John Maxwell – Ten things that define an environment for growth!
I’ve just been watching John Maxwell teaching on how to make 2011 a great year or as John puts it “your best year ever!” Whenever I read or hear any of John’s teaching I’m always inspired. He is great at capturing and expressing truth in really accessible and challenging ways. I’ve found his books really helpful over the years. I’ve even reviewed some of them on this blog (Book Review: Today Matters). The wonderful thing I find about...
Read MoreInvictus by William Ernest Henley
Out of the night that covers me,Black as the pit from pole to pole,I thank whatever gods may beFor my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstanceI have not winced nor cried aloud.Under the bludgeonings of chanceMy head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tearsLooms but the Horror of the shade,And yet the menace of the yearsFinds, and shall find me, unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate,How charged with punishments the scroll.I am the master of my fate:I am...
Read MorePolicies and procedures? Just hire monkeys!
While economies of scale may accomplish a financial benefit in the long term, all the policies and procedures that accompany them in reality just take the decision making authority away from the person with the best information, the most experience and a passionate stake in the outcomes and puts it in the hands of a bean counter; leaving ideas, innovation and useful growth to flounder in the dust of lost shared vision! Admittedly there are notable exceptions like Zappos, Nordstrom and W. L....
Read MoreWant better employees? Get out of their way!
In this great animated video, the best selling author Dan Pink delivers a talk at The RSA, about what really motivates people to perform. It seems that if you want to get the best out people, then money incentives are counter productive. The best thing to do is just get out of their way and let them do what they...
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The greatest leader in history?
I’ve been re-reading a book (Shackleton’s Way) that explores Sir Ernest Shackleton’s amazing and aptly named Endurance Expedition. Perhaps the greatest heroic failure in history. The Endurance expedition never made it’s goal. It barely even got started. It fell at the very first hurdle. The ship taking the expedition team to Antarctica got stuck in an ice floe, one day’s sail from the Antarctic continent and 1,200 miles from the nearest civilisation. The...
Read MoreBook Review: Obstacles Welcome by Ralph de la Vega
A great book, but definitely for the niche reader! This book starts with a great story about how one boy arrived in the US as a ten year old immigrant from Cuba and rose to be one of America’s corporate high achievers as CEO of AT&T Mobility. Ralph de la Vega charts the course of his life from a scared young boy arriving in Florida without his family to a successful and respected business leader, and along side this story, he unpacks how hard lessons and setbacks had a positive...
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Mission Statements that inspire (or not!)
Just read an article about mission statements that work, by Nancy Lublin in www.fastcompany.com. She gives some great examples of mission statements and some really poor offerings (some of which come from Dilberts Automatic Mission Statement Generator). You can easily spot the good ones from the bad, so no explanation needed, just the mission statements for your thoughts and comments: Our challenge is to assertively network economically sound methods of empowerment to that we may...
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All have dreams, some have vision, few act!
I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who has not had a dream of achieving something, going somewhere or generally doing something they had not yet done. It is part of the human DNA that we dream of things beyond ourselves! Unfortunately, most people never get further than dreaming. They spend their life in a permanent state of dreaming, hoping that one day luck will be on their side and they will ‘win the lottery’, ‘meet a handsome prince’ or ‘finally...
Read MoreBook Review: Fearless by Max Lucado
Fearless is a book that has been written for such a time as this when the world seems to be overwhelmed with fear and worry. In this, Max Lucado’s new book, he tackles a complex subject that is extremely relevant to us all, he breaks it down in to bite size chunks that are easy to digest and inspires courage and hope – it is such a compelling read it is difficult to put down. In his poetic and lyrical style Max covers topics such as fear of the future, fear of overwhelming challenges...
Read MoreBusiness planning without the confusion!
Writing a business plan always seems like a long, arduous and mind bending process. There are reams and reams of web pages written on the subject, along with shelves of books in old school libraries. Most of this is helpful, good and useful information. The trouble is there’s loads of it and knowing where to start can be a bit overwhelming. It needn’t be this way! You see, writing a business plan or any strategy document for an organisation consists of the answers to four very...
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