Gender-specific post for blokes who run companies. READ THIS BOOK! Many men, myself included, have often said that the system’s not broke. But that’s because we’re fish in water… David Foster Wallace recounts the story of two young fish swimming along who come across an older fish. “He nods at them and says, ‘Morning, boys. […]
Bite Size Business Tips
You can’t have it all. But you can have what’s important
I get somewhat fed up seeing and hearing advice about how you can “have it all”. Sure, at some level, usually a transactional one, you can go from either/or to both/and. But at a life level? At a company level? Or at a country level (the main reason I don’t envy politicians)? Not so much. […]
Even as we live longer, we are thinking shorter
My father was a lawyer by profession, but a gardner in soul. He understood that it takes time and patient nurturing for a seed to turn into a tree or a flower. And he did, in fact, sow hundreds if not thousands of plants in his life. It was one of the things I loved […]
Great and Mediocre Teams and Ideas
“if you give a good idea to a mediocre team, they will screw it up. If you give a mediocre idea to a brilliant team, they will either fix it or throw it away and come up with something better.” Love this from Pixar co-founder, Ed Catmull. Always been my experience with the multitude of […]
Give them a chance even though they might fail
I’ve often given young(ish!) people in my team positions of relatively large responsibility. Almost every time I’ve done it, they’ve succeeded. Almost. Every. Time. I’m not suggesting that the responsibility should be given lightly, or given to anyone who asks for it. You still need to choose carefully – both the person and the level […]