I was speaking with a business owner a while back who told me he had set up an advisory board. “We got together twice,” he said. “It didn’t really go anywhere.” I asked a few questions: He’s not alone. A lot of advisory boards are built with good intentions but never deliver real value — mostly because they’re never built to deliver value....
Read MoreA while ago, I was catching up with the CEO of a mid-sized business. His business was growing steadily but wrestling with some underlying challenges. As we talked through a few of the issues, I asked whether he had ever considered forming an advisory board. His response was familiar: “Absolutely, it’s something I know I need to do. Just not...
Read MoreI taught skiing on weekends for almost 40 years and one of the most powerful skills I developed was what is called ‘Detection and Correction”. It’s the skill of identifying the symptom and then determining the root cause. Inexperienced instructors can spot the symptom—but rarely identify the root cause. A student may be skiing without flexing...
Read MoreMost CEOs I know don’t want a coach. At least, not in the traditional sense. They didn’t climb the mountain by asking for directions. They got there by figuring things out. By instinct. By guts. By doing. But here’s the thing: at a certain stage, figuring things out alone doesn’t cut it anymore. The stakes are higher, the terrain is unfamiliar,...
Read MoreWith some trepidation you strip down to the basics and attach the required ankle tracker. You have made a foolhardy(?) decision to go ahead with the venture. Physically you are committed. Mentally – not so sure. You shuffle forward to the end of the dock. The man says, “The timer starts when you step on the
Read More“There’s no I in team” is one of those phrases that gets trotted out whenever someone needs to be reminded that it’s not all about them. It’s catchy. It sounds wise. It gets printed on posters, stitched into corporate training slides, and dropped into motivational speeches. I cringe every time I hear it ..... it seems to gloss over the vital...
Read MoreI spent a few days skiing at Mont Tremblant last week. The snow was perfect and the company excellent. One of our group is a solid intermediate skier and always trying to improve. Unfortunately for him, the other three of us are all experienced ski instructors and only too keen to offer advice. It seems that each of us had been quietly...
Read MoreCoaches focus on the people (typically CEOs and executives) to help them improve their leadership skills and address specific management challenges. They can improve personal performance through specific interventions in areas such as time management, presentations skills and interpersonal relationships. By improving people’s skills, they can...
Read MoreCome with me on a creative ramble and let's explore .... One of the topics within my Strategic Thinking workshops is The Box. Yes, the very box that everyone advises everyone else to think outside of - without explaining exactly what that means or how to go about it. We explore the idea that the box is actually your survival map of the world as...
Read MoreI was chatting with Graham Findlay this morning (he owns 3G-Energy.com) who told me that he is learning to play the guitar. He explained that most learners hit what he called the “plateau of mediocrity”. It’s where you think you are pretty good, and you get feedback from your friends and colleagues who confirm, that you are pretty good. It feels...
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