Sometimes it’s really tempting to be abrupt, demanding, and transactional. You see it in others and you’ve seen it get results. This is short term thinking. The extra effort you put in to build relationships, value input, and extend trust – that has long term rewards. It doesn’t always pay off, but with persistence and openness you’re going to build a crowd you want to … Continue reading Nice, but persistent
A good friend is looking to get back into going to the gym soon, but that’s not a fun way for me to get healthy. As I’m looking to run/walk another long challenge in July, I’m spending lots of time outdoors and bashing up and down steep hills to get fit. Not everyone’s cup of tea. We both want to be fitter and healthier, but … Continue reading Outcome vs activity focus
The more I’ve read about great people accomplishing great things, in their own words where possible, the clearer it is that they’ve made their share of mistakes. Not big political divide style mistakes where ideology is the judge of what’s right and wrong. Personally recognised mistakes, that honest self-accounting has shown up. It’s liberating for me, learning of these. If we show up wanting to … Continue reading Honest mistakes
I’m enjoying another great book about organisational leadership – Turn the Ship Around. Increasingly, I’m conscious that reading alone takes you only so far. You have to act on what you learn, to spend time with the lessons and thinking how you want to apply them to situation you want to influence. Reading and absorbing is a help, to really extract value you have to … Continue reading Exploring or mining
Bob McKinnon’s weekly blog spoke to me directly today, posting about Frustration. He quotes an article from Psychology Today – “The majority of anger and frustration in life, no matter what the situation, has at its basis one simple thought: It shouldn’t be this way.” But, it is this way. The article offers tips on what to do when you can although sometimes there isn’t much … Continue reading Shouldn’t be, but is – now what
I was listening to AFP’s podcast today with Laura Jane Grace, and they discussed picking up old half-written songs to finish them off. Succinctly – the magic that could’ve been is rarely to be found again. It’s a way in to finding more magic, but you can’t quite capture what was there at the time. This feels true to me if I try and finish … Continue reading Picking up drafts
This is true of other people’s behaviour and, of course, our own. Criticism might feel good, but has it improved the area of your concern? Work out how to do the hard things, to make progress for yourself and with others. Kindly, keep going. Continue reading Easy to criticise, hard to correct
There’s obvious benefit in automating error-prone steps, and the time saving is a clear win. To you. But not to the person who is threatened by automation. Not to the person who has time to do it manually and always has had. Eventually they’ll be swept away, but right now you can’t force their hand. However much of an improvement you can make, you have … Continue reading Marketing for techies
Interviewing candidates presents lessons for both sides of the table – regardless of the outcome. In a recent interview I was reminded of a Bear Bryant quote I often think of and could heed more in many areas of life: “It’s not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that’s important.” Train. Practice. Learn. Keep going. Continue reading The will to prepare
My Dad and I had a fractured relationship that we ran out of time to fix – I never really understood his thoughts and choices, and I still don’t fully. While running recently I was reflecting on why I feel the way I do, on the events, thought patterns, outcomes and potential futures that feed into my feelings. I joined some dots and recognised that … Continue reading Oh, perhaps they felt this way too
