A note to young leaders. Are you being underestimated? Good. See it as a gift. As Rocky Balboa says to his son: “If you think you deserve better, then go out and get it. But you’ve got to be prepared to take the hits.” Most people aren’t prepared to take the hits – so they […]
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A note to young leaders. State your view, state it boldly – but always diplomatically. The late, great John Caldon – former Deputy MD at Macquarie – was a master of diplomacy. If, in the course of our business meetings, we met someone who expressed a view that was diametrically opposed to ours, John would […]
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A note to young leaders. Two unmistakable signs you are leading a high-performing team: When the team suffers a setback, all team members individually take it upon themselves to generate a breakthrough; and When some team members are consistently working back late, other team members voluntarily offer to assist in any way they can. In […]
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A note to young leaders. Relationships really matter. Of the millions of decisions we make in a lifetime, only about 50 or so are of any consequence. And in the pantheon of big decisions, only two take pride of place. The most important decision by far is your choice of life partner, and more particularly, […]
Note to self. Meetings should never be boring. Meetings are the place where major decisions are debated and decided. If a meeting is boring, then: the decisions are not major enough; or they are not major to me; or they are not being properly debated; or they are not being properly decided. Boredom is merely […]
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A note to young leaders. In conflict resolution – ignore the negative, respond only to the positive. In 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev installed missiles in Cuba, 90 miles from Florida and within striking distance of 80 million Americans. US President, John F Kennedy told him to remove the missiles, or else. As Soviet ships […]
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A note to young entrepreneurs. Lessons from my father. I once objected: “Dad, why are we looking at this deal? We don’t have the money to do it. It’s a waste of time.” I’ll never forget my father’s response because it has since defined my career: “Never worry about the money, son. Just make sure […]
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A note to young leaders. If you wish to determine your destiny, your first commandment is to “know thyself”. Otherwise you risk being manipulated by others less scrupulous. Your fears and desires are the strings by which you can be manipulated like a puppet. Are you afraid of failure, of losing a contract or of […]
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A note to young leaders. Give me consistency over genius, any day. Jerry Seinfeld is a case in point. A young comedian once asked Seinfeld if he had any tips for success. Here’s what Seinfeld said: “The way to be a better comic is to create better jokes and the way to create better jokes […]
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