More often than I’d like, I don’t immediately have an answer when someone is looking for help. Actually, this turns out to be a help in itself. I listen, actively. I try to re-frame the problem if appropriate, gaining clarity on the key points and cutting through any noise. Very often, this is enough. The conversation has been the help and we both go away … Continue reading What do I have to offer
There are two routes to where I used to park for the office, and with kids back in school they’re both now a crawl through traffic. Parking just a minute’s walk away from the usual spot affords a different route. One that doesn’t involve a queue. I looked at a map, then walked the neighbourhood a little – to be sure I could use a … Continue reading 10x parking win
I liked this thought, stumbled across in a YouTube comment: “I pretend in my mind that […] this is more of a performance review.” Being a successful candidate is more than that, though I like the mindset. If you can do the job well, remember that. The interview is merely an opportunity to explain this, not a grilling to be feared. If you’d be confident … Continue reading Interview or performance review
A lot of meetings I get asked to are now called catch-ups, but they do have a clear aim for the person asking to catch up. That’s not a catch up, that’s a meeting with an agenda. Sharing the aim allows forethought, preparation and prioritisation. Not sharing keeps my brain guessing, when it could be better focused. It can be right to prioritise a mere … Continue reading Catching up – on what exactly
I’m reading a book by about the Virgin Group by Richard Branson at the minute, which paints an understandably positive picture. Yesterday I stumbled across a about Richard Branson specifically, written by an investigative journalist who gives a relentlessly negative account. Neither are fully accurate, of course. The contrast reminded me how hard it is to find objective truth. Especially when there’s something riding on … Continue reading Who has the virginal truth
Is it another task-oriented meeting that’s necessary, or does the community need time just to bond? To bond a community what relationships need to be built first? To get things done, what’s the best balance of bridge building and agenda items? Continue reading What meetings do you need
If we’re operating anywhere near our full potential then at some point a mistake or failure is inevitable. How will you approach that? Hesitantly, limiting personal growth? Idealistically, risking a brittle facade? Flexibly, building resilience? Wanting to grow and acknowledging the inevitable, what’s the best way to prepare yourself? Continue reading Fear of failure
I didn’t feel I had the energy or the time to do some rearranging of things after work, and before going home. Recognising how strongly I wanted to make progress though, I told myself I’d do just one pomodoro. So I made a commitment of only 25 minutes and got started, actually wrapping up nearly an hour and half later. Taking a small step is … Continue reading One tomato, two tomato
Simply put, there isn’t enough time. I could spend forever planning the things I’d like to do – much better to just get on and do at least some of them. Eight hours in familiar hills beats two weeks of prevaricating about which new hills to walk. Breakfast in almost any cafe satisfies more than reading all the reviews within a half hour’s drive of … Continue reading All the things I’d like to do
When I picture myself at eighty, reflecting on life, I know I want to have helped people. Right now it doesn’t feel like I get to do that enough – a source of some frustration for me. This afternoon, I spent an hour composing an email to someone I might never meet again. They’ve been through a tough experience and I hope I’ve shared some … Continue reading Time to make a difference
