Yelling Doesn’t Work
An oldie but still gold.
In the early 1960′s, when Tom Watson Jr. was CEO of IBM he discovered that one of his executives made a mistake costing the company $10 million. He called the man into his office asking him “Do you know why I called you here?” The man replied “I assume you’re going to fire me.”“Fire you?” Watson replied. “I spent $10 million educating you. I just want to be sure you learned the right ...
Quick productivity boost
Throw out your 10-page to-do list.
It’s daunting and overloads your working memory, which is energy intensive with a short bandwidth.
Instead, keep a shorter list for each day that you can tick off as you go. Maximum one page.
Make sure you have a few easy items (low hanging fruit) that you can accomplish easily for a quick win. If you find that you’re stuck or stalled, choose a small item to build back your momentum.
If you really have that many things to manage over time, ...
Brain fog
After a weekend of holiday eating and activities, I think it’s appropriate to tackle the Energises pillar of the SHAPES model — it represents managing the ability of your body and brain to operate in a peak performing state.
Since my knee surgery last July, I’ve maintained a healthy diet and exercise regime to minimise inflammation (pain) in my knee. I’ve reduced, and in most cases, eliminated, processed sugars, breads and other grains, and animal fats. I also keep really ...
Brain fog
After a weekend of holiday eating and activities, I think it’s appropriate to tackle the Energises pillar of the SHAPES model — it represents managing the ability of your body and brain to operate in a peak performing state.
Since my knee surgery last July, I’ve maintained a healthy diet and exercise regime to minimise inflammation (pain) in my knee. I’ve reduced, and in most cases, eliminated, processed sugars, breads and other grains, and animal fats. I also keep really ...
Assume Success
Here’s a quick tip on how you can be a more astute and successful leader (and person).
Whenever you set a goal or start a project, assume you’ll succeed. Then look for evidence – small and large – to prove you’re headed in the right direction.
The brain scans our environment five times per second picking up clues to tell it how to respond. If you prime your brain to notice evidence of success or failure that’s what you’ll see. You’ll then look for ...
Assume Success
Here’s a quick tip on how you can be a more astute and successful leader (and person).
Whenever you set a goal or start a project, assume you’ll succeed. Then look for evidence – small and large – to prove you’re headed in the right direction.
The brain scans our environment five times per second picking up clues to tell it how to respond. If you prime your brain to notice evidence of success or failure that’s what you’ll see. You’ll then look for ...
Brain Brushing
This was one of the most viewed blogs I’ve ever written so I thought it deserved a second run.
Daniel Siegel makes an excellent case for the benefits of mindfulness and integration.
For an organisational system to work at its best, there needs to be an open flow of energy and information promoting engagement, creativity and receptiveness. When there is this flow of energy and information between independent and integrated parts of the system, you have harmonic balance.
This is ...
A sum of small conversations
I’ve been speaking a lot about the power of conscious and unconscious communicatioins in driving people’s performance. The effect of small gestures and asides have a powerful impact on others that extends far beyond what you might think it possible. Recently though, I remembered my experience with a former manager and it brought home to me just how insidious those conversations can be, especially if coming from a leader, manager or someone in a position of authority.
Years ago in ...
Five Ways to be a Smart Leader
I feel a bit silly here. Since my book was published, I’ve been writing and speaking a lot about different aspects of leadership but still haven’t shared the actual model that was the framework for my whole book!
The SHAPES model shows the interrelated pillars of leadership excellence, inside a context for integrity that translates into success when action is taken. There are too many nuances for a single blog, but I’ll start with one element. Since it is intuitive to start at ...
