Your Scarcest Resource

I know plenty of financial advisors who would love to spend a few hours reviewing my investments, cash position, investment goals and helping me make a realistic plan. I know how much I spent on food, travel, housing, school in the last month, year and if I did the sums I could calculate a rough … Read more

For Productivity: Stop Doing These 9 Things

Stop Doing Stuff that Doesn’t Serve 168 hours in a week.  24 hours in a day.  I haven’t done the math to work out how many in a year or a lifetime, but however large the number, it is still finite.  It is limited.  We get so much, and no more.  This leaves you with … Read more

Some Reflections On Good Strategy

What is Good Strategy? These points come from my notes from listening to a lecture by Prof. Pat Gibbon of UCD Smurfit Business School in Dublin during the Executive Edge day in May 2014. Good strategy begins with a clear diagnosis (widely accepted) of the real current condition of the business. If there is nothing … Read more

10 Personal Habits of Resilient People

Take a moment and think about the people you know well.   Who is the most psychologically resilient of your friends or family?   Who would cope the best with major setbacks?   Who would be able to keep their heads while all about them are losing theirs? Dealing with Failure: Resilience I was at … Read more

What does Leadership mean to you?

Nitin Nohria, Dean of Harvard Business School will be speaking at IESE Business School in Barcelona next Monday 13th. “It is my desire to inspire people of all ages and social demographics to think about leadership on a broad level, contemplate what it means to them and what individual impact they can have when it … Read more

Intentionality and Defiance

As I grow ever older, staying fit requires ever greater intention.  I sometimes wish to myself that it might be a little easier, but then quickly realise that this is my inner saboteur distracting me. If you are going uphill then you are going towards success.  I so often want writing to become easier.  I … Read more

The ability to turn back

A few weeks ago I was in the audience with my friend Manuel listening to Kilian Jornet share his life story.  At the age of 26, Kilian projects the profound wisdom of a Zen sage.  The mountains are a powerful teacher. Kilian will run up and down Everest in 2015.  Yep, run up it.  He … Read more

You cannot promote world peace when you are angry

Last week I taught a course on persuasive communication.  One individual was a charismatic speaker who repeatedly gave speeches that I would classify as “Rant”.  This is a passionate and initially engaging way of speaking, but it has no place in a Leader’s communication. To rant is to speak or shout at length in an … Read more