What is charisma? Charisma means “special gift” in Greek. It is something that allows some people to magnetically attract others to them and their projects. Is it innate or can it be learnt? According to John Antonakis, Marika Fenley and Sue Liechti in the Harvard Business Review June 2012 article “Learning Charisma”, it is learnt. How to Learn … Read more
I have the privilege of teaching at a number of top business schools around the world. Last week I gave classes at Harvard and at MIT. This is a video from IEEM Business School in Montevideo, Uruguay where I spend a week each October teaching on their MBA and Executive Leadership programs. The video is a … Read more
I wrote up a list of lessons that were shared by speakers during the HR Directors Summit last week. Your learning rate is your earning rate Uncertainty is always filled by negatives Catch people doing something right and recognise it immediately Let leaders do the leading (HR supports leaders in the business, it doesn’t replace … Read more
I had the privilege to deliver a keynote session at the European HR Director Summit yesterday. It was inspiring to be surrounded by 200 senior HR people thinking about making work engaging and meaningful for the people at their companies. AkzoNobel decorative paint division put 17,000 people through a 3 day reflection on who they … Read more
There are 2 ways to categorize work: cognitive or manual repetitive or non-repetitive. 4 Kinds of Work There are basically 4 kinds of work: Manual repetitive – Assembly line factory worker, farm labourer Cognitive repetitive – Call center operative, Bank teller Manual non-repetitive – Jewellery maker, Custom car builder Cognitive non-repetitive – Project manager, Sales of large complex … Read more
Student: “When I speak, people don’t listen. Why is that?” Teacher: “It depends…” It always depends… There are many possible reasons that people don’t engage with you, don’t care about what you are going to say, don’t pay attention. Rarely does anyone come to me and say “I need help. I am boring.” However, this condition is … Read more
I was watching a few Charlie Munger speeches recently – Warren Buffett’s partner in leading Berkshire Hathaway. Charlie talks a lot about “Inverse Thinking”… The Inverse Thinking Process What is Inverse Thinking? Charlie says it is helpful to turn a question on its head. If you want to know what would improve the situation of … Read more
Idris: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” “Haha… what? me… I think I’m a little too old for that” Idris: “You do realise that you are still growing?” “Hmmm… you mean… The Dream?” Idris: “Yes, The Dream?” “I don’t think people have enough time to dream. Real life gets in the … Read more
It is 43 years since I was born, 25 since I finished school and 12 since I graduated with my MBA as seen in this picture below. I have written some notes on life every day since I was 14 years old. This long post is a summary of ideas that came from a review … Read more
The Path to Mastery The path to mastery is steady, small, incremental improvements repeated over and over again. There is no shortcut to mastery. There is a mode of operating that allows mastery. This mode is the 1% improvement mode. Do you focus on the 1% improvements? What small change will you make today? Please … Read more