INSIGHTS

What are your eyes saying to the person across the table? David Brooks says it so well: "Respect is a gift you offer with your eyes." I've been thinking about this a lot lately. How we choose to see someone  fundamentally changes how we show up.  In fact, how we see them changes how they hear us. 📽️ I've just recorded a video on this... releasing it tomorrow.

How much of your team's work this week has been on autopilot? Chugging through the work. Going through the motions. It's not necessarily a bad thing. We build the machine, then we run it. But when "the way we've always done things" becomes the invisible default, something valuable takes a back seat. Curiosity. It's still there. Every single member of the team has it. Like a flashlight tucked away in a pocket, just waiting to be pulled out and switched on. But for some reason,

Someone’s day could be immeasurably better because of this. A small word of encouragement could be the most influential thing you do today. See that person over there? The one who seems to be struggling? The one who seems a little flat? They might need a little encouragement that they’ve “got it”.  They might need to hear about the last time they handled something like this well. They might need to know what you see in them, because they’re struggling to see it themselves. I

It's a refrain I've heard many times over my career. The legal team needs to be more commercial. The procurement team needs to be more commercial. The commercial team needs to be more ... commercial. And it's not said in a monotone either. It's expressed with a sense of pent-up frustration. Like the energetic parent on the sidelines who can't help but voice their disappointment. But what does "being commercial" really mean?  It's been a conversation that I've been having over

Sometimes it’s touch-and-go, but yesterday the forces of good prevailed over the empire of destruction (aka bright-shiny-distraction). You see, as weird as it may seem, I run a Distraction Deathmatch each day. It's an epic battle for my attention. Every time I resist the urge to be distracted: +1 point. Each time I succumb: -1 point. It's only a silly game I know. But don't underestimate the miniature fanfare that goes off in my head as I feel the urge, resist and then scratc

Tick Tick Tick It's only a $7 bulb, but it's doing its job, protecting life and property as we approach the intersection. We entrust life and limb to the pulse of a small yellow light.  And signals matter for us as professionals too. We broadcast them daily. Our colleagues, suppliers and clients read those signals and adjust their speed and direction accordingly.  Or maybe they take evasive action.  Which is a problem. And one I’ve seen in coaching over the last 12 months. Cl

But only if you want your message to land.  Whether you’re negotiating a deal, influencing a decision, or simply trying to get buy-in: context is everything.  There’s an adage in motor racing: “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast”. The fastest lap may feel like the slowest because you’ve paid more attention to executing the fundamentals.  And one of those fundamentals is context.  When we speed past context at the start of a conversation, we create resistance instead of moment

Meanwhile. Two stakeholders share a look. Someone else shifted awkwardly in their seat. There's now something off about the energy in the room. Did you notice? Or were you too busy talking? This latest newsletter is about reading the room, an influence skill that many professionals overlook.

On 28 June last year, I was driving with my Dad. He described what Parkinson's feels like in social situations: "Like three people firing tennis balls at you at once" I had completely forgotten that conversation. I only remembered it because I'd written it down that night. A few years ago, I started a micro-journaling practice based on what Matthew Dicks calls "Homework for Life". Each evening, I jot down one storyworthy moment from the day in the journal app on my phone. Not