The Secrets of Great PerformanceI recently had the pleasure of hearing two slightly different takes on this from two very different people at a great evening at Bowles "inspirational learning" centre near Tunbridge Wells. The first was Graham Williams, Director at The Human Dimension and the second was Geoffrey Durham, magician and entertainer (some of you may remember him as the Great Soprendo in the 1980’s). Graham Williams told us about how top athletes combine focus, commitment, resilience and social connectedness to perform and how “corporate” athletes combine these elements too for success in career and business. For Geoffrey Durham it is all about exceeding expectations…Last Updated ( Wednesday, 24 October 2007 ) Relationships key to success of Emirates Stadium for Sir Robert McAlpineWe engineers are a funny lot. If you ask a civil engineer what it takes to deliver a project on-time and on budget they will wax lyrical about the contractual arrangements, the programming and construction phasing, the technical innovations and selection of the right subcontractors. When you ask them to talk about what made project a success the common thread throughout is relationships. This was made clear at a recent presentation I attended on the construction of the Emirates Stadium for Arsenal Football Club...Last Updated ( Wednesday, 10 October 2007 ) "Seek first to understand...""...and then to be understood.” Stephen R. Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People When was the last time you really sought to understand someone’s point of view before launching in with your view of the world? What was the impact? Did you notice? Did you care? What would change if you knew exactly what your client’s expectations and challenges were, what the constraints are that he or she is working under or the political environment in which they are operating?
Last Updated ( Friday, 24 August 2007 ) The Educated ClientWhat would you give for an educated client? Someone who understands, even at a basic level, the process you have to go through to deliver their requirements? What would that be worth to you in time and money saved in not having to explain and re-explain why something cannot be delivered "just so"? One solution could be to show them what you do.Last Updated ( Friday, 17 August 2007 ) A different perspective on timeIts the end of the weekend and I'm supposed to be tidying my office and planning for the week to come. I just can't resist sharing this with you. I have found, maybe you do too, that inspiration can come from the most unlikely sources - in this case it is a childrens' story. Now before I tell you more about the story just stop a while and hold this thought for the coming week. In this world of high speed connection, downloads, instant messaging, text replies that seem to appear almost before you've sent your own message, deadlines and demands on your time, how many clocks do you need and what do they really tell you? Last Updated ( Tuesday, 11 September 2007 ) Who are your heroes?Who are your heroes? Who do you look to for inspiration? Who do you aspire to? What is it that you admire about them? While I must confess to being easily impressed by people who appear to be inspirational leaders, I have relatively few people on my list who in some way have shaped my business and professional life. While the list is relatively short, they all have something in common. They all seem to posess an altruistic streak, a yearning for making the world a better place for themselves, the people around them and the wider community as a whole - a purpose beyond themselves. They also seem to understand the importance of self determination - allowing people to make choices and giving them the opportunity to learn from their success or failure as a result of those choices. My heroes (in no particular order) are: Last Updated ( Thursday, 02 August 2007 ) Employee Engagement Boosts EarningsAre you fully engaged? Are your employees fully engaged? By fully engaged, I mean are you physically energised, do you have good relationships and are your communications positive and free from rancour, resentment and bitterness, are you mentally focused and do you know what you want and know with absolute certainty when and how you are going to get it? If you (or your employee's) answer "no" or "not sure" to any of these questions you could be missing out on some real income opportunities. Last Updated ( Tuesday, 19 June 2007 ) Happiness In the WallsI want to share with you something beautiful. It is a story about business and most importantly it is a story about how creating a culture based on shared values and vision created unprecedented success for an IT business in Sweden. Last Updated ( Thursday, 07 June 2007 ) | |||||
|
Blog