Click here if you’d like to see the video version of this blog. Years ago a client taught me a really valuable trick to massively improve communication. Close the loop. We were working together on a big project. This required frequent and detailed communication, mostly by email. I would often get an email reply from him with …
I hope you’ve had a great year and are looking forward to a well earned break. But before you sign off, let me ask you an important question. What decisions have you made about 2016 that will make it your best year ever? Maybe you haven’t thought about it yet and will when you get back …
Malcolm Turnbull wants more Australian businesses to risk failing. He said so in his ‘Ideas Boom’ announcement recently. Here’s why I mostly agree with him, and also, some advice on how to make sure you don’t fail. “Innovation is our future”, spouted the PM in his $1.1 billion policy announcement. What comes with innovation is …
You are walking through a graveyard and you see a headstone. You walk towards it and you see a name engraved on it. It’s the same name as you. Wow! What a coincidence. You notice that there is a date of birth. It’s the same as yours. You realise that you have died. What else …
Imagine the next time you had to make a big decision you simply used this philosophy to guide you. If it doesn’t feel like a ‘hell yes’ then it’s a no. For example, You advertise for a position on your team to be filled. You interview the best applicants. You aren’t impressed. They are OK …
Possibly the biggest story in Australian sport this year is about National Rugby League player, Jarryd Hayne, who has just been signed by the San Francisco 49ers to play professional football in the USA. Even if you are not a sports nut there are plenty of leadership lessons to learn from the man they call ‘The …
The thought of the dreaded annual performance review leaves many with cold sweats. There has been much celebration at the news that one of the world’s largest professional services companies, Accenture, will soon stop doing annual performance reviews with its 330,000 employees. Read more here. It is likely that many will follow suit. But before you …
Something that I see that holds a lot of leaders back is the inability or unwillingness to have a difficult conversation. Rarely does a problem get better if left alone. No one likes confrontation or awkward moments, but leaders have to ‘man up’ and have the difficult conversation without delay. Here’s how to do it. 1. …
The only constant in life is change. Leading is all about change, so if you want to be an effective leader, you need to be good at change. 1. Be the change you want to see in others. With thanks to Gandhi, we need to demonstrate to others that we are not above changing. Often leaders …
You might be surprised just where I get leadership insights from! Take for instance celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay. Here’s what I see when I look past the rudeness. 1. He is passionate. He cares about what he does. He wants to help people be more successful in their businesses. 2. He knows his stuff. He …