Nov 29, 2020
Pessimist or Realistic Optimist?
Do you ever find yourself being referred to as an optimist and somehow that doesn’t sound like a compliment? Or you find yourself surrounded by pessimists and they tell [...]
Nov 16, 2020
What does it mean to deliver training and facilitate learning?
The two terms often imply some difference in style and approach. When we talk about delivering training, the emphasis is on the facilitator rather than the [...]
Oct 26, 2020
Finally, technology proves the benefits of face-to-face interaction
In a fascinating article by Alex “Sandy” Pentland*, entitled Betting on People Power, he shows how research with “wearable computing” at M.I.T. has led to the [...]
Sep 09, 2020
How to improve your business writing
Business communication is the foundation upon which an organisation can build itself up, and it can be the reason the organisation falls. Within communication, business [...]
Feb 17, 2021
The problem with accepting constructive feedback
Why is it that we are rarely enthusiastic about constructive feedback? Even when it’s helpful! There are three areas that I’d like to consider around this [...]
Feb 10, 2021
Remember Me? In one way I hope not!
I had to go looking for my degrees the other day to substantiate something for our RTO (Registered Training Organisation) space. Despite my search, I couldn’t find [...]
Feb 05, 2021
A big flop that broke the rules and broke the records
Working on my method of opening any book at any page and blindly putting your finger on a word, I thought I may as well do it in a book that is all about ideas. I [...]
Jan 29, 2021
How can we re-habit Change?
I came across an interesting article by Phillipa Lally, in the Huffington Post (August 9, 2020), where she debunks the myth of habits taking 21 days to form. According [...]
Jan 27, 2021
Taking Responsibility for Your Own Performance
In my experience, I’ve noticed that people who do take responsibility for their own performance possess a number of significant characteristics. They tend to [...]
Jan 22, 2021
The importance of a break-even point in budgeting
Budgeting is important for individuals and for business as well. Simply put, a budget is a list of prospective income and expenditure for a given period. It helps you in [...]
Jan 20, 2021
All high performing work teams deliver these ten elements
For my post today I want to discuss the elements of a successful team. More broadly the first factor in a successful team is the diversity of skills and [...]
Dec 09, 2020
My mate Stevo said it was good and Norm just couldn’t wait his turn!
This blog is about team formation and effectiveness but it starts off at a barbeque we had a few weeks ago for some mates (and spouses) I went to uni with for my [...]
Dec 02, 2020
Embedding Organisational Values into Performance Management
Respect, integrity, excellence in service, openness...do these words resonate with you and your organisation? These types of words often appear in organisational [...]
Oct 28, 2020
What they don't tell you about becoming a manager
Why becoming a Manager can be so Challenging – What they Don’t Tell You! I recently came across a book by Aaron McDaniel called The Young Professional’s Guide to [...]
Oct 14, 2020
Courage? …I’m feeling quietly confident
Anyone that knows me well enough is aware of my passion for rugby, and it was heartening to see the Wallabies demolish the English in a preliminary pool match for two [...]
Sep 16, 2020
Understanding your customers with 6 questions
As salespeople we all have many opportunities to support our organisation’s business retention and growth strategies. One of the best ways to achieve this is to gain [...]
Sep 09, 2020
Leadership, Management and Feedback
Whenever I ask participants in the various management and leadership courses I run, what is the difference between leadership and management, invariably people on the [...]
Sep 02, 2020
Dinosaur or Mega-Soar
Dinosaur mentality or Mega-Soar? I read an article recently which showed how advantageous it is to the economy to keep employing older people, especially the over [...]
Aug 26, 2020
Guidelines for Effective Time Management
If you’re serious about effectively managing your time, just follow these simple guidelines and you will reap the benefits: Identify and break your bad/old [...]
Aug 19, 2020
5-steps to conducting quality feedback sessions
I will hopefully celebrate my 53rd birthday in a few weeks. Thirty eight of those years have been spent in workforces across seven countries. This also means I have [...]
Aug 12, 2020
How do you honk?
For anyone in a team, especially those in a Team Leader position, this is an oldie but a goldie! If you already know it, it is Lesson Four that I want to talk about in [...]
Jul 22, 2020
Extroverts versus Introverts; does it matter?
I just saw an interesting TED talk on Introverts and Extroverts presented by Susan Cain who, originally a finance lawyer and as an introvert herself, has written a book [...]
Jun 03, 2021
Who does what in managing change?
To ensure your strategic change initiatives have a greater chance of implementation and success, following some standard roles and guidelines may provide you with some [...]
Apr 22, 2021
The Moth: a bright idea that can help you influence better
In a recent training session I was conducting on Effective Influencing and Persuasion, one of the participants asked me if I could recommend a book on storytelling so [...]
Sep 03, 2020
The Silver Rule of Negotiation
It may be a scam but tourists in Cairo are told that the scents that are used in Parisienne perfumes come from the rare flowers of the desert and are extracted in Egypt [...]
