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.
Execution eats Strategy for Breakfast?
Execution eats Strategy for Breakfast This line popped out at me from a LinkedIn post by Ben Ford (past guest on WhatComesNextLive, and one I have now invited back to talk about this!). I'll share Ben's post below, but first, the instinctive thoughts that came to me...
Execution eats Strategy for Breakfast?
Execution eats strategy for breakfast. Building a world class operations system lets you have your cake and eat it.
Levels of Leadership – Idioms
Today a Leadership lesson at two levels around the use of Idioms. Level One: Leaders, avoid USING clichéd idioms. Cliché : "a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought." Idiom: "a group of words established by usage as having a meaning...
Leadership – Being alone with our thoughts
Musing on silence. Do find time to rest and recharge and find silence at this time of year
Storytelling as Aural History
In the early 1990s, we saw the beginnings of the widely available internet. Dial up only, super slow, very expensive. At one point I read an article in, I recall, Time Magazine, about the explosion of use of the internet by people, often older generations, seeking to...
Leadership – Take action, even put yourself at risk
Bravery in leadership can often mean acting rather than waiting for others. It also has matters of degree in whether or not leadership puts yourself at risk. Two quotes I have always looked to are : “Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do...
Storytelling – How do you tell your story?
You can tell a story in different ways, through all of our senses. How do you tell yours? Let me show you some storytelling I witnessed in one day in London last week, then a TED talk I recently saw that is masterful in this regard. First, on a gorgeous summer's day...
Leadership – Repeat ad nauseam
One turn of phrase around telling people something over and over is to say you "repeated ad nauseam", or literally until you were sick. One of the simplest to address gaps I see in leaders around engaging their people is to assume they have communicated their message...
Storytelling : Never make a point…
"Never make a point without telling a story, and never tell a story, without making a point" ~ Ed Percival Another lesson from the master, Ed Percival. A hugely important part of leadership is about engaging your people. People connect to stories, so don't just give...
Coaching Skills – Asking is about Connecting
Today I sit on my terrace early in the morning, preparing in my own way for coaching calls with two new clients from an organisation I am supporting as they bravely transform. While sitting quietly as I tend to do before such calls, I opened my online notes of "things...
Writing I Love – Self-Awareness and Rumi
Up until about a month ago, once a week I posted "Writing I Love", then chose to stop setting a regular schedule for it and simply to allow #Flow, with that last post being one I wrote the day Anthony Bourdain died. More recently I wrote "Leadership – The impact of...
Bravery – Do one thing every day that scares you
What is your one thing you will to today that scares you?
Time for HR Leaders to…Be Brave
My question today for HR leaders (and resonant for all leaders who see these "big trends" and feel they will inpact their organistion) is simply this. Are you brave enough ?
Leadership – on Patience
A dear friend recently counselled me: "Patience, my friend, is when nothing happens and you are ok with it." I loved this. That friend also noted to me that in so many areas of life (including in my roles with clients as a sounding board, coach etc) I am patience...