Building resilience in individuals and teams during periods of change and uncertainty. So many people today are struggling with the increasing pace of change and the constant and excessive busyness that comes with it. Many feel stretched, overwhelmed and exhausted, besieged by the demands of complex projects and workplaces. This is not only ineffective and […]
Jan 2018
You’ve completed your situation analysis. You’ve clarified your vision. You’ve articulated your strategy into a concise strategy statement, cementing your strategic choices. Perhaps you’ve even prepared a draft budget. Now comes the next stage – translating your strategy into an optimal portfolio of strategic projects to achieve your strategic objectives over the year ahead. A […]
Jan 2018
For every organization, balancing the needs of the business with the development needs of employees is a constant reality. Retaining top talent, connecting people skills to business priorities and creating an environment of engagement all require real-world expertise to meet the real-world challenges unique to small and mid-size businesses. Your success depends upon the engagement, […]
Jan 2018
Have you worked on your vision but are not sure whether it is complete yet? You can find out using the free self-assessment tool below. In “Chapter 5 – Expressing Your Vision” of the book Visioning by Glenn A. Williams, Glenn provides a couple of examples of visions that his clients have prepared with his assistance. He included […]
Dec 2017
What is the principal challenge facing business leaders today? The answer most management experts will give you is that “success is changing”. In simple terms, success today does not guarantee success tomorrow. The life expectancy of Fortune 500 companies is falling. The average tenure of CEOs is falling. Disruption and non-linear change are now the […]
Aug 2015
We received a strong response to our recent post “Managing Your Household – Part 1”. The idea that to put the world in order, we must first put our family in order, seems to have struck a chord. In that article, I invited you to consider the following question: “What if you thought of your […]
Jul 2015
“Succession is about more than the evolution of systems and structures. It is also about the continuous process of change in people’s lives, the development and maturation of individuals as they move through life”. Ivan Lansberg During my recent trip to Harvard, I had the opportunity to talk with Eva Hirsch Pontes, one of […]
Jun 2015
One of the best ideas I think I’ve come up with as a result of my research on organizing and productivity for high performance is the need to create what I call your Core Information Architecture (C.I.A). It sounds quite technical but by the end of this post I hope you’ll agree it’s a simple […]
May 2015
This week, I’m writing to you from Harvard University in Boston. I’m attending an intensive eight-day executive education program called “The Art and Practice of Leadership Development” between 8-15 May 2015. I’m part of a learning community of 70 peers (from almost as many countries and walks of life) focused on The Leadership Pipeline – […]
Apr 2015
What I’d like you to do is consider that you are your ecosystem. If you think about yourself as an ecosystem, an ecosystem is comprised of habitats – the natural homes in which we live. What we need to be able to do is to be able to respond to changes in those habitats. The […]
Apr 2015
CEOs need to be equipped to lead their organisations in a way that allows people and systems to evolve by adapting both to internal and external changes facing their organisations. The only true source of sustainable and competitive advantage is the capacity to adapt. Adapting Think about the notion of change management; it really applies […]
Mar 2015
There is a magical space inside which you can generate, collaborate and appreciate – Where new things are possible and success becomes more probable. You need a tipping point to adapt to the changes in your habitat Where energy and inspiration flow To help you flourish and grow Happily – As you transform rapidly. You’ll […]
Feb 2015
Our approach to managing organisations is quite analytical – we think about boxes and flowcharts. To put this into the context of a farm; we take land, we clear that land and we make these nice little boxes into which we put our livestock. We do the same thing when we talk about customers, suppliers, […]
Jan 2015
My original training was in biology. Since then I’ve worked in management and leadership roles as a consultant, as a CEO, as an entrepreneur / business owner. If you think about the fundamental intentions of both business and biology it’s initially to survive and then ultimately to thrive. Becoming a CEO Caterpillars are pretty slow […]
Jan 2015
We really need to create CEOs that are confident in confronting uncertainty. We need people that engage people in strategic dialogue. CEOs that get people talking about the future and are comfortable exploring the uncertainty of that territory. Leaders who are quite happy with the divergent phase that comes before the convergent phase of formulating […]
Dec 2014
In this blog post, we would like to share one of our favourite TED Talks with you. Simon Sinek has a simple but powerful model for inspirational leadership all starting with a golden circle and the question, “Why?” His examples include Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright Brothers. The challenge people face in applying […]
Dec 2014
In Get Rhythm we explored the importance of developing rituals that help keep the beat in your business. In his book titled “Getting Things Done (GTD)”, author David Allen proposes a three-step “Weekly Review Process” comprised of: Get Clear Get Current Get Creative In our experience at nLIVEn of working with high performing executives and entrepreneurs, […]
Nov 2014
I recently attended a Lynn Lounge event as a guest of Tivoli Hi-Fi , one of Australia’s leading specialist hi-fi retailers based in Hawthorn East, an inner suburb of Melbourne. Lynn is a Scottish company that has been a leader in the development of high fidelity speakers and stereo components for several decades. In essence, a […]
Nov 2014
When it comes to communicating a significant idea, planning a major project or preparing to collaborate on an important task, I would recommend you take the time to prepare a Brief. What is a Brief? A brief is a summary of facts, findings, arguments and objectives which are prepared to give its reader or receiver […]
Oct 2014
Some executives thrive in times of change. Others fail. Is it lack of vision or strategy? Rarely. Sustained high performance demands consistent execution. In a volatile and uncertain world of escalating complexity and increasing ambiguity, we need dynamic people and enterprises that competently adapt to change. Download the full article here… The Story of Adapting […]
May 2018