In my world I work mainly with two groups of people: highly successful entrepreneurs and high achieving former Olympians. There are many similarities between the mind-set of the two. Both groups strive for excellence and are action-orientated.

At the heart of all financially and reputationally successful businesses is business planning. There are different systems and approaches people use or adapt over time but, essentially, playing your business forward with great business planning skills not only gives you the path to follow but it also keeps you on track and stops you being seduced or sidetracked by a new big idea or opportunity!

People don’t believe that mentors have mentors! Why on earth not? Two heads are always better than one! Professionally trained coaches can make a huge difference to the way you see your business AND the way you see yourself in it.

Picture this. You’re furiously on a deadline and enjoying the creative process but you keep getting interrupted either by phone, twitter, email, colleagues popping into your office or family demands. Sometimes our colleagues don’t realise they are interrupting us as we ‘look’ open to converse. It can be terribly hard to regain quite the same creative focus and interruptions do leach time.