Posts Tagged ‘success’
The Limitations Of Labels
Last week, an Australian journalist was quoted in the media as saying that millennial workers lack resilience. She expressed concern over their need for thanks and hugs. On the same day, our millennial plumber was due to arrive to investigate a leak. Even though we’re isolating during the pandemic, this was an essential repair, and…
Read MoreTrust And Traction
When we want to get a project off the ground, we are often confused about the best way to achieve our goal. We believe if we could only reach more people, we’d immediately have traction. But reach is a poor substitute for the trust of a handful of the right people. A deep connection trumps…
Read MoreStorytelling For The Rest Of Us
Every decision you’ve ever made was influenced by a story—every single one. From the decision about whether to wear a mask during a pandemic, to the charities you choose to support. A story you heard, the story you believed or that story you told yourself, had an impact on those choices. If stories are our…
Read MoreWe Learn By Doing
When my sons were younger, they loved listening to the straight-talking comedian and radio presenter, Karl Pilkington. One of their favourite Pilkington quotes is: ‘You won’t get anything done by planning.’ They often quoted it to me during exam times when I made hints about the benefits of revision timetables. I’m not sure if Pilkington…
Read MoreWhen Things Catch On
When things catch on, we often assume that their success happened en masse and out of the blue. One day an idea is invisible to us, the next it’s everywhere. The truth about ideas that fly is that they gain traction in increments. One story, one believer, one advocate at a time. We earn the…
Read MoreStronger Together
It’s the day before Melbourne cafes close again under reinstated lockdown restrictions. The owner of the Italian restaurant that opened in January is heart sore. We get chatting as I’m paying the bill. He explains that due to then pandemic they’ve been able to have patrons dine in for only nine of the twenty-four weeks…
Read MoreOn Influence
Many of us go through life feeling powerless to change things. After all, not everyone has leadership status or power conferred upon them. We sometimes believe that influence is a top-down construct—that we can have the most influence from a position of authority. Let’s challenge that assumption. Think about someone whose impact helped change how…
Read MoreRaising The Bar
When I was a teenager, I joined the local athletic club. I’d never been much of a runner, but since I went to an all-girls school, the draw of the athletic club where boys hung out was abundantly clear. It was time to dust off my running shoes. The worst thing about contemplating long-distance running…
Read MoreA Good Job
George is in his seventies. His hearing has deteriorated over the years, but he’s reluctant to wear a hearing aid. He hates missing out on parts of conversations and often feels isolated because he can’t hear what’s going on. He’s embarrassed about his disability. But he feels self-conscious about wearing a clunky, visible hearing aid…
Read MoreThe Value Conundrum
When I was growing up, my mother tried selling various products from home to earn extra money to support our family. I remember cookware and cosmetics being demonstrated to small groups of her friends over cups of tea and homemade sponge cake in the living room. From day-to-day, Mum used the same old pans that…
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