Tell us about yourself and your background
I was actually born and raised in England. But people swear I’m either American or possibly Canadian because my English accent left me long ago.
I was your typical small-town kid who had never been further than a few hours drive and knew nothing of the world. That all changed at the age of eight when I was told we were moving. I had no clue where the Philippines was but I soon learned it was nothing like anything I could have imagined.
That’s the start of my journey. From there I moved to Thailand, then the US, back to Thailand then Japan before a short stay in Myanmar and back to Japan where I have been since my mid 20s. Hard to believe it’s been that long.
Career wise, I have been involved with both big businesses, from FedEx to Panasonic, to small local businesses. I have been a teacher, entrepreneur, personal development coach and business consultant but the thing I am most proud of is being a father.
I’m lucky to be married to the woman of my dreams and together we have raised an incredible son. I say that not simply because I am proud of who he is but because of what he has accomplished at such a young age. Two black belts and a Junior Olympic gold medal in swimming all before the age of 15 despite having two parents who were not particularly athletically gifted. My mentor once said children are capable of incredible things. They don’t lack the skill; they only lack the teacher and the opportunity. Turns out he was right.
How did you get started in business?
I actually started out my career teaching English to children of all things. During college, I had come to Japan on a study abroad program and liked it so much that I decided to come back after graduating.
How did I go from teaching little kids to a productivity expert? I learned early on how limited my ability to impact people’s lives was. Students would come once a week and progress was slow. It motivated me to start seeking ways to improve learning.
I started reading, a lot. I took lots of notes and started applying them in my own life with good results. I moved away from teaching and got into coaching. The ideas that worked for me, worked for my clients. As a result, some clients asked if I might be willing to do some consulting work for their companies.
You have lived overseas for most of your life, how has this helped you/given you an advantage in business?
I left England back in the early 80s. I attended International Schools in the Philippines and Thailand at a time when most people hadn’t even heard of them. There was a small community of children there made up of army brats, embassy kids, and children or missionaries. I was none of these. My father was simply offered a job there and he took it.
Without the internet, we had to rely on networks. Everyone did. That’s how we learned to navigate what could be, at times, very challenging.
My friends came from all over. I remember having a bunch of friends over one night in high school and I looked around the room and not one of us was from the same country. I was English, my best friend was from the Netherlands, the others were Thai, Austrian, Canadian, American, German, Italian, and Malaysian. We could have cared less. We just got along and that was all that mattered. Race hardly ever came up; however, it did appear subtly without us even knowing it. We would learn about our different cultures, customs, and languages naturally through conversation.
That continued for me even as an adult. Regardless of where I’ve been or lived, I gravitated towards people who had traveled the world or those people who were incredibly curious. Sometimes I forget how lucky I have been. Learning from people from all walks of life, from all corners of the world has given me an appreciation for different cultures and shown me how much we can learn from one another.
You are Asia’s #1 Time Management Expert, why is time management and increasing productivity the key to living a successful, well-balanced life?
There’s no denying that hard work is the key to success. The problem is too many people fall into the trap of working harder and harder believing that’s the only way to be successful. The problem is there’s only so much time we have. Instead, we need to maximize our time by working on the right things and implementing time management strategies and concepts.
Success is not just a number in our bank account, although it’s certainly one way to judge if you’re heading in the right direction. Family is another key element. What good is millions of dollars if your family is falling apart.
I have found that truly “successful” people live balanced lives. They work hard, but find enough time to attend their daughter’s ballet recitals and son’s soccer matches. They have time carved out for their partner as well as their friends. Imbalance inevitably leads to trouble in the long run. They may be doing well on paper but they are struggling with stress from one or more areas that can, if they are not careful, end up deriding their financial success.
Good time management simply allows us to do more of the important things in our lives.
What are your top strategies for successful time management?
It really depends on who’s asking. However, whether it’s consulting with people one-on-one or working with businesses, I’d say the four most common areas I find where improvement can be made are: Pareto’s Principle, scheduling, the 1% rule and health.
I’ll address the last one first because as I have come to realize it might be the single most important thing there is. Jim Rohn once said, “Some people don’t do well because they don’t feel well.” I have found this statement to be more powerful than people realize.
One friend of mine was running a multimillion-dollar company collapsed one day and woke up in a hospital. Stress, the doctor said. It took him three months to recover from that. His story is not unique.
Starting out in business I didn’t take particularly good care of my health. I was working six and a half days a week, and my diet was less than ideal. I ended up sick a lot. I was young so I powered through, but my wife changed all that. By simply eating better, regular exercise, and better sleeping habits, I not only had more energy but became much more resilient to illness. Over the next ten years I got sick once, and if not for a martial art injury, I would have been injury-free. All that added up to hundreds of productive hours that I could invest back into my business, my family and my own growth.
Too many people sacrifice their health in pursuit of success, but repairing the damage done to their bodies can be extremely tough. I suggest to those clients to do a pre-emptive strike to ensure health never becomes a serious issue. It’s amazing how productive people become after they have a good health regiment and that applies to diet, rest, exercise and mindfulness.
Next on the list is Pareto’s principle. For those not familiar with it, it is essentially discovering those things that are the critical few elements in our lives that create maximum results. Pareto discovered that roughly 20% of his pea pods in his garden were responsible for 80% of his crop and visa versa. He also discovered a similar breakdown when it came to wealth in Italy. What he didn’t realize is how far-reaching this concept was. From toxic relationships to clothes to time, the same principle applies. The numbers differ somewhat, but regardless, the concept is critical for businesses, entrepreneurs, even parents, who want to improve.
When I sit down to talk to new clients, I often have them walk me through a day in their average life. People will schedule in meetings, appointments and the like, but forget to include things such as family, interests, meditation, self-reflection. We have never been busier as a society with pulls coming from so many different directions, it’s easy to neglect certain areas. Over time, that neglect can fester. We need to counter that by being ruthless with our schedules.
Finally, we come to the 1% rule. There’s a little bit of magic in small numbers. 1% improvement, in multiple areas of your business and personal life, consistently implemented, can lead to exponential growth later on. Big jumps in growth are rare, and often hard to maintain. Getting people to focus on the power of slow and steady consistent improvement can be a game-changer.
How have you positioned yourself as the go to person in the industry/how have you elevated your brand?
I once read that you want to become one of the best in your field spend two hours a day for five years reading about and learning everything you can about it. That’s what I did. I’ve lost count how many hours I’ve spent studying productivity, leadership and success. But that’s not enough, not in the digital age. I’ve never forgotten a quote by Marie Forleo that everyone should remember – “Be Googleable.”
When we want to know how to spell a word, find a good restaurant in the area or research something (or someone), we turn to Google. It’s not enough that people know your name. If you’re not on Google, you’re practically invisible.
I started out writing on my own site, building it up only to get hacked. That made me switch gears and looked for opportunities to share my knowledge on bigger platforms.
I came across an article that talked about writing for big online publications and so I decided to give it a shot. Practically the next day I found myself writing for the Huffington Post. Soon after I got into Thrive Global and the Good Men Project sharing a mixture of time management concepts, leadership ideas, my experience from living overseas and the occasional parenting article.
Writing for them honed my writing skills and help get me into Inc.com, Entrepreneur and Business Insider. I also got invited to contribute a chapter in a book that became a best-seller on Amazon.
You have recently launched a new consultancy firm, tell us more about this.
There’s only so much one person can do.
I wanted to build a consultancy firm with a few people who complemented my own skills. However, there was just one problem. The world was under lockdown
At the time, Clubhouse was big and I thought I might be able to get to know some likeminded people, so I started a business book club. Every Monday night at 11pm I would introduce a few books that had influenced my business and life and invite other people to share one or two of theirs.
Some people just popped in to see what it was all about, others came for a few weeks and then disappeared. But two people, Pervin Shaikh and James Wakba kept coming back week after week. Eventually I felt Clubhouse had run its course so the three of us moved over to Zoom.
However, about a year ago, I suggested we up the ante. Rather than simply share books why not try our hand at writing one. Four months later The Shift: 8 Strategies to Navigate the New Normal was published.
Our backgrounds differ greatly which is why I asked them to come onboard. Pervin Shaikh, based in London, started off her career working for Merrill Lynch but has been an executive coach with over 15 years’ experience working with clients based in the FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 Companies.
On the other hand, James Wakba who resides in Austin, Texas is a seasoned entrepreneur with extensive experience in strategic partnerships, business development and community building. He has strong personal relationships within the music, tech, digital media, real estate and hospitality industries. He has worked with a variety of businesses ranging from music to restaurants to tech start-ups.
As you can see, we are as unlike as any three people could be, but this is our competitive advantage. It allows us to draw on each other’s strengths and providing our clients with unique and diverse insights.
We continue our weekly calls to this day. And still have never met in person.
How do you help business leaders and executives?
Supporting executives begins with understanding their organizational objectives through an exploratory conversation that builds rapport and enables informed decision-making. This initial dialogue allows leaders to articulate their strategic needs while establishing a foundation of mutual understanding and trust.
Effective executive support encompasses a comprehensive approach to professional development, focusing on critical areas such as strategic planning, communication skills, time management, leadership style adaptation, and decision-making processes.
Further executive support involves developing sophisticated leadership capabilities across multiple dimensions, including team motivation, performance management, emotional intelligence, and conflict resolution.
Coaching interventions aim to enhance leaders’ abilities to inspire team members, foster collaboration, encourage innovation, manage stress effectively, and create positive workplace environments.
By providing holistic guidance that addresses both professional skills and personal growth, executive support strategies help leaders transform their potential into exceptional organizational performance and individual effectiveness.
How can readers find out more about you?
You can find us at https://www.oceans-consultancy.com/ or my personal website https://www.adrianshepherd.com/. I’m also on X, LinkedIn and Instagram.
