Making time: A very brief guide for CEOs
Students of time management will know the Eisenhower Matrix, which plots tasks by urgency on one axis and importance on the other. The simple genius behind this approach – popularised by the American General and later President Dwight D. Eisenhower – is not that you do what’s urgent and important, and ditch what’s unimportant and […]
Gratitude: An underestimated leadership tool
Leaders in high-growth companies will know that you can’t take talent for granted. Good people always have a choice. They don’t have to work for you; they certainly don’t have to go above and beyond. A simple ‘thank you’ when they do so can be remarkably powerful, particularly when motivation might otherwise be flagging. It’s […]
How to assemble an executive A-team
A few years back, venture capitalist Hermann Hauser – one of the leading figures behind Acorn computers and chip giant ARM – neatly summarised the importance of having the right people in your executive team: “An A team with C technology wins over a C team with A technology, every time”. As anyone who’s tried […]
Regaining Control Of Your Culture
Culture almost never stays the same across the lifespan of a company, particularly a growing one. To an extent, this evolution is inevitable – scale tends towards bureaucracy; maturity tends towards efficiency over radical innovation and risk taking – and sometimes it is even desirable. But other times, leaders can wake up one day and […]
What Liverpool’s decline says about elite performance
I try not to talk about football too often – far too many people know far more about it than I do – but one of the big soccer stories of the year is worthy of a few humble comments. Here’s why: Liverpool FC’s topsy-turvy performance this year – in stark contrast to its Premier […]
7 books for the curious CEO
Busyness is a necessary condition of leadership, but there are some things you should never be too busy for. Family is one; proper conversations with colleagues and customers are another. For us, reading makes the list too – or listening to radio, podcasts or audiobooks, if that’s how you learn – because it’s only by […]
In case you missed it: 10 lockdown lessons
It’s not until the journey’s over that you realise how far you’ve come. Covid isn’t over, but as non-essential retail and outdoor hospitality open, we dare to hope that the worst of it is. Few of us can remember times of such turbulence and change, as lockdowns consigned carefully constructed strategies to the scrap heap […]
A Lesson in Authenticity from Prince Philip
Prince Philip was a man who spoke his mind, in an institution where speaking your mind isn’t always the done thing. Sometimes he said too much – in the exhaustive coverage of his death over the last week, we’ve been reminded of several front-page-grabbing gaffes. It’s a constant danger for people in positions of prominence, […]
7 Books for Women’s History Month: Recommended Reading List Part III
March is Women’s History Month, so we decided to release our third recommended reading list in honour of women. Let’s all celebrate women this month with some education and reflection – and pick up one of these fantastic reads. 1. Wollstonecraft: Philosophy, Passion, and Politics Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, first […]
Covidsomnia: How to break the cycle
What day is it? If you’ve felt stuck in a kind of repetitive cycle of déjà vu recently, reminiscent of groundhog day, with days and nights, weekdays and weekends blurring together, you’re not alone. Ongoing uncertainty and disrupted routines are contributing to a surge in insomnia. It’s negatively affecting our health and productivity, yet so […]
