Whilst forging the pass to success, and keeping yourself busy, it’s important to maintain a healthy lifestyle and look after your general well-being; both of which I’m working on improving! I’m also not blessed with the most adventurous palette so have recently been exploring simple snacking options to help me maintain energy levels, improve my focus and support me in feeling the best version of myself throughout the day.
So, although these seem plain and simple…that’s exactly all they need to be. ***I’m no health expert, these are just a few of my favourites…
These litte bars taste pretty good, so the issue here is to not eat one after another! Ultra low sugar, and high in protein these are great for recovery and an easy way for clean energy.
I’m terrible for eating balanced and regular meals throughout the day, so when I’m struggling with time, these shakes are fantastic. Dubbed as ‘elite nutrition’ these taste nice and are a meal in a bottle (without any of the nasty stuff). Ideal.
Water for cool kids. High in healthy vitamins, low in sugar, keeps you highdrated and tastes lovely.
I was recently reccomended these, and can’t get enough. Ultimate highdration on a normal day, and complete hangover avoidance if you have one after a night out! In general, these have been great to help me drink more water…zero sugar, great taste and full of electrolytes and vitamins.
Ditch the crisps and opt for some nuts instead. Plenty of options in supermarkets to keep things exciting, and they are full of vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and fibres. Winner!
Low in calories and a high source of protein. Avoid opening and eating on trains or in small, busy places…
Quick and easy, zero preperation. Cucumber sticks, apples and bannanas. They are packed with essential vitamins and minerals, and studies have shown that a diet rich in fruit and vegetables lower the risk of things such as heart disease, strokes and diabetes. So seems pretty sensible to me!
I’ve been on my smoothie journey for a while now…and if I’m honest, to make them yourself it’s a bit of a faff but definately worth it if you have a spare 5minutes on a morning. Have prepped in your freezer a mix of spinach, mango, kale, avocado, ginger and lemon zest. Then blast in a blender with some orange juice…job done!
A financial literacy podcast for anyone ready to take back control of their money by implementing new habits.
Hosted by Robert Croak and Austin Hankwitz every Monday and Thursday, they demystify the financial habits of the rich, share their own mistakes and shortcomings, and lay out the blueprint for you to succeed with money.
Behind the Money takes you inside the business and financial stories of the moment with reporting from Financial Times journalists around the world.
From the murky world of cryptocurrency to private equity’s takeover of the music industry, host Michela Tindera follows reporters as they dig into stories about business, money and power.
Life and Art from FT Weekend is the twice-weekly flagship culture podcast from the Financial Times. On Monday, they talk about life, and how to live a good one, in a one-on-one conversation that explores everything from food and travel to philosophy and creativity. On Friday, it’s a chat show, where they talk about ‘art’. Three FT journalists come together to discuss a new cultural release across film, TV, music and books. Hosted by Lilah Raptopoulos.
Mistakes That Made Me is the podcast that asks extraordinary business owners to share their biggest business mistake – so you know what NOT to do on your road to success. Hosted by Eman Ismail, she chats to some of the smartest minds in business about how to push through failure and accept it as an important and necessary part of building a business. Because it turns out: your biggest business mistake often leads to your biggest lesson and then your biggest blessing.
A weekly podcast by Philippa Craddock, to help support big hearted creative thinkers, small business owners and entrepreneurs, to transform their knowledge, expertise, and passion into successful and profitable businesses.
EBITDA is a widely recognised measurement of a companies performance. It allows you to assess a companies profitability and general performance without the need to take into consideration non-operating factors.
Why should it be used?
It’s simple – it’s a really simple view of a companies performance and takes away the complexities of detailed accounting statements. Quick and easy.
It’s a comparable measure – it can be used as a standarised measurement to compare or assess a companies performance, no matter what sector or geographical domain.
Operational focus – it allows a company measure it’s own performance by solely focusing on operational factors (essentially it doesnt take into consideration elements that are not under specific control such as accounting choices, interest etc).
2 ways to calculate…
There are two easy ways to calculate EBITDA based on either Net Profit, or Operating Profit:
EBITDA = Net Profit + Taxes + Interest Expense + Depreciation & Amortisation
EBITDA = Operating Profit + Depreciation & Amortisation
One of the first things I ask someone, when they say they want to focus on their, or their organisations development is whether or not they have actually thought about it; and when I say ‘thought about it’, I really mean actually thought about it…
There are many different ways to look at this, but I always say why not start with the basics.
This doesn’t mean jump straight in to setting objectives, key milestones or completing a quick online course. This means complete a basic personal SWOT analysis. Many complete these in an hour, or over the course of a week, but I think if you’re really going to do this properly, it needs to be done over the course of weeks, reviewing over and over again until you’re comfortable, and also having close friends, family and colleagues involved.
Once you’re satisfied, you can then start planning your development!
So, what is a personal SWOT analysis?
You just need to think about 4 things:
Your Strengths, Your Weaknesses, Your Opportunities and Your Threats
Use the following questions to help you to identify what your strengths are:
If you find it difficult to think about your strengths, you may want to ask a trusted friend or family member to help you.
Use the following questions to help you come up with a list of weaknesses:
At this stage of the SWOT analysis you need to get the balance right between being honest with yourself and not being overly harsh on yourself!
Opportunities are things that are external to you, that could help you to achieve your objectives.
Use these questions to identify the opportunities that are available to you:
Threats include anything external to you, that could prevent you from achieving your objectives.
Use the following questions to find out what threats you face:
Check out my page of resources to get more information, and your SWOT analysis template!
In my previous post I talked about an event that as a business, we were sponsoring for TwinFM and JobOppo (Ex-Military – A Journey into FM); and my experience whilst discussing the transition phase into civilian life with a number of colleagues.
The event went ahead at Manchester United’s stadium, Old Trafford and was a significant success! It was great to discuss the FM industry with veterans, and those who are about to leave the armed forces to highlight not just how great the sector is, but how much of a perfect fit it can be.
My overarching piece of advice to all those who attended, was to find the right company, a business whose values and culture align with their own; the rest will take care of itself! Facilities Management covers such a wide range of areas for people to enter into, but what’s the same across the board is that we are a people industry; and the skill sets that veterans bring from serving time in the forces, gives them a running start! The theme of the day was ‘don’t sell yourself short!’
Key Take-Homes from the event
What was at first interesting was the demographic of the room in regards to all of those who were attending to listen to the guest speakers and find out information from the different supporting businesses across industry. Out of all veterans who attended, you could count on one hand the number of females and those from differing ethnic backgrounds.
This actually reflects the demographic of the whole armed forces community, with statistics showing that in 2021 out of approximately 149.3 thousand UK personnel, only 16.5 thousand were female (a 12.5/87.5% female/male ratio), and the intake of BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) personnel was sitting at only 8% in April 2021 as show in the graph below:
Aside from the above government statistics highlighting the need for foundational changes within the armed forces D&I strategy, what it made us question on the day, is how do we engage with more female and BAME veterans to provide support and an easy transition into civilian life and FM industry?
The event was organised by TwinFM and JobOppo and we (the Churchill Group) were headline sponsor with Louisa Clarke speaking on behalf of Churchill, and a number of other speakers including Andy Reid MBE (veteran, millie award winner, triple amputee and motivational speaker). His talk was simply inspiring, a tale of true grit, and what a positive mind-set and sequenced goal setting approach can lead you to achieve.
Louisa took the stage and talked about her own journey, and the benefits of FM in regards to development and success. After leaving the RAF as a movements controller Louisa is now Managing Director of operations for the Churchill Group demonstrating a clear succession path. It was fantastic to highlight everything we do to support veterans and the armed forces community; and the feedback from those there on the day was excellent. It is clear that we are leading the way as a forward thinking, innovative business.
Within my role I am ultimately responsible for thousands of people, each of whom have their own stories and past which have defined who they are, and what they do. As part of a wider team I have recently been working on preparation for an event that we (Churchill Group) are sponsoring for TwinFM (Ex-Military – A Journey Into FM), and today I had the privilege of interviewing and talking to three colleagues, to discuss their story, as veterans.
Personally, and through my own previous volunteering with the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association, I have seen a glimpse into the life of military service, and have many connections who either are, or have served within the military; but this experience was different. Firstly, as individuals’, these people have served decades within the armed forces, and combined their timeframe of service far surpasses my whole life-time. Secondly (and I am proud to say I have always been an advocate of recruiting ex-military personnel), our main focus of discussion wasn’t on the fantastic transferable skills they hold (to which leadership, communication, punctuality and self-discipline are few of the very many), we focused on something I have to admit, I have not given enough thought to before, the actual transition into civilian life.
Listening to their stories and thoughts, their raw emotion on going through this process was indescribable. To those of you in the room – thank you for your openness, thank you for your honesty, thank you for being a colleague and part of our business, and thank you for your service. It was an honour to have had this discussion with you.
What hit me the most, was that the running theme around transition was fear. Fear of not knowing what was next, fear on how you will support your family, fear of being lost and alone and even fear of not knowing how to put together a CV which will suit and translate to the civilian world.
This is simply unacceptable. This should not be the case. As individuals’, businesses, and an industry which I truly believe is a perfect fit for veterans; we need to do more; so let’s shout about it!
As a business we are part of the armed forces covenant, which is a promise to ensure that those who serve or who have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly; and we are making many commitments to drive forward support for veterans and make transition easier.
Personally, I want to make my own commitment. If you are leaving, or have just left military service and need support in CV/Cover Letter proof-reading or interview preparation, just let me know, and if for whatever reason I am unable to help, I will put you in touch with someone who can.
If you are about to enter, or are in transition, please register for and attend the TwinFM Ex-Military – Journey into FM event on the 10th March in Manchester. Link here.
As we move into 2022, many people from my network are asking, what will it bring? From life in general, to COVID-19, Innovation, Markets, FM itself and much more.
This made me think, what do I actually want it to bring for me. So, in short, here goes…
Phil Matis 