This seems like a good day to talk about leadership. One way to lead: Have no identifiable values. Change your mind based on what seems to be popular, rather than what you actually believe. Adopt a “do as I say, not as I do” approach. When faced with a crisis, dither and procrastinate. Blame everyone else when things go wrong. I doubt many people would see that as a good list. Posting this today makes
Recently, I’ve found motivation hard to come by. I’ve been thinking hard about what I do, and why I do it. Should I change direction, or go all in? Stay here, or move on? As part of the figuring out process, I am re-reading Stephen Covey’s ‘7 Habits’. Among all the other brilliant insights is this nugget:“A satisfied need no longer motivates.” Ah. That makes sense. Fundamentally, my ‘needs’ are met. I am in the
I’ve changed the payment terms on my invoices. They now say:“Please pay this invoice in the way you like to be paid.” It has no legal standing. Instead, it is based entirely on trust. The more time I spend working in leadership, the more clear it becomes that trust is the foundation that all relationships are built on. And leadership centres around relationships. This is hardly groundbreaking stuff. It’s not new [is anything?]. We already
“We’re short of leaders and trees.” Paul Polman I attended an awesome webinar this week organised by the Global Executive Leadership Initiative with Paul Polman as the key speaker. The biggest takeaway for me was Paul’s distinction between passion and purpose, and how understanding the difference is a critical element of leadership. Passion is doing something you care about and enjoy – pursuing your dreams. [Nothing wrong with that]. Purpose, however, is about putting yourself
We’ve all seen it – couples, families, groups of friends out at a cafe or restaurant … ignoring each other, and staring at their phones instead. This behaviour isn’t unusual. It’s normal – to the point we barely notice it any more. Technology is everywhere, embedded into every aspect of our lives. Of course there are benefits, but we need to be aware of the downsides and dangers. As tech develops, we need to make
We know it matters – our human activities are causing problems on this one planet we’ve got. But climate change can seem so … BIG. It’s hard to know what to do – where to start. The challenge is systemic – lots of complicated moving pieces, connected in a myriad of complex ways. Where to begin? Here are a few suggestions, loosely based on John Elkington’s Triple Bottom Line: PEOPLEThe Good On You app will
Not long ago, a client called me out on a casually sexist remark I made, the gist of which was ‘yoga is for girls’. It was an odd thing to say, because it’s not what I think. Firstly, having practiced on and off since 2005, I certainly don’t believe ‘yoga is for girls’. Neither do I consider myself sexist – and yet my words undoubtedly were. It would be easy to dismiss this off-hand –
Sometimes, only our best is good enough … but the idea we can [or should] always be at our best is not only impossible, it’s unhealthy. We’re humans. We have good days and bad days. Sometimes we’re on top form … and at other times – not so much. Now, if we’re having a stinker, that doesn’t mean we inflict our bad day on everyone around us, but pretending we’re always at our best is
In his book ‘Finite and Infinite Games’, James Carse distinguishes between two types of ‘game’. Finite games have clearly defined parameters – rules, a start, a finish. Examples would be a tennis match, writing a book, building a website, meeting for coffee. We understand when it’s done – when the ‘game’ is over. Infinite games are blurry. The rules can change, the start point is debatable, and there isn’t a finish line. It’s being a
Looking back on the art that affected us as kids – books, films, music, images – reveals much about who we are and how we see the world. Growing up, one of my favourite films was Bruce Lee’s ‘Enter the Dragon’. There’s a lot of actual fighting in it, but Bruce’s philosophy is also woven through the script. At one point, he demonstrates “the art of fighting without fighting”. 35 years later, I’ve realised that
Weekly [digital] email to help navigate the [analogue] world …
Weekly [digital] email to help navigate the [analogue] world …
