My Blog
This blog is for me, it’s my sketch pad where I think things through and work things out. Having worked ‘stuff’ out I think it’s good to declare it, so I am sending it to you. Hopefully you will also find it useful.
Latest Posts
This must be right, McKinsey said it.
When the top team is working together towards a common vision they are twice as likely of having above-median financial performance. And executives are five times more productive when working in a high performing team than they are in an average one. Sounds about right to me and McKinsey are a class act, have considerable…
A six year old with a chain saw
Do you overprotect your staff cos they are ‘not old enough’ or ‘experienced enough’ yet? On Saturday I was cycling up a long hill in the countryside when I saw people trimming back hedges and trees. As I got closer I noticed a man and child, who was no more than five or six years…
The first rule of my business is ……
Do everything ‘On Purpose’ and the second rule of my business is follow through. When a prospective customer asks me to work with them my instinctive first response is to question: what’s it for, what’s the point, what’s the purpose, why are you looking to do this work and what business result are you seeking…
Developing as a leader – free of charge
Sometimes my brief includes helping someone develop as a leader – to hone their thinking, behavior and leadership skills. It may be an incumbent executive who has a vision and wants to get people on board or a rising star who has come unstuck or a brilliant performer with a seemingly annoying tendency or to…
Brand and culture – two sides of the same coin
Years ago, talking with a CEO he kept referring to brand and culture – curious I asked him to distinguish between the two. He said – “our brand is our reputation, how we are experienced in the world. Culture is how we do things round here. And how we do things round here directly affects…
Being Theresa May
Empathy is putting yourself in another persons shoes, this is what I imagine it’s like for Theresa May 48 hours or so on from her General Election result. “What have I done? It seemed like a good idea at the time, to call a snap election, but it has gone massively wrong. I feel shattered,…
What’s possible?
If we put all the knowledge in the World into a circle it would be a massive circle. If I then think about the extent of my knowledge, what I know, it would be an almost infinitesimally small segment of that circle. Then take into account that most of what I know is probably my…
John and I needed to talk
John is a busy bloke and so am I. He wanted to talk with me so we scheduled a call for two weeks hence at three o’clock. I called exactly on time though he wasn’t there. He rang me back the day after though I was running a workshop. I tried him the day after and…
Emails, meetings and travelling
Business people tell me most of their time is spent on e mails or in meetings or travelling. I’ve been reflecting on this and have some ideas: Emails In 1997 I was given my first company laptop. Within a matter of months emails had taken over my life. They were supposed to help me, were…
Thrashing around getting nowhere fast – an alternative perspective on management
As a swimming machine a dolphin is about sixty five percent efficient, Michael Phelps arguably the greatest human swimmer of all time is about eight percent. Ninety two percent of his effort is lost to friction and turbulence. This post is about management not swimming though stick with me, there is a connection. As a…