Insights With Trent Munday

Most of us, most of the time, just want to be normal. Sure, it's cool to talk about being a rebel, of defying the norm. By and large though, we want to be normal. But whether or not normal is a good thing depends on the status of the norm. If it becomes normal to just shoot anyone you don't like, do you still want to be normal? Probably not. So don't worry about being normal.  Focus on your own internal compass, be that in a business sense or as an individual. #normal #selfawareness #statusquo

There is a certain level of comfort in looking at your present as a stepping stone into your future. It helps us deal with the frustrations of today. We can cope with the struggle because it's all part of getting to the other side, to a better place. It also gives us the feeling that we're actively participating in both our present and our future. However, that can also bring with it a sense of pressure to do more with our present. Maybe we don't need to overthink it. Maybe our present is just...our present. #motivation #future #present

If you go for a run every day so that you'll look good in your swimsuit on the beach this summer...you're doing it for the reward. But if you're running just because you enjoy being outside in the fresh air..just doing that IS the reward. It's also possible that your reasons will change over time. You may start out running for the swimsuit look but after a while you find that you just enjoy the run itself. This difference in motivation is subtle, but it is there. When you find that simply doing that thing is the reward itself...you've probably found your sweet spot. #motivation #reward #behaviour  

If you want to be remembered...get motivated!  You need to win. If you don't, you'll just be forgotten. At the same time, if fear of failing, of losing, is holding you back...be liberated! If you lose, you will be forgotten. History's kinda funny like that. #motivation #freeyourself #fearoffailure

Companies can spend lots of time trying to eliminate all forms of bias from their organisation. But the reality is, even in the strictest meritocracies, bias still exists. Just look at professional sporting teams, for example. You would think that the best players, in form, are the ones that always make the team. But the coach might favour one over the other based on past form, or experience in big games, or even because he just likes one player more than the other. Do you think this kind of bias doesn't happen at the elite level? Thing again! #biases #meritocracy #organisationalbehaviour

It can often be difficult to work out exactly what it is that you really want. But it is usually much easier to identify what you DON'T want. So, instead of searching endless possibilities, hoping to find one you like, try first to eliminate the ones you don't. Want to get fit but not sure what exercise you want to do? What do you NOT want to do? Don't want to exercise outside because you live in a city with bad air pollution. Great! Running in the park is now eliminated as an option. Not sure about what career to choose? But you know you don't want to travel AND you don't want to be indoors all the time. Great! That's just eliminated a lot of options. Now you're much close to finding one that you do want to do. #options #choice #careeradvice

It's all well and good to focus on the skills and abilities that you need. But sometimes, it's better to focus on making the most of what you have. If your best player isn't available to play, you simply need to get the most you can out of the player who is. It's true in sport. Just as it's true in business. #availability #teammanagement #resourcemanagement

Companies and organisations like to talk about how they empower their people. But giving your people the power to make decisions is not necessarily the same as empowerment. Empowerment requires you to ensure your people have a support structure around them that enables them to be comfortable with the power and execute it accordingly. In order to feel empowered, your people need to have the skills, knowledge, data, resources to be able to make informed decisions. They should also have systems and processes around them to review and analyse their decisions after the fact. Do this and, in time, your people will become truly empowered. #empowerment #supportsystem #investinpeople 

We have short attention spans. No big secret there. So, when you're doing online webinars, presentations or meetings, instead of trying to fight against that, why not leverage it. How? Have a QR code pop up on the screen during your presentation that invites viewers to scan it for a Special Offer, or a Free Tool or More Information. It's something I just saw Neil Patel do really well... https://neilpatel.com/ #qrcodes #webinar #attentionspan

UFOs. Extra Terrestrials. If in fact they are real, should we Fear them OR Welcome them? It's an interesting question about perspective. And you can apply it to many aspects of our life. Should we Fear the Unknown or Welcome it? Those who Welcome the Unknown and embrace it find it easier to challenge the status quo and move beyond their current paradigm. Those who Fear the Unknown tend to stagnate and stay in their little zone. So, what are you going to do? #fears #unknown #paradigmshifts

Last week there were lots of lots of cyclists on the road here in Kuala Lumpur. Why? Because Malaysia won a Silver Medal in Cycling at the Tokyo Olympics and all of a sudden, cycling was on everyone's mind. Anytime you have a sentiment like this, there's an opportunity for you to leverage it for your business. And you don't have to be selling sporting equipment either. Here in Malaysia, it could be as simple as doing a Cycling-focussed promotion.  'Send us a photo of you and your bicycle for a 20% discount!' But hurry. This Olympic sentiment may only last a few weeks or months. Carpe Diem! #carediem #leverage #olympics

Many people don't start because they fear they'll fail. Many more people make a start...but then quit, because after many attempts, they still haven't been able to get it right. Well, after 1350 daily attempts...I still stuff it up. And when I do...I just try again. For those of you who need to see a little imperfection...here's a short BLOOPERS REEL... #bloopers #tryagain #imperfection

Hospitality businesses love to focus on their Service Recovery. If you have a bad check-in experience at the hotel, they might offer you a complimentary dinner in the restaurant by way of an apology. If you had a bad meal experience in the restaurant, you may be given a free spa treatment. But of course, that hasn't actually fixed the problem. Too often, hotels especially, put so much emphasis on the Service Recovery program that their people lose sight of what really matters to their guests... Just Fix My Problem! #servicerecovery #hospitalityindustry #customerservice

You might think you're offering Constructive Criticism. But often it is just received as Criticism. Negativity. Pessimism. The best way to ensure that your criticism is seen as being truly constructive is to offer an alternative. BUT...that doesn't make it a MUST. After all, the person who you are criticising, who has created the thing you are critiquing, is supposed to be an expert in their field. You simply identifying a possible problem, shortfall or failing, should be enough for them to go away and find an alternative. Still, where possible...try offering an alternative along with your criticism. #constructivecriticism #alternatives #feedback

Many companies have found during this Covid-19 shift to Work from Home, that what used to take 8 hours to get done in the office, is now getting done in 2-4 hours at home. So, if that is true of your company, what are you going to do when we finally get back to office? Will you still insist that your employees sit there for 8 hrs a day? Or will you just give them more work to do, now that you know they're capable of more? Maybe, you could split that extra time. Get them to focus on being productive for 4 hours of the day. Then try to get an extra 2 hours worth of work out of them... And then let them go home 2 hours early! Or let them stay in the office and work on their own project for 2 hours a day. Ultimately, the company will still be getting more out them. Plus the employee will end up working 2 hours less. It's a Win-Win. And surely the returns to the company in terms of employee satisfaction and loyalty will be paid back many fold over the years. What do you think? #workfromhome #productiv

During this pandemic, many companies turned to Zoom. At first, it was mainly a way to monitor attendance. To make sure their employees weren't just sitting around the how doing nothing. As the pandemic continued, Zoom became a way for employees to stay and feel connected. The big question is, as many companies continue to Work from Home, at least to some degree, can you find a way to harness Zoom as a real productivity tool. That will be the key to truly unlocking what, for many, is the Holy Grail... Work from Anywhere! #workfromhome #workfromanywhere #zoommeetings

Many people who post content regularly on social media find themselves obsessing about the Likes, Views and Followers...even if they don't admit to it. But as my mate Ben Hollandsworth suggests, the minute you start focussing on the Game and trying to beat the algorithm, you've probably already lost. Just look at what's happened to me on TikTok over the past few months. I started with less than 20 views. Then after a couple of months, I was getting around 40 views. Suddenly, overnight, I went from 40 views to 400+ views. Then, after 7 consecutive days of 400+, yesterday I was down to 92 views. Why? How? No idea. Blame it on the a-a-a-a-Algorithm. #tiktok #algorithms #socialmediaplatforms

Many people have found themselves at a career crossroads over the past 18 months or so. Of course, it's all due to COVID-19...or so they say. But the truth is, most of them were not actively managing their own career. They were just kinda going with the flow. Like we probably all do at some stage. But it is never a bad time to get review, reassess and get active with your career. And here are some great FREE resources to help from Rohan Mahtani... https://bit.ly/3lwZxqt I'd go so far as saying no matter where you're at with your career, you'll get something out of it. #careerjourney #careeradvice #linkedin   

Identifying a potential customer's Pain Points and then offering them a solution to resolve that pain, is a great way to make them YOUR customer. But how do you find those Pain Points? Well, a simple way would be to look at your competitor's failings.  The things that they're messing up, no matter how minor, will probably be Pain Points for their customers. Just reaching out to those customers and saying, 'Hey, you know that little thing that our competitor does that's a little bit annoying? We promise we won't do that.' If you can deliver on that promise, they should become your customer pretty soon. #customeracquisition #painpoints #marketing

The key to happiness is having Zero Expectations. So says Gary Vaynerchuck. But something about that has never quite sat right with me. And I've just worked out what it is. You see, Expectations are Foundational. From a very early age we learn to expect that if we cry long enough and loud enough, we'll either get our nappy changed or get some food. We've learned that if we're good, we can expect Santa Claus to bring us nice presents at Christmas. We expect that buying a product or service will deliver some specific benefits. I would suggest that without expectations, society fails. So, I believe we must have expectations. The key to happiness then, is having expectations...but then learning to live with and accept the disappointment we will have if those expectations are not met. #expectations #happiness #disappointment