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“X factor noun / [singular] a special quality, especially one that is essential for success and is difficult to describe.”  Oxford Dictionary Our Shine X Factor Success series will help you to develop a wide range of strategic and interpersonal skills that are essential for success in today’s world.  

  • The First Secret to Influence: Ask Great Questions & Listen In business and life, our success is directly linked to our ability to connect with others and influence their beliefs or actions. Just as we can't play a game of chess with one King or Queen, the game of life is a team sport, and we must learn how to…
  • Your Brain Health & Happiness Matters: High Performance Habits in the Information Age In today's digital era maintaining brain health and happinessis more important than ever, due to the significant impact of technology on our mental, emotional and physical well-being. There are new terms such as "Infobesity", "Digital Dementia" and "Infoxication" being created which refer to the decline in cognitive ability from the…
  • The Legend of the Happy, Lazy & Incredibly Lucky Salesman – “Sir Lunchalot” It may seem paradoxical but in my experience some of the most successful salespeople are not necessarily the ones who work the hardest. In the early stages of my career, I worked with a man who we shall call "Thomas". He was a charming, charismatic kind of person who was…
  • What is your Sales Persona? In the world of sales, there are three distinct roles that are all essential for business development and a strong pipeline of new sales opportunities. Whilst traditionally, we may think of salespeople as those who "hunt" for new opportunities and bring in the business; there are two other very important…
  • Raving Fans: Your competitive advantage and the ultimate goal of your sales process “Your customers are only satisfied because their expectations are so low and because no one else is doing better. Just having satisfied customers is not enough anymore. If you really want a booming business, you must create Raving Fans.” Ken Blanchard The purpose of every business is to create and…
  • Conflict: Why do we need it? What is Healthy or Unhealthy? How do we manage conflict? Conflict is an inevitable and normal part of working within a diverse team. It is natural to have different opinions or ways of approaching situations – if we all were the same it would be boring right? While some people are quite comfortable embracing conflict, others find it very difficult,…
  • Why the best leaders are also great coaches (and the happiest too). Coaching has been used in the workplace for more than twenty years and is widely recognised as a valuable tool for employee development, retention, productivity, goal achievement and leadership effectiveness. According to the 2020 ICF Global Coaching Study (22,457 respondents from 162 countries and territories) 55% of Managers and Leaders…
  • Planning your highly successful and impactful Team Offsite in 2024… Offsite Team Events:  The most valuable activity in your organisation OR a disruptive waste of time and money? Let’s face it, team events or offsite meetings can be expensive and time consuming. While they can certainly provide the "feel good" factor through getting everyone together, often the benefits are short…