The moment you believe business is won on price, Your profit starts collapsing. And your business is at risk. Because ALL the evidence from more than 50 years of consumer psychology research says something very different (and i built a business tracking these behaviours/triggers across 20 countries. People DO NOT buy primarily on price. They buy on people. Across decades of behavioural and purchasing research the same drivers keep appearing again and again: - Trust. - Connection. - Reputation. - Confidence. - Perceived value. Price usually sits third, fourth, sometimes even lower. Yet when business owners panic about winning work, the first lever they reach for is the wrong one. They cut price. Which quietly destroys margin, weakens positioning, attracts the wrong customers, and starts a race to the bottom that nobody wins. Customers are rarely asking: “Who is the cheapest?” They are asking something far more human. Can I trust this person? Do they understand my problem? Have they helped others like me? Do I feel confident putting this in their hands? That is why two businesses can quote for the same job and one wins comfortably at a higher price. The difference is not the spreadsheet. It is the person: - Their credibility. - Their authority. - Their ability to make the customer feel safe, understood and confident. So the lesson is simple. Stop trying to be cheaper. Start becoming: - More trusted. - Better known - Recommended by third party - Better quality Because in the real world of buying decisions it is almost always: Person first. Price second.

Turn on the news: War. Politics. Markets. Crisis. Scroll long enough and you’ll feel like the world is collapsing. And yet… What can you actually control? Very little. We burn hours doom-scrolling conflict zones. We argue about governments we cannot influence. We obsess over macro events we cannot change. Meanwhile, the controllables sit untouched. - You can call a client today and remind them why they matter. - You can sit with a key team member and raise their standard. - You can remove an uncommitted passenger who is draining performance. - You can send five powerful messages to prospects. - You can tighten a process. - You can improve your fitness. - You can fix your diary. - You can protect your focus. Most anxiety comes from confusing awareness with responsibility. Awareness is fine. Responsibility is selective. As Stephen Covey said, “Be proactive. Focus on your circle of influence.” Or as Epictetus put it 2,000 years ago, “Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.” Leaders do not waste energy shouting at storms: They build better roofs. Control the controllables. Everything else is noise.

As most of you will already be aware, throughout January Mike published a series of 20 posts on LinkedIn with a ton on valuable advice a bite size video clips and bullet-pointed content. I have taken the liberty to collate those, and although I have a post going out on LinkedIn for #1-10 tomorrow, and #11-20 on Tuesday, here's the list in full for the group. #1: No clear direction https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mikegreenemg_20-business-mistakes-that-stop-you-scaling-activity-7413262880126418944-yLcp #2: Working IN the business, not ON it https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mikegreenemg_20-business-mistakes-that-stop-you-scaling-activity-7413481824393256960-hRMs #3: Confusing profit with turnover https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mikegreenemg_20-business-mistakes-that-stop-you-scaling-activity-7413912168670289921-b8ZW #4: You've got no plan https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mikegreenemg_20-business-mistakes-that-stop-you-scaling-activity-7414569031124500480--7vm #5: No accountability https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mikegreenemg_20-business-mistakes-that-stop-you-scaling-activity-7415029588822564864-xom3 #6: Wrong people in the wrong seats https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mikegreenemg_20-business-mistakes-that-stop-you-scaling-activity-7415293892230717441-pS9I

I am on the call with @Mike Greene @Godfrey Muneri @Scott Dwyer and we decided to do the Great Eastern Run on 11 October in Peterborough. Anyone else wants to join us???

Not what you say. Not what you intend. What they feel. We all do it, even if we have never thought about it. You walk into a room and instantly you sense whether someone is calm, stressed, confident, rushed, tense, open, or defensive. That happens before a word is spoken. That is not magic. That is the nervous system doing its job. Humans are pattern readers. We pick up tone, pace, posture, breathing, facial tension, and energy without thinking about it. Your body broadcasts far more than your mouth. Here is the key idea. Your impact on a room comes less from what you do and more from what you are settled into emotionally. If you are calm, the room often settles. If you are anxious, the room tightens. If you are grounded, people feel safer. If you are rushed or reactive, others become cautious or defensive. This is why some people do not need to raise their voice to be heard. It is why some leaders calm situations just by showing up. It is why stress spreads fast and calm spreads quietly. Most people try to change this by acting differently. Speaking louder. Talking faster. Trying to look confident. But the real work is internal. How regulated are you under pressure? How rushed are you inside your own head? How comfortable are you with silence, uncertainty, or challenge? That inner state leaks. Always. So here is a simple question worth thinking about. When you enter a room, what do people feel before you speak? Calm or chaos? Pressure or presence? Safety or stress? No judgement. No right or wrong. Just awareness. Because once you notice it, you can start to choose it.