Full of New Year resolution? Good for you! To help you achieve your goals for 2019, I make no apology for dusting off this timely post. Watch out for 4 typical traps we can fall into when goal-setting – and what to do about them. Here’s to your success. It’s that time of year… Read more
It’s that time of year when ‘best of’ shortlists are published – ‘best hotel’, ‘best ad campaign’, ‘best sports personality’. Business books are no exception; and it’s gratifying for an author to see people on trains and tubes reading actual books, often hardback (did I tell you I’ve written two books? OK. Just checking). Books… Read more
Even though you may have left full-time education long ago, there’s something about this time of year that still gives us the urge to learn something new – it’s ‘Autumn Term’. The year has just four months to go, and yet we still can’t quite [insert skills or knowledge gap here]. This is not a… Read more
Most of us are aware of the need to plan ahead. We set personal goals on New Year’s Day (remember that?) In business we set objectives (KPIs, OKRs or whatever) for the year, quarter or month. At work we create charts for projects, showing what’s got to be done by whom and by when. We… Read more
Summer can be a good time to change a habit (and why wait for New Year?) Sun’s out, days are longer and we generally feel brighter. You might create a Big Project, or make some simple tweaks. One of a few that I’ve been doing is freshening up my podcast feed. I find podcasts a… Read more
How is 2017 going for you so far? Yes, we really are almost halfway there. Which means now is a great time to stop, think, take stock of how we got to here, what we’ve achieved, where we’re on/off course and steps we will take to achieve our goals for this year. My advice: find… Read more
The irony wasn’t lost on me that Chris Lewis’s ‘Too Fast to Think – how to reclaim your creativity in a hyper-connected work culture’ had been sitting on my desk for several weeks before I got to read it. I think it’s worth the wait, with some simple, practical tips and ideas for how we… Read more
Image by gustavofrazao (Gustavo Frazao) This month, I seem to be spending a lot of time helping people a) set their goals for the year and b) stay on track to getting them. Often I find that setting the goals is the easier bit – well, we all have dreams, right? But when we stop… Read more
Image by vectorlab (Pavlo Syvak) Ouch, that’s a tough one. If it’s any consolation, you’re not alone. Yes really, many of us (me included) have had a stinky review or two. Sending you a virtual hug now. Take a few deep breaths. Don’t do anything rash. Stop and think – and consider these prompts that… Read more
Ah, yes. The old ‘you need to speak up more in meetings’ edict. A comment that is often casually tossed towards someone who has: asked for feedback on their performance, dared to discuss their promotion prospects, asked for advice, discussed their appraisal – or all four. It’s not all that helpful is it? You… Read more
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