It's 3am and you're lying awake thinking about your business again. Sound familiar?

Your business looks successful (& on the good days, feels it) but here's what I know: your expertise got you here, but it won't get you to the next level. 

Business should be joyful - not a source of 3am anxiety.

Shh don’t tell the advisors, but I don’t think you need more advice right now. What you need is a fractional business manager. Someone who gets it, can see what's going on & helps you focus on what will actually make a difference. Someone with the smarts to get some stuff done alongside you, that frees you up to keep that revenue flowing. A generalist who can keep both the strategy AND the operations of this brilliant (but sometimes 3 headed!) beast alive. 

Yay, you found me! (And like many of my amazing clients, you might not have realised that such a partnership existed!) Think: your commercial sounding board who actually does stuff, not just gives advice. Not just a spare set of hands, I’m an external plan, with a brain, that gently keeps the progress going in the right places. 

I bring strategic thinking AND execution to help brilliant humans like you master the bit that's actually hard (managing the business), because you're already great at doing the work.

What this looks like:
I work alongside you for 90 days to see clearly what’s going on (and getting pushed to the side), what can be removed or changed. We'll create a plan to get it done together. The work we do together is designed to do whatever your business needs to bring your je ne sais quoi to the front and centre and turn down the noise of the other stuff.

OR we can have a one off "Brain Vacuum" to clear the air, work out what you need to be working on and then you can go and GSD. 

Most business advice assumes you have unlimited time OR resources. 

I know better. 

I work with your reality: the mental load of running everything, the challenge of letting go, the fact that you're still doing while improving, oh and LIFE will keep life-ing! 

My approach is very hands on, because humans take time to shift our habits.  

Results my clients see:
"After the first conversation there was a glimmer. The next week I had a solid, tangible plan & progress like I hadn't made in 18 months."

"Everyone needs an Alana in their life! She's been game-changing for my business."

Ready to infuse your business with joy (and some solid AF commercial outcomes, too?)

Book a virtual cuppa to explore working together

Visit www.alanaswain.com for more details

Alana Swain

Appearing from the sibling negotiation themed summer holidays for a quick breather and spot of adult conversation here... so, I confess:

I went down a wordhippo rabbit hole (should that be hippo hole??) the other day and stumbled across the definition for know how. 

And, then (because TV advertising when on repeat worked back in the day!) my brain did the Mitre Ten jingle and went “know how - can do!”

And it really got me to thinking about the differences between knowing and doing

Sometimes, the gap in our skill is about not knowing

Sometimes, the gap is in knowing how to apply what we now know (translating that into doing)

Where is the gap for you right now?

How is that playing out in your business?

For me, I’m tustling some know how learning around right now - in that murky space where I know it will be beneficial, but it’s not quite dopamine filled to be in the “can do” part of things. Sigh. I’ll get there!

📸credit to Becker McGuire of me mid flight in adult conversation (not sibling negotiation) 😜

Photo of Alana mid way through conversation talking with her facial expressions as much as her hand gestures. The other person is slightly out of the photo frame. Alana wears a pink jacket and white top. 

This is the face of a fulfilled day of work.

You know how that darned Parkinson’s law is true? More time does NOT equal more done.

This week I’ve had a few hours of work for clients, and yesterday was a full day of focus and client delivery.

In the true “sprint through the work like a working parent with a pick up deadline” fashion I got through:

🍎The completion of the artifacts for a full new performance management framework for a healthcare client to use with their growing team. Including monthly & quarterly conversation trackers, an excel master document for tracking overall performance objectively (including compliance, behaviours, team and individual outcomes), an explainer document that was aligned to the business values, a library of lived behaviour examples to aid manager conversations. We’ll be rolling it out to the team come February. Excited!!

💬A weekly check in script, tracker and monthly KPIs for an admin role in the trades that’s so far been ambiguous to track & talk to the performance

📈Ironed out the next step in profitability tracking for a client needing to change their internal process to match what’s needed for performance visibility (and managing the conversation to support those humans in the room)

🤔Worked on / wrestled with some navel gazing as part of my homework for a 10 week training I’ve just begun

📚Read a cool HBR article on the power of professional friendships

🍵Drank about 3 more cups of earl grey than was needed across the day

Management is many things, but what I love about it is this sense of fulfillment when good work gets done well. The diversity of what I get to help my clients with - no matter where they are on their business journey - is SO fun and I’m always learning. 

How about you? What sparks fulfillment in your work?

Also - shout out to all my fellow working parents navigating the tremendous mental and logistic juggle that is the summer holidays!!

Alana is smugly smiling at the camera with a slightly glazed "I looked at excel for too long today" look on her face. She wears a cobalt blue top and earrings. 

Could do a post showing off a "new year, new me" or goal type thing

But I won't 

Because I already did that goal setting back in November, and other than this week, my January will be spent revolving decisions around snacks, playground, bikes and beach trips. 

It's one thing I love working with my clients (who, like me, have a family owned business).  

We all get how good this month of Summer Pacing is for our families and we fight to protect as much time of it as possible. 

Choosing YOUR way to manage your business is up to you and nothing you read here online today or this week should take you away from that wisdom. 

(and, if you need help with some external eyes on it, I'm back for new client bookings in Febrary, so DM me if that's you) 

Right, now off to do a planning session with some of my fave clients (where we'll aim to keep their family goals as top of mind as the commercial ones will be)

See you in Feb! 🌅

Two kids play in the waves on Buffalo Beach. The sky is blue, the water clear. 

I'm here on this one solo social platform because it's SOCIAL 

I use it for conversations, knowing that (in the most old school of relationship sales methodology) that great conversations will always result in the right level of solution oriented, fit for purpose, sales from incredible humans trusting SO much when they choose to work with me. 

That is not a algo / volume based / high frequency approach to sales. 

That has NEVER worked for me. 

I'm the most farming of the "farmer" persona when it comes to sales. 

Word of mouth and designing for advocacy is an integral part of my marketing. 

So EFF OFF with your DMs with zero conversation and just a cold, zero attention given to my needs, sales pitch. 

I don't want to "steal" anything. I don't want your unique framework that is probably just AI poppycock. I am NOT here to grow a 7 figure anything or to get a zillion sales calls booked with complete passivity. 

That's not how my business model works. 

This is not an outbound contact centre that bought a list of numbers. It's a place for conversation, thinking, learning and growing. 

I am here for the conversation, not the flogging. 

Anyone else sick of it the blunt instruments being used here and in business sales? Tell me it's not just me?! 

#rant #stupidsales

Enhancing Workplace Culture With Small Steps That Make A Big Impact

Kia ora & Hello. If you're looking for workplace culture enhancement and guidance on where to find great coffee, you're in the right place...

Let’s be real—workplace culture can be messy. Between miscommunications, resistance to change, and the occasional passive-aggressive email chain, creating a highly effective team isn’t always smooth sailing. That’s where I come in.

With over 25 years of experience in workplace culture, leadership strategy, and helping teams have the tough conversations (without anyone flipping a table), I specialise in turning workplace confusion into clarity.

What I Do (Besides Drinking a Lot of Coffee)

☕ I help leaders create cultures where people enjoy being and feel motivated to do their best work.
💡 I guide teams through difficult conversations with confidence—because avoiding conflict never made a workplace better.
📈 I work with organisations to build strategies that boost engagement, effectiveness, and, let’s be honest, happiness at work.

Who I Work With

✔️ Leaders tired of feeling like workplace therapists
✔️ Teams struggling with communication, collaboration, or change
✔️ Organisations ready to level up their culture but not sure where to start

How We Can Work Together

I offer strategic planning, positive psychology feedback collection and unconventional leadership development to help you build a thriving, drama-free (okay, less drama-filled) workplace. Let’s chat—drop me a message or book a coffee, or a call, and let’s make work work again.

curious@culturemovers.co.nz

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