Thoughts

    Yesterday morning I arrived back in Wellington after a sleep-deprived, red-eye flight from Perth. As the kids and I meandered our way into the airport’s multi-story car park, a lady kindly held the lift door open for us so we could jump in, rather than wait for the next one. She and I […]

  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 […]

    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?   […]

Before I take off for a few weeks’ break, here are three books I think you’ll enjoy reading or listening to over the summer (or winter if you’re in the northern hemisphere). Enjoy!   Four Thousand Weeks: Time and How to Use It If you’re looking to get some perspective on life, this book won’t […]

So here we are. It’s December. You made it. How are you doing? If you’re like most people I’ve been speaking with lately, you’re ready for a break.   Last week, I wrote about the importance of starting to think how you want 2022 to be now, and showed you how I go about starting […]