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
Andy is hacked off and now he knows why
Andy is a senior guy. He looks after a decent chunk of the company’s business and reports directly to the board. I’ve worked with him on and off since about 2001, though not for the last three years. Recently, we caught up. He opened by saying he felt the company had lost its way. It…
Read MoreMotivation – book review
Drive, The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us. Daniel Pink I love this book, only wish it was available to me 20 years ago when I was a middle manager. I think it was written for me back then; a baby boomer brought up on command and control, carrot and stick. It is probably even…
Read MoreThe help dilemma
I see a bloke in the changing rooms at my gym. He suffers with an inflamed knee. One day we got talking and I asked if he was taking anything and he told me his doctor prescribed pain killers and rest. I asked if that was working and he said no. I suggested a natural…
Read MoreChess, engagement and a six year old coach
My six year old son, Greg, taught me how to play chess. At college my friend John tried though I just couldn’t get all the tactics and so I gave up. Seventeen years later Pete, another friend, taught Greg and the very same day Greg taught me the basic moves in simple terms and without…
Read Moreand the truth is
Listening to the radio, watching Question Time, I am noticing that members of one political party keep repeating “and the truth is”. It’s not the truth, it’s their opinion. What is the truth? It depends on your perspective. I’m not sure there is such a thing as the absolute truth. Maybe it’s true that we…
Read MoreLance Armstrong
‘The biggest cheat in sport’ according to some of the press. I don’t buy that from them, especially them. Have “we” ever cheated? Probably. Have we ever told a lie, several lies or even a big one? Probably. “I am a human being. Nothing that is human is foreign to me” Terence Afer. How many…
Read MoreBehaviour – management’s obsession
How come Thomas behaves this way at home and yet a different way at work? He is the same person, though behaving in a different way. What is driving his behaviour? “Management” try to drive, influence, manipulate behaviour with “consequences” – either positive or negative, incentives or punishment respectively. Daniel Pink, author of “Drive”, questions…
Read MoreAny questions? – How to elicit a response from an audience
We have all been to the industry conference where the experts ‘broadcast’ for an hour and then the chairman asks “any questions?” Then awkward silence, no response. So how do you elicit questions from your audience? Here’s a three step approach that works: 1. Ask the people to write a few notes on what connected…
Read MoreWhen we meet
I’m really interested in people and their stories so if we were to meet I’d like to find out about your story: your early years, how you got into your job, your best achievements and some of the hurdles you overcame to get here. I’d love to hear about what you are doing now and…
Read MoreTime to Think
What would it be like if your team had time to think – together – instead of continuously responding as individuals to emails and urgent matters of the day? I believe collective thinking and listening time is fundamental to effective collaboration and team working. I also believe it rarely happens. If you were able to…
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