Month: September 2026

Above or Below the Line? How Do You Respond When Things Go Wrong?

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Things go wrong in business. A job doesn’t go to plan, the numbers aren’t where they should be, a team member lets you down or you suddenly discover a problem that should have been picked up months ago.

What happens next can make a huge difference.

Recently, I met with a business owner whose numbers weren’t looking good. His immediate reaction gave me a perfect real life example of something we talk about a lot at ActionCOACH: being above or below the line.

It’s a simple mindset principle that can completely change the way you approach problems in your business.

In this short video, I explain what happened, where blame, excuses and denial come into it, and the shift you need to make if you actually want to solve the problem.

Have a watch and ask yourself: when something goes wrong in your business, where do you sit?

Hugh Bowman
ActionCOACH Geelong

How to Get More Done With a Default Diary

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If you’re a trade business owner, there’s a good chance your week is being dictated by whatever comes up next.

A customer wants a quote, someone from the team needs you, the phone rings, there’s an issue on site, and suddenly the things you actually wanted to get done have been pushed to another day.

One of the tools I use with business owners to help bring some structure to this is a Default Diary.

The idea is pretty simple. Instead of scattering the same types of tasks throughout your week, you set aside regular blocks of time for them. Quoting might happen on certain mornings. Team meetings have their regular spot. You might block out a few hours every week specifically for working ON the business rather than being caught up in the day to day.

It doesn’t mean your week can never change. Of course things come up. But instead of starting every week with a blank calendar and reacting to everything around you, you have a default structure to work from.

In the video below, I’ll show you how I recommend setting up a Default Diary for a trade business, including where quoting, team meetings, time on the tools and working on the business might fit.

If you constantly get to Friday wondering where the week went, have a watch. This is a simple tool, but it can make a big difference to how you use your time.

Get A Free Copy Of Default Diary Template

If you're interested in a template that's an Excel file that you can build up your own default diary fill in your details below and its yours.

Hugh Bowman
ActionCOACH Geelong

GrowthCLUB AI Workshop: Business Owners Learning From Each Other

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Tuesday’s GrowthCLUB was a great example of exactly what these days are all about.

This time we did something a little different. Everyone brought their laptops along and we spent the morning getting hands on with AI and looking at how it could become a genuinely useful tool in their business.

Rather than simply asking AI random questions, everyone started by teaching it about their own business. They input information about their customers, services, team, challenges and goals, then began setting up their own AI Boardroom with dedicated areas for different parts of the business.

But one of the best parts of the morning was seeing everyone share what they were learning.

Several business owners plugged their laptops into the big screen and showed the room how they were already using AI in their businesses. Others shared ideas, asked questions and picked up strategies they could take back and try for themselves.

That’s exactly what GrowthCLUB should be.

It’s not just about me standing at the front of a room telling people what to do. It’s about getting a group of like minded business owners together, sharing knowledge and strategies, learning from each other and taking the time to work on making their businesses better.

Tuesday was the epitome of that.

Thanks to everyone who came along, got involved and was willing to share. It was a fantastic day and I reckon plenty of those AI Boardrooms will be getting a workout over the coming weeks!

Hugh Bowman
ActionCOACH Geelong

Think You’re a Good Manager? Ask Your Team.

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Last week I asked a simple question: how good are you as a manager?

Most business owners can quickly tell me what their team needs to improve. But how often do you turn that around and ask your team what you could improve?

Your team sees your management from a completely different perspective, so I’ve put together a simple Manager Feedback Scorecard you can print out and give to them.

It asks your team to rate you across six areas:

People Management
Communication
Technical Skills
Leadership
Problem Solving
Training & Development

The important part is asking them to be honest, and being prepared to listen to what comes back.

If several people rate you poorly in the same area, don’t defend it. Use it. That’s probably an area where becoming a better manager could also help you build a better team.

Download the scorecard here, give it to your team and see how you go.

And I’d genuinely love to hear what comes back.

Hugh Bowman
ActionCOACH Geelong

How Good Are You as a Manager?

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It’s pretty easy to point out the things your team could be doing better.

They’re too slow. They don’t communicate properly. They’re not learning quickly enough. They struggle to work together. They need too much direction.

But here’s a question I think more business owners should ask:

How would your team rate you as their manager?

It can be a confronting question, particularly when you’ve spent years building the business and employing the people around you. But if there are ongoing problems within your team, it’s worth looking at management from both sides.

In this video, I challenge business owners to ask their team for some genuine feedback across six areas:

  1. People management
  2. Communication
  3. Technical skills
  4. Leadership
  5. Problem solving
  6. Training and development

You might score really well in some areas and discover there are others where your team sees things very differently to you.

And that’s the point.

Good management isn’t about assuming you’re doing a good job. It’s about being willing to find out, learn from the feedback and become better at leading the people in your business.

Watch the video below and then consider giving the exercise a go with your own team!

You might be surprised by what you learn.

 

Thanks
Hugh

How to Make AI Your Business Advisor, Not Just Another Tool

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There are now plenty of AI tools being marketed specifically to tradies now.  

Some promise to help with quoting, invoices, customer communication, documents, job management and even answering questions on site. Others offer more complete AI systems designed to automate parts of the business.  

There can absolutely be a place for these tools. 

But before you start paying for another piece of software, I think there’s a more important question: 

Have you actually taught the AI you already have how your business works? 

Most business owners I speak to are already using AI in some way. They’ll ask it to write an email, tidy up a document, create a social post or answer a question. 

That’s useful, but it’s really only scratching the surface. 

The bigger opportunity is to give AI enough information about your business that you can start having much better business conversations with it. 

Imagine your AI already understood who your best customers are, which jobs are most profitable, your average job value, where your leads come from, your team structure, your competitors, your biggest challenges and where you want the business to be in 12 months. 

Now the questions can become very different. 

Instead of asking: 

“Write me a Facebook post.” 

You could be asking: 

“Based on our most profitable jobs and the customers we want more of, where should we be focusing our marketing?” 

Instead of: 

“Write a job ad.” 

You could ask: 

“Based on our current team structure, workload and growth plans, what position should I be looking to recruit next and why?” 

Or: 

“Here are our sales figures, quote conversion rates and sales forecast. What patterns can you see and what questions should I be asking?” 

That’s where I think AI starts getting interesting for a business owner. It moves from being something that helps you write things faster to something you can use to challenge your thinking, analyse information, identify problems and help you make better decisions. And you don’t necessarily need a different AI tool for every part of your business to start doing this. 

You need to train the AI you’re using properly and keep giving it relevant information about your business. 

That doesn’t happen in five minutes! Just like a new employee, the more useful information and context you give it about your business the better the conversation can become. 

This is something I’m spending a lot more time working through with trade business owners. 

Not simply “how do I use AI?” The better question is: 

“How could I use AI to help me run this business better?” 

That answer is really different for every business. 

If you’d like some help working out what that could look like in yours, get in touch. 

Hugh Bowman
ActionCOACH Geelong