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Comment Here For ThinkWORKS 96 The Actionaut: Why Action Improves Wellbeing (Not Just Results)

ree

Episode lands from 8am Monday 26th January.


Most people don’t fail because they lack motivation — they fail because they’re waiting to feel ready.


In this week's episode of ThinkWORKS, I introduce the idea of the Actionaut: someone who treats action as exploration, not urgency. We explore why small, deliberate action improves wellbeing, restores agency, and creates clarity — even before results show up.


If you’ve been stuck between thinking and doing, this one’s for you.


Comment below on the exercise in the episode!


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Take A Bite Tuesday: Chapter 6, Lead From The Back

ree

The exercise from Chapter 6 of 'You 2.0' is:


Take a bite...

As manager, ask yourself these questions: do I support my staff or tell them what to do? Do I deserve or expect respect? Do I trust them to do the job or harass them every step of the way? Be honest with yourself. If you answered in the negative way for any of these, you need to consciously take control of your behaviour and engender change within yourself.

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darreninform
darreninform
3 days ago

It took me a long time to learn the lesson that 99% of staff will always work better when they feel two things: 1. Trusted to do the job. 2. Supported when they need it.


That's it- no profound statements to bamboozle the mind, just two simple feelings to create with your staff (or family, or community group etc).

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Comment Here for ThinkWORKS 95 Lead From The Back and Never Fear Empowerment

Episode Lands Monday 19th January 2026
Episode Lands Monday 19th January 2026

Most leadership failure doesn’t come from incompetence — it comes from fear.


 Fear of losing control. Fear of empowering others. Fear dressed up as authority.


In this episode of ThinkWORKS, I explore why the best leaders lead from the back, why macho management quietly destroys organisations, and how a single question — “How can I help?” — can transform teams, cultures, and results.


We look at why “busy” isn’t productive, how empowerment actually increases accountability, and why trust is the missing ingredient in modern leadership.


If you manage people, work in a team, or want to build something that lasts — this episode is for you. Join in the discussion below.

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Take A Bite Tuesday 5: Strategy Wins Every Time.

ree
ree

You'll need to either have read the book or read this summary of Page 48 & 49:


Here are clean, concise summaries of each point, keeping the numbering, written in You 2.0:


1. The Strategic Concept (Your “Why”)

This is the big picture.The strategic concept explains why you’re doing this at all. It’s your vision, your direction of travel, and the lens through which all decisions should be made. If you don’t define this clearly, everything that follows risks becoming busy work instead of meaningful progress.


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Example Project:

Rebuilding and migrating darreninform.com and the ThinkWORKS community to the Mastermind platform (Q1 focus).


1. The Strategic Concept (The Why)

Why am I doing this?

To create a calm, coherent digital home that brings together my thinking, writing, podcasting, and community — and supports sustainable work rather than constant firefighting.

This is not about having a “better website”.It’s about reducing fragmentation, improving focus, and making it easier for the right people to engage with my work.


2. The Plan (From A to Z)

What does the journey look like?

  • Start Point (A):A fragmented WIX site, broken community tools, scattered content, and rising friction.

  • End Goal (Z):A stable, human-centred site and forum where content, conversation, and direction all live together.

  • Milestones along the way:

  • Core site pages rebuilt

  • Community rooms recreated

  • Priority content migrated

  • Weekly content rhythm stabilised

These milestones mark progress — but on their own, they don’t explain how they’ll be achieved.


3. Strategies for Each Milestone

How do I actually reach each step?

For example:

  • Milestone: Core site pages rebuilt

  • Strategy: Build structure first, polish later

  • Action: Draft Home, Start Here, ThinkWORKS Hub, Books, Contact using consistent messaging

  • Review: Does the site feel coherent, even if imperfect?

  • Milestone: Community rebuilt

  • Strategy: Fewer rooms, clearer purpose

  • Action: Create Welcome post, room descriptions, Take A Bite template

  • Review: Can a new visitor understand what to do in under 2 minutes?

Each milestone has:

  • a strategy

  • a set of actions

  • a review point

  • and space to adjust

4. Remedy Strategies (When Reality Intervenes)

What if I fall behind or lose momentum?

Planned remedies include:

  • Reducing scope (migrate less content, not more)

  • Pausing non-essential pages

  • Protecting the weekly podcast as the non-negotiable

  • Shifting timelines without abandoning the vision


The goal is not perfection — it’s course correction without self-judgement.


The Bite

Planning isn’t about control. It’s about thinking ahead so that when things wobble, you don’t.

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Comment Here for ThinkWORKS 94 How To Make Your New Year Resolutions Stick.

ree

Episode lands Monday 12th January


 Most New Year resolutions don’t fail because people lack motivation — they fail because intent never becomes structure.


 In this episode of ThinkWORKS, I explore how to make resolutions that actually stick by starting with vision, defining where you want to be by year’s end, and then working backwards into realistic steps and milestones. We look at why planning isn’t about rigidity or control, but about clarity, momentum, and choice — and why writing things down still matters more than most people realise.


If you want this year to feel different because you thought differently, this episode is for you. 


Join in the discussion below.

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Take A Bite Tuesday 4: Have A Plan

ree

Take a bite...


If you have a plan, take an honest look at it and rate your goals against SMART. Are the specific in nature? What is the date you’ve set for completion? Are they achievable (e.g. do you have enough resources to do them)? Can they realistically be done? How will you measure what you have achieved should an objective be completed? This last one (the M) is the one that most people forget about- but it’s the one that lets you know how well you’re doing outside the wider objective, and gives you the juice to move on to the next goal or phase etc. If you haven’t got a plan, start now!!!

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As promised. See, a plan does not need to be complex. I have one overarching plan, with several modular plans include 30 and 90 Day Sprints, and other goal plans.

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Comment Here for ThinkWORKS 93 Have a Plan!

Episode lands 8am Monday 5th January.
Episode lands 8am Monday 5th January.

Most people don’t fail because they lack motivation — they fail because they never turn intent into a plan. In this episode of ThinkWORKS, I unpack Chapter 4 of You 2.0: Build Yourself BetterHave a Plan — and explore why plans aren’t about rigidity or control, but about creating momentum, choice, and resilience in a messy world. We look at why vague goals keep us stuck, how simple planning sharpens thinking without killing creativity, and why a good plan should guide you rather than trap you. If you’ve ever felt busy but not progressing, inspired but unfocused, or capable but stalled, this episode is for you. Join in the discussion below or do the 'Take A Bite Tuesday exercise which lands in the You 2.0 chatroom every Tuesday.

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Take A Bite Tuesday 3: Create A Vision.

ree

The Take a Bite section from Chapter 3 of 'You 2.0: Build Yourself Better' is as follows:


Take a bite...

If your current company vision doesn’t make you feel like getting up on a morning, scrap it and start again. If you haven’t got a vision, take a stab at one. Then ask people what they think. Refine it. If you have people working for you, email to them all and explain that you don’t think it’s right either. Run workshops and get your employees involved, including temporary staff and your cleaning staff. Above all keep the language simple but emotive. Make the whole process an event! And follow up on the outcomes on a regular basis.


My attempt at this exercise is below. Add yours too.

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darreninform
darreninform
Dec 30, 2025

My most recent vision and mission statement was as follows:

“To break down silos and challenge the status quo so that we can see a better way, and to have fun doing it.”

With an additional Mission Statement:

"I'm dedicated to empowering individuals to leverage their unique skills and experiences to drive meaningful change. Through impactful mastermind groups, dynamic courses, and personalised coaching, my goal is to transform passion into purpose and create lasting impact."


This is my current working vision. It’s not perfect — and that’s deliberate.


I’d love your reactions:


• What excites you?

• What feels unclear?

• What would you change — and why?”


I'm working on improving it with the AI assistant I have created, called Max (Max was an amazing PA that once worked for me on a secondment, so I was only ever going to call the agent Max). I'll attach the results in a few days.



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WE WILL SOON BE MOVING OUR WEBSITE TO A NEW HOST.


Well, we tried to be patient with WIX. We explained why their new so called community engagement platform was not community focused, and not an engagement tool, but they went ahead and not only forced it on us anyway, but deleted all our old community engagement material in the process.


So I am moving all my sites completely of WIX- both the ones I own, and the ones I manage on behalf of others.


To that end, the Revolution Radio Online site will be migrated by the end of January 2026 and this site, darreninform, will be migrated by the end of February 2026. Yes, I have already found a new web host who have community engagement at the heart of everything they do.


As for @WIX #WIXARECRAP I leave you with this message: Over the last two years you have succeeded in turning a raging fan of WIX, into…


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© Darren Smithson / ThinkWORKS™. Opinions expressed are those of the host.

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