My Library
People are my library, my writing inspired by what I learn: ideas, inspiration, wisdom, and sometimes some eclectic whimsy for good measure, all centred around #OpenLeadership. At the heart of all of this is that I write to share learnings and to discover my thoughts. Over the years i have written (mostly) daily, over 2000 posts and 1,000,000 words (that last part blows my mind, tbh!). Enjoy browsing.
A day off
I've been working internationally for decades and have often worked on days that are public holidays where I live, to the extent that, though today is the end of summer "bank holiday" in England, I do feel a little guilty not writing a post today or otherwise sitting...
A day off
Keep calm: I’m only taking one day off.
Watch how radically taxes on the wealthy have fallen
FAIR is a core value for me. I also believe in Business as a force for good, hence the model I developed of the new triple bottom line, putting Purpose, People and Planet as the core drivers, whilst also focussing on making a Profit so as to Scale the Impact for all...
Marking an occasion
Two years ago today I wrote: "Life is Wild and Precious, Be Present", where I posed the question above, from the last couplet of "The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver. This was when (inspired by Seth Godin doing this for over two decades!) I committed to writing daily....
Edit, don’t Accumulate
In life and in leadership, you can edit, hone and distill your message constantly. "The first half of your life is focused more on accumulating: success, responsibilities, family, friends, hobbies, identities. A mid-life crisis is often about feeling weighed-down by...
Learn deeply then distil to simplicity
This week I was complimented by a reader on sharing some incisive and concise ideas in my daily writing. That is wonderful to hear, as a) I can talk a lot when on a roll (!), and b) I love the Da Vinci adage of: "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication". The thing...
Could you balance Purpose and Profit as a CEO?
A while ago I wrote: "Do all CEOs “only care about profit”? No.." to address a commonly held (and understandable!) view that companies are only lead and managed around driving profits, often by working their people hard with limited concern for People, Planet or even...
What do you see? What do you not see?
What we see and do not see is a matter of our perspective. How many pillars are there? The answer is seven. Or, how many women can you see? Most see pillars, only some immediately see beyond to the women. This has me thinking about seeing what others don't see. This...
What can past predictions teach us?
When we make predictions, what do they teach us? Six months ago I wrote: "WeWork and remembering lessons of the past", in which I both predicted the crashing downfall of WeWork, as well as musing on past lessons from market booms and busts, dating back to own my...
Turn it up, turn it up, little bit higher
In 1978 a nondescript looking young man from Northern Ireland stepped on stage at the farewell concert of a group simply called, "The Band". When he opened his mouth to sing, he created an incredible moment in time. He created something out of this world. How? He...
Saunter, don’t hike
John Muir I love hiking. I love walking for the purpose of exercise, of a heart rate over 100bpm for hours on end, of the feeling of walking fast and strongly for exercise. I also love to walk for a different reason, to walk to allow the process of walking to clear my...
In a transition? Energy lagging? Play a different game.
What different game can you choose to play that will keep you energised during this transition? In my mid-20s I was on a steep learning curve as a competitive squash player in Cayman. I was at the club every evening after work and, in addition to coaching and formal...
#BeMoreYou – Elevate
“Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet confinement of your aloneness to learn anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you.”David Whyte On occasion, I choose to muse here a little with my daily posts. Today I was captivated by this quote...
Face The Dragons
from WhereThereBeDragons Thanks to my friend and past client David Kirkaldy of Massive Group in Cayman. I wrote this post nearly a decade ago and was reminded of the idea of "Go where there be Dragons" by a tweet this week from Carl Richards. Though my old blogs from...