Coaching for leaders in the tech industry
There are many instructive parallels between playing a game of chess and the challenges of running a business. To win in chess, you have to plan your attack carefully and anticipate your opponent’s moves. While you are attacking, you must not neglect your defence. Moving a piece into an attacking position but allowing it to…
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Almost every day I’m reminded that what I think is not important. It matters more what other people think. This applies in so many ways. For example, it could be that you’re talking to your children about their school work and how important it is to achieve good grades. But if your kids don’t think…
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‘There’s no smoke without fire’ is a phrase I remember from my childhood, but these days it seems to have fallen into disuse – or at least into much less frequent use. If you have a wood-burning stove at home, as I do, you can observe the truth of this statement quite literally. If…
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In life and in business you may find yourself having to make a choice between doing the easy thing and doing the right thing. Doing the easy thing is having that second biscuit, or not saying anything when a colleague steps over the line. Or it might be agreeing with the customer – when you…
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I’ve observed some worrying trends in meetings I’ve been attending lately. It seems people are afraid to speak their minds during a meeting for fear of being seen as disrespectful. Another trend is that voicing disagreement is seen as a sign of treasonable disrespect and leads to a shouting match! Neither of these trends is…
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If you’re in a leadership role, one of the things your team expect from you and need you to do is make decisions. They want you to provide leadership. In very simple terms, what this means is that you tell them what’s happening next, and what direction they need to take. If you don’t make…
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May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face … Those are the first few lines of a traditional Irish blessing and, for me, they are all about making life easier for the person receiving the blessing. Regular readers will…
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We had a problem with our supplier – they were offering us a really long lead time for an item we needed quite soon if we were to meet our customers’ expectations. The comment made by the supplier was a little direct – ‘Lack of planning on your part does not constitute a fire on…
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It’s not just in American politics that we suffer from fake news. It happens all the time in the business world over here as well. Sometimes, it’s internal. Credit is taken or blame shifted from one individual to another through careful commentary and positioning. Often, it’s external. For instance, when dealing with customers or suppliers…
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I have been told more times than I care to remember that process inhibits creativity and we should just ‘let things flow’ so that creative ideas are not short-lived – or even stillborn. Well-planned processes take into account all the ripple effects. Making a change in a business is like throwing a rock into a series…
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