What’s quietly killing your culture? And it’s not bad strategy or broken systems. It’s that awkward, unspoken thing sitting in the middle of the room… AVOIDANCE. The kind where someone screws up, feelings flare, and instead of saying something, everyone just... goes silent. Or worse, starts whispering to someone else with not so subtle eye glares everywhere!

In Episode 27, we get into the real cost of staying quiet. The kind of discomfort that doesn’t just fade, it ferments. You’ll hear a true story from the shop floor involving a high-performing manager, some behind-the-back gossip, and a complete breakdown of trust that no one seemed willing (or equipped) to fix. Sound familiar?

But this isn’t just a workplace thing. How often do we ghost the conversations that matter most? The ones that could clear the air, shift a relationship, or stop a spiral… If only we had the guts (and the tools) to say the thing weighing on our conscience.

Conflict doesn’t ruin relationships, avoidance does. Real resilience is about keeping your cool while your chest pounds and your brain screams “run.” Learn how speaking up, calmly and directly, might just be your superpower in a world built on polite avoidance. Because trust doesn’t vanish all at once, it leaks away with every conversation we’re too scared to have.

So, if you’ve got a taboo topic, an unsent message, or a ghosted relationship quietly gnawing at your culture or your conscience… this one’s for you.

With the advent of generative AI and LLM’s like ChatGPT, Claude etc. we are on a very slippery slope in the content creation world. Have you ever started reading an article from someone you know, and an uneasiness comes over you? Did they actually write this, because it doesn’t sound like them? Is this genuinely their “work” or have they succumbed to the seduction of getting CHATGPT to be their “ghost writer”, although claiming the work to be their own? Dang … now we’re faced with that core component of every relationship - TRUST! Can we trust any future work they create? 

Yes, copying, using and plagiarizing other people’s work has (unfortunately) been around since the invention of time, but the stakes are a lot higher now with AI, social media and the advances in technology. And I also admit in the early days of my career that I didn’t even know it was wrong to copy someone’s work! I didn’t understand IP or copyright laws, and what could or couldn’t be used. Nor did I appreciate the integrity and ethics surrounding it, nor the inherent advantages of developing your own content from scratch. That “source code” is difficult to replicate - I’ve got some interesting stories on that in the Podcast.

By short cutting the process using generative AI we’re not only sacrificing our own integrity, we’re also DUMBING ourselves down. By “outsourcing” the content creation, we’re risking developing creative muscular atrophy! Use it or lose it! Whatever we stop doing, our brain and body forgets how!

Trust is the new currency in so many ways, and in a world where it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to distinguish between original work and AI generated, we might need to start asking ourselves some tough questions. Creative integrity is becoming a thing of the past and not only is this having a catastrophic affect on our abilities in those areas, we’re also throwing out the very fabric that makes us human - good old fallibility. When I read an article that has been genuinely written by the said author, I feel like I am closer to them - that I understand them that little bit more. That I've been given an insight into their mind, heart and soul. And THAT is precious.

I’m not saying to not use generative AI - I use it all the time for certain things! What I am saying is that it might serve us all to be honest with what we are sharing as "our own", because once we destroy trust, it can be very difficult to get back. As I said to a former “colleague” once, the truth always rises to the surface. You might be good at fooling people now, but dishonesty always has a way of coming back to bite you.

So rather than cut and paste our way through life, let’s build that trust equity with our communities, our team and ourselves by offering integrous work. I’m hoping this Podcast will be a good gut check for us all.

We make on average 35,000 decisions every day of our lives, but how many of us are fully aware of the unconscious influencers that can impact our so-called objective choice? Enter Confirmation Bias and Perception Blindness.

Confirmation bias is when we tend to favor information or situations that support our own beliefs or values, often without even realizing it. Whereas perception blindness is when we fail to notice something in plain sight because we’re too focused on something else, usually because of limitations in attention and perception.

Often, we can make decisions that suit our personal criteria without digging deeper for the real truth. The devil is always in the details that we often gloss over. Think about that “gun” sales person on the team, who, under further investigation, it’s discovered that they are actually burning through way too many potential sales in the race for top line numbers. Just because you can measure something doesn't mean to say that it's important.

Just because you can measure something doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s important, and just because you can’t measure something doesn't mean to say that it’s not important. It’s all about knowing the whole truth - and being consciously aware of our confirmation biases and our perceptive blindness when seeking that truth.

So, let’s remove the filters from our decision making. Discover more in this episode of the Daily D.O.S.E™ Podcast!

The magic you're looking for is in
 the work you're not willing to do.  Anon

Right now, there’s panic in the air. Businesses want better results, fast. Sales up! Teams engaged! Leaders leading! NOW! But the reality is most aren’t willing to commit to the work it actually takes to make that happen. 

A one off training program, a shiny keynote, or an online course might give you a spike in motivation, but that won’t move the needle. That’s information not transformation. Impactful change is not a bolt of lightning, it’s a system. It’s what we have designed as the Learning Loop™. And it takes time, consistent repetition and emotional safety. And a deep respect for how the brain actually works.
Without the 5 Cs of our Learning Loop: Content, Comprehension, Context, Contemplation, Compound, you’re just throwing information at people and hoping something sticks. It doesn’t.

Myths like: “Habits take 21 days.” Nah. Try three years to fully integrate a new behaviour into your nervous system. That’s the real timeline for transformation. But most orgs won’t hang in long enough to see it through. Why? Because consistency isn’t sexy. But it is effective.

Here’s what doesn’t work: using the SAME techniques that DIDN’T get you the results before. We can’t just push harder, and cheer louder - we MUST DO different to get different. And trying to do it on the cheap using fake AI “trainers” robotically P.U.K.E’ing (IYKYK) ChatGPT scripts  with zero soul will not “engage” your teams. We won’t AI or “rah-rah” our way to excellence. We build it - daily - in loops - with humans - as a system.

So if you're frustrated by the lack of change, ask yourself:
Are you investing in a learning moment - or a learning system?

Because until we're ready to do the deep work, that magic we’re chasing will continue to stay out of reach.

New Year, new goals… same struggles? 

As James Clear writes in Atomic Habits, "We don’t rise to the level of our goals; we fall to the level of our systems." And every system can quickly lose its impact if it isn’t associated with a meaningful reason for its existence. 

And then, if we don’t create a solid enough meaning behind our goals - business or personal - they quickly lose their sparkle. That’s why so many sales targets are met with an “uggghhhhhh” and the customary eye roll! So how do we create that eagerness to achieve more? And pushing to increase shareholder value isn’t it.

In this episode of the Daily D.O.S.E Podcast we chat about the power of sharing what those increases and/or goals will bring, along with the Scale of Ascension™ and why personal awareness is a key factor in goal achievement success. 

Think forward to January 2026. Imagine what you’d like to be saying, feeling, sharing about the year that has been. And why? 

Happy New Year! May it be your best one yet!

GHOSTING and GOSSIP might be a signal that we lack the skills, awareness and courage to have a difficult conversation. 

Being able to not only have a Difficult Conversation, but also emotionally manage the chemical reactions that occur as a result, might be the best interpersonal skills we can ever possess. 

When we are able to give and receive a difficult conversation, we build the foundations of trust, respect and genuine closeness - the essentials for any powerful team and/or relationship.

Rather than sweeping things under the rug (ghosting), or sharing our issues with those that can’t help (gossip), let’s learn how to create an environment that will inspire growth, courage and build trust. With the proper tools and commitment to healthy connections, these conversations evolve from challenging into invaluable insights.

Whether it’s addressing issues with team members, our own leader, a partner or family member, or even handling a customer concern, using this 5-step process will help us to place the importance of the relationship over our discomfort in the moment.

Difficult conversations, when handled well, often lead to even deeper and more meaningful connections with these we care about. @IgniteHumans#leader #leadership #difficultconversations #retailcustomer #retailtech #ignitehumans #insight #leadershipdevelopment #onlinelearning #courage #influence #customerexperience #dothework #relationships #connections

Most people assume that an increase in customer numbers (a nicer way of saying foot traffic) automatically leads to better results. But what if, instead of dreaming about more customers walking through the door (online included), we focused on honing our skills and giving our full potential to the customers we already have? What might that look like? What could a 10% increase in conversion mean to our business? What if missing target by a few % was due to a lack of skill, not traffic?

Consider Tiger Woods, David Beckham, and Pilots - what do they all have in common?

They all understand the importance of diligent, repetitive practice so the process is by default whilst they are “in play”. We are “in play” when we are interacting with our customers - and that is NOT the time to be practicing.

The last thing I want is a pilot practicing a crash landing while I’m a passenger! Pilots train continuously in simulators for every possible scenario. If we also want to be masters of our game, we too need structured, consistent practice to be fully present and handle any type of situation confidently and effectively. We practice so we can be top performers in the play. 

This episode is all about making the most of what we have—using our C.A.R.E™ skills, building effective habits, and setting our team up for success, one Practice Session at a time!

Whether it’s learning a new dish in the kitchen or a new customer service skill, we’ve all had that nervous thought, “How am I going to remember all this?” 

In this age of social media, we are conditioned to crave information in a quick and convenient way, but we can’t truly learn from a 20-second clip. We are simply consuming content without letting it go through the cycle of learning. When we take new information through the full Learning Loop, we can contemplate and process what we’ve learned which is where the real development occurs!

We will never master something that we’ve only done once, but if we continuously revisit it, share what we’ve learned, and then apply it and contemplate it, we’ll start to stimulate our brain’s familiarity with this new knowledge; we will help the brain absorb it into its long term memory.

Remember, neurons that fire together wire together! Or a simpler way of saying that … use it, or lose it! 

Hey LOSER!

Well, at least we got your attention a little more than the current ads that are being placed in the recruitment market.

Have you ever placed an ad and didn’t have the applicants apply that you were hoping for? Or maybe you didn’t get any applicants at all? There’s an easy fix. We need to change our outlook! We seem to be stuck in the same old headspace when it comes to advertising for our wonderful future teams.

Picture this … You’re looking for a new job and log on to look at some ads when you see these two:

“Hey you! Wanna get your 10,000 steps in the day while changing someone’s life?”

OR

“Full Time Assistant Manager”

Which one seems more appealing to you?

In this episode of the Daily D.O.S.E podcast, Terry will take us through why our current recruitment strategy isn't working, and how to attract the applicants we’re seeking. We’re just a creative convo away from building our dream team! 

If we asked retailers what their current No. 1 business issue in this current climate was, most would respond with struggling sales results. But why are some retailers falling way behind while others are doing really well, regardless of the economic challenges?

Martin Seligman of Learned Optimism fame, discovered that sales teams with a high Optimistic Explanatory Style sold approx. 37% more than those who didn’t, and those at the higher end of the scale sold a whopping 88% more!! 

So wouldn’t it make sense to hire people who were naturally optimistic? 

Let’s explore Explanatory Styles and what might be one of the true root causes of low sales. Hint… it might just not be the economic climate!