Imagine all the people you lead as powerful balls of energy and light. The first law of thermodynamics, also known as Law of Conservation of Energy, states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; energy can only be transferred or changed from one form to...
This week among my many Cayman meetings I met with a client who worked with me as their coach for years. They shared that they had a sense in Cayman at the moment of "stuck" from some people and businesses. Getting Stuck in old thinking and results Before my trip,...
I've been having an amazing week of CONNECTION in Cayman, full of wonderful meetings and time spent with my sons, with friends, clients, contacts. At one lovely lunch, a friend was asking me about what's next for me in life and work. I tried to find a word to explain...
The late, great Ed Percival This week in Cayman I find myself musing on Perspectives, on Legacy, on Context, all as I am here with my own Context this week of CONNECTION. After two meetings early in the week with a current client and a past client, I find myself...
This week I had a half-day meeting with a client leadership team in Cayman. With a lot happening for them, they were feeling a little "scattered". After talking through a download of much of that in some detail, we elevated the conversation and arrived at a Context...
Legacy Today's theme for me from the first day of meetings this week in Cayman. I started with an early meeting with a client who plans to move to their next exciting career opportunity after years in their current position. Their context for their work with me in...
This week I am back in Cayman, my home for more than half of my life, a country that remains my home, though I live in London now. On my first morning here, staying with friends, we spent hours and hours talking over so many things, as good friends do when they get...
Recently I've been reminded about the power of being positive. I'm definitely energetic and an optimist, two traits I like to think are also grounded in pragmatism, including deep knowledge of business and finance as well as people and behaviour. Be positive, believe...
One evening this week I had the privilege as a GlobalScot to attend a "pitch coaching" event in London to support some Scottish businesses in honing their "pitch", with a specific focus around the London market. Before we started, I asked them specifically what they...
"Where are you on the spectrum? This could be a question that could spark all kinds of emotive reactions, particularly if the recipient sits in a space of feeling a stigma and block towards talking about anyone or anything that sits outside generalised "norms". To cut...
Simplicity is complexity resolved. Yesterday the Supreme Court of the UK began hearing a hugely high profile constitutional case, streamed live. Such a high profile case also attracts high calibre lawyers to act on behalf of both sides. On the first morning of the...
Yesterday was the 700th daily post in a row on this site, so today I'm taking a sabbatical. Today is a glorious late summer Sunday, so though I'm keeping the daily posting going with this, in effect I took the day off to relax outdoors. Ok, ok, clearly a one day...
Lack of diversity is a major business risk. Do I have your attention? To truly connect people to an idea such that they will take action, it is necessary to frame it in a way that impacts something that matters to them and their business. Risk is a keyword for...
Repeat your messages to communicate your belief in them, the business, the opportunity, the vision. "If you feel sure you have over-communicated your message to your people to the point where they are bored of hearing it from you.... you are probably about halfway...
Lessons learned from working with a master Feldenkrais practitioner . Yoda, a quintessential Master Over a year ago I injured my Achilles badly. No specific event, I simply was walking a lot that summer and it became injured and wouldn't heal. Months later, frustrated...
Pigeon: 'Ever heard of Text Messaging?' This is the 696th day in a row of posts on this site and, whilst I have a whole load of themes bubbling away for future long (and short) reads, I'd really like to hear from you. I wrote a piece a while ago called "Tell People...
Coaches do not give advice. What do I mean? Coaching = Asking, NOT Telling When a coach is actually in the role of a coach, when they are coaching, they do not give advice. Ever. However, coaches are also often asked to fill four other roles at times, those of mentor,...
Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort felt by a person who holds two or more conflicting ideas, beliefs or values at the same time. Leadership is about people, so understanding people is clearly key. For self-leadership, then, self-awareness is key. As humans we seek...
One of the biggest compliments you can receive if you are listening to someone is when you ask them something and they reply: "that's a great question!", well, at least unless it is someone looking to then duck the question! Anyway, if they take the question on board...
Education systems are in crisis, including the devaluing of any type of critical thinking. Challenge and encourage both critical and contextual thinking.
A Southwest Airlines flight was delayed several hours and the gate agent decided to have fun, take the time with the passengers and play games,…
When I saw this brilliant graphic on Cognitive Biases from Design Hacks the other day, all I could think was "Wow! We do truly have so many biases." Over the last few days, I've written around the exploration of bias and one or two ideas of how we can activate tools...
Over the last two days, I have written first a (very) long read about Heuristics (in "You cannot eliminate your biases", then yesterday a shorter one on a tool to answer difficult questions by imagining the reverse. As those who read my daily writing often or who know...
A large number of questions might be illuminated — if not answered —by imagining the situation in reverse. If Britain had no nuclear deterrent, would there be much clamour to obtain one? If Scots were independent already, what sort of union would they seek? Which...
What are your biases? You might say: "I'm not biased". Don't believe me? Try answering these three questions, known as the Cognitive Reflection Test. (1) A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? _...
Building a base of clients with fewer people making referrals. We all know the best way to build a client base is with referrals from people who already know you, right? Sure, so logically to be introduced to new clients, we need to talk to everyone we know and ask...
Taking time to walk to a lunch meeting yesterday I constantly listen to leaders who feel they don't have enough time. If I suggest to them that we take a walk rather than meet in their office, they oftentimes look at me like I'm crazy. Until that is, we actually go...
In these times when we can so easily be drawn into a focus on the near term, to the "inconceivable" events on Brexit or other matters, do remember that even Brexit will come to an end. Inconceivable As I write this, yet another episode in the Brexit drama has just...
"...the more we care for our colleagues, the better the Timpson key-cutting and shoe-repair business seems to perform. Over the past five years, we have opened 1,000 new shops, sales and profits have doubled" James Timpson of Timpson, in the Sunday Times August 25,...
Being an editor can give us more awareness in our lives. Chip Conley, in his focus upon Modern Elder, talks about how in the first half of our lives we focus on accumulating, but in the second half, we can turn our focus to editing. From a place of awareness, we...
Ockham's Razor is one of my favourite coaching tools dates back to the 13th century yet feels incredibly applicable to the world we live in today. "All things being equal, the simplest solution tends to be the best one" I've been coaching for many years and am often...
Helping customers find simplicity in a complex world. Inspiration Yesterday I had the privilege of watching an audience with the author Matt Haig at the Edinburgh Book Festival. His writing style is often simple and concise. When asked about this, he noted...
Encouraging CEOs and other business leaders to shift focus from Profit to Purpose, People, Planet. "Yes, being all about Purpose, People and Planet is all very well, but CEOs only care about profits!" When talking to people about the new triple bottom line and putting...
Thanks to Dan Pink for sharing an article on Twitter that hits a topic I love to address. A while ago I wrote: "What do you do?", in which I noted: "..when you meet people in the UK, the first question they always ask is “what do you do?”. I know this is relatively...
Businesses have cultures culture whatever you do. It’s a bi-product of procedures, processes and behaviours. A great "how-to" on building cultures. My absolute favourite shoes, my "172s" from Seven Feet Apart. Today is a guest post from Matt Bagwell, co-founder of...
Clarity comes from focus. “A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.” ~Henry David Thoreau As a sounding board to leaders and leadership teams, frequently I support them with clarity leading to alignment, from where they can...