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 short post for today
Sometimes I write long and considered posts, other times short ones. Why? Various reasons, but whilst I have a longer post I'm thinking of writing about the privilege of working with clients for a number of years and observing change and evolution in them and their...
A short post for today
Sometimes I write long and considered posts, other times short ones. Why? Various reasons, but whilst I have a longer post I'm thinking of writing about the privilege of working with clients for a number of years and observing change and evolution in them and their...
The fish rots from the head
I am often asked by client leadership what to do first when there is a sense that the culture and behaviours of the organisation need to be focussed upon. In fact, I am often brought in by open and brave leaders who are humble enough to turn the focus upon themselves...
Be the type of person you want to meet
My writing is around leadership and is often focussed on how business leaders can "be more". Perhaps some may find this post title a little "woo woo" for them, but hey, to model the title, those aren't the audience I'm seeking. The people I want to meet, to reach, to...
Beautiful Leadership – Purpose and Herb Kelleher
Yesterday I wrote: "Purpose and the Corporation" and wrote: "I ask businesses I work with to consider a different type of triple bottom line: Purpose People Planet Yes, I always ask them to focus on the Profit they will make, yet Profit, to me, is the outcome of a...
Beautiful Leadership – Purpose and the Corporation
Graphic highlighting the "triple bottom line" concept of People, Planet, Profit As regular readers of my daily posts know, I am focussed on #BeautifulLeadership, asking leaders: "how can your leadership, your business, be more beautiful?" This immediately brings up...
Top 5 Posts and searching for themes
Daily posting here now means there are well over 450 posts on the site. Each post is already tagged and categorised, but with so many posts, the easiest way to search for terms and themes will be via the search bar, so we've upgraded this to a custom google search as...
Give handwritten thank you notes
In 1989, when I was 24, I moved to the Cayman Islands. Sending faxes and making phones calls was still eye-wateringly expensive, so I sent aerogrammes, short, handwritten letters, to stay in touch with family and friends. These days the art of a handwritten letter or...
Give people the gift of listening
Truly listening to others can be the greatest of gifts. Recently I wrote: "What is your one-word theme for 2019?". After writing this, I instinctively offered to a few groups the opportunity for them to have me support individuals with a one hour call to get to their...
Mary Oliver, Poetry and Beauty
Yesterday Mary Oliver died. A quote from her poem "The Summer Day" inspired my very first daily post, "Life is Wild and Precious, Be Present" : “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Today a short...
Comfortable in your own skin
Just over a month ago I wrote first about Steph Curry and his actions to empower girls. Today I find myself sharing another example of leadership off the court from this athlete, and again from an article he wrote in The Players Tribune, a quite remarkable publication...
Charles Dickens and income inequality
On 10th January I wrote "CEO Pay and Ugly Leadership", referencing wise thinkers past and present and noting: "Leadership where CEO pay keeps climbing to ever higher heights while average workers real pay has been dropping in the modern world for some time. Not...
Billy Connolly – Lessons from a Master
BBC just put out two one hour shows called "Billy Connolly Made in Scotland" (link here for those in the UK). Billy Connolly represents a line in the sand. Comedy in the UK was either before Billy or after Billy. He is, simply, the "Big Yin". Today sharing one...
Should you be patient or impatient?
As a Leader, should you be patient or impatient? Patient or impatient - with the speed your people and your business are moving at? Patient or impatient - with yourself, your family, your friends? Patient or impatient - with the speed of life and work in general? It...