The ridiculous and thrilling comebacks of Liverpool and Tottenham show the importance of spirit. But it’s not that simple, and Crossrail, and all of us, should take note.

One thing politicians are right about on Crossrail: the project leadership shouldn’t have suppressed the bad news.

Should all those who toiled on the project, from planners to project managers, now wipe it from their CVs because it ran over a bit? Give me a break!

The freedom it affords you is limited, as are the growth opportunities for your delegatee. Here’s a way of thinking bigger…

People pull out all the stops if they care about what they’re doing, but how do you help them care? How do you create meaning?

A little story to show how leadership means creating a powerful sense of purpose.

Here are Four T’s that can help you keep going …

Effective goal-setting requires discipline in language. Ditch clever-sounding abstractions like “maximising synergies”. I propose the following test for checking the language you use.

We want to blame someone when something goes wrong. Thirsty for explanations, we say this person is out of his depth, or that person is negligent. But this is often simplistic.

Don’t use feedback to try and “improve” someone. Their sense of self, and self-esteem, should only be boosted.

They took generations. If you started work on Notre Dame in 1163, you’d know you’d be dead before it was finished, as would your son, and probably his son.

A manager in a big, national firm resigned last week after several frustrating years. It was a mix of being dumped with loads of responsibility without any back-up.