Who are you?
July 31, 2011
We live in a curious world where it appears that ‘things just happen’ and where control over events seems limited. Whether or not you believe you have responsibility for what’s happening, you always have choices about how to respond. If you perceive yourself as a victim of events outside your control, you instantly become helpless [...]
Read the rest of this entry »New thinking to save the day
July 24, 2011
“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence. It is to act with yesterday’s logic.” Peter Drucker And most would say that today we are in turbulent times. Stop and consider… what are you thinking or doing that does not seem to work anymore? No matter how safe that old way might [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Make sure bad news travels fast
July 17, 2011
If bad news travels slowly in your organisation, then you have a problem. It means people are trying to hide mistakes or problems. Why would they do that? Probably because there is a blame culture. The result? The issue does not get addressed and the organisation does not learn and improve. Do you work in [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Too simple to learn from?
July 7, 2011
I was speaking with a very experienced management consultant this week. He has masterminded the turnaround of many medium sized companies from almost dead to thriving. He knows his stuff! He has been using Alchemy for some time and said as well as the topics, he also really liked the tips and looks forward to [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Innovation: a key ingredient of success
July 3, 2011
Innovation is about putting great ideas into practice and getting a good result. And here is where it gets easier. It does not have to be your idea! James Dyson noticed that his Hoover wasn’t very efficient. He then noticed how efficiently a vortex extractor removed sawdust from the air in a local saw mill, [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Are you a leader or a manager?
June 26, 2011
Consider your own situation … Managers maintain things and leaders change things. Is this true? Management is about ‘what’ and ‘how’. Leadership is about ‘why’. Is this true? Management is about the issues of the day, and leadership is about the issues of the future. Is this true? Management is reactive and leadership is proactive. [...]
Read the rest of this entry »The walk of power and grace
June 19, 2011
The way that you move your body and walk has an enormous effect on the way that you feel, your confidence levels and what other people think of you. How you move is linked to what’s going on in your head and vice versa. Most people let their mind control their body movements; it also [...]
Read the rest of this entry »… felt compelled to stop
June 12, 2011
The location: Washington DC – a metro station The spot: The top of the escalator The time: 7:51 am, Friday morning rush hour The situation: A man puts down his cap for money, gets out his violin and starts to play. He performs classical pieces for the next 43 minutes. In that time, 1,097 people [...]
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