In this episode I interview Rob Ashton.
Rob is the founder of Emphasis, which he started in a 10x10 ft square cage more than 20 years ago and has since grown to become a world leader in text-based communication training. At the last count, his company was working in 32 countries around the globe.
He says words and their effects on us fascinate him, claiming that getting them wrong lies at the heart of a huge number of misunderstandings, conflicts and failures in relationships – at work and at home. Yet so much of what passes for communication advice seems to be based on little more than pseudoscience and wishful thinking.
He lives in Brighton with his wife and two teenage children.
In this episode we discuss:
- How we overlook the power and pervasiveness of written communication in all aspects of professional and personal life
- The big misunderstanding most of us have about written communication
- The big shift that happens when your child is born
- The conflict of being present as a dad vs driving the business to provide for the family
- The pressure of the boss in your head
- The impossibility of compartmentalising family and business
- Taking business on holiday and the nightmare scenario that brought a key shift in his approach to taking breaks
- How taking our business really personally doesn't serve
- The pros and cons of involving kids in the business and the joy of car conversations
- Navigating the compulsion to work and personal mission vs family mission
- The pros and cons of being and staying connected
- How being maxed out reduces your emotional resilience
- The challenge of nurturing friendships while having kids and running a business
- How having a mission makes most problems recede
Find out more about Rob here:
www.writing-skills.com
www.robashton.com
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