Category Archive

… by clinging to the side of the pool. At some point, if you want to learn to swim, you are going to have to leave the side of the pool and remove the safety net of being able to reach out and grab the ladder. Sure, there are steps you need to take and knowledge you need to learn … Read More

The other day, I bought a new football supporter’s scarf which had the following written on the label – one size fits most. It is certainly the first time I have seen that used on a garment but sadly, one size fits most – or worse, one size fits all – seems to be an over-used philosophy in many organisations … Read More

Imagine. Give yourself the time and space to imagine. Use what if to your benefit. Often, we use what if as a negative – what if this doesn’t happen, what if it goes wrong, what if it breaks, etc. But using it as a positive changes your mindset dramatically – what if it DOES happen, what if it DOESN’T go … Read More

There is an old saying opportunity knocks but once – but does it even knock once? I go back to a time in the late 1980s when I had decided to leave teaching to try something different. I had done all of the “normal things” to find something – responded to job ads, spoken to members of my network, etc … Read More

I recently read about someone who had just completed 50 years of service for their company. 50 years! Wow! Well done, her. But, upon reflection, I wondered whether I should be impressed or concerned for her and the company she works for. Let’s take the positive approach and consider how much she has contributed to the organisation that she has … Read More

Many people use the words “change” and “transformation” interchangeably – as though they mean exactly the same thing. But they don’t mean the same thing … whilst certainly related, there is so much more to transformation than there is to change, even big change. Let’s compare dictionary definitions to start with and for, for no particular reason, I am using … Read More

Pet hate, right there. One of the great statements of change resistance is “yes, but the problem is…”. Every time someone puts up an idea for change, out come the hurdles, typically led by one of two phrases – either “yes, but the problem is …” or the other old chestnut “but that’s not the way we do things around … Read More

What proportion of your working week is consumed by creating reports, updates, responses to KPIs and other tasks of that kind? More importantly, what proportion of your working week is spent creating reports, updates and responses to KPIs that actually add value? Yes, we need to keep track of progress – but seriously, how many weekly, fortnightly and monthly reports … Read More

Most large corporate organisations have a Chief Risk Officer (CRO) – either someone with that title or someone who takes on responsibility for risk across the business. But I have a theory that we should rename them the Chief “No-Risk” Officer … In my experience, projects are worked and re-worked until most, if not all, of the risk is eliminated, … Read More

Closely related to the previous “really busy”, is the “tell me about it” movement. Colleague:  How are you?You:  Really busyColleague:  Tell me about it So, two things fall out of this. Firstly, “tell me about it” is seemingly loosely translated to “you think you’re busy … wait till I tell you how busy I am”. It seems that being “really busy” is now … Read More