About me

Hi and welcome to our blog and information site.

My name is Mike E. Kennedy and I'm a Personal Business Coach.  I've been a trained coach since 2001.  I've been a communication trainer since 1984.

I have a background and strength in business, psychology, therapy, training, coaching and mentoring.

You'll find I'm unique as a coach in that most of my work is done on the phone or by Skype.

I'm a multicultural global coach. My clients are business owners who live in Sydney, Manchester, Washington DC, Memphis, Halifax, Christchurch, Auckland, Hamilton, Phenom Pen and anywhere where there is a phone line or an internet connection.

You'll soon discover my job is to keep you thinking clearly about the important things in your business and your life.

My job is to help you set exciting, profitable, inspiring and meaningful goals and then keep you on track to achieve them.

My job is also to keep you out of fear and overwhelm as you strive toward those exciting, profitable, inspiring and meaningful goals.

Not only that, my job is to help you see how amazing you really are and what your capacity really is and to keep striving to extend your capacity.

I'm not everyone's perfect coach and I don't even try to be that.

A good fit between you and your coach is essential for the magic of coaching to happen and for you to get the best out of yourself.

Who gets the most from me and who I work best with are usually stressed out, frustrated and overwhelmed Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) business owners who want to take the next step forward in their business, but haven't found a way to do it yet.

A lot of people who don't fit that category get more than they expected from me and are delighted by the results they achieve.  The general rule is that we communicate well, that we have rapport and that we are inspired by each other and our goals.  The overarching rule is that your current situation is too painful to stay in, that you are hungry to achieve your goals and that you want to do whatever it takes to change your situation. 

The best way I know to see if I'm the coach for you is to email me on: 

addsvaluecoachmike@gmail.com 

...or call me (+ 61) 439 979 577(if you are not in Australia)

 or 0439 979 577 (if you are in Australia) 

to make an appointment by phone or Skype

That way we can talk about what you really, really want to achieve and how you can achieve it.

Right now, that won't cost you a cent and you will walk away with a greater sense of clarity about you and your business.

It would be a pleasure to meet with you.

In the meantime, you might want to go through the blog posts - there's some absolute gems here about the "Being-ness" of being a business owner.

Once again, welcome to our site.

Thanks for visiting. Do you want. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

A good question to ask yoursefl

...and one to be ruthlessly honest about.

The question is:

Are you a person of your word?

Can you be trusted to keep your word if you say you will do something by a certain time to a certain standard?

Most of us assume that we are people of our word.

But how do you know this?

A good way to do this is to keep a "keeping my word" audit - a week is a good time.

Note every promise you make and tick it off when or if you keep it.

Stick to your promises to the people around you.  Do your chores, maintain your responsiblities.

Stick to your promises to your society. Stick to the road rules consciously. stay within the speed limit.  Catch up on your taxes etc.

Stick to your promises to yourself.  Maintain your eating discipline.  See to your teeth.  Address any physical problem.  Go see your doctor for a check up.

Kapish?

Spend a week holding yourself accountable to your word and keep records.

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

So Australia and New Zealand are pretty good places to be born right now.

In a recent survey run by the Economist, Australia ranked the second best place in the world to be born in and New Zealand ranked number seven.  Right up there in great company, both countries.

So what are you waiting for?

Is this really going to be "Just another day in Paradise" or are we going to make hay while the sun shines upon us?

In Jim Collin's latest book: "Great by Choice" he's the first to scientifically study the impact of luck - good and bad - on companies.  He's coined a term ROL: Return on Luck.  The key is not to squander the good luck that comes your way; and to turn bad luck into an advantage.

Well if we are living in "The Lucky Country" and "Godzone" then lets put our luck to good use and turn any bad luck into our advantage!

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

How can you think resourcefully?

Well, that's the question.

Especially when you find yourself:

• Being overwhelmed by your work at the coal face of your business
• By being overworked and having no left over time or energy to think clearly
• Getting left behind by your customer behaviors and values
• Not staying ahead of, keeping up with or generating change in your industry
• Not having a team of people to support you in implementing your business
• Worrying about all of this and losing sleep

 This is what I suggest.

• Take a regular time out to plan and reflect
• Set quarterly goals
• Clarify your vision, values and what you do best in your business
• Force yourself to take regular holidays and breaks during your year
• Have someone with ruthless compassion and the courage to tell you the truth to keep you accountable
• Regularly celebrate your achievements
• Regularly exercise
• Eat and supplement well
• Spend more quality time with the people you love and care about.

 ..........Over to you.

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

Coversations You Don't Want to Have with Yourself.

Every internal pain and disturbance comes from a conversation we aren't willing to have with ourselves.

When you take the time to listen to your jostling, contradictory, feisty, and competing selves,

When you realise that each one of you is part of your whole,

Your pains release, your behavior aligns, your love and tolerance of others get's unleashed,

You start to Be | Do | Have what you have come here for. 

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

It’s About Looking for What’s Already There

"What you can conceive of, you can achieve."

......is the basis of the coaching conversation.

The coach just keeps looking 

......just like a fisherman who knows there's fish there

.......under the rippling sunlit water,

......who has to look and adjust their eyes to see the fish

.......that don't even look like fish.

A coach is always looking for what's already there, straining to see the unseen,

seeking to hear the unsaid, the undefined and the indistinguished.

The trick being, when you see it;

- you immediately capture it by defining and acknowledging your client for it

- you triumphantly hold up a wonderous, shaking, vigorous rainbow colored fish in your hands

Then your client then knows new possibilities, new qualities, new stregnths.

That in itself, doesn't just feed them for a day - it feeds them for a lifetime.


This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

Noticing your Obstacles is better than fighting them.

It's the nature of obstacles.

They want your attention, they maneuver you see them as "The Problem" and beguile you to throw your full attention and resources at them.

However, I learnt from mountain biking and kyacking that if you want to get past obstacles, you don't put your focus upon the obstacle, because that is exactly where you will go if you do that. 

Cyclists and kyakers  focus on the gap or the pathway that gets you past the obstacle.

A kyaker once told me: "The water doesn't crash into the rock, it flows around it."

It's the same old coaching story - "Focus on your pleasurable end result" not the obstacles standing in your way!

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

Strong Intention and Clarity beats Force and Struggle any old day.

It's been a busy month, so I've been remiss at posting any insights.

It's coming up to the end of the first quarter of 2012 financial year and I've been helping a number of clients sprint for a strong finish.

In a review the other night, I was astounded in my client's  reflection, how little; hard work, struggle and long hours contributed to an amazing outcome.

The breakthroughs, time and time again, were the result of intention and clarity.

In fact once the intention was strong and the clarity obvious, the actions performed to produce the results were absolutely effortless.

(At the end of the session, both client and coach were quietly scheduling regular reflective practice in their diaries.)

Last night I watched an interview with a Para Olympic Athalete Jessie Gallagher  who was describing her training in throwing Javelin. She said: "When I do a good throw, it feels absolutely effortless."

Ease comes from focus - having a clear & strong intention and being clear about your outcome is a form of mental rehearsal.

What is your regular reflective practice?

When do you relax and do your best thinking?

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

Chet Holmes - a tall tree in the forest has fallen.

Chet Holmes, a great contributor to business owners wanting to grow their businesses has passed on and was buried on the 16th August 2012.

This quote from him moves me:

“Three months ago I Was diagnosed with Leukemia.

I have gone through an intensive period of detox, holistic health, massive prayer and sound therapies that are designed to stabilize the body to it’s most healthy self.

I  am surrendered to God’ wisdom on this journey, which is the most powerful place to come from. Nothing can hurt you if you are surrendered to God’s wisdom.

The 3-months-ago- me would’ve never surrendered to anything.”

-  Chet Holmes Unknown Date

It appears to me that Chet has surrendered to his greatness, not his smallness in all aspects of his life.

His son, Jordon, wrote this amazing poem below. If this doesn't inspire you to lead an amazing life, be an amazing parent and produce amazing works, I don't know what will.

One of the Strongest Men in the World

When I was younger my father had a Batman costume and he wore it for Halloween. Once he told me he was actually Batman and I believed him—after all he’s a fifth-degree black belt and he taught me martial arts. He taught me how to kick from the hip, he taught me how to punch because speed is power, he taught me how to break boards with my bare hands because it’s all in your mind. And sometimes during the middle of the night he would borrow my B.B. gun and go to battle with the raccoons that were constantly trying to get into the house. I used to think my dad was one of the strongest men in the world.

When I was younger we lived in a house with a pool. My father used to throw all the neighborhood kids from the shallow end all the way to the deep end. Kids would line up to be thrown—it was like being launched from a cannon. Sometimes my sister and I would grab onto his shoulders when he swam and he would just drag us all across the water in the pool. We have an old photo of him in the pool with six kids climbing up on him—three on each arm. I used to think my dad was the strongest man in the world.

Then when I went to college my dad got sick. I’m pretty sure we visited every wing on the hospital since that time. Today he was too weak to even stand up without help. I had to put his arm over my shoulder so I could pull him up to his feet. Later I sat by his hospital bed and thought back over his massive battle of the last ten months and I thought of something—my dad has to be one of the strongest men in the world.

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

The answers are all around us....

 It's so simple.

The answers to all of your problems are right under your nose.

There's nothing new to explore, no big costly solution to purchase...

all you have to do is unlock your brilliant solution,

..that's right in front of you, part of who you are, part of your everyday experience...

That's why things like iphones are so familiar when we first see them and we wonder how we survived without them.

They were right under our noses all the time.

It just took someone to look at the ordinary and common and see them in an uncommon way.

What solution are you looking for right now that's probably right under your nose?

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

The sword of Damocles

Shakespeare talked about it in Henry IV.

John F. Kennedy used in in his speeches.

So many of my clients are living with this mythical sword suspended magically above their head, ready to drop at any moment. It's probablly because their goals are so big, so important, so much at stake. 

You only get one of these swords if you are playing a big game for big stakes.


Wikipedia says: "The sword of Damocles is frequently used in allusion to this tale, epitomizing the imminent and ever-present peril faced by those in positions of power. More generally, it is used to denote the sense of foreboding engendered by a precarious situation"

Ever since I've been exploring producing a tool to help people sleep, I've been hearing from clients, friends, and people I simply meet, about this sword.

They may not have read Shakespeare, but you can see the sword gleaming between their words.

The wonderful irony of it all is that the sword rarely falls, and if it does, the person below it is so well prepared for whatever consequences or scenarios that occur, that the outcome is never as bad as what was keeping them up at night, staring at their ceiling.

I guess worry does have it's function.

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

How to listen for the truth

Listening for the truth,

That's hidden from our sight,

Various agendas, working separately, cards held close to the chest,

A confusing mix of messages,

How do you tell, what's really so, when it's like

feeling around in the dark, half scared it's a setup,

with you as the fall guy - how do you find the truth...

....outside of your control?

There's a place where you know, a place that has the answer,

A place of wisdom, the place where it's clear

what's best for you, a part of you that sees around corners

and looks behind curtains obscuring what you need to know

Be still, be quiet, listen carefully now,

Look to your gut, go within, ask yourself what is really going on,

Then listen with your heart for that little voice within,

To reveal what's been concealed, what's hidden from your view.

Because bottom line, deep inside, you know what's the score.

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

Group Coaching for Purpose with Shine

It was a day of exploring

a day of going deep

with a group of highly experienced facilitators

facilitated by Gisele Gambe and Julian Noel,

We were searching for our highest purpose, the source of the values of our work

As individuals, as a group, we all dove deep,

Bringing up treasures, gifts and messages, way under the waterline,

It was half a day well spent.

Well spent.

The philosophy of Shine you can go and check out

But there's definitely something to look out for,

a way to help you shine out your best!

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

Man who brings Elephants into the room

I've met women who dance with wolves,

Been in rooms with people who swim with sharks,

And seen plenty of eagles mixing it up with the turkeys,

But today I met a man who brings elephants into the room,

Who creates possibilities and makes distinctions beyond the surface,

Who brought a room of individuals to think together as a team with an elephant,

White, so white in a white room, barely distinguishable, barely seen, barely perceived...

through to being hugged and with a hairy chin, with a leg taking it's first step

And a skin that announced it into being and gifts that proved it a generous

Pachyderm, ready to reveal our purpose and give form to our highest work,

As a group, as individuals within a group, beyond personality, beyond ego.

Whether anything happens with our group from this time on, I will always be looking for that

Elephant in the room.

The man is Benny Callaghan, he talks and thinks about ethics for individuals, teams and business.

He facilitates group thinking and gives the intangible simple forms that are easy to work with.

He used the elephant in  the room to get our group thinking about what our deepest purpose was as a group, as individuals in the group.

He has a fantastic blog called: Ethics for Doing Good  Check it out!

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

The reality about being off-course

 High Expectations of yourself,

Can lead you into overwhelm, (....and you don't want that!)

Especially if you judge yourself for being off course,

.....even just a little bit off course.

People forget that the first flight to the moon,

the rocket was off-course 98% of the time....

They were making continuous adjustments all the way to the moon...

and then they landed a man on the moon.  Goal achieved.

Being off course is simply natural.

Getting back on course is an act of will.

Beating yourself up about being off course is a waste of time.

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

Words of Wisdom from an Entrepenuer

Chiaki Hayashi is the founder of FabCafe, a café in Shibuya that offers the use of a laser-cutting machine alongside a range of hot drinks.

The world is generous enough to embrace every challenge of ours. 

So just follow your hearts, and let’s live our lives. 

Happiness doesn’t exist in the past, nor in the future — I believe it only exists now.

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

Where there's smoke, there's fire.

When you are feeling tired, lost or like you are going nowhere,

Time to remind yourself of who you are, what you stand for and where you are going.

You'll find the answers to this in your values, how you value your skills and if you have written one, in your vision.

Nothing like realising that you are off track or even violating your values and your purpose.

That awareness, in itself, will sort most of the tiredness you may be experiencing.

It may even help you see what you need to do with your current circumstances.

Let me know if you get stuck.

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

What is the possiblity - right now?

 The possibility is whatever your vision says it is.

The good (or bad)  news being that it's only with a vision, that possibility can ever exist.

So - live into your possibility!

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

Money + Power = Aphrodisiac = Charismatic Attraction!

I walked out of an office the other day and saw someone who I recognised as one of the countries business successes.

His clothes were opulent quality, fitting beautifully, his posture was tall and proud and he oozed the sort of charisma, sex appeal and attraction that only an abundance of power and money can deliver.

His car was expensive, high quality, powerful and understated.

I can see how people look up to him as a leader.

He made me think about Napoleon - a dramatic and powerful dresser of his day - blessed with charisma, power and wealth - being so turned on by it all, he made love to Josephine everywhere - he even had a tent for them on the battlefield.

Even in defeat, his enemies couldn't bear to kill him - they exiled him to the island of Alba - such was his legendary charisma.

This is all nuts and bolts for an image consultant - and certainly this charisma is accessible for anyone who has the courage to wear those symbols of power and wealth, stand tall and live into it. It will simply reinforce the feeling of power, wealth and charisma - which in turn, will help you actually be that.

The theory about that is:

"The way you treat yourself, is the way the world will treat you"

And is it just me, but isn't Tiger Woods looking more like a sensual powerful hunk than the innocent preppy, hardworking and dedicated athelete since his marriage woes?

Annie Leibovitz portraits of Tiger in Vanity Fair are amazing!

Let's face it - Tiger has his share of wealth and power - so much so he can simply shut the media out! But certainly now, his boyish good looks are replaced by him being overtly the powerful, sexually charged negro man that he really is.

Hey - I'm not going to let you get off so lightly!

This blog is not about distracting yourself with celebrities - it's about you learning from them! You can do what these guys are doing and benefit from their example of dazzling the masses.

How turned on are you by your current sense of abundance of wealth and power?

What are the clothes in your wardrobe that make you feel that way?

Why not start wearing those every day?

More importantly: What's stopping you wearing these clothes every day? What are you scared of?

Why not start being like the charismatic leader you know you really are?

What are you waiting for?.....permission?


- that's it from me, Mike Kennedy,
Want to work with me? Email Mike...

The Leaders Responsibility and Objective....when a team member moves on.

The leader's responsibility is to nurture and grow the team by championing and communicating the vision.

And when changes happen to their team, it's the responsibility of the leader to help the team members work through the emotional journey as a team.


The objective of the leader is to strengthen the team.....and the team's acceptance and understanding of the shared vision.



When a team member moves on, the team will be going through a process of change, sometimes involving powerful emotions like grief and fear, which if left un-addressed can destroy even strong teams.


When a team member moves on, it's customary for an after hours meeting to celebrate the occasion. For the leader, this is an opportunity to help the team move forward and consolidate.

Important things for the leader to cover are:

• To describe the team's purpose, values and qualities.
  
• To acknowledge the staff member leaving


• To acknowledge the staff member's contribution to the team


• To thank the staff member for their contribution


• To invite a fellow team member to say a few words


• To talk about the staff member's new role


• Lead the group in a toast to the staff member's future success


• Remind the team of the task ahead and re-emphasise the shared vision and values
  

Do this well and your team will emerge stronger from the change.

Do nothing about this and leave it up to the team to organise....you are renouncing your responsiblity and your role as a leader.

Email Mike...