We no longer live in a world where everyone feels the need to always strive for perfection. As a leader and self-diagnosed perfectionist this poses some big challenges. There are no perfect decisions; more time, does not equal more right. In fact, the sooner you decide, the sooner you move forward and learn. There is … More Living with slightly embarrassing
“I hate the word failure and wish it never existed,” I stated as strongly as I could as we reflected on some past experiences. I shared that the problem with failure is its opposite seems to be pass. The problem with pass is it has a strong mental connection to school or uni, where you … More Re-framing Failure
“You don’t understand,” I said partly in jest, “It has nothing to do with their fear of change. It’s ALL my own insecurities.” As soon as I heard the words leave my mouth, even though I was meaning them to bring humour, I knew they were true. I was trying to work out what my … More Letting Go
Over the last couple of years I have met quite a number of incredibly intelligent uni students who want to make a positive dent in the world. Many are passionate about social enterprise and using business to change the world. As their degrees come to an end and it’s time for them to move to … More Its never the right time.
Not far from where I live is this sign. It’s a weird sign because it curves to the right with a big arrow showing that the main road heads that way, and off to the left is a little side road. I know it is only a warning sign; however the interesting thing about the … More Are you heading for a dead-end?
It was a bleak, grey morning, and my 14-year-old daughter sat on the couch in her pyjamas, really struggling to get started on a massive homework project that she had. It was as though the burden of the project hung over her as dark as the clouds outside. The project seemed daunting and unachievable. After … More Stuck! – Do you really know the next step?
Recently, one of our business divisions was audited by an external auditor, and the comment was made that a particular process is the best that she’s seen in the industry. The irony is that these processes came about because we failed, and by that I mean failed significantly, three or four years ago. This got … More Often ‘Being the Best’ first requires failure
Often, as I’m walking or running along the streets, I will notice rental properties. Not because they have a sign on them saying they are rental, but because of the way that the lawns are kept and the gardens are over grown. The residents just seem to park their cars wherever they might like, be … More Why Accountability is more like Renting than Owning.
I heard the disappointment in their voices. I saw it in their body language. Black Gold had taken the prize that they just poured 48 hours of their lives in to winning. They hadn’t won and I completely understand their frustration … I too hate losing. Last night I had the privilege of crashing the … More 4 ways to succeed after when you feel like you have failed.
You wouldn’t wear Pajamas to an interview or shorts to a formal dinner. That’s because we know that how we dress impacts how people see us, and we like them to see us at our best. The truth is, what we wear has more impact on us, than it does on those around us. What … More Are you dressing for success?
I failed at school. The best mark I received was an internally assessed A1 in School Cert science. It belonged to another student called Andrew Nichol and was whisked away as quickly as it arrived. I left school at 17 barely able to read, average at the more complex forms of maths, but strangely very … More Why you should believe in failures like me.
Moments earlier we had been given five minutes to prepare our business idea and now I found myself pitching, to one of the 126 entrepreneurs gathered from around the world. They’d pitch their idea, I’d pitch mine and we would agree how we would split 7 points. You take 2, I’ll take 5 (not that … More 4 key lessons after attending the Entrepreneur Development Program (EDP) at MIT in Boston.
Those of you who have travelled through parts of Asian know how mad, crazy, radical their driving can be. If you haven’t, watch this short video of a normal intersection at 6:30 at night. At first we described it as ‘Organised Chaos’ and soon realised that it was best described as “Disorganised Order”. Everyone headed were they needed … More 2 lessons about leadership I gleaned while being driven through Phnom Penh.
One of the funny things about returning from annual leave is that I often have this utopic desire to live a more purposeful life. I guess the relaxation, uninterrupted time with family and the space to think, lead me to want to create more of those spaces in my normal life. Recently after returning from … More Creating a personal strategy to help you achieve your dream and goals.
We all have expectations of the people around us. We have an expectation that our spouse will do certain things. We have expectations on our kids, our bosses, our staff and even expectations on people we barely know. And when people don’t live up to our expectations we get annoyed, frustrated and even angry. This … More Unspoken Expectations
People Matter ∴ Do Good 