Culture isn’t created overnight. You can’t mandate it.
You also can’t leave it be and assume a positive productive culture will create itself.
Culture needs to be defined and cultivated, which means a few things:
It has to be intentional. It requires a clear definition i.e. we need to be clear as to what we want it to be.
It has to be actively pursued - we need to have a plan to cultivate it.
This month's podcasts focus on the topic of mindset, and the kinds of traits and ideas we need to embed to achieve what we want.
In today's episode, I talk about a decision to remove someone from my LinkedIn Network because of their constant negativity. There's no point in encouraging that behavior, and in fact, I'd argue it demands a stronger response.
If you compare a song off of Radiohead’s first album, Pablo Honey, and their third album, OK Computer - for example, a song like “Anyone Can Play Guitar”, with “Let Down” - you can hear a real sonic difference.
From the complexity of the songwriting to the musicianship, right through to the production work, you can hear an increasing level of sophistication. Essentially, you can hear the growth and evolution of the band over the years.
You don’t need to have all of the answers. I don’t know how to get there is actually fine as a response.
As leaders, though, we think that isn’t an option. We think we need to know exactly the way there.
But the reality is we won’t - not all the time anyway, and certainly not when it comes to big ticket changes that we’re putting in play.
This month's podcasts focus on the topic of mindset, and the kinds of traits and ideas we need to embed to achieve what we want.
Today's episode takes on the topic of letting go - and how difficult it is when we feel we've been wronged. Yet, it doesn't help us to "hold onto our grudges like little pets". It's far more important and helpful to move on.
Getting things done, as a team, is a challenging task at the best of times.
It requires us to pull together and take actions that are consistent and coherent with respect to our common end goal. This, in turn, requires clarity, communication and alignment.
In other words, we need to all buy in and then do our bit (as part of the overall plan) to get there.
I started playing golf back in 1996, while I was on a long term consulting assignment in Melbourne, Australia. I needed something to do on the weekends by myself, so I took a few lessons (not enough) and then started to play a local course a couple of times a month.
I remember one Saturday, I went out to the course with my friend and (former) colleague, Ben, and, as is normal, we were asked to pair up with another couple of golfers, who we didn’t know, so that we’d form a group of four.
This month's podcasts focus on the topic of mindset, and the kinds of traits and ideas we need to embed to achieve what we want.
Today's episode focuses on the concept of idealism. It's a concept that comes naturally as kids but one we tend to sacrifice as we grow older. I argue that's a mistake.
A platform is a byproduct of success.
What I mean by that is that success in any given field results in not only the usual rewards (economic gain, career progression, industry recognition, etc.), it also provides us with a voice. We’re sought out by our community and those interested in, and impacted by, our work. They want to hear from us, and are ready to give us the opportunity to speak, to be heard.
Why are some people ready to get up on a platform (physical or digital) and share their message with the world? Why are some people not?
Why is it that some folks can overcome the (inevitable) self-doubt that tends to accompany these acts of leadership? Why is it that others cannot?
This month, I'd like to speak to a few fundamental ideas about how we work and the implications of our behaviors when we work.
Today's episode focuses on Values. Our values don't simply materialize - we have to choose and exhibit those values. When we don't, we're basically choosing someone else's values.
Value is in the eye of the beholder. That seems like a straightforward statement, but it’s a hard one to truly grasp.
There are certainly tangible criteria that can be applied to the price of a particular product or service - its material inputs, the resources applied to convert those materials into some sort of finished product, and the related overhead needed to make all of that happen.
I don’t mean to oversimplify (though I’m about to), but it seems to me that the biggest thing about getting older is that you begin to run out of excuses.
What I mean by that is that, as the years go on, as our experiences educate us, and as we start to realize what we value, we realize that the only reason we aren’t where we want to be, is because of us. Of the choices we’ve made.
This month, I'd like to speak to a few fundamental ideas about how we work and the implications of our behaviors when we work.
Specifically, in today's episode, I speak to the idea of belief, and the fact that it's our belief in ourselves that drives our ability to achieve, excel and become who we truly are.
Our issues always come from somewhere. What I mean by that is that, there’s always a root cause or a set of incidents of some sort that drives us to behave in specific ways.
That’s not to suggest our behaviors are always justified, rather that there’s a reason behind them. Something that has happened to us, or that we’ve experienced, that’s led us to interpret that experience in a particular way, develop particular judgements (or ideas or perceptions) and then act (or react) accordingly.
I have this irrational hatred of standard, preformed drum beats.
Like the ones that became popularized in the Eighties - you know those synthetic, electronic drum beats that go on and on, with no variation, no exciting fills, no changes of intensity. No humanity, basically. They remind me of the emergence of the synthesizer and how, it seemed back then, that they enabled people with no talent to make music.
This month, I'd like to speak to a few fundamental ideas about how we work and the implications of our behaviors when we work.
In today's episode, I talk about our tendency, as we get older, to focus less on what we do well and more on what we don't. It's a curious thing, because it's our strengths that will drive us forward and, therefore, what we need to build on.
It’s often referred to as the “defensive” strategy.
The sports team that emphasizes defense over offense i.e protecting their goal and stopping the other team from scoring.
Or the business that is focused on adding enough features to be able to ward off the competition.
Or the individual contributor who spends his time understanding and developing (i.e. copying) the skills of his nearest competitors.
Strategy matters.
A good strategy differentiates your offering. It galvanizes the right resources to their best effect. It positions your organization for success.
A good strategy, though, is just the starting point. Once you’ve mapped out your path, you still need to run it.
And a badly run race will slow you down, allow your competition to gain on you and overtake you, possibly even prevent you from finishing.
This month, I'd like to speak to a few fundamental ideas about how we work and the implications of our behaviors when we work.
In today's episode, I talk about work ethics and this idea of balance. We shouldn't ever apologize for the former, and I argue, if we want to build something great, then we have to accept that a balanced life is not possible (at least in the short term).
