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Business Calm™
Creating a Robust Pipeline of Work - The House Ministry Interview
“I could never have got this from a book.”
“My business was quiet we had just come out of the second Covid-19 lockdown, and while I was full of ideas, I was uncertain which to implement – which would be profitable for my business.”
Julia Murray, Director, and lead designer at the House Ministry, a Cheltenham Interior Design business was at a crossroads. She asked Rex for help to find insights from a place of Calm for her business.
“Julia is creative and inspiring, has a great track record of creating and delivering amazing interior designs, satisfied customers and had recently relocated her business to Cheltenham. Take a look at her website at https://thehouseministry.co.uk/ ” said Rex.
Together Julia and Rex created clarity and found that attracting clients in the new location was the key business challenge. “With the market shock resulting from the Covid pandemic, and so many ideas about what might work, Julia was overloaded, and this risked distraction for Julia when engaging with potential clients.” said Rex.
With so many issues surfacing and crying for attention it was clear that a moment of Calm was important to create the space for Julia to hear herself think.
Looking to the principles behind Business Calm for key action areas we flexibly explored the practical issues and challenges that Julia faced.
“The insights and realisations Rex surfaced about my business were really powerful for me.” said Julia.
Julia’s realisations gave her a clear action plan for her business, and the actions naturally flowed.
Julia’s business is now growing and thriving from her new offices in the middle of Cheltenham. She has a robust pipeline of work and is taking on staff.
Julia says, “I really enjoyed working with Rex and look forward to working with him again.”
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Costs and Budgets tell the stories of Shakespeare
07:08|Working with a client in the middle of London helping them get better at managing costs and budgets throughout their organisation, we found we were looking out the window at the Globe Theatre, a wonderful place of storytelling, a place of Shakespeare. Once I had got over my grumpy thoughts that ‘It’s all right for him, he was Shakespeare’ realising that he was just a person, like all of us, we talked about what we saw, what it meant.My client had a calm business insight that the numbers in the costs and budgets tell the stories of Shakespeare for their business.My client took this idea and created amazing things with it. They moved at pace, finding wonderful, exciting, creative stories in all that they did. Every aspect of their business. The routine and the new.Costs and budgets for them were now stories, part of how they made a difference for their clients. Telling the stories of Shakespeare every day.Business Calm™ achieved.Get Your Business Calm™ ClarityWhat is the biggest area of change in your business now?Get your free no obligation Business Calm™ Clarity call with Rex at www.businesscalm.co.uk or rex@rexmackrill.com
Pivoting and Thriving during the Pandemic
10:18|Using Business Calm™ as a catalyst my clients have been pivoting and thriving during the pandemic:• Going from no bookings to busy• Replacing lost business • Delivering better results than pre-pandemic• Navigating corporate complexity and the corporate ladder,• Coming to know customers in a new and different waysAnd more robust, creative, profitable businesses.Business Calm™ achieved.Get Your Business Calm™ ClarityWhat is the biggest area of change in your business now?The catalyst of Business Calm™ allows you to find the solutions, the ways forward that you need for your business.Book your free no obligation Business Calm™ Clarity call with Rex at www.businesscalm.co.uk or rex@rexmackrill.com
Simplicity builds a £110 million Fighter Aircraft
10:15|Today I share with you how simplicity helped to build a £100 million fighter aircraft.I was asked to ‘take a look’ at the first draft of a document telling suppliers what kit to build for the repair and maintenance of this fighter aircraft. This gentle understated request proved to be the start of a journey transforming the 500-page document, with 100 supporting documents to a clear simple 30-page document, with just three supporting documents.The calm business insight was about what simplicity and clarity meant in this situation. I found that the document was about just three things: the environment, transporting the kit, and the human factors. Details about what each piece of kit needed to do would be made clear by the engineer at the time.I also found a gap. The environment the aircraft would be used in needed to be made clear. So, I researched this, and wrote papers to share it with suppliers and customers alike, so they would understand what was needed, and why.With this clarity, I created a simple document of just 30 pages and three supporting documents. People writing documents for the airborne equipment used large parts of my document. A real compliment and the hallmark of a calm business insight.Simplicity, clarity and Business Calm™ achieved.Let me know what the biggest area of change is in your business now or book a call via https://businesscalm.co.uk/contact To your Success!
Overcoming Market Shock creates £30,000 monthly for a £3 million business
09:18|Today Rex shares how a Calm Business insight enabling his client to overcome market shock created £30,000 per month more profit for a £3 million turnover infrastructure services business. The former nationalised, government owned business, had just been privatised and now instead of managing budgets and organising logistics between departments, was running as an independent business, as were their customers. Serving a customer they knew well that they had been working successfully with for many years, they now found themselves in a new commercial dynamic – selling, delivering and being paid for services.Visible problems included:Market shock,Dramatically reduced bookings, andFalling profitability.Using the principles of Business Calm™, Rex found an insight that the new businesses were looking to save money and were afraid of spending money.So, working with his client, Rex organised a meeting with the two companies. He set the scene for them, starting from the place that they were used to successfully working together, that the customer wanted our services, and that we wanted to continue to serve them to a high standard.A warm friendly agreement was reached.Next month the business delivered close to capacity and made an additional £30,000 profit.Market shock overcome.Business Calm™ achieved.Get Your Business Calm™ ClarityBook your free no obligation Business Calm™ Clarity call with Rex at www.businesscalm.co.uk/contact or rex@rexmackrill.com
Cooperation makes £100,000 profit
10:04|Today Rex shares some Calm Business Insights that led to a £5 million turnover business making an additional £100,000 a year profit.This precision bespoke engineering business unit, part of a larger group, producing low volumes of individually designed products had several visible problems:· It had a mixture of both low and high-volume products running through it,· Financial performance was poor,· On-time delivery was below acceptable levels, and· Communication between the business unit and group was breaking down.Using the Principles of Business Calm™, Rex found the insight that the key blockage was poor cooperation. Cooperation was needed so that high volume contracts were delivered in a part of the business which was optimised for that kind of work. This business unit should focus on its key small volume bespoke engineering precision, and high value marketplace.Cooperation allowed the precision engineering business to profitably focus and grow its core market and transfer the high-volume product to a different group business, releasing £100,000 more profit each year.Business Calm™ achieved.What blockages do you face where a Calm Business Insight will help you achieve a Business Breakthrough? https://www.businesscalm.co.uk/contact
From Chaos to Business Calm™
09:41|This week I share how a Calm Business insight that I can sort the chaos in my thinking that I experience in business transforms my stress levels from a bonkers 12 out of 10 to a 1 or 2 out of 10 and know what is causing this residual stress. Building on this insight I discover what causes those chaotic stress levels and find an insight, a realisation that takes me from Chaos to Business Calm™.I have been successfully working with a great team and inspiring leader. Together we have been delivering exciting results. External pressures mean that it’s no longer possible to continue with my contract which has been renewed three times, but I am so enjoying, and want to continue working, with this wonderful team. When my client, the Chief Executive delivers the expected message that I too would deliver in her role, I feel my stress levels go stratospheric. Again. This is not unusual for me, though I have worked hard to manage my stress through personal development, therapy, and other techniques, and the more mundane approaches of keeping busy, eating too much, and numbing with alcohol.Through all of this I find a moment of Business Calm™ and surface an insight. I can find a way to sort this stress. So, I make it my mission to find a way to live without such stress, in a place of Business Calm™. I explore playfully, with interest, excitement, and determination, experimenting with different approaches till I find something that points me in a direction, a direction where I discover deep insights and realisations that make a lasting difference.I find the Three Principles and understand them at the level of insight. The Principles look beyond my thinking and programming to understand the way that the mind works. And see my unhelpful thinking and programming for what it is.These insights and realisations lead me to reliably access this place of Business Calm™, where I am able to find game changing insights, create business breakthroughs and deliver results. This is a skill that I can teach and transfer to you.Business Calm™ achieved.What Calm Business Insights will help you achieve Business Breakthroughs?This is your chance to ask those burning questions that matter most to you https://www.businesscalm.co.uk/contact
Not chasing money boosts small business profits by 25%
07:10|Today I want to share with you how Calm Business Insights improved the profitability of a small £1 million business by 25% in a year.This business created world-class products, rapidly innovating new products each year. The business was part of a larger £5 million turnover group. Expensive group executive decisions had burdened the group with debt. Central allocation processes placed executive and overhead costs on each business unit and outside of their control.These issues led to a relentless focus from the Group leadership on getting more money.One wet, blustery spring morning, finding a moment of Business Calm™, I realised that the focus on getting more money was the blockage. It was damaging value creation across the business.It was blocking the talented, dedicated people in the business from doing what they do best – creating value, creating, and promoting the world-class products of which they were justifiably proud, and charging appropriately for them.Not chasing money, removing activity that damaged value, and enjoying creating value improved profitability by 25%. And we won an award.Business Calm™ achieved.What Calm Business Insights will help you achieve Business Breakthroughs?This is your chance to ask those burning questions that matter most to you https://www.businesscalm.co.uk/contact
Unlocking Secrecy Makes a £120 million business profitable
06:56|This week Rex shares how a Calm Business insight about secrecy unlocked the profitability of a £120 million technology business. It was known that the business was not making a profit and talented people had been working on the problem without success. On investigation Rex found two obvious issues: The structure and quality of financial information, and The clarity and visibility of the delivery strategy. Finding a moment of Business Calm™, Rex realised that the key blockage was that the business leaders wanted to keep profitability secret. This led to a culture of secrecy across the business, hampering progress in the key areas of profitability and delivery strategy. Unlocking secrecy led to the financial turnaround of the business, making it profitable.Business Calm™ achieved.What Calm Business Insights will help you achieve Business Breakthroughs?This is your chance to ask those burning questions that matter most to you https://www.businesscalm.co.uk/contact