that care in getting a complex invoice just right, the money dished out to work with decent accountants, and the hassle getting all the documentation together, etc, turns out to be time and money well spent!

By Stephen Newton (MC03)

Robert Middleton at Action Plan Marketing, based in California, has just posted an article of mine on his blog.  It is on the topic of business referrals.  It can be found at http://www.actionplan.com/blog/241-referral-errors.  The article links to the website for my forthcoming book “The Professional’s Guide to Business Development” (www.professionalsbusinessdevelopment.com). I hope you find it useful.

by Liz Gooster (BC11)

‘Coaching should be more whisky and less water.’ This was the standout quote for me in Sir John Whitmore’s presentation at the recent Meyler Campbell fishbowl event. Rightly famous as one of the founding fathers of coaching, in business, sport and life, Sir John has also been a champion racing car driver, a ski coach and aHollywood film producer. An extraordinary character, just months after being hospitalised and in a coma as a result of a dramatically bad skiing accident, Sir John treated us to a breathstopping overview of coaching, the world economy, and everything in between.

As a newly-qualified coach whose training kicked off with Sir John’s bestselling Coaching for Performance, personally I would have preferred to trade some of the big-picture analysis for a nitty gritty display of the man himself coaching using the GROW model. However, it’s fair enough for someone who laid the foundation stones of coaching in the first edition of his book, more than 20 years ago, to want to move on to pastures new, and it was impossible not to be impressed by his vigour and forthright opinions. Standing straight and tall as a ship’s mast, he covered an exhausting range of topics in a voice booming like a captivating cannon ball. His wide-ranging speech leapt energetically from theme to theme, the core thread being that people skills are vital at a personal, organisational and even global level. The presentation was peppered with personal stories and tales of the colourful characters Sir John has met in the course of a life so eventful it would leave most of us reeling with fatigue.

Demonstrating the value we bring to clients is a constant challenge for coaches. You couldn’t get a clearer illustration of return on investment than Sir John’s example of the Royal Navy’s field gun race. This is a gruelling military competition that has been held for over a century. A top team of elite soldiers disassembles a massive gun, carries its crushingly heavy components over an obstacle course and then reassembles it at the other end – all against the clock, and against a competing team of equally finely honed men. I was enthralled to hear how a field gun team whose leader applied a coaching approach to training (having himself been trained by Sir John) raced to unprecedented victory, winning all five available cups in the tournament. Not only this, the team sustained just one injury (a broken wrist) during training, compared with an average of 16 in non-coaching teams. They went on to repeat the feat over three consecutive years. As Sir John said, ‘the results speak for themselves’. This is a stirring example of how coaching can help achieve seemingly unattainable results. (Follow the link to watch a video of the 1999 field gun race) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32s4qCCFnmk)

Less dramatic, but no less impressive, was the golf coaching video we watched, in which Sir John coached a novice golfer while a golf pro taught another using traditional training methods. The video was rather dated, and so the backdrop to the film was a row of slightly sinister looking players with 1970s moustaches and loose, grubby-looking outfits, a bit like the men in the ‘118 directory enquiry’ ads. Beyond these amusing distractions, the results again spoke for themselves. The lucky player who was coached by Sir John came across as relaxed, excited by her progress and energised by the whole process. The other was less fortunate: she appeared stressed, overwhelmed and confused. She made progress in her golf, but not as much as the coached player, and from an observer’s viewpoint, she’d had a less fulfilling journey.

So where does the whisky come in? Sir John cautioned us firmly against using wordy questions with our coaching clients, a warning which I’m sure resonated with several members of the audience, including me. Stick to the simple, clear and concise, he exhorted. This is the coaching equivalent of going easy on the water you add to your whisky, which dilutes its kick. Like an unstoppable train, he told us that ‘if your coaching doesn’t work, you’re not doing it right’ and reminded us that the responsibility falls back on us as coaches to adjust our approach until it’s effective. A legend of the coaching turf indeed, and a pleasure to hear him speak. Now, where did I put that whisky?

* Credit goes to Dena Arstall for the title of this post

(to read more from Liz go to her blog (http://www.lizgooster.com/2011/11/14/legends-of-the-coaching-turf-sir-john-whitmore/)