Thoughts

Time isn’t the main thing. It’s the only thing. Miles Davis   Last week I posted a poll on LinkedIn asking the question ‘Leading into the end of the year, how full is your tank?’ As of the time of writing, here are the preliminary results:       That’s two-thirds of people either getting […]

‘Crazy-busy’ is a great armour, it’s a great way for numbing. What a lot of us do is that we stay so busy, and so out in front of our life, that the truth of how we’re feeling and what we really need can’t catch up with us. Brene Brown   Why don’t we feel […]

  Back in my mid-20’s, I was on an 11-day Outward Bound course at the top end of New Zealand’s South Island. A few days into it, our group of 12 strangers found ourselves tasked with a two-day cross-country navigation exercise through some pretty rugged terrain.   After lunch on the first day, with us […]

    If you’re like me, you might sometimes feel a little overwhelmed when you think about the state of the world. It’s kind of terrifying if you think too much about it.   And if you’re like me, you care about contributing to making the world a better place. But how much can one […]

  Imagine two versions of a boss. One is busy all day, bordering on frantic, moving at speed from one thing to the next. With seemingly no time to stop, they’re hard to pin down. When you do get to talk, it’s a quick transaction. No time for in-depth conversation.   The other is different. […]

  The picture above is a word cloud of my clients’ and colleagues’ responses to this question: “What’s the first thing you think of when you think of me?”      I have it on my wall in my office and I get to see it every day. When I’m having a tough day, just […]

  Busy is not a badge to wear with pride. Yet we seem to want to show it to anyone who asks. How’s it going? Oh really busy. How about you? Yep, busy as.   I was running a workshop last week about how to create unhurriedly productive team cultures. The people in the group […]

    I’ve been reflecting on the idea of ‘enough’.   I was first inspired by the idea of enough by the British philosopher, writer and management guru Charles Handy. Both he and his wife, a photographer, were self-employed. At the beginning of every year they would sit down and work out what enough was […]

  We all need an unhurried project.   Right now, one of my unhurried projects is making a guitar as a gift for my son’s 21st birthday. I can’t rush it. It takes patience and focus. When I’m working on it, I’m completely immersed. Time dissolves. I breathe out. And I get immense satisfaction from […]

  Being laid low with Covid over the past week has meant I’ve had to reschedule a lot of appointments. I was due to host a housewarming party. I had a bunch of client commitments in the calendar. And then I was supposed to be flying to Perth to visit family for the first time […]