I enjoyed the FT Live discussion on ‘Business Books in Times of Uncertainty’ hosted by the FT’s Management Editor Andrew Hill earlier in the week. I was curious to hear about new themes, workplace topics and the future of business writing. As an upcoming first-time author, I felt there might be some secrets revealed, some new topics …
I am struck by the steady stream of superhuman sports stars starting to reveal a less than superhuman reality behind the scenes. Whether it’s Jonny Wilkinson who recently spoke powerfully about how ‘success’ became synonymous with ‘suffering’, or Sarah Taylor’s moving interview last week about her struggle with anxiety while being at the top of …
As I continue my research into society’s obsession with winning, whether in sport, business or education, I see repeatedly that there is often little clarity about what winning actually means. It is frequently taken for granted and assumed that ‘everyone wants to win’. That ‘winning is everything’ (- a phrase usually attributed to legendary American …
“Assumptions are made and most are wrong” – Albert Einstein I find myself spending more and more time thinking about assumptions and the role they play in how we think, how we behave and what we think of each other. In my work on leadership, teams and culture, I find myself spending more and more time …
I sometimes feel like I’m in a parallel universe during that initial conversation with a leader or executive who asks me to work with them to develop leadership, raise performance, help build a new executive team or support a process of cultural change in their organisation. I always start by wanting to clarify what their …
Sporting superstars…. they’re easy to spot, pictures in the tabloids all the time, expensive watches and jewellery, quite a few tattoos, hordes of fans around them at all time, hard to get close to if ever spotted in a public place…. Well, that’s certainly true of our (non-world cup winning) male rugby players, football players …
One of the challenges for civilians working in complex, hostile environments, in unstable conflict-ridden parts of the world, is how to survive and get a difficult job done well in extraordinary challenging circumstances. Often, there are some innate technical skills required – building health clinics, establishing local governance in a developing world context – but …
It’s rare to see a Concept II rowing machine right in front of a large pipe organ, next to a grand piano and in front of a harpsichord! But it set the scene for a meeting of two worlds, a chance to delve into the high performance environments of Olympic rowers and musicians from the …