Parking friction
When I’m at my most productive, I’m focused and organised, and the world around me is friction-free. However, this was not the case recently when I tried to park my car before presenting at a team offsite. My client contact had sent me a map of parking in the area of their new building. She […]
Read MoreThe value of an empty Inbox
Many of you will know that I am a big fan of the ‘Inbox Zero’ way of working. A good friend recently challenged this idea and suggested that having an empty inbox was not necessarily an indicator of productivity. I totally agree. You can spend your whole day clearing emails and regularly get to zero. But that does not mean you have worked […]
Read MoreTake a good look in the mirror
It finally happened! I was asked at the checkout in my local supermarket if I had a senior’s card! How bad is that? I’m 51, but in my head see myself as a shade over 40. I keep in shape, and beside some follicle challenges, don’t think I look too bad for my age. But […]
Read MoreA quality act
Recently, my publisher sent me some complimentary download codes for the audio version of my book Smart Teams (shameless plug warning – you can download on Audible here). I decided to gift them to people who supported me by writing a testimonial for the book when it was first published. I was surprised when one of the recipients, my […]
Read MoreWorking productively the Harvard way
I recently had the privilege of attending a leadership development program at the Harvard Kennedy Business School in Boston, Massachusetts. It was a seven-day intensive, run by one of the world’s leading thinkers on leadership, Professor Ron Heifetz. If you’re familiar with the analogy of getting off the dancefloor and standing on the balcony to […]
Read MoreFolding Time
I’m a member of a community of experts called Thought Leaders. One of the community leaders in the US, Janine (Neen) James teaches about the power of attention. Her book, ‘Folding Time’ is a great read. Neen reckons effective people learn to manage time. But those who are truly at the top of their game […]
Read MoreMake meeting roles explicit
I was asked to attend a meeting with a new client recently to discuss the relevance of our productivity training for their team. The meeting invite was sent out by the client to me and a handful of internal people. As the meeting invitees came into the meeting room, I was introduced to each by […]
Read MoreThe key to focus every day
Recently I have been running Smart Teams workshops for several clients who have previously attended our Smart Work personal productivity training. It’s always insightful to revisit clients at some stage after they have done the initial training, because even though the Smart Work system is simple and practical, it’s easy to slip back into old […]
Read MoreWe have more time than we think
Over the Christmas break I identified some jobs to do at home that have been hanging over me for a while. One of them was to clean out the walk-in food pantry in the kitchen. Over the years it has filled up with stuff, making it hard to find space for anything new. Plus it’s always a challenge finding things once they’re in there. So […]
Read MoreAgainst the wind
Well those drifters’ days are past me now, I’ve got so many more things to think about Deadlines and commitments, what to leave in, what to leave out Against the wind, I’m still running against the wind I’m older now but still running against the wind Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band I love that song – a classic from the 1970’s […]
Read More