The scale of change in the last 100 years is vast. We have gone from the horse to the space shuttle; from Morse code to smartphones. It has been pointed out that in the last decade, as a result of the digital revolution we have experienced 100 years of change in 10 years and are likely to experience 1,000 years of change over this century.  You don’t have to look far to see that almost every aspect of our lives has changed and the business world has changed as well.

“Shrinking Product Lifecycles was voted the eighth most important sales trend …

This year I am celebrating ‘Clarity’ as my cornerstone in business. I believe Clarity is the most important idea in any business. Vision, strategy, purpose, product, plans, people and all factors of successful business stem from clarity.

It has taken me many (frustrating) years to clarify and define my true goals and intentions when I launched Barrett Consulting Group, 17 years ago on Monday 9 January 1995. With just $3,000 as my seed capital, a home office with phone and computer and an idea based purely on a strong feeling, a hunch and passion, I …

After over 4300 shows in 25 years, Oprah’s final show aired recently where she mentioned that of more than 30,000 people she has interviewed, they all had one thing in common; the need to be validated. Oprah claims that the common three questions they needed answered were:

‘Do you see me? Do you hear me? Does what I say matter to you?’

I propose that these questions are at the heart of 21st Century selling – the principle of exchange of value. How well a salesperson validates their clients and prospects through skills such …

It didn’t surprise me one little bit when I read an article in the Australian Financial Review on 9 June 2011, titled ‘Big Banks deluded about small business’. The article surmises that the vast majority of small business bankers are nothing more than product floggers trying to sell a product rather than providing consultation expertise to their SME clients, on their specific needs and working with them to get the best out of their business banking relationships.

Most disturbing is the bank’s illusion of their customers’ satisfaction with the service they’re receiving. The reality is of course entirely the opposite. Are …