Thoughts

You’re likely going to impact around 10,000 people in your life: that’s a given. The question is: “how do you want to impact?”

Too many people seek out stuff that actually doesn’t matter that much. And that seeking stops them from playing a bigger game.

  I’ve just got back from a week on the beach in Fiji. But wait – it’s not what you think! I went to plan and write my next book (ok, with a little surfing thrown in). I had a hugely productive week, and I’ve come away feeling pretty good about where I’ve got to. […]

Give your people permission to be curious. Release, reframe, and role-model.

  In my last post, we looked at the barriers to curiosity thriving at work.  Now, let’s have a look at what a ‘curious culture’ looks, sounds and feels like. When I look around and find organisations that have what I reckon are curious cultures, the one thing I notice is the energy in the […]

Want to make change happen with less effort and more impact? Do a stakeg map. Here’s how: Step 1. Map Who.  To start with, you’ll need an idea of the change you want to make happen. With this in mind, work out who your most important stakeholders are. Who are the ones who have something […]

  Want to get more traction with less friction? Here’s an idea that could be useful. Let’s start with a couple of pretty common scenarios: In a workshop this week, participants were discussing the challenge of making their next career move happen. I asked one of the participants what she thought she wanted in her next […]

Last week, I was reminded of the awesome, and underutilised power of leading with questions. A colleague and I spent two days together with a group of up-and-coming leaders. They’re an energised, talented group, hungry to learn and to make an impact on their organisation. A joy to work with. As facilitators, my colleague and I […]

I was in Bali in June last year, chasing some much-needed sun in the midst of the dark New Zealand winter. I took a surfboard with me, of course. Like about one million other people who had the same idea that I did. I’d never surfed in Bali before, so I didn’t really know what […]

The late novelist David Foster Wallace tells a wonderful story about ‘incuriosity’ in his commencement speech This Is Water: There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, “Morning, boys, how’s the water?” And the two young fish […]