Thoughts

Do you ever get to the end of a week, a month, a year, in a kind of bedazzled state, and wondering if you’ve actually achieved anything for your efforts?   Last week, a client said to me “my work here is finishing. It’s been an amazing ride, but I’m not sure if I’ve achieved […]

  In Tim Ferris’ latest podcast episode, he interviews bestselling author and journalist A.J. Jacobs, who’s just published a book about the history of puzzles. I heard A.J. share this offhand idea that a good puzzle can be described in three stages: the question, the journey and the exclamation.   The question: What’s the answer? […]

  We live in an age of velocity of thought and action. Our brains process more in a month than our ancestors did in their lifetimes.   Sound familiar? You could be forgiven for thinking that it’s a modern day quote. In fact, it comes from a 19th century medical practitioner.   Hurried. We’ve been […]

I moved to New Zealand almost 15 years ago. I found myself in a new country, with no track record, no real understanding of the business or cultural landscape, and no real idea of where to begin. I was starting afresh. It was a little lonely, and more than a little scary.   Back then, […]

During this past week, I was on the receiving end of a couple of pieces of pretty challenging feedback. You know, the kind that makes you squirm in your boots and has you feeling downright uncomfortable. In fact, it rocked me. In both cases, it was good friends letting me know about things that I […]

    Last week’s post on Speed vs. Endurance generated a lot of feedback. In particular, I was struck by one reader’s comments on the challenge leaders face in playing the long game. I’ve reproduced his comments, with permission, in full below:   The tortoise and hare analogy is easy to apply when we are […]

“The prize doesn’t go to the fastest guy. It goes to the guy who slows down the least.”  – Rich Roll   I heard this quote from ultramarathon runner and podcaster Rich Roll the other day. It stopped me in my tracks because I’d never thought about it in quite that way before. The idea that in a […]

I’ve just finished a conversation with a volunteer cricket scorer. He’s been following the game for 30 years and has noticed how the popularity of different forms of the game have changed during this time.   This got my attention as my uncle played cricket for Australia for most of the 1960s. Back then, the […]

  When it comes to decisions, it often pays to listen to your state over your story.   When your head says ‘I should keep working’, and your gut says ‘go for a walk’, then go for a walk.   When your head says ‘I have to keep showing up to these useless meetings’, and […]

Here we are at the beginning of February. After the break, is your world starting to speed up again? I bumped into a client last week who told me that the calm and zen she’d experienced over the holiday period had evaporated within 40 minutes of her first day back at work. Sound familiar?   […]