6 Reasons we give up on Goals
It takes longer than we thought It’s more difficult than we thought We have other things to do We don’t get the expected reward We declare victory too soon We have to do it forever From Marshall Goldsmith’s book Mojo.
Goal Setting
There were 5 ancient Greek philosophies of happiness
At the risk of gross oversimplification, there were five Greek philosophies of happiness. Socrates – only the poor, those who have nothing to lose, can be happy. Aristotle – you have to be born rich to be happy (in reality healthy, wealthy, good family, good friends). Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics introduced the good life. Epicurus – remove all … Read more
Eat that frog. The only thing you need to know about time management.
Productivity put simple. This is a guest post by Dimitri Uralov, a Barcelona based entrepreneur and financial coach. When Conor offered me the chance to write a post on time management for this blog, we laughed as I commented that most people would probably find the truth about productivity too simple. “Most people would probably find … Read more
The power of not wanting. How goals can damage effectiveness.
I had two conversations yesterday, first with Dimitri in Starbucks then later with my friend Al (his blog on improving web conversion) on the telephone where we spoke about how goals can actually damage effectiveness. Wanting too much = desperation = we push people away. Not wanting at all = we say no = people … Read more
Feeling overwhelmed? What does Jim Collins do?
I was in the coffee bar at IESE Business school some weeks ago. I overheard the conversation: “I’ll join the public speaking club in the 2nd year, it will be less crazy and I will have more time”. I was reminded yesterday by a great speech from Jaume about the overwhelming flows of data of the world in which I … Read more
Are your values a danger to your health and happiness?
On Friday I heard a story about values and the importance of not just accepting other’s value systems without ensuring they are right for me. I remember reading a book on psychotherapy and the “pathological critic” (Self-Esteem by McKay and Fanning) that described four criteria to evaluate my personal values that allow me to check … Read more
The three types of work
There are only three types of work: Bad work Good work Great work I think you probably know what sits in each of these categories. Bad work is pointless. It is a waste of time. It is the basis of Dilbert cartoons. Sadly, most organisations are superb at creating bad work: bureaucracy, meetings to plan … Read more
Who would you bet on?
Warren Buffett gave a talk to a group of MBA students at the University of Florida in 2007. The video is at the bottom of this post (on the blog). He starts with an interesting question. He says [2:30] “Think for a moment that I granted you the right to buy 10% of the future … Read more
On goal setting. How I do it. (Do not try this at home)
I was on the Air Europa flight back from Madrid sat with JC Duarte and Manuel Vidal-Quadras. At a certain point we watched as JC pulled up an impressive iPhone application that allows him to track his time. This led to a discussion about how to be effective with time. I feel that I am … Read more