How much thought (and money) do you invest in looking presentable?

Assuming that you care about the impression you are creating, probably quite a bit.

It is important to look the part, to convey a positive image looking like you mean business. Read More

If you don’t play, you don’t learn, very well.

If you don’t learn, you don’t change, very well.

If you don’t change, tomorrow will be pretty much the same as today.

And today, will be pretty much the same as yesterday.

Which is pretty pointless, and very boring. Read More

Yin and yang. Agility and Rigidity.

Understand that you need both.

Rigidity is necessary when things are clear and decisions have been made.

Agility helps when the way forward is unclear.

If you applied agility to everything in your life you’d be a chaotic mess, and a fascinating spectacle! Read More

Regardless of the relationship you have with your critics, they can be your friends.

Indeed, they should be your best friends.

When someone is willing to risk offending you to give you some feedback you may not like, seize on the opportunity to learn.

Learning seldom comes with praise and agreement, it mainly arises with honest reflection on challenge and criticism. Read More

99% of people fail to influence the single most important stakeholder, at least consciously.

This one is easy to engage, available and potentially open-minded. Yet also the most tricky stakeholder to get on-side.

Who is this stakeholder? Read More

“If you don’t give me a crisis, I’m going to make one.”

These words, expressed with humour, ushering in my stint as a crisis manager.

What I had noticed is that if you wanted to get on, you either had to perform exceptionally well in your (highly valued) job, or squeeze through against the odds on big hairy-arsed problems. Read More

If you can hold a great conversation, you can influence.

Inability to strike up and maintain conversational flow puts you at a significant disadvantage.

Great conversationalists hold our attention. They make us feel good, valued, special. Drawing us out, encouraging us to share our thoughts and ideas. Read More

We always remember the quality of our bosses.

The good, the bad, and well, the downright ugly.

Some people experience a procession of bad bosses. Each one a variation on a theme.

Others seem to always land on their feet with great bosses, or at least, seem unaffected entirely by the quality of their line-manager.

The secret to getting an ideal boss? Read More

Enthusiasm in motion, is contagious.

Enthusiastic people can be:

• Interesting
• Entertaining
• Annoying
• Inspiring
• Hard work

One undeniable fact is that enthusiastic people cannot be ignored. Read More

In work, and in life, it is common to find people trampling all over your boundaries. Stomping through the flowers beds of your values, standards and tolerances.

When someone does that, you’d be pretty normal if you got angry (at least inwardly).

Why do people do this so often? Read More