Category: Life

When should you change horses?

Contemplating a big change in direction but still implementing your current strategy? The expression ‘you should not change horses midstream’ apparently comes from a speech made by Abraham Lincoln in the 1864 presidential election as he urged voters not to switch leader in the middle of the civil war. It emphasises the risk in making …

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The leadership of Michelle Obama

Do you ever wonder if your leadership makes a difference? It can be difficult, especially in complex organisations or if you are a leader with a wide area of responsibility, to see what difference leaders make to the performance of those on the frontline of the organisation. You may be able to see where poor …

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Truth and fear – poor bedfellows?

It has been a bad summer for truth and a good one for fear. Anyone who followed the Brexit campaign saw leaders pedalling the most outrageous misrepresentations of truths (aka lies). Perhaps the most obvious was the ‘Leave’ battle-bus which trumpeted the opportunity to repatriate the £350m that we allegedly give to the EU each …

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The Economist on the collaboration curse

The Economist this week featured an interesting article in its Schumpeter column on the often hidden problems of the emphasis on collaboration throughout business and its impact on productivity, creativity and original thought. As a fan of collaboration in general, I was pleased and amused to read a lovely summary of the downsides it creates …

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What does being an authentic leader actually mean?

If you put their policies on one side for a moment, what do you think of the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and David Cameron? Who is the better leader? Maybe you consider the answer to be obvious or maybe you think that the question gets to the heart of some of the bigger leadership issues in our …

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