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.
Four characteristics of systems change makers
I love "simplicity on the other side of complexity". However, when it comes to those seeking to lead change in complex, adaptive, emergent systems, (aka pretty much any business or organisation of any scale in our rapidly changing world), the language is often dense...
Four characteristics of systems change makers
Four characteristics of systems change makers: system thinker, leader and storyteller, designer and maker, connecter and convener.
Creative Constraints: Tenner and 10x
On numerous occasions I have written from different directions around the idea of creative constraints. Thoughts on "Tenner", now called the 10x Challenge. Yesterday, in response to a post about the need to and power of accepting difference in the school education...
Create Boundaries, then Improvise
Without clear boundaries, empowerment and the open sharing of thoughts, individuals will not feel safe to improvise and moments will not be seized. Kathryn Chapman, self-portrait(c) Kathryn Chapman Photography I deeply appreciate the amazing people I meet and get to...
Skin in the game and empathy
Create alignment to serve both your customer's needs and those of your business. Make sure both you and they have skin in the game. “Do not pay attention to what people say, only to what they do, and to how much of their necks they are putting on the line”from "Skin...
How do fighter pilots respond rather than react?
When life throws things at you, do you respond, or simply react? Observe, Orient, Decide Act. “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” from "Man's Search for...
The simple things are also the most extraordinary things
“The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them.”from "The Alchemist" by Paolo Coelho, absolutely one of my very favourite books Yesterday my riding buddy and I went out exploring for a couple of hours, routing around new...
Values are stronger than fears
The #OpenLeadership model People think fear is a strong motivation but that's because there's typically nothing opposing it. Someone who has strong values will endure astounding fear and discomfort in the service of their goals. Values are stronger than fears.Donald...
Have multiple strands for your resilience
Image (c) Julie Corsetti of Deep Blue Images. Hurricane Ivan gallery here After Hurricane Ivan in 2004, my LandCruiser was heavily used in the aftermath, driving on broken and sometimes flooded roads that were often covered in debris and roofing nails. After about six...
What is the Context for this meeting?
I am sure many of us have attended a board/leadership meeting and wondered what the context for the meeting is. Yes, it can have an agenda, even a detailed one, with pre-reading even, but what is the meeting for? What is the Context for this meeting? Is it purely...
Einstein and Inner Music
One area of beauty we can understand beyond rationality being music. Einstein often talked about such things. Yesterday I wrote about Einstein's five levels of cognitive prowess, in ascending order: SmartIntelligentBrilliantGeniusSimple Today I put it to you that...
Einstein’s five levels of cognitive prowess
The five levels of cognitive prowess by Albert Einstein: Smart, Intelligent, Brilliant, Genius, and Simple: Smart, Intelligent, Brilliant, Genius, & Simple.
Deep connections going beyond conventions
I'm deeply grateful for those deep connections that come to effortlessly blend business and friendship, they enrich my life in all facets. “I understand now that boundaries between noise and sound are conventions. All boundaries are conventions, waiting to be...
I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn
I've learned that I still have a lot to learnMaya Angelou Right now I'm struggling a little to write each day, feeling the world perhaps a little too deeply. This quote comes to mind. We can always learn more, including about ourselves. That's all from me...