Thoughts

Have you ever held a clear view on what to do about an issue, but you held back on sharing it because you thought you might be ridiculed? And later hear that very same view being later held up by the leaders as the right way to go?   Or maybe you’ve found yourself at […]

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’ve been going on about Unhurried Productivity for a while now. I thought you’d like to know why this topic is so important to me personally.   Back in the mid-90’s, I was a driven young 20-something professional. I was in my first real leadership role, as New Zealand National Manager for the international […]

The other day, a client of mine told me she had taken a 12-month fixed-term role on an executive leadership team. “It’s great. Because I’m fixed-term, rather than permanent, I’ve got real clarity of why I’m here, and what my priorities are for the next 12 months. I can just get on with it.”   […]

When I was in my early 20s, I saw the movie Dead Poets’ Society. It changed my life. ‘Seize the day’ became my mantra. From that point on, I determined that my life would be full of worthwhile, meaningful pursuits. I’d say yes to pretty much everything just to see what I could learn.   […]

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 […]