Hi Reader, Great meetings can change the world. The problem is that most meetings... just aren't that great. In How to Fix Meetings, Hayley Watts and I talk about the 40-20-40 model that we learned from my friend and professional meeting-facilitator, Martin Farrell. The idea is simple: spend 40% of your time and attention on the preparation, 20% on the meeting itself, and save 40% for the follow-through. Sounds sensible, right? Yet when we think about the implications, it means that if you're...
13 days ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, I've been in the middle of some very stressful house renovation work this last couple of weeks. There's been a dispute over some of the work, I've been threatened by the building company... It's been all kinds of high-stress. In a moment when I felt exhausted and 'done in' by it all earlier this week, my partner Meg texted me the simple line "this too shall pass". It's a line I've texted others in similar moments, but of course when you're in the middle of things like that, you...
20 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader Welcome to Rev Up for the Week, where every Sunday I deliver you a simple idea to supercharge your week ahead. This week I did a couple of talks and podcasts where the question kept coming up, about whether taking time to build more kindness, empathy, trust and psychological safety in your team was worth the effort. It's an important question in a world where unkindness seems to be having a revival. But creating psychological safety - so that people feel able to take the small...
27 days ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, Specificity improves almost everything. When we write down to-do list items, our brains are lazy. We write down single words that are akin to the nags in our heads - "report", or "garage", or "conference". What we really need to get momentum is to get clear. And what we need to get clear is always two specific things: the next phyical action we need to take (with verbs and extra words so that our brains can picture it happening); and the desired project outcome ("how will we know...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, Welcome to Rev Up for the Week. A simple thought to help you power through the next few days. This week, I was listening to a radio phone-in and the question was "what do you want from a new Pope?". My first reaction was "what a strange question. Nothing much that I can think of..." I'm not Catholic (or religious generally) and it just struck me as such an alien thing. "How absurd to be worrying about something like that!", I caught myself thinking. And then... I remembered that...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, Welcome to Rev Up for the Week, where every Sunday, I give you an idea to kick-start Monday. Today I want to share a couple of thoughts about AI. As you may know, I've been experimenting with AI for a while now, and my free AI coach has definitely been a useful way to get 'under the hood' of AI a little bit, and figure out where this stuff may be heading. As ever, there are two factors at play: the first is how the tech develops, and the second is how we, as humans, habitually,...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, A few years ago, I co-wrote a book with the brilliant Colette Heneghan, called How to Have The Energy. Colette is a nutritionist who has worked with some of the UK's leading companies and sports teams. She's a voracious reader, constantly on top of the latest science around food and nutrition. When I first met Colette, I asked her to become my nutrition coach. I sent her every meal I ate on Whatsapp, and over time, she built up a great picture of what I was doing well and less well...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, Change is scary. Change is also a gift. Change reminds us what matters most, and can help us see who really has our back. Leading through change requires sensitivity, and it's tricky navigation. It's in the moments where people feel most vulnerable or where the biggest things are on the line, that our kindness hits deepest. Moments of crisis, change, rupture and repair often present us with an opportunity - it's the opportunity to reward, repay and honour the loyalty that people...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, Welcome to Rev Up for the Week, where every Sunday I send you a thought to turbo charge Monday. Today is mother's day here in the UK. This year was slightly different in that my mum has been staying at my house. This morning I had a plan that my mum would get up, I'd give her the flowers and gifts from her kids and grandchildren, and then I'd make her brunch. If I was a mum, that's exactly how I'd want the day to start. Kind, right? Well, sort of. It's just that it wasn't kind on...
2 months ago • 1 min read