lep.co.
uk
FOCUS POSITIVETHINKING
Seeing
off the
slump
Sonia Saxton says a sporting
technique designed which helps
competitors visualise victory can stop
firms falsely entering a recession
mentality. CHRIS VISSER reports
L
ancashire businesses can help
lift the recession and counter
the effects of the economic
downturn through the power of posi-
tive thinking, says a leading expert.
International business motivator
Sonia Saxton, who has helped train
people from across the county, warned
that some firms risked “thinking their
way into a recession” because they be-
lieved there was nothing they could do
to avoid it.
Sonia, who has worked with some of
Europe’s leading companies, set up
her own business, Saxton Partners,
after helping the sales team at Royal
Sun Alliance beat their sales target by
more than 100 per cent.
She now works for the national Acad-
emy for Chief Executives, providing
courses and coaching for companies
across the UK, and her clients include
Pfizer, Parker Hannifin, as well as
HBOS and LG Philips, which both
have bases in Lancashire.
The Neuro Linguistic Programming
(NLP) techniques she uses include vi-
sualisation, which has been successful-
ly used to inspire success in America
and Russia for years.
And similar NLP techniques helped
Team GB secure a record medal haul
at the Beijing Olympics, producing the
country's best performance for 100
years, because competitors learned
how to visualise success and it en-
hanced their performances.
She said: “Business should beware of
things that are not fact, but which cre-
ate paranoia. Bosses can easily get
themselves into a belief pattern when
there is bad news about the economy
in the press.
“There is a fear of the unknown so
they subconsciously begin to look for
information which confirms their be-
lief that there is a problem. They then
attribute the first thing which happens,
such as a rent or rate rise, to the prob-
lem.
“And they take that to confirm that
everything is going wrong. They com-
municate that to other people and the
belief just grows, like an epidemic.
“All these generalisations create a de-
Take the
NLP test
1 Stand straight with your
legs slightly apart and
raise your right arm so it is
straight and out in front of
your body. Turn your upper
body to the right and see
how far round your body will
allow you to turn (make a vi-
sual note of a point on the
wall, level with where your
arm ends up.)
2 Now return to your start-
ing position and close
your eyes and lift your chin
to aid visualisation. Imagine
that you have been able to
turn 180 degrees (much the
same as an owl) two or
three times. Imagine how
easy it is to do; how loose
your body feels when doing
it and hear the ‘whoosh’ as
you move through the air.
Allow these feelings to wash
over your mind.
3 Now open your eyes and
repeat the task. You will
notice that you have man-
aged to turn your body sig-
nificantly further!
4 For more information on
NLP and what it can do
for you, view the Saxton
Partners website at
www.saxtonpartners.co.uk
or ring 0845 257 0036.
teriorating perception, which in-
evitably has an impact on the compa-
ny’s bottom line, but it is possible to
think your way out of this situation.
"If an athlete can imagine winning and
what it is like to have heard the crowd
“
If you applied the same winning formula
to a business or sales team, visualising
having gained a sale or winning a
contract, you can see how beneficial it
would be to your company.”
as they cross the winning line, they get
the feeling of what it is like to win. It
becomes a reality to them, and their
mind shifts its perception of what is
possible and enhances their perform-
ance.
"If you applied the same winning for-
mula to a business or sales team, for
example, visualising having gained a
sale or winning a contract, you can see
how beneficial it would be to your
company.”
Sonia says the first step to beating the
credit crunch is visualising how good it
would feel if you had achieved business
growth.
Evening Post, Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Two units free
at Moss Side
Sonia Saxton
“Once you have felt the feeling of eu-
phoria and contentment, your mind
believes it is real and achievable,” she
said.
Harrogate-based Saxton Partners runs
NLP courses which inspire people to
achieve in everything from beating
company sales targets and overcoming
challenges to communicating better as
a team.
Much of her company’s work is in the
Lancashire and Greater Manchester
area, with a unique, money-back guar-
antee, which means it only receives its
fee if clients have achieved their busi-
ness target.
25
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
TWO new industrial premises are
now available to rent at a leading
Leyland business park.
The modern buildings at the Moss
Side Employment area are avail-
able on a ‘flexible leasehold basis’
through Robert Pinkus & Co.
The business park, based close to
the M6, M61 and M65, is already
home to tenants including How-
dens Joinery, CTM Fire & Securi-
ty, Torotrak Plc and Schwans Eu-
rope Ltd.
Mark Harrison, business space sur-
veyor at Robert Pinkus, said:
“These properties represent good
value for money and flexible lease
terms are a welcome benefit in the
current economic climate.”
The first unit is at Osprey Place and
comprises approximately 10,000 sq
ft of space. Features include insu-
lated profiled steel sheeting to the
walls and roof, translucent roof
lights and an electric-operated
metal up and over goods door of
4.5m and an eaves height of 4.5m.
The property also has an open plan
showroom with several separate of-
fices and an additional mezzanine
storage space and showroom, all of
which come with central heating.
There is also secured on site park-
ing for 18 vehicles with security
cameras.
The second is at Moss Side in
Marathon Place. It has 4,730 sq ft
of factory space plus 1,900 sq ft
mezzanine area and office accom-
modation including reception area
and board room.
All offices offer gas central heating,
carpets, timber windows and secu-
rity shutters. The warehouse ac-
commodation has metal sliding
folding doors, ceiling hung gas
blower heaters, fluorescent strip
lighting and a minimum eaves
height of approximately 3.2m.
The property is fire- and burglar-
alarmed and there is ample parking
and loading facilities within a land-
scaped site. The property is avail-
able to let on a new lease.
Call 01772 769000 or visit
www.pinkus.co.uk for more details.
Water jets
win award
A DESIGN business is celebrating
after helping a seaside town win a
prestigious award.
Water Sculptures, based on the
White Lund Industrial Estate in
Morecambe, designed and in-
stalled a water feature at Cleveleys.
Now, the town has won the Best
Public Space Award at the 2008
North West Tourism Awards. An-
other feature designed by the team
– 12 water jets rising and falling out
of the ground –helped Morecambe
win a nomination for the same
award.
The Cleveleys water feature has
been described as a “beautiful eye-
catching feature of 32 horizontal
and vertical water jets designed in
and around a shallow dish-shaped
surface”. Children can paddle in
the surface water and can turn a
wheel controlling the heighgt of
the jets of water.