Category: Leadership

When did you last create murky waters? Some weekends my local creek meets me murky – other weeks it’s giving me a full, clear view of every stone and bend underneath the surface. My local creek indeed has many faces. If I take off my running shoes and cross, a clear day will give me an easier passage: I can look for a path without dips and deeper holes, I can avoid rocks and fallen branches. The crossing could be smooth, fast and simple. On a murky day, I may not even want to get my feet in the water. What could be hiding under the surface? Not to mention the struggle and dead-end-attempts I could encounter – arrgh, I may even get my pants wet if pulling them up is not enough for the deeper dips in my way?! This goes for our businesses and life, too. Seek clarity. Create clarity. Allow yourself clarity. Don’t ask to confuse. Don’t analyse to the point of overwhelm. We can actually whip up murky waters on a clear day. For no other reason than being confused ourselves. Or just frustrated or bored. But one thing I know: last week when it was … More Don’t ask to confuse! »

I’ve talked about spiderwebs in the past – about how we as trailblazers clear the spider webs for others. But last week, my perspective moved. The spider became our first-person narrator, the focus of our attention. What changed my point of view? Two massive spider webs that I met on my weekend jog. I didn’t destroy them by running straight through them, no, they were wisely built above human height, but still in a high-density traffic area when it comes to attracting insects of all kinds. Clever. These are four spider-inspired gold nuggets around Foundations, Staying centred, Leading and growing our businesses effortlessly AND the added bonus insight of Learning and moving on. Too good to not share with you all here in a blog – and of course, because I’m not a biologist, it’s all metaphorical for how we lead, live and grow our businesses. 1) Foundations. The reason I spotted the two, big spider webs was a massive cicada caught in one of them (cicadas are very large, noise-creating insects found in warm climates). It made me realise how fascinating it is, that light and flexible material like what the spider web is made of has the strength to … More Are you leading like a spider? »

We make about 35,000 remotely conscious decisions each day (in contrast, a child makes about 3,000). It makes sense to get good at it, combined with creating simpler businesses and lives. Thirdly, we must set up routines and standards for as many areas as possible, so that questions and answers are not needed every time. In our cul de sac with 17 houses, there is a plethora of decisions happening every day behind the gates, front doors or in an open conversation in the street. One person selling after 40 years and where to move. Young ones pondering about education. Should I take that extra piece of cake? For both big and small decisions, what matters is to make the right decision. For you. The decision your future self will thank you for. It is not easy. Not in business nor in your street. With so many decisions, big and small, every day. We each run a different decision-making strategy, based on our macro patterns and subconscious entry/exit triggers. Whether we are aware of it or not, whether it’s working well for us or not. We can get overwhelmed with decisions and end up in the indecision roundabout. When we … More Do you want sauce with that? »

When did you last carve out time to thank someone, tell them they’re doing a great job or how they’re helping you? Strangely enough, as human beings, business owners and leaders we prioritise follow-up calls, reviews and meetings to tell the mistakes being made, things that are not yet working as it should, policing or notifying suppliers, staff and clients of shortcomings. How weird is that? Here’s a crazy idea: prioritise your to-do list and meetings differently the next week! Put first the actions of appreciation, a short thank you call or message, praise of a staff member for how what they did impacts you and the business – thank one of your clients for being an awesome client?!! Give time and focus to what you want more of. I did it earlier this week without thinking and realised how different it sets up your day. Puts a smile on someone else’s face – and get you focused on helping create more of that good stuff. Do you want to join me in this experiment? Let’s get really curious about when we ourselves think it’s much more important to be bossy and correcting – and what it would mean if … More Prioritising the good stuff?? »

Beautiful weather today. Taking the time to enjoy it. Allowing smooth sailing. How often do we miss that opportunity? The better educated, the smarter you are, the bigger the risk that you can ALWAYS find something that could be done better. Something that could be improved. Something that you or others are not doing to the optimal level yet. It’s great to have a drive and in most instances, a laser-sharp perception that notices everything, is a gift to have. Then the only thing we need to teach ourselves or remind ourselves is to let go now and then. Smell the roses, enjoy what it. Take a day out, not ticking things off lists, not improving anything. Just being. We could have considerably more smoother sailing in our lives and businesses than we allow ourselves. Basic mindset techniques are brilliant to learn and apply, and one of the core ones is that what you focus on, you get more of. And because we’re so ABLE to fix problems, we focus on them and get a kick out of solving them. While simultaneously, a lot of smooth sailing was available to us in that same moment. But we didn’t look that … More Smooth sailing »