I might be weird, but I have an imaginary statue in my mind that sort of looks like me. But instead of being made of Marble like some Greek or Roman adonis, it is made of adjectives and nouns all stacked up in the shape of me. It has helped me to describe myself, it has made me more confident, more powerful, and happier. You need one too.
I had been employed by the same employer for over 20 years. Within that time I fulfilled 10 different roles with various job descriptions; everything from a paid student to Chief Engineer, an aircraft technician to a fear of public speaking coach.
There has been one constant. I have always been on the cycle of incompetence and confidence.
Your prediction is probably wrong. Find out why before you start. There is a trend that has been around for a…
We have a problem in the modern world. There is an epidemic approaching one opinionated or offended response at a time. I think I know why.
I probably watch too much sport, I love playing it too. Whatever sport it is I’ll find something in it that appeals to me. Sport has given me so much. It has shown me so much about myself and, more importantly to leadership, the capacity of every type of human when they are in the right environment.
I’ve recently discussed some of the things I used to help me choose between two very good job options. I realised that conversations and gut-feel were not going to be enough. I needed some evidence to support a decision, so I turned to Excel and geeked up my pros and cons list.
I have a habit, and I’m here to let you know it is a good one. When I cross paths with someone who has a unique or experienced perspective that I really value, I ask them to be part of my Personal Advisory Board. When I was working out what important things I should consider about choosing a new job, I reached out to my Board.
How many times have you been in a meeting and someone pipes up and says, ‘Oh…. No, we can’t do that’? When you hear this, you are dealing with someone in the No Corridor. The most important thing you can learn how to do is fight against the No Corridor. The No Corridor is the killer of enthusiasm, productivity and creative culture. Just putting a name to it is oftentimes enough to defeat it.
In 2015, right around her sixth birthday, she lost a bucket load of weight. Her mother and I were really worried. She had unusually started wetting the bed through the night and was always drinking water. Her lips started to dry out and no amount of moisturiser would bring them to life. One week later we were in the hospital learning about Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). I learnt then that she was now going to be responsible for her health in a way that no six-year-old should ever have to worry about. I learnt that I had to be hard on my daughter. Every day she does some things well, some things poorly and despite all this, I am so proud of her.
I like going for runs, hanging out with friends, playing sport, and having really hot baths while watching Netflix. I like doing this even when I know that I should be spending time with my family. It often makes me feel selfish, but I’ve learned something very valuable, you need to be selfish if you want to be truly selfless
I have learned how to be selfless by being selfish.
