A note to young leaders. A lesson from my daughter. Last week, I was driving my daughter (Eva) to school when we received a call from her maternal grandfather (Dido). Dido excitedly wished Eva a happy tenth birthday and was effusive in his affections. Eva lapped it all up and we both thanked him profusely. […]
Read More… from A Valuable Lesson from My Daughter on Kindness
A note to young leaders. The other day I was having dinner with an aspiring young leader. He said: “I only want to work with people who are highly motivated.” “All people are highly motivated”, I replied. That raised his eyebrows. So I continued: “We are all born highly motivated. It’s our natural state. If […]
A note to business leaders. Here’s a good question to ask yourself: “What part of my business today was unforeseeable 10-years ago?” If the answer is “not much”, then you’re not being bold enough. You’ve become too risk averse. Life is inherently unpredictable. So if your life and/or business are largely predictable then you’re not […]
Read More… from Why Business Leaders Must Embrace Unpredictability for Growth
Note to self. The fastest way to grow as a human being is to stop complaining. No complaining about anything – big or small, accident or injury, bad luck or fate. I should accept everything as either necessary, a learning experience or something I’ve subconsciously permitted or provoked. The only way out is through. […]
Read More… from The Fastest Way to Grow: Stop Complaining and Embrace Growth
A note to young leaders. On the awesome power of pride and ownership. The late, great John Caldon – former Deputy MD of Macquarie Group – understood this principle and used it frequently. I would often be with John and colleagues brainstorming a solution when in summation John would declare: “I really like the ‘Adam […]
A note to young leaders. I was recently invited to address the employees of another company. Someone asked: “What’s one tip you can give us to enhance our performance?” “How many people here know the top three performers in the firm?” Almost every hand went up. “Ok, and how many of you have asked one […]
Read More… from A Key Tip for Young Leaders: Learn from Your Top Performers
Note to self. What if we could, for one day, borrow an angel’s eyes and see written above our heads the number of days we had left to live? What if we could also see the number of days we had left in which we could climb Machu Picchu? How would that change the way […]
Read More… from What If We Could See How Many Days We Have Left?
A note to young leaders. I catch up with one of my mentors once a month at 6.00am for a walk in Centennial Park. On one such occasion, we were discussing how I should approach a necessary business confrontation. Here’s what he told me: “Think of a Rugby scrum. That’s a great metaphor for a […]
Read More… from Crouch, Pause, Engage: A Mentor’s Guide to Mastering Confrontation
A note to young leaders. I recently sat next to Ian Thorpe at a dinner party. I asked him whether he ever resented the countless hours he spent swimming laps in training. His answer surprised me. “Not at all. I actually enjoyed practice more than the meet. I’m a technician and a perfectionist at heart […]
Read More… from Ian Thorpe’s Secret: Embracing Grit and Loving the Practice