Chairman’s blog Thursday 13th February 2025

The fact that today is Valentine’s eve should have made no difference to our attendance…. And it probably didn’t. The all-pervading gloom that has surrounded us over the last few days could be felt even though daylight had not arrived when we did, and could have made a difference to our attendance….. But it didn’t. And so 24 of us were there demonstrating our bright eyes and our bushy tails as we mingled at our pre-meeting networking.

The Performance League

Casting all modesty aside I can report that I am out front with 95 points after only one week. I am followed by Toby Acton with 67 points and Jane Malyon with 53. I would like to maintain my immodesty and declare that I will be running away with the league this month… But I can’t.

Education Presentation

Ben Golding gave us one of his more he esoteric presentations. How do we make sure that our language allows people to take on board and remember what we say? He then presented us all with 10 two word phrases which had to remember after we had heard them all. Leann Reason managed to remember 4 and there was nobody doing any better than that. What Ben had mixed up were 5 phrases using a visual object like a door and another five with a more abstract idea. Our abilities to recall tend to line up with things that we can visualise.

I think we all worked out the mental problem we all faced but I’m not sure I quite understand how we use that to our advantage in making presentations. I suspect future meetings will not clarify further

New Member Induction & Existing Member Renewal

Terry Maylin  reported that we had a membership application in the pipeline and that Ben Golding and Vincent Goode were up for renewal.

The 60 Second Round

The Valentine theme was present with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Kory Martin, our Oscar holder and adjudicator for the day was able to remind us that if you have forgotten that all important Valentine day’s present he can arrange a last minute delivery. By contrast James Humphreys was unable to think of a single item of insurance content or trivia that anybody could really love. Nonsense, we all love you Soft Boy!

If you love your tea or coffee, Blake was able to demonstrate a new line in branded mugs and the EBF specimens he brought seemed to be an outstanding example of how you can ‘say it with a mug’…. Perhaps a little late for Valentine’s Day. Toby Acton however had a slightly retrospective outlook. He likes it when people love him, his mentoring and his motivational mapping and Catherine Foley loves that she’s no longer travelling to work on a daily basis and the EBF has  helped in enabling her to take control of her working day. It all started getting a bit much when John Hammond gave us examples of when his own job create an adrenaline rush…

It was Vincent Goode who brought us back to reality with interesting facts about the Guttenberg printing press the production of its Bible which of course was in German and then suddenly we were into the different languages that he comes across whilst plying his trade in that linguistic cauldron off Gants Hill Village. He went on to demonstrate the linguistic skills necessary in order to be Mayor of that parish.

Dave Roberts also was looking at his own business and the effect of live cables in Canvey Island… A few glorious statistics about deaths and all shocks that occur on annual basis and could be avoided if you use the services of a properly qualified electrician.

The round had started with love related topics,  moved to the unusual on a day-to-day basis in our business lives and was neatly topped off by Howard Bullock and the newest version of his children’s book ‘That’s not my fund!’. Kory decided on the love theme in his award of the Oscar the best of which was by Clara declaring all of the things she loved most about mortgages and the other lending products that she deals with.

This weeks statistics and points of note

Scott Griffiths kicked this off by explaining about the availability of the television that EBF now owns and how to arrange for its use in conjunction with your 10-minute presentations; he then gave the floor to Paul Booth who unsuccessfully tried to dampen the meeting by explaining the necessity of having to slightly increase the breakfast fees after they have been successfully held down pretty well since we have been in existence. It was just another fiver however and everybody seemed able to live with that.

Synergy team reports

This week was a double whammy.

1. Leann Reason reported on her newly formed first meeting of the Property synergy team which was well attended last week and which is looking to attract visitors to the team meeting as a stepping stone to introducing new members to the group.
2. A report from Paul Booth in relation to the Finance and Professions group revealed a new venue in Billericay is hoping to attract more of our own members who fall within this category and similarly as with the Property group, attract visitors to swell our numbers in the Finance and Professions section. This week’s meeting was a strategic meeting that has produced potential visitors for next month.

The development of healthy Synergy teams is going to be of great importance to us going forward this year.

10-minute presentation by Paul Corrigan

Sensible use of slides to illustrate his presentation was part of a well-rehearsed and interesting insight into the do’s and don’ts of plumbing with additional use of props one of which turned into the speakers prize. Yes it was a roll of insulation usually employed behind radiators in the house but eagerly selected by Terry Maylin for use with his car. Pauls clear presentation  needed no further explanation but Terry Maylin’s use of the insulation in conjunction with his car could be expanded upon. Paul’s professional attitude to his business was more than amply reflected in his presentation today. Let’s get out there and find him some more clients.