Lead from any chair: While everyone thinks of changing the world, no one thinks of changing himself
The second instalment on ‘human skills’ of remaining six of the 12 tools examines how to make feelings, actions, communications and thinking productive and rewarding in work places. The heuristics below have helped me transform Feelings, Actions, Communication and Thinking (F.A.C.T.) in myself, my colleagues and the thousands of people...
Diversity of human skills: Making the pie bigger has better outcomes than arguing over who gets biggest share
All my professional life I’ve struggled with what are broadly referred to as human skills. Emotional by nature and rebellious by choice, it’s sometimes been extremely challenging for me to follow the sage advice “Be hard on the issues, but soft on the people.” Now, in perhaps one of the...
Language smooths over rough edges for honest feedback, creates culture businesses thrive on
Words matter, especially in a feedback conversation. Consider the impact of calling sushi “raw, dead fish”, or a colonoscopy…well, never mind. Keep language focused on effectiveness and avoid judgmental words such as good/bad and right/wrong. Even less-charged words such as like/don’t like and agree/disagree should be avoided. You might be...
Why turning feedback into the driver and fuel that power companies to better outcomes
This summer I was invited to Vienna to do a workshop on effectively giving and receiving feedback. The participants came from all over Europe, as well as Japan. But all of these human beings had one thing in common: They didn’t relish the thought of giving or receiving feedback. Why?...
Tyranny of the urgent: Working faster, doing more with less eliminates stone age habits in digital world
Albert Einstein has been widely quoted as saying “There are two things that are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity – and I’m not sure about the universe.” Like most people, I usually write this off as an amusing, sarcastic quip he made on a bad day. I mean, it...
Richard Branson shares what words keep him centred and motivated when he wakes up
The power of a word should never be underestimated. Reading a perfectly penned sentence in a book, a beautiful lyric in a song, or a motivational saying is sometimes all you need to find some creative spark. When Mary Lou Goehrung asked me what words keep me centred and motivated...
When fun rather than hammer and tongs, easily changes company behaviour for the better
For years I’ve been fascinated by something that Jim Collins labelled “catalytic mechanisms” in a 1999 Harvard Business Review article. The article, titled Turning Goals into Results: The Power of Catalytic Mechanisms, described how to powerfully influence people in organisations to change their behaviour – easily, permanently and nearly effortlessly....
New study establishes correlation between lack of ‘enough’ sleep and antisocial behaviour
It’s important to get enough sleep because lack of it is linked to so many health problems. Obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and motor accidents are all linked to insufficient sleep. There are also consequences for mental health, with poor sleep increasing the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and irritability and reducing...
Curtains coming down on Serena Williams’ illustrious tennis career that started in California
Serena Williams has revealed that she is planning to retire from tennis. The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion wrote an emotional article in Vogue where she said she was ‘evolving away from tennis’. The US Open later this month will likely be her final Grand Slam event, she said. “I’m...
When R-n-R music genre took the world by storm in 1960s, it also birthed exceptional guitarists
Choosing one virtuoso above another is incredibly tough, with everything from the Strat to the Les Paul, PRS Custom to the Parker Fly, power chords and tapping. Indeed, it was reported that the topic had prompted a number of intense debates. Although there were plenty of six-string slayers in the...
