Seth Godin talks about juggling

January 7, 2011 By 1 Comment

Another wonderful post by Seth, and one that I wish I could have commented on. However, he doesn’t go in for all this interaction with his disciples. He just expects us to spread the message. So here I go.

Seth talks about juggling and in particular the area of throwing. He says that throwing is more important than catching, well he says that if you throw the catching will take care of itself.

Now being an Englishmen I can proudly say that I love cricket and have played it for years and enjoyed it, and am proud to come from a nation that is so good at it. (I have waited so many years to say that.) One thing that I was particularly good at was catching. I could launch myself toward a ball and I’d be able to catch it no trouble. However, others couldn’t.

Some people can’t catch!

And this needs to be an addition to Seth’s post. One of the skills is knowing who to throw the ball to, or at least, what area to throw the ball toward. If you fail, or get something wrong, where do you throw the ball? Who do you know who will catch it?

You can read the fantastic post here

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Lessons in Management 2010 – Discipline

December 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

This year has seen my role at work change quite dramatically. I have taken on a team leader and management role that has been both challenging and rewarding. I thought it might be helpful to share with you the many and varied forms of discipline I have used to keep my charges on the straight and narrow. So in no particular order these are the forms of discipline I heave learnt to employ in 2010.

  • a raised eyebrow
  • a light dressing down
  • a ticking off
  • a clip round the ear
  • a heavy dressing down
  • a bit of a talking to
  • a Paddington hard stare
  • a fluffy dressing gown
  • a bit of a look
  • a damn good thrashing

I’ve found each of these to be effective in one form or another, and commend their use to managers everywhere. And if you have any further suggestions that may be of use, don’t hesitate to add them to the comments below.

Filed Under: leadership, management

Leading from within just like Martin Luther king

January 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Leadership, or being a leader for a team, is going to figure quite high on my agenda this year. Part of my personal development plan is to look at being an effective leader. I’ll share what I pick up along the way and I hope that you’ll also offer some insight in the comments.

I saw an article in the Harvard Business Review about Martin Luther King (link below). What I picked up from this article, is that King had a vision but that vision was not in isolation. The vision related to the basic principles of the US constitution; that all were equal and had basic rights – please forgive my simplistic rendering.

Therefore, to be an effective leader we should develop a personal vision, but that vision can, or even should, be tied to a larger mission. The larger mission provides a ready audience to hear your vision and follow you.

In the business environment the company’s mission may change and develop. Quite often, at the very top, a personal vision and a company’s mission may evolve in synchronicity.

  • What is the dream that you or I have?
  • What would we like to see happen?

These are the sort of questions that can help form our vision.

  • Why do I want to see this happen?

That is the type of question that has shaped or will shape the mission.

It is the vision that motivates both the visionary and the followers. The vision is active and drives people forward. So, ‘what is my dream?’

Leadership and Martin Luther King’s Dream – Rosabeth Moss Kanter – Harvard Business Review

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