Tony Anagor, a long time friend and fellow teacher at IESE Business School, is a great source of wisdom on negotiation. A great start to understanding Tony’s work is his article: The 7 Principles of Powerful Negotiation. Over the 18 years that I have known Tony he has consistently been able to engage with me … Read more
If you want to lead people, you need them to want what you want. Iris H was an MBA student at IESE a few years back, today a senior figure in Investment Banking. I recently discovered her blog. A recent post struck a chord with me: You can’t want it more… 3 Psychological Needs Self-Determination … Read more
“CEOs are in the business of making decisions” Sam Reese, Vistage CEO I’ve been reflecting this week on a quote from Economist Thomas Sowell “There are no solutions, only trade-offs.” I work with CEOs. They take decisions. They feel responsible for the consequences of these decisions. They often wait to find a “perfect solution” rather … Read more
I’ve met some excellent business managers… who are extremely poor managers of their own life. They get results. They support others. They build capable, effective teams. Their business grows. …but they are not joyful. They are not waking up motivated each day. They are not finding themselves energised through the day by the activities, people … Read more
Bad stuff happens. Bad actors exist. Decent people do bad things. Bad people do their things. Nature does it’s thing… storms, snow and clouds. It can look pretty bleak some days. The news can seem to be a constant flow of disasters, invasions, road accidents, kidnappings and domestic violence. (This is my summary of the … Read more
“Most people prefer a problem they can’t fix to a solution they don’t like” Lee Thayer This sentence is mad…. but there is a certain truth to it. Lee Thayer is the author of several books on the practice of Leadership. He was a big proponent of working to integrate thinking, being and doing into … Read more
My single most widely watched video ever on youtube is “How to Start a Speech”. The opening line of the video is: “What are the first words you should say in a speech?” In today’s busy, distraction-filed world… you have a few seconds at the beginning of any speech (youtube video, tiktok, instagram etc) to … Read more
Persistence is one of the most important qualities that a person can possess. It is the ability to persevere, to keep going even in the face of obstacles and setbacks. In life, success often depends on persistence more than anything else. In this video: Whether you’re trying to achieve a personal goal or working towards … Read more
Stutz is a documentary following the psychotherapy process of Dr Stutz who had worked with comedian and actor Jonah Hill over many years. Together they share personal stories and specific tools that have helped Jonah in his therapy process over the past decade. On Netflix here: Stutz (2022) My notes from Stutz, the documentary “I … Read more
“Normal life” (in today’s society) doesn’t provide enough stimulus for many people. We become addicts because life is “boring”. All of our survival needs are met. We don’t have stuff that we “have” to do… so we make up adventures (“friction”). “I get bored easily.” What’s wrong with me? Nothing… your brain is not suited … Read more