I was fascinated watching my seven year old grandson paint a picture using watercolours that had been bought for the holidays. He had decided to paint a yacht – a majestic vessel that was cutting through the choppy sea. He chose colours for every part of the boat, maybe colours that I wouldn’t have chosen…
From the earliest histories of populations and cultures, walls have been built not only to support roof structures and other forms of shelter, but also, and perhaps primarily, as a form of defence – to keep marauding tribes and other instruments of hostility out. Walled cities were the norm and eventually walls were used as…
“An ant on its feet can do more than an elephant lying down” (African Proverb) One of the internal challenges that many managers face is the false assumption that they have been employed to be “answer-givers”, “solution-finders” or “problem-solvers”. For some, this assumption and its practice give them a sense of value or “reason for…
Many politicians do it and some managers do it – they mess with your mind. It’s a wicked game, sometimes called manipulation, coercion or exploitation. “Manipulation”, as a word used in physiotherapy treatment, speaks to kneading, flexing and massage. It has an absolutely positive intent in mind – removal of pain and ultimate healing as…
They know what needs to be done. They are typically good at doing it, as they have had many years of practice. They are usually quite faithful. They work hard, albeit that many are somewhat tired. Many of them care deeply about the business brand and the company values. Some have become really successful and…
Most employees have it – a desire to express themselves, creativity, ingenuity, an innovative spirit, loyalty, the ability to work with other team members, resilience, energy, ideas, etc. – but much depends on the environment in which these employees work if they are to live out their innate abilities and express their skills. “Being skilled”…
“A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better” (Jim Rohn) Disinterested managers, disempowered environments and a lack of opportunity to apply new learnings are some of the most common mitigating factors that prevent training from…
“Smart leaders today engage with employees in a way that resembles an ordinary person-to-person conversation more than it does a series of commands from on high, instilling a conversational sensibility throughout their organisations” (Groysberg & Slind) Achieving organisational alignment during change interventions – across new processes, systems, procedures and the application of human and other…
Shareholder greed and subsequently the “do or die” need for the CEO to perform year on year has become a pervasive illness in big corporates since the 1980’s. Robert Reich, Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, noted: “In the 1980’s, corporate raiders began mounting unfriendly take-overs of companies that could deliver higher returns…
