Round-up of last week
Eek, I hadn’t realised it was so long since I last posted. My excuse is that it was an incredibly busy week last week. The management course on Tuesday turned out to be worth going to, despite being a bit too full-on. Turns out we’ll be working towards two qualifications and there’s a lot of paperwork involved in the process. I was a bit daunted by it but have been reassured that it won’t be as bad as it seems. The weird thing is that it feels just like going back to school – the course tutor’s style is very much that of teaching a class and there seems to be little acknowledgement of the fact that we’re all grown-ups running our own businesses and therefore very much have minds of our own. Still, what we’re learning is definitely going to be useful so I’ll concentrate on that and try not to revolt too much from the strict atmosphere.
On Thursday morning I went to an interesting workshop run by Helena of TrainingCornwall.com. It was a taster session to give an idea of what she does. I went along not really knowing what to expect but it was a brilliant couple of hours. Great fun and I learnt a lot. It turns out that I’m mostly blue but with a largish dose of red. Blue being cautious, precise, deliberate, questioning, formal and analytical, and red being competitive, demanding, determined, strong-willed, purposeful and a driver. Think it sums me up pretty well. The idea is that if you are more aware of your own traits and can recognise other people’s you can learn to communicate much better. Sounds good to me, will definitely be investigating this further.
Aside from courses and workshops the week was busy with client work, preparing quotes and meetings. I can’t believe how many maintenance jobs came in on Friday so am launching in to another busy week!
Off to another course
After a start to the week that was no less frantic than the end of last, I’m not sure whether I’m pleased to be out at a course all day today or wishing that I was able to stay in the office and keep on top of things. Last night I was seriously considering giving the course a miss but with my sister-in-law relying on me for a lift I would have felt a bit mean. So, I’m up bright and early this morning and getting myself ready for the drive over to Carnon Downs. I think a couple of the ladies from last week’s course are going to be there, so it will be good to catch up with them again.
Today’s course is ‘Management’ and it’s a mighty eight-day course. Luckily not eight days in a row but a more casual one day kind of every other week, apart from over Christmas when there’s a longer gap. Think it will be going until March, so it had better be good!
What I’m hoping to get out of it is to feel more confident in the day-to-day management of our business (and the high-level business development kind of management too for that matter). Something to boost my confidence in dealing with our clients and the freelancers we subcontract on some projects. And of course a few tips on project management wouldn’t go astray either!
Finger’s crossed it’s worth the day out of the office…
