Consistent actions and behaviours become a rhythm in relationships. It allows people to know where they stand. At the core of all relationships sits one thing. Maintain it, nurture it, deepen it and you will deepen the strength of the relationship. Lose it, even for a...
Dictum Meum Pactum is written on the London Stock Exchange Coat of Arms. This translates to "My word is my bond". London Stock Exchange - Coat of Arms The London Stock Exchange, dating back to 1801, was granted their coat of arms, above, in 1923. Dictum Meum Pactum....
There isn’t now sufficient transparency about why certain difficult decisions are made and with people really understanding how those decisions were reached. I think a lot of it is driven by fear, without an appreciation that transparency is actually a root to better...
A spiral of openness and trust spiral, where both elements feed each other to higher and higher heights. Trust is at the core of all relationships. My underlying theme on this site I call #OpenLeadership, as being Open is at the heart of what I see as the new paradigm...
"I think the best entrepreneurs are Vulnerable Visionaries. Its a combination of being vulnerable and having confidence." ~ Chip Conley I have referenced Chip Conley in my daily posts multiple times, with his concept of "Vulnerable Visionary" one learning I repeatedly...
A recent conversation about Kaizen prompts me to highlight what it truly takes for it to work for you and your business. "Kaizen" is the Japanese word for Improvement. In industry, it is used to mean continuous improvement. It was pioneered by Toyota, but, as business...
Prior to my focus over the last decade on leadership and so people, I spent nearly twenty years focussed on numbers and building value in businesses. A key part of that is assessing the hidden assets in a business, the stuff that isn't always apparent in the financial...
This week I wrote a short post called "Reputation Hygiene". It was about simple things like being on time for meetings. Now, after reading this, in a recent conversation someone made an off the cuff remark about having read my post and that it had them thinking about...
Recently I was about to have a first meeting with someone. They were late. When they arrived, they gave no reason. Thought of the term "reputation hygiene", as with only a little focus and attention our reputation is maintained and built upon, yet if we allow it to be...
Bruce Cartwright, Chief Executive, ICAS Last year I had the opportunity to meet and talk to Bruce Cartwright shortly after he took the reins as Chief Executive of ICAS. This week, as I find myself writing about what it takes for successful Collaborative Leadership,...
Team : "a group of disagreeable people aligned around a common intention" Travis Carson, Market Force Global This week I have been writing around Collaborative Leadership, with "Golf Trips and Collaborative Leadership" and "To lead, do these three things". My mind now...
Image by Hugh McLeod, Gaping Void Yesterday I wrote: "Golf Trips and Collaborative Leadership" and went into detail about both the value of Collaborative Leadership and what it takes, at Source, to be a collaborative and open leader (and why golf trips are not a...
The V&A Museum opened in Dundee in 2018, design by Kengo Kuma Today am inspired by a conversation this week about brave thinking and big ambitions. I love to work with brave leaders. One of the four characteristics of people who choose to work with me (see the...
A few days ago I shared learnings from Mike Driver in : "Where Entrepreneurialism comes from". Basically Mike said that it can't be taught: "“..entrepreneurialism can’t be taught and the library full of books attempting to teach it are a waste of time. Short of...
"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them" This is the title I gave to a recent post in which I referenced three leadership examples, including a quote from James Timpson of the family-owned UK firm of the same name: "The easiest way to...
Slow down to speed up later This was the title of a post I wrote some time ago, and ad adage I use often. Today a concise thought around the power of slowing down to build trust and how that can then accelerate decision-making and action. I encourage the adage "slow...
Trust is at the heart of every relationship in life, personal and professional. How do we build trust? Sometimes we need to take a lot of time and patience to build trust, we analyse, assess, look for evidence and proof points. Sometimes, though, perhaps Hemingway's...
"I know in times like this you feel it doesn’t make a difference but keep showing up because hope is an action." ~ Florence Welch Sometimes a single line can move one person or many. Last week I joined 20,000 or so people to see Florence and the Machine perform at the...
Be brave enough to keep it simple. How can you be brave enough to get your entire strategy down to a few words. Sharing my…
I had lunch recently with an investor who expressed frustration about founders of startups and scale-ups. They are not a fund partner, nor VC or from the Private Equity world. No, they actually built a business of value and lived it for the whole journey through to an...
This week I went to the cinema in the UK with my oldest son. During the previews, there was one for the new movie "Bohemian Rhapsody", a biopic about the amazing Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen. As a teenager I saw Queen live twice, then along with basically the...
image from a SlideShare deck from OneFish TwoFish called "How to communicate values without telling people to 'live the values' " So, yesterday I wrote: "Be rid of Brilliant Jerks". I didn't say "Fire your Brilliant Jerks". So, how can you be rid of brilliant jerks...
"A leader is someone others choose to follow" ~ (me) People follow leaders who are "keepers of the vision" and who create and maintain a space where people feel inspired and also stretched to be their best to be part of achieving that vision. What if, however, a...
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...
"Risk-taking, trust, and serendipity are key ingredients of joy. Without risk, nothing new ever happens. Without trust, fear creeps in. Without serendipity, there are no surprises." ~ Rita Golden Gelman A friend shared this with me the other day. I love it ! Allow me...
Is transparency a universal good, or perhaps insistence on transparency indicates a lack of trust ?
Peter Drucker famously said : "Culture eats strategy for breakfast", though I prefer the way Nilofer Merchant put it in this HBR article a few years ago: "Culture Trumps Strategy, Every Time" A core element of Culture is Trust, how we behave around each other, how far...
Radical Transparency, Radical Candor, Emotional Equations and musing on LOVE as a core value in business. @chiconley @kimballScott @raydalio
Men, be the change, #MentorHer. Women, Lean In, ask for what you need. I’ve walked this walk, talk to me, I’m hear to help.
Leaders believe in their people, give someone the gift of believing in them
Moments of Truth. Do you Trust people in your business to create them?
You may say what you think, but do you care about the person you’re saying it to?
In 2009, Netflix published the now famous "Culture Deck", 120 slides, a manifesto for the revolutionary culture created at Netflix. Sheryl Sandberg famously referred to this deck as "the most important document ever to come out of the valley". It is still available...
Trust your clients if you want them to trust you. Here is Pindrop’s story
This week I met with a top executive coach who, in an earlier phase of life, was a famous sporting leader. In that phase of life, one example of their leadership created a famous day that will live on for many years. That moment was created by an example of leadership...