About the Author: Ashley Thomson
Professional Journey
Ashley started in business improvement in 1998, working for an Australian consulting company. He honed his skills by optimising corporate giants like Coles Group, Myer, ANZ Bank, Telstra, and Zurich Insurance. This hands-on experience gave him practical insights into the workings of great businesses and the pitfalls of poor performers.
Accolades and Awards
Ashley’s exceptional coaching prowess has earned him a place in the prestigious Coaching Hall of Fame (2019). Additionally, his achievements have been acknowledged through multiple awards, solidifying his reputation as a world-class business coach. He leads a team of award-winning business coaches at Tenfold, setting the gold standard in the industry.
Expertise Across Industries
With diverse experience spanning FMCG, manufacturing, wholesale, distribution, construction, trades, retail, and professional services, Ashley has successfully coached businesses across various sectors. His expertise lies in coaching mature businesses with revenues ranging from $5M to $50M, guiding them through complex financial structures, marketing strategies, operational improvements, and leadership development.
Innovative Problem Solver
Ashley’s background as a convergence task force manager and project manager at leading organisations like Show Ads and NewsCorp – PMP Print equipped him with the skills to streamline complex business functions. His ability to sift through data, identify key business drivers, and provide agile financial models enables businesses to thrive in competitive markets.
Published Author and Global Authority
Ashley’s influence extends far beyond his coaching practice. He co-authored “The Quiet Sales Genius,” a definitive guide to effective sales strategies. He has been featured in prominent publications, podcasts, and conferences, cementing his status as a thought leader in the coaching community.
Ashley’s influence reaches across the globe, with features and accolades from esteemed platforms such as:
Mind the gap: how business owners can bridge the divide between learning and doing
Do you have a qualification related to running your business? While plenty of business owners have certifications, qualifications and/or extensive experience in what their business offers (eg an apprenticeship in a trade), hardly any have any formal training in how to deliver it (eg a business degree). Business owners are do-ers… When they inevitably come up against a gap in their knowledge, most scrappy business owners will learn ‘just enough’ of the required skill (usually via The School of Life) to scrape across the divide and keep running. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But… There are limits to what ...
Negotiation: the non-negotiable business skill
For many of us, the word ‘negotiation’ conjures up images of mobsters in pin-striped suits, smoking cigars and shaking hands on shady deals. No one wants to be that guy. Thing is, we negotiate our way through almost every day of our lives. Ever made dinner plans with friends? Convinced the kids to shut down the X-box? Tussled over ownership of the remote? Any time you have had to compromise is an example of a negotiation. As expert negotiator, Chester L Karrass, famously said: “In business, as in life, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.” So, ...
Employee vs contractor: are you 100% certain you know the difference?
On paper, the line between employee and contractor seems very clear. An employee works for your business as a part of your business. As their employer, you are responsible for paying their taxes and superannuation, as well as providing paid leave and other entitlements. A contractor, on the other hand, supplies services to your business through their own business. They are responsible for their own tax and super arrangements and do not receive any employee entitlements. All good, right? Absolutely. Well, that is, until we’re looking at these things in person. Then it’s a little less clear-cut. The gig’s up: ...
Three blenders: how the ‘decoy effect’ increases sales
Last week my blender broke. Since protein smoothies have become a big thing in my house, it’s become an appliance that gets a bit of a workout, so we had to replace it. Stat. As I stood at the register, I realised that I had just been ‘Goldilocks-ed’. Yep, in under five minutes I had been convinced to buy the highest priced option. And it had been an absolute no-brainer. Because of the way the options on the shelf were presented, the blender I had chosen had appeared to me to be just right in value-for-money terms. How did this ...
What the 3% increase to minimum wage means for Australian business owners
Workers and business owners alike held their breath during the last week of May as they waited for news on the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) annual wage review. With the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) calling for a 6% rise and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) arguing to keep the increase at around 1.8%, the FWC handing down a moderate 3% increase seems to indicate that they have tried to balance the interests of workers with those who own and run businesses. Slowed economic times a factor in the decision There’s no denying that many Australian ...
7 signs that your employee might be planning to quit (and how to win them back)
Our last two blogs have covered how to end the employment relationship when it’s a definite case of ‘it’s not me… it’s you’. But what happens when it’s one of your star team members that wants to break up with your business? How will you know? And what can you do to stop them walking out the door? The 7 employee exit signs you won’t want to miss We mentor our business coaching clients to be on the lookout for these seven changes in employee behaviour – they may indicate that your employee has one foot out the door. ...
Straighten up and fire right: A step-by-step of employee dismissal in your small business
Do you have a clear roadmap to follow for termination of employment in your business? Look, staff dismissal is not something you’ll ever truly get used to but it’s a skill that you must build in order to keep your business productive and legally protected. If you don’t have a clear process in place for how to fire a team member, then you’ll need to fix that. Today. It is important to ensure that you can always meet your legal and personal obligations to your staff – even when you mean to end the employment relationship. Our blog on 8 ...
Celebrating success at the 2019 Business Excellence Forum & Awards
The Tenfold team recently attended the 2019 Business Excellence Forum and Awards (BEFA) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and came away with heavier luggage thanks to the awards we won. For the third consecutive year, we won the highly contested award for Coaching Firm of the Year. And on top of that our business coach, Mace Rushgrove, won Business Coach of the Year. (This is the first win for Mace and the 9th time a Tenfold coach has won the award!) The annual BEFA conference is always a great opportunity to tap into new strategies and cutting-edge thinking as leading ...
8 sanity checks to get you ‘off the fence’ about employee dismissal
There’s one task that fills small business owners and managers with dread more than any other: firing staff. It’s the toughest of the tough conversations; a humiliating and upsetting experience for your employee and one that forces you squarely out of your comfort zone. No surprise, then, that many business owners ‘solve’ the issue by avoiding it altogether. But a problem employee can do a lot of damage to your business and your wider team while you drag your heels, taking a ‘wait and see’ approach. Bottom line: you need to take action. But the process for making the decision ...
The Tenfold Business Coaching guide to tackling tough decisions
The average person makes around 35,000 conscious decisions daily. Get up or hit the snooze button? Exercise or get in to work early? Answer the phone or let it go to voicemail? Just thinking about all the sliding doors moments that happen in a single day may have you wishing you could just switch to robot mode. As the owner of a small business, that decision-making burden is a whole lot heftier. Plus, the consequences of the decisions you have to make can often have a significant impact – not just on you, but also for your business, your finances, ...
