What has KPI ever done for me?

I recently ‘completed’ Daniel Priestley’s KPI programme – I say ‘completed’ because I certainly don’t feel the learning and companionship of the programme are over, and luckily for me, it seems Daniel doesn’t either, judging by the events he continues to put on for ‘former’ KPIs.

Having written about Daniel and KPI on my blog, my website comes up high when you Google those two phrases (KPI on its own brings up Key Performance Indicator stuff) and presumably that’s why I’ve occasionally had emails from people just starting the programme or thinking about doing so, to ask my opinion on ‘whether it’s worth it’.

Well, the programme costs several thousand pounds including VAT so I can understand you might hesitate about the decision.  To help you with that, here are some of the things that KPI has done for me:

• I started with little more than a passionate belief in the power of home working to enhance people’s lives. KPI has given me a clear model to follow in developing that idea into a functioning business that makes a profit.  Having previously run a business that was successful but unfulfilling, this feels nigh on miraculous.
• If I hadn’t been about to embark on the KPI programme I doubt I’d have had the confidence to become part of the team that presented The BIG Jelly, the first national Jelly event, earlier this year. And we certainly wouldn’t have had the benefit of Daniel as an inspirational speaker.
• Regularly going up to London to attend KPI workshops has made me recognise more than ever the benefits of getting away from my home office and usual environment.  Hearing world-class speakers and mixing with people ambitious for their own businesses has made me much more aware of possibilities and opportunities.
• Without KPI I probably wouldn’t have met James and Steve, who recently launched Central, the new workspace in Bloomsbury that’s ideal for home workers needing a pleasant place to work and meet people. On 23 June I’m starting my How to Work from Home evenings there, just one of the exciting developments that’s come out of KPI.
• Your colleagues on the KPI programme (now also in Australia and soon in the US) are a top quality network of people determined to make a difference in their field. If they like what you do, they will introduce you to people and organisations you have only dreamed of connecting to.
• Just one little phrase may have made all the difference – ‘Pick up the phone’, said Daniel.  So I did, and started to meet people connected with home working and to make connections with possible future partners.  Much as I may love working from home, I also recognise spending a lot of time alone in my home office can give me an inferiority complex, which restricts what I think I can achieve.
• As for the wisdom of spending what seems like a very large chunk of money, believe me, the value on offer is incredible, and the harder you work on becoming a KPI, the more value Dan will offer you with follow-up sessions and complimentary tickets to events.  Unlike some training programmes that happily wave you off on completion regardless of results, Dan wants to see KPI’s achieve real and lasting success.

So what could KPI do for you?

KPI could radically change your business thinking, lift your earning power beyond anything you ever envisaged, and give you a turbo boost to becoming one of the movers and shakers in your industry.  But only if you really want it, and only if you’re willing to put in the effort (or GSD in KPI terms – get s**t done!)  If that’s not appealing, then you’d do better to keep your money in your pocket.