Your Year And An inkl Gift 22 December 2021 One thing is for sure, 2021 was a stress inoculation event. For all the ups and considerable downs, you are now stronger than you were at the same time last year. That might not feel true as the fatigue washes over us and camouflages our 2021 achievements and growth, but they are there. And in this, the Wednesday Perspective season finale, I would like you to join me in a five-minute exercise that promises to help you exhale, and realise that, in the immortal words of Fatboy Slim, you’ve come a long way baby! Below is a 12-point list. Now, open your ..read more

How To Show Up With Two Words 8 December 2021 With nearly two years of overwhelm and cognitive overload under our belts, most people I know are looking forward to a break to close our 2021. And boy, am I with you!  Today though, as humans and as leaders, there has never been a more critical time to dig deep, show up and provide a bridge to human connection.  Today’s encouragement is to use an easy technique I learned from Brene Brown called a two-word check-in.  We start every meeting with a two-word check-in. We take turns sharing two words that describe how we’re feeling that ..read more

What We (Men) Can Do 1 December 2021 Today marks the 9th birthday of our eldest daughter. It’s a beautiful day full of memories and, to me, a reminder of the awesome potential of women everywhere. Today is also nearly a week after I (may have) stepped over the line in the chat window of a virtual event. What I’m about to describe is really for men and the men in your life. The event in question was about equality, more specifically feminism and about halfway through the event, this comment appeared in the chat window: ‘I wonder what the men here think they can do to improve equality…’ Here is ..read more

3 November 2021 I’m going to cut to the chase. There is one tool that has changed the way I lead (and follow). It’s called Loom, and I’d like to introduce you to it today because if you’re like me, it will save you at least one hour a day in email thinking and drafting time.  But first…How long does it take you to write an email that conveys an important message? I don’t know about you, but for me, it can take ages, and when I press SEND, I can only hope that the intent I’ve tried to embed into the message, the spirit with which I would like to message to be understood, actually lands wit ..read more

20 October 2021 When was the last time you did something and much to your surprise it unexpectedly worked? It could have been hard work and perseverance, a bit of luck or both! These moments can feel few and far between and if you’re anything like me, you probably spend more time de-risking and mitigating than you do planning for what happens when the plan works. Well, today I hope you’ll endulge me with an announcement about a project that began in 2017. It’s taken a few twists and turns but the mission remained unchanged: To help people keep moving through unexpected encrouagement. Today tha ..read more

6 October 2021 What TV shows or series have you binged during the pandemic? Fiona and I have gone back to the West Wing and we love it. A comment stayed with me during a recent episode which I think might help you today. Let me set the scene. Josh Lyman, the Deputy Chief of Staff, is caught out of town and asks Sam Seaborn, the Deputy Communications Director, to do his job until he gets back to the White House. Lyman’s job each day is to work with the President to help join the dots between various important and seemingly disconnected but connected meetings. Sam was overwhelmed at the request ..read more

Welcome to the Wednesday Perspective for 30 June 2021! Today is 30 June and I’ve taken a week off for the school holidays with our girls. We’re also in lockdown. Not fun but it’s not the first time and it won’t be the last. Today I’m sharing a three-part mental health care package of goodness with you because good mental health is critical for you and for me. So here it is… Part 1: MOVING > The July Be In Motion Challenge on Strava Strava is a fitness tracking app and in July I have set a simple challenge. Choose any activity you like and move for 30 minutes every day this month. Exercise i ..read more

Welcome to the Wednesday Friday Perspective for 30 April 2021! You know, there are just some moments that make you stop, zoom out and inspire you (for one reason or another) to dial up your contribution. Here was the headline that caused that moment for me this week:  More than 20 million years of life lost The death toll of COVID-19 is an unfathomable tragedy: more than three million people. Another way to quantify those losses is by considering how premature the deaths were. Researchers estimate that COVID-19 has taken more than 20.5 million years of life. Read more. This reframing ..read more

Welcome to the Wednesday Perspective for 14 April 2021! Question: How do you keep perspective? I often talk about perspective—the need for it and how important it is to zoom out to look at life a little differently. About a decade ago, I got into a habit which I call the ‘thank you strategy’. A couple of times each month, I open my work calendar and go back to the same time of the prior year. I look for the meetings I had in that week, and almost without fail, I see a conversation, which at the time was interesting or thought-provoking but didn’t lead to any specific outcome. The act of lookin ..read more

Welcome to the Wednesday Perspective for 31 March 2021! Think of an experience you’d like not to repeat. It could be a work or personal episode, one which makes you want to tell as many people as possible, so they don’t land in the same place. I’m sure you could think of a few, and today, I encourage you to find a way to share that experience. Because as soon as you do, you will inspire at least one person to learn faster. This email that you’ve taken the time to read (?) is my way of helping you learn faster. And you could do the same by sharing your lesson with a friend or teammate, posting ..read more