Raise the expectations you have for yourself and your business. There is no bar. Image from earlier post: "Growth Mindset and Pole Vaulting" As we move through this pandemic, I'm seeing more and more countries making comparisons to other countries. I'm very proud of...
(c) Gaping Void Leverage BraveryYou are already a brave leader. You had to be to get to where you are. You are already successful, making a difference, yet remain hungry to make an even bigger “dent in the universe”. So, what’s next? At the moment, am working in the...
Design genius from Maitland Telke of Brand Oxygen Are you ready for change? If so, does it feel like a time for incremental change or radical change? This year, I really sense a feeling of “Transitions”, where the pandemic has accelerated change for so many of us and...
We heard endlessly during lockdown of #WFH or Work From Home. About a week ago we were threatened by the UK Government (via a national newspaper) to ‘Go back to work or risk losing your job", as if millions of people working from home were not working. This Ad then...
Courtesy of White Owl on Twitter I saw this quote on Twitter the other day and replied: "That is beautiful and has so many layers. Thank you." White Owl then replied: "You’re welcome Tom. I think its beautiful too. The power of a single sentence." I love brevity. In...
Innovation is simply doing different things and doing things differently. Two streets away from me is a small bakery business that sells cookies and cakes directly to local area cafés and restaurants. Now, with those all closed, they have turned to local sales and...
Today sharing a recent newsletter from a thinker I admire, Whitney Johnson, author of Disrupt Yourself, as it flows with the current theme here on #Bravery and, in particular around what some may perceive as brave but where the person taking the action doesn't sense...
I love the movie Inception, and one of the key scenes asks a character to take a leap of faith. In that story, the only way to escape the situation is to go beyond rationality and truly take a leap of faith. However, we live in the real world, not the movies, so we...
What are you afraid of? Yesterday in "How are you Brave-ing?", I asked you to consider three times you have been "brave-ing" in the last week. I am musing on Bravery often at the moment, including "What is Bravery?" and "Inspire Bravery". Today two questions for you....
Bravery takes different forms, and it is always relative to the individual. Stories here on swim coaching, mental health, and the bravery of a 7…
Image from my favourite post on Bravery: "What is Bravery?"Read right to the end to find out who that brave swimmer is. This week an experienced and skilled coach and facilitator asked to have a video call with me as they had read some of my posts and wanted to ask...
Over the years sometimes I've been asked to lead client meetings in hotel conference rooms in basements with no natural light. Sometimes "needs must", but when a group is looking at brave and transformative ideas, always find a venue away from the office that has lots...
Next time you're afraid to share an idea…remember someone once said in a meeting "let's make a film with a tornado full of sharks" In the USA Discovery Channel has a "Shark Week" once a year where they put on nature programmes about Sharks, you guessed it, for a week....
Whilst Bravery and Brevity are key, without a strong link to Purpose that everyone in the organisation feels strongly connected to for the long term, all Strategic Plans will lose momentum. Over the years I have been introduced to many leaders and organisations who...
Focus on the four characteristics of #OpenLeadership: Be Braver, Humbler, Hungrier and more open. The limits of techniqueIt’s possible that you no longer need to get better at your craft. That your craft is just fine.It’s possible that you need to be braver...
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...
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...
the Open Leadership model Saying you are vulnerable is not the same as being vulnerable. The four core qualities of #OpenLeadership are: Be HungryBe HumbleBe BraveBe Open Linked to that is Chip Conley's idea of being a "vulnerable visionary" a leader who expresses...
In the environment of intolerance and racism, speak out, take action, don't be silent. Just when we thought the level of intolerance and racism in countries like the US and the UK could not get any worse, over the last few days the US President has not only lowered...
I saw this photo this week posted on Instagram by my friend Arno de Jong, the amazing founder and lead guide of AlpAdventures. In August 2018 Arno arranged a private trip for me and my three boys to the French Alps, including hiking over multiple mountain passes,...
Collaborative Leadership: "the process of engaging collective intelligence to deliver results across organisational boundaries when ordinary mechanisms of control are absent" Oxford Leadership - Collaborative Leadership White Paper, 2011 The other day a dear friend of...
The last few weeks for me have been amazing and wonderful in different ways, and also felt brave and at times a bit scary as I embarked on something new that immediately felt important and that felt risky. I was reminded of the idea of "to dare greatly", and then that...
An English language idiom is: "don't play with fire, you might get burned" Let's flip that today, inspired by this quote from Steven Kotler: "As children, we are taught not to play with fire, not how to play with fire." I saw this quote out of the blue the other day...
"It's simple, but not easy" Yesterday I wrote "To be truly radical is to make hope possible", and closed that post by saying today I'd write a little about what it takes for radical change. I love radical change, transformative and brave. Incremental change is...
In order to make failure possible, you first have to try, to commit, to go where it may scare or even terrify you, to be vulnerable, to say "this might not work" and do it anyway. Very recently I was disappointed to witness this first hand in someone. They were...
Today I woke up to see this story of a 21 year old Swedish woman taking a stand against deportation of an Afghan from her country by standing up to prevent her flight from departing. Her name is Elin Errson, and she literally took a stand for what she believed to be...
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 ?