Bite Sized Business Tips

2 minute reads for the values-led business leader

Snippets for purpose and values-led business leaders about meeting our responsibilities to our team, customers, owners, communities and suppliers. Context is everything, so these aren't dogma - rather a stimulus for thought. Subscribe below.

Hire the right people, and then trust them

People problems in companies tend to boil down to one of two things. Wrong people hired, or right people hired, but then not empowered. We need to both (1) hire the right people to bet on, and; (2) place our bet. Doing either of those well isn't easy. But I ...
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Teams are good, but networks make them stronger

Suppose for a minute that there's this country with a government comprised largely of an old boys' network from the same schools, universities and degrees. Crazy, but just suppose. That's the kind of scenario that (rightly) gives networks get a bad rep. But inside a company, networks can create real ...
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Strategy Sessions are a waste of time

Strategy sessions (especially, bit not only) in SMEs are usually a waste of time. Mostly because they don't turn into what the company does. In my experience, it usually comes down to a combination of these issues.

No coherence. The strategy is a smorgasbord of ideas rather than a plan ...
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Employees have the right and responsibility to be treated like adults

Employees have the right to be treated like adults. They also have the responsibility to behave accordingly. Today, I saw a post from one of LinkedIn's beloveds (~4m followers) on the approach for new hires. "I hired you for a job and I trust you to get it done. Just ...
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Sometimes you need to quit to win

This is an interesting article from Fast Company. Especially for those of us schooled with the discipline to always finish what we start. Some things have to be finished (yes mum, my plate). For instance, one my most intense periods of work was when I had just taken on a ...
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If you don’t give honest feedback, don’t expect improvement

I found this on a school report from when I was 12. It's wonderfully honest. I'd wager he was really thinking "The kid's a bit shite, but as he's large, we can use him as an obstacle in defence." But he was worried about my feelings, so he softened it ...
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Your lack of engagement isn’t entirely your boss’s fault

Unpopular post alert. We read a lot these days about low employee engagement. Fingers usually point at managers, and often for good reason. But I can't help but wonder how much of the ennui with jobs is down to people choosing not to engage. Usually not intentionally. Engaging takes effort, ...
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In world of uncertainty, leaders need to lean on confidence

In the uncertain world we live in, effective leadership bridges the gap to certainty with humble confidence. Today's high levels of uncertainty are a hangover-inducing mix of at least these 4 factors:

increasing interdependencies which make the consequences of our decisions less predictable;
fragility as we've been sacrificing all ...
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You are what you do, not what you say you are.

"You are what you do, not what you say you are." Simple truth from Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard's wonderful book "Let my people go surfing" I've known many CEOs launch on an exercise to define their company values. And sadly for most of them, those values rarely make it out ...
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Here’s my hypothesis

One of my favourite ways of provoking thought and discussion when I'm with a team is to come up with ideas, just shooting from the hip. Depending how well I know you, I’d usually preface it with “I’m just making shit up, but…”. I was recently told that what I’m ...
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A CEO’s fundamental duty is to create an environment for their team to flourish

One of the core responsibilities of a leader, if not \*the\* core responsibility, is to create a work environment where those who want to grow, and are prepared to commit to it, are able to do so. It doesn't necessarily need a vast L&D budget (though some is always helpful!) ...
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Have you ever smelled the Sistene Chapel?

There's this scene in the wonderful film, The Two Popes, when outgoing pope Benedict asks incoming Pope Francis to take his confession. His primary sin was living in his books and not with the humans that his church is supposed to serve. I read a lot. I think it's important, ...
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