Category: Strategy
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Is great leadership defined by what we stop?
I was reflecting earlier today, on my trundle round the snowy countryside with the dogs, about the nature of leadership – both personal leadership (of self) and the leadership of others (teams, functions, organisations). It was sparked by a number of conversations I had recently with different people – all with a similar refrain, the…
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It\’s the little things that matter
I am writing this blog sat on a ward in one of the Greater Manchester Hospitals with my wife Kirsty awaiting further exploratory tests on a suspected Gall Bladder problem (hers not mine). Having spent most of Saturday at A&E it has been an interesting few days – not least because we have been experiencing…
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Are your priorities clear?
In my morning meditation earlier today Andi Puddicombe (Headspace.com) shared an interesting provocation. “Imagine if you only had today – how would you spend it?” That focusses the mind on what your priorities are doesn’t it? Mahatma Gandhi said that “action expresses priorities” – what you do, what you pay attention to, is ultimately what…
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What do you want to do when you grow up?
Back in 1974 when I was just 5 years old, I was travelling in our battered old Peugeot 504 (KLH 666 :-)) from Njoro down to the coast at Mombasa for our family holiday! Now, as much as I remember, it was a usual trip, giraffe and elephant on the side of the road as…
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3 ways to ensure that time is spent on your agenda and not that of others
I recently took part in the CEO Sleep Out UK event at Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester in order to raise money and awareness for homelessness. It was a great experience and I am so glad that I took part. I learned more about homelessness, met some really interesting people and raised some money!…
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3 Things over Christmas to set yourself up for 2016
Welcome to the last blog of the year and what a year it has been – tempus fugit ……… and some! It has been an interesting and challenging year in so many different ways, but one in which I have gone to work on myself and made massive progress. I am looking forward to a…
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5 Lessons for Life and Business
A year ago yesterday my Dad passed away from a huge and sudden stroke. It was a shock then and remains a stark and absolute reminder that even the strongest, invincible, seemingly unstoppable comes to an end. This is as true for people as it is for products, services and customers. It has been a…
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How to ensure a merger or acquisition succeeds
I was watching an old series of the David Attenborough show “Life” and there was a very interesting piece on baboons in Ethiopia that caught my attention for a number of reasons, not least because it parallels very well the spike in Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) we have recently been seeing. The action followed one…
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Play to Strengths
I have just returned from a wonderful weekend at home in Devon – which included a walk on Dartmoor with a couple of pals from our 2013 Kilimanjaro expedition and an old mate. Four more different types you could not imagine, and the experience of planning and going on the walk got me thinking about…
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Wisdom for your 21 Year Old Self
I was lucky enough to be working with a hugely talented and inspirational group of young farmers last week as part of the Tesco Future Farmer Foundation. This is an amazing initiative by Tesco to give something back to the farming community, investing in the future of farming, and to an extent, the future of…