To achieve success and longevity in your Executive life you will require a certain number of key “skills” that you need to be able to seamlessly pick up along the way. It’s not a long list – relatively short on substance as well as quantity in truth – but it is essential to get to … More Tales from the Vault: a definitive guide to nailing a presentation, and how not to.
Well, that’s that. In what has been quite simply the most unlikely 8 week period of my life, I, a hereto veteran and expert shirker of significant exertion, have successfully completed a full marathon. What’s more I ran all the way, and achieved a seemingly respectable time (as heralded by those in the know, which … More Once in a lifetime achievement – ☑️
If your gut instincts are well tuned in then you know pretty quickly when you’re being led by a wrongun. I can safely say my gut has recently been jolted into overdrive, and my big challenge is what the hell to do about it. I believe that there is a widely held public view that … More Rotten role : a sad tale of corporate incompetence
What on earth have I done? As I sit here I am less than a week away from committing to running a marathon. How did this happen? And more importantly what the hell am I going to do about it? The story goes something like this. Just over a year ago I went for a … More The follies of over exuberance: Marathon madness
Last week I was rudely introduced to a new level of data driven executive atrocity. A very thorough set of new age psychometric tests followed by a four hour – yes four hour – face to face interview with an ex lawyer. My fault entirely that the scale of the horror hit all at once. … More The Executive Assessment
I love sport. End of story. Playing it is great. Testing yourself. As an individual or as part of a team. There are stacks of important lessons that you learn by participating in the sporting arena that will stand you in great stead for improving your executive journey. But sport is about more than that. … More The bonhomie of crowds and what it can teach us
Finally the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be appearing. Regular readers (both of you) may have noticed that the tide of my thoughtful insights has flowed to less than a trickle in recent weeks. Also, the more perceptive of you (regular reader 2) may have noticed that the last blog I … More Lights and Tunnels
As I ponder my ongoing slightly bumpy “Road to Damascus” I can’t help but conclude that these days all the answers seem to revolve around blending. No single bold action or isolated development focus is enough any more. You need an active and curious mind to make sense of all the nonsense and to lead … More Bugs, Blenders and Bodily Betterment
I’ve spent my whole career trying not to get typecast and pigeonholed. I mean really, who on earth would want to be Ken Barlow? Successfully manoeuvring between streams has afforded me that ultimate luxury of variety throughout my career and life. And with variety you have more chance of staving off boredom. And by staving … More Tales from the Vault: Square pegs and round holes
Anticipation. After spending virtually my whole life being seduced by the mystical allure of the South Pacific, thanks to my mums fanatical fascination with the musical of the same name, there was always a risk that it would not live up to its billing. Hawaii, Phuket, Barry Island – all of these had suffered exactly … More Paradise Found
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