Things can happen, even in the very best organisations, that impact customer service.

For example, as Trainers’ Library approaches its 20th birthday next year, I’m reminded of the day 18 years ago, when a fire in a BT tunnel in Manchester took down our website and all the others hosted by a company that didn’t have the contingency they’d promised.

“You know he’s one of those…” She looks around, before she leans close to her friend, heaves her bosom and, her tongue thick with discomfort, whispers with exaggerated mouth movements, “homothexual”.

The Great Resignation is a phenomenon that doesn’t seem to be going away. A recent report has suggested that close to three quarters of workers in the US are thinking about quitting their job and in the UK, an article from Bloomberg reported that nearly half of employers surveyed are seeing higher staff turnover than in 2019.

I love my horses.

I’ve only ever owned two; my old boy, who is now 28 and Merlin, now 14, who I bought as an unhandled 3-year-old and trained using natural horsemanship techniques. (A bit of a mad adventure for a 40-something with no experience, but honestly, the most powerful learning experience of my life.)

Just over ten years ago, in the lead up to Christmas 2011, I shared a post on Facebook that said:

“Spent a very entertaining hour trying to teach Dad how to iron.”

Now you might be expecting this to be a blog about assumptions or gender stereotypes, but it’s not. It’s about the face we show the world not necessarily reflecting the truth, or at least not all the truth.

We’re at that point in the year where a lot of goals fall by the wayside. We might already have missed at least one of those gym sessions we committed to three weeks ago, dry January might have become moist January and that cake, well it needed eating. (I’ve only got one slice of Christmas cake left, so I’m going to need a new excuse very soon!)

This got me wondering about the relationship between, goals, success and happiness and whether the three are always compatible companions.

I’ve written before about my young horse and how much I learnt about leadership and communication training him, but today I want to talk about my old boy, Bobby (who is approaching 28 years old) and how he literally changed my life.

You see, the idea for Trainers’ Library came to me one day back in 2003, when I was alone with Bobby on the moors where we lived (and where some of the team is still based). If it wasn’t for him, Trainers’ Library probably wouldn’t exist.

Firstly, a big shout out to my LinkedIn network for their great and inspiring posts. This week, I was inspired by a post from Zoe Wildey about cheerleaders.

Whatever you do in life, your cheerleaders are probably your most important asset. If the world is filled with people who energise you, and those who drain your energy, your cheerleaders are the rocket fuel that enables you to reach destinations you would never have dreamed possible.

If I were to ask you (excusing the blatant sexism in the question) what is mankind’s greatest creation what would your answer be?

Fire? The wheel? Maybe the internet? Perhaps, heaven forbid, Facebook?

What about stories?

Last week I wrote a blog about stories that wasn’t a blog about stories, but a blog about Feedback.