An intake of ten MBT candidates for the Master of Business Thinking to train under under the personal mentoring of Michael Hewitt-Gleeson will commence training in January 2007. If you’d like to be considered contact Michael for more information.

Michael’s Week:
A short trip to Queenstown in New Zealand’s spectacular Southern Alps where I was booked by Helene Greenham of Saxtons to speak to Telstra’s 200 top rainmakers. It was, I hope, as enjoyable for them as it was eye-opening for me. I was most impressed with the customer-driven strategy, the focus on small-shareholders interests, and the team morale. David Moffat, who has enjoyed working for 5 years with the leadership of Jack Welch at GE noted how Sol Trujillo’s strateggic vision was every bit as compelling. It may take another 18 months for the effects to be obvious. Then to Brisbane to the CPA Congress and a room full of Certified Accountants. Certified professionally, of course. It was a fun meeting and there will be a DVD. Back to Melbourne for a half day intensive think tank with some of Australia’s leading corporate trainers at the Axa Institute of Learning. The excellent day was topped off by a banquet at Jimmy Watson’s in Carlton–a classic Melbourne inn for the last 50 years or so. As a result of our efforts, the cellar is now a little worse for wear. Paul Sheahan, Headmaster of Melbourne Grammar School has invited me to be a Council Member of the Leadership & Learning Council which is a very innovative project for bringing thinking and leadership skills to the MGS community. I also finalised plans for the World Thinking Congress 2010 Melbourne (WTC2010) with the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre. I am an Ambassador for Think Victoria and Club Melbourne whose role is to bring some of the world’s best thinkers to Melbourne. I spent a wonderful early summer’s afternoon in the Royal Melbourne Botanical Gardens–stunningly beautiful beyond descrition! I must go back soon. My first visit to Madame Brussels open air bar and deck yielded an unusually dry Martini. Another place to revisit. This morning I visited my friend, Greg Wren’s new apartment–a cool pile of architecture on top of the St Kilda hill behind The Espy. The lobby is a triumph and I’m very jealous of his spot. I’m must accelerate my own moving plans. The dispute with Peter de Bono has flared up again and, regrettably, SOT lawyers in Melbourne are considering what legal action can effectively be taken against Peter de Bono.

More next week.

The focus of newsell is: the customer. That is why it’s called ‘new’. Before newsell the focus was: the salesperson. In working with business people over three generations around the world, my observation has been that the change from salesperson-focus to customer-focus is a very big change of mindset which only a small minority of salespeople, entrepreneurs, sales managers and CEOs have yet been able to make.

The next masterclass will be on Tuesday, 21 November.

Email today to book reservations.

WHERE: Melbourne Exhibition Centre, Suite 1, Level 5
2 Clarendon Street, Southbank, Melbourne.

WHAT: How To Raise The Innovation Intelligence of Your Enterprise: A 120-Minute Innovation MasterClass with Michael Hewitt-Gleeson.

WHO: SOT Members & friends; teachers of thinking; executives and entrepreneurs; others who are interested in raising their innovation intelligence.

FEES: There are no fees. Seating must be limited to ‘first come first served’. These pro bono events are sponsored by School of Thinking and Melbourne Exhibition Centre to promote Thinking in Melbourne.

HOW: Email to reserve a place for you and your associates in these unique events. Say which dates you wish to attend. Give the the full names and organisation of participants. You will receive confirmation by return email. All privacy is respected.

Nemo Nascitur Sapiens Artifex - No-one is ever born a skilled thinker.

What if your ideas or business ventures were presented in this way?
Just click, scroll down, read the blurb, start the video … and enjoy the learning.

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ — The Dow Jones Industrial Average has been climbing to new heights over the past several weeks, reaching an all-time closing high of 11,960.51 on Oct. 13. The American public is apparently taking note of these trends. A recent USA Today/Gallup poll finds a majority of Americans saying it is a good idea to invest in the stock market right now. This sentiment is up considerably since April and is now at its highest point since 2000. Americans who own stock — 63% of the adult population — are much more likely than those who do not own stock to say it is a good idea to invest in the stock market, as are Americans residing in higher-income as opposed to lower-income households. Partisanship also shapes views of the market, with Republicans more inclined than Democrats to say it is a good idea to invest their money in the stock market.

Check (customer contact) is the fundamental business move, the basic unit of business measurement. Yet, in 25 years of consulting, I’ve never found a company that knows exactly how many Check moves it makes each business quarter, how often they flip the switch from Uncheck to Check.

FACT: Sales are a direct consequence of customer contacts. If we use quarterly sales projections why don’t we use quarterly projections for customer contacts, for Check moves? To help escape from the darkness of Uncheck and take control of your business, make quarterly projections of your Check moves and keep daily measurements of how often you flip the switch. It’s possible to do (we’ll show you how in this book) and always raises the sales activity – UNCHECKTOCHECK.

In life, there are two kinds of theories and two ways to accept them. One kind of theory is supported by evidence and can be accepted through observation. The other kind is not supported by evidence and must be accepted on faith.

The traditional theory of selling (which I have called ‘oldsell’) is based on a long-held fundamental belief about selling/marketing that is unsupported by evidence. It can be summed up in one simple sentence: The salesperson closes the sale. There is no evidence to support this theory so it is accepted on faith and taught to young salespeople in Australia, the US and many other countries around the world.

For 30 years I have been spreading what I call the ‘newsell’ option. Newsell is an alternative theory of selling/marketing that can be measured so it can be accepted by observation. Newsell works on the following premise: The customer closes the sale. For more information you can download the book with my compliments. 

Here’s a recipe for a cool drink. It’s easy, refreshing and healthy. You can have three a day, anyone, anywhere, anytime.
• 3 leaves of fresh mint - crush and add them to
• a bottle of water. Room temperature or cooler.
• shake and drink.

I named the Cool Mickey after my Dad. He was a cool dad. His favourite saying was, “Nobody’s perfect!”.  Who knew?