If ever there was a topic to bring out the anger in anyone it is the subject of meetings. Particularly ‘internal’ meetings. I haven’t met anyone who likes them or doesn’t have hundreds of stories about the waste of time most of them are. So why on earth do we have so many of them? […]
In Command and Out of Control
By June 13, 2012 2 Comments
If you want more time, a traditional ‘command and control’ management system just does not work. You won’t ever get free from the day-to-day minutiae if you feel the need to keep up to date on every move that is made. You won’t be able to sit on the beach if you have to sign […]
Learn to Say NO!
By June 6, 2012 Leave a Comment
This, for some people, is one of the hardest ideas to implement. The curse of the ‘nice’ person is the desire to please everyone. Sadly, like spoiling a child or a pet, being nice in every interaction is a short term approach that only leads to long term problems – which, in the end, are […]
Screw Marketing. Just be Remarkable!
By May 30, 2012 1 Comment
One of the most common questions I get asked is, ‘How can I improve my marketing?’ My answer (stolen from Seth Godin) is: ‘Be more remarkable’. Before you even think about marketing – look at what you’re taking to the market. Is it remarkable? That is: is it so surprisingly different that people will ‘remark’ […]
E-Mail – Free Yourself from Modern Day Slavery
By May 23, 2012 11 Comments
As a communication tool, the greatest strength of e-mail is that it allows you to do things in your own time. The greatest weakness of e-mail is that somewhere along the way, we have forgotten its greatest strength. Did you know it takes on average 65 seconds to regain your focus after dealing with an […]
The Myth of Multi-Tasking
By May 13, 2012 2 Comments
Nowadays, society applauds people who ‘multi-task’. We openly admire them and revere their ability to ‘spin plates’ and ‘juggle balls’. These people look very productive: the sort of dynamic people we should aspire to be. However, in terms of productivity, the evidence stacks up against these ‘busy-busy’ people. Which would you rather listen to? A […]
Work on the Important things that are not Urgent
By May 3, 2012 2 Comments
We all know how many hours there are in a day but making the most of them can seem like an eternal struggle. Probably none of us uses every minute of every day wisely, but a lot of us could possibly take back a few hours here and there if we gave ourselves the chance […]
The Fisherman & The Businessman
By April 18, 2012 4 Comments
One of my favourite books is The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris (Amazon link UK, US). I try to read it at least once a year to remind me to keep doing things my own way. Inside this book there is a nice little fable about a fisherman and a businessman which goes […]
The Ultimate Short Cut to an Ideal Life
By April 12, 2012 8 Comments
If you don’t know what you want out of life, then it is quite hard to set out to get it. The ultimate shortcut to your ideal life – getting to where you want to go in the shortest possible time – can only really be taken if you know where you want to get […]
Why My Dog is my Mentor?
By April 2, 2012 4 Comments
I am not ashamed to admit that my dog Henry is my mentor. When I state that he is a genius and one of my greatest role models, people tend to look at me as though I’m a lunatic. It gets even more disturbing when they find out that I mentor other people for a […]