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A small act of bravery (and an example of high-performance teams)
Not long ago I had a conversation with a client about something that happened in a leadership team meeting. A small (but important) act of bravery on their part, and something I think all leaders should be aware of. — Setting the scene As part of my clients’ monthly leadership team meeting, detailed data is…
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‘I’ll happily recommend you!’ How to make recommendations and introductions actually happen.
A common theme both when I ran agencies and when speaking to my current clients is when a contact enthusiastically says ‘I’ll happily recommend you’ or words to that effect. Weeks and months then pass by and no further introductions are made. Too much time has passed to bring it up again and you’re kicking…
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Watch: 8 lessons on building a company people enjoy working for
In just five minutes, Patty McCord, the iconic former chief talent officer at Netflix, shares the key insights that led her to toss the handbook out the window. It’s inspiring and absolutely spot on. Well worth a watch. I particularly like the lesson about being “great companies to be from”.
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Want the best schools in Europe? Try Estonia
A great article from The Times on the way children are being taught in Estonia. Learning robotics from the age of seven and with teachers using virtual reality to bring geography, chemistry, history and language classes to life – the country is turning pupils into active participants in their education rather than passive recipients of facts. —…
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Cybercriminals now pick on people their own size — you
A useful reminder from Augi Woo – who runs a great IT business supporting businesses – noting that cyber criminals are targeting small business (like yours). No scaremongering, but worth considering for your systems into 2022. — Unfortunately, when it comes to cyber threats, no company is safe now — including your average run-of-the-mill small…
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Do you secretly want a member of your team to fail? Self reflection.
I’ve worked with owners and founders for a long time, and during that time I’ve found one thing is almost always true, and that is founders find it incredibly difficult to let go. It’s unsurprising, given that the business they’ve built or are building is their metaphorical baby, but as I mentioned in a previous…
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Best of… Rambling On 2021
Would it be Christmas without a ‘best of’? For the last 12 months, I’ve demolished countless articles and books, I’ve saved them, added them to Trello boards, analysed and drafted (and then re drafted) at least three articles a week for my weekly Rambling On email. Conversations and ideas have come from very clever business…
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Overton Window – a reminder to stay curious
I read a tweet the other day that mentioned Overton Window. Not only a great name for a Eton school leaver, an Overton Window describes how public opinion is nudged along a spectrum so that something unthinkable becomes, at the very least, up for discussion. I know readers of my weekly Rambling On email are…
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Changing your relationship with your ‘to do’ list – a simple idea
There will always be too much to do. How do you feel when you read that? Fear? Anxiety? Despair? When confronted with the truth that it’s unlikely you’ll ever ‘complete’ everything you believe needs to get done – there’s a tendency to reproach yourself or question your abilities to be effective. In reality, there is…
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How to say ‘no’ and not feel guilty about it
In general, we all struggle at times to say no. Saying ‘no’ to our family, ‘no’ to our friends, ‘no’ to our boss, clients or even just those people who are persistent or borderline pushy can be challenging, but inevitably, if we’re saying ‘yes’ when we really want to say ‘no’ – then we end…
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Simple ideas to boost your mood through helping others
Every now and then I feel compelled to include some content in the etc Playbook that is less work, more life (you can argue the two are one and the same but you get what I mean) and this staggeringly strong and simple idea from the clever and lovely people at The New Happy was one…
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Building an apprenticeship environment is key to unlocking continuous skills development
A manager asks a team member to prepare a presentation. The draft falls short of what’s needed, so the manager expresses her disappointment and offers feedback via email, then waits for her colleague’s second try. The next iteration still misses the mark; the manager, pressed for time and concerned that her team member will never…
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Thriving despite imposter syndrome
This article on Medium is part of a series of pieces looking at how accomplished leaders have thrived despite imposter syndrome. A condition often talked about and cited as extraordinarily debilitating, this Q&A with PPC Executive coach Gia Storms is an interesting and potentially more helpful take on it. Instead of seeing imposter syndrome as…
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You’re more likeable than you might think
A reassuring article if ever there was one, I liked this piece from Worklife on the BBC which considers that you might – actually – be more likeable than you think. Less tools and techniques, more conversation comfort blanket, if you’ve ever looked back on a chat with an acquaintance or colleague and found yourself…
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5 Reasons Your Employees Don’t Understand Your Company’s Vision
But what do we really want people to think of us? What do we actually do? Who are we trying to speak to? What’s our purpose… our aim? Hours spent humming and ha’ing over your mission statement and your elevator pitch, – meeting rooms stuffed full of your content teams, teeming with whiteboards… flip charts……
