I love IKEA. I don’t like shopping, but I love IKEA. For me, the most attractive thing about the Swedish furniture and home accessories chain is its focus on simplicity. I did a presentation today to the Managers and Supervisor’s of IKEA’s Customer Support Centre at its national HQ in Tempe, Sydney. I arrived …
It’s become customary that when someone is asked how they are, the answer comes back something like, “flat out, busy as, out of control” or, as a client recently said to me “I’m as busy as a one legged man in an butt kicking competition”! It seems like it’s a badge of honour to admit …
“I’d be a better leader if I just had more time” I have worked with thousands of aspiring leaders; managers that want to be more influential, but don’t have the time to be. It’s not as if it’s not important to them, it’s just that everything else is getting in the way and they simply …
Praise and recognition cost nothing, but are the keys to productive relationships and good leading. There is strong research that shows that heartfelt praise and recognition for good work are far more powerful motivating factors than money! If you don’t believe me, imagine working in an environment where nothing you did was recognised and you …
In his book Essentialism, Greg McKeown encourages us to discern ‘the essential few from the trivial many’. He recommends focusing only on essential tasks, those things that make the highest value contribution to achieving our vision or purpose. (By the way, its a great read / listen. I highly recommend it). In order to make …
Read / Listen Audio book sales are growing at 40% per year. They are a great way to learn and grow productively in 2017. Get a free 30 day trial of Audible here. It’s an app that you listen to audio books on. BONUS TIP: Essentialism by Greg McKeown is the best book I’ve listened to …
Many don’t believe me when I tell them that we should spend 20% of our time planning. “Sounds ridiculously high”, is what they tell me. Well, just think of how productive 48 minutes in an hour would be if you spent the first 12 minutes doing nothing but planning? If you were working on a …
“So, Greg – Mr Leadership Guy, what can we all learn from the next LEADER of the free world?” I have been dreading writing this blog. I almost wimped out. I am sweating and uncomfortable as I sit writing it. I don’t have any clear thoughts or lessons or objectives for this blog. I am …
The Latin word for new is nova, you know, as in innovation. So, to innovate means to do something new. Doing something new means stopping doing the old. Stopping doing something means changing. Change is one of the most challenging concepts that organisations face. Effective change only comes about when leaders drive it. You simply …
A recent survey of leaders that I am working with revealed two important facts. 1. They are time poor. 2. They have trouble letting go. Trying to do everything, in turn, leaves them with less time and they end up feeling even more frustrated and inadequate as leaders. Effective delegation is, almost universally in my …