Lessons from my father. Sonatas are great, symphonies are better. Dad would often say: “Think of life and business as a symphony. You’ve got to know what instrument you are playing, when you should play it and when you should be silent.” Your role as leader is much like that of a conductor. You have […]
Read More… from Leadership Symphony: Conducting Teams for Harmonious Success
A note to young leaders. What’s one thing you wish you could change about yourself, and if it were to change, would accelerate your business success? Are you too tall, too short, too introvert, dyslexic, without a university degree, have a foreign accent? Now what if – instead of lamenting this one thing – you […]
Read More… from Your “Cindy Crawford Mole”: Turning Flaws into Business Strengths
A note to young leaders. We are all juggling lots of balls. Just about all of them are made of rubber – try not to drop them, but if you do, they will bounce back. But one ball is made of glass – and that’s your spouse and young kids. Never take your eyes off […]
Read More… from Juggling Life: Prioritizing What Truly Matters
A note to young leaders. Don’t let anyone steal your goat. As a teenager, I was lucky enough to be introduced to the works of a Hindu mystic called Yogananda (1880-1950). He is best known for his “Autobiography of a Yogi” (1946). Less known but far more interesting, are his recorded lectures. As a teenager, […]
Read More… from Don’t Let Anyone Steal Your Goat: Protecting Your Inner Peace
A note to young professionals. In defence of ego. Ego gets a bad wrap most of the time, and not without good reason. Excess ego can do lasting damage to the self-esteem of others. That said, ego is a raft. It’s essential for crossing the river but once you’ve reached the other side, you have […]
Read More… from In Defence of Ego: When Confidence Fuels Success
A note to young leaders. Here’s another valuable lesson I learnt from the late, great John R Caldon, former Deputy MD of Macquarie Group. When you speak, don’t pride yourself on sounding intelligent – pride yourself on being intelligible. Don’t use big words unless you strictly need to. Your aim should never be to impress […]
Read More… from Speak to Be Understood: A Leadership Lesson in Simplicity
Lessons from my father. Dad was a master at stress management and would often counsel: “Work as hard as you wish – hard work never killed anyone. It’s stress that kills you. The trick is to figure out a way to work hard, without stress.” Whenever I asked him how he managed stress, dad would […]
Read More… from Stress Management Lessons from Dad: Taking Instant Mental Holidays
A note to young leaders. Leadership requires you to accept more than your fair share of the blame in defeat; and requires you to give away more than your fair share of the credit in victory. Pat Cummins showed his class as captain last night when – in the euphoria immediately following Australia’s remarkable Ashes […]
A note to business owners. All businesses as they mature eventually come to recognise this immutable truth: To improve alignment and performance – hire fewer people, of higher calibre and pay them more. When it comes to people and talent – fewer people, more talent. […]