Blog

As you look around you, who can you see? William Wrigley Jr. of chewing gum fame said, “When two people always agree, one of them is unnecessary”.  He was explaining the pointlessness of seeking advice from someone who will always agree with you. It is human nature to feel the warm glow of affirmation when … Read more

There is lots of talk about this being the first week of the new ’term’. How has it gone for you? From a resilience perspective, I am a big fan of the phrase ‘ride the wave don’t fight it’; however, purposefully planning your way ahead can help you avoid the big waves that suck you … Read more

Did you have a big meeting last week? Or given it was August, were the usual big meetings cancelled until September? Did you sigh a slight sigh of relief? Whether you chair the meetings or participate, meetings can either enable leadership teams to productively and collectively drive forward their agenda or be the most expensive … Read more

The concept of ‘being’ not ‘doing’ has come up in several conversations recently. You may be so busy ‘doing’, that: you forget why you were doing it in the first place. you become fixated on the finish line and forget to enjoy the journey. you only feel good about yourself when accomplishing things – your … Read more

This week I want to talk about the expression, in a world where you can be anything you want to be…….. be kind. There are two aspects to this: Be kind to others: Harold S. Kushner said, “When you are kind to others, it not only changes you, it changes the world”. Be kind to … Read more

This week, I’m talking about a personal passion and that is striving to always do the right thing, not the easy thing. Martin Luther King nailed it when he said, “The time is always right to do what is right”. The time is always right and yet things can get in the way: It can … Read more

Today’s performance or tomorrow’s transformation? In an increasingly interconnected and competitive global environment, organisations now need to do both at the same time. That takes a different kind of leadership, enterprise leadership. This article https://www.kornferry.com/insights/featured-topics/leadership/how-to-develop-an-enterprise-leader-mindset describes an enterprise leader as a leader with a mindset of making decisions that serve not only the entire organisation … Read more

I had the privilege of again being at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford this week, where the brilliant Dr Paul Chapman OBE shared this poem by Christopher Logue: “Come to the edge,” he said. “We’re comfortable back here,” they said. “Come to the edge,” he said. “We’re too busy,” they said. “Come to the … Read more

Did you automatically think how ‘smart’? or did you think about emotional intelligence? There are lots of TED talks (15 Most Valuable Emotional Intelligence TED Talks on Youtube (positivepsychology.com)) and literature (Emotional Intelligence – Harvard Health or What Is Emotional Intelligence? (verywellmind.com) out there on emotional intelligence and many definitions, but essentially it encompasses the … Read more

My inspiration for the topic this time has been a couple of conversations I have had with people about just how busy things feel despite entering the summer season. The book by Cal Newport ‘Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World’, defines deep work as: “Professional activity performed in a state of … Read more