High performance has always required shrewd strategy & superb execution… These two elements remain critical, especially in today’s unprecedented business climate. Although, for forward thinking organisations looking to find an edge, there is a third! It’s an element that not many business leaders believe in and is covered by Rich Karlgaard, in his excellent book

Have you heard of the golden rectangle? Philosophers, mathematicians, and artists have admired the properties of what’s been termed the ‘golden rectangle’ for thousands of years. It’s a mythical shape based on 1.618 or about 5 x 8. Today it’s the common shape used for books, flat screen TV’s and smart devices. Why? Research discovered

Anyone who knows us understands exceptional customer service is what drives us… And any opportunity we come across to learn what other organisations are doing differently, we grab them with both hands. We don’t always try and create some new unique type of service; on many occasions we’ll learn from what others are doing and

Great teams aren’t just about finding common ground… Common ground can help create unity and trust, and it can help lubricate collaboration. But common ground can also be a trap, it can reduce our willingness to discuss different perspectives. It can make us insular and cause us to reject good ideas that are not our

In school we’re taught to be individuals… We sit in row after row, whilst the teacher imparts knowledge on a smart board (which was a blackboard in my time). We write down our own personal notes. We study on our own, in our own textbooks. Then we return to take tests, and if we share

This week’s business book review is about a subject close to my heart… ‘Common Purpose’ written by Joel Kurtzman is about building teams who fit the organisations culture and are driven on by shared goals. Look, it’s even signed by the author. It’s not necessarily just about building winning business teams, it could be a

How do you get too excellent in a service business? Good is a commodity and is the base line customers expect, but excellence will make you stand out in a crowded market. It’s about making sure your team feel they can take risks, without the fear of reprisals if something goes wrong. In team meetings

Not long ago at an event organised for the print technology industry… I overheard a conversation between two photocopier salespeople from different companies. Both we’re in their 30’s, dressed in smart suits with open collared shirts, and looked very professional. Salesperson one said. “We gain our customers loyalty by tying them to long term contracts

When you get drunk you tend to walk in a random way… So, when writing a book about how random events rule our personal and business lives, Leonard Mlodinow came up with the perfect title: ‘The Drunkard’s Walk’. Mlodinow presents compelling evidence on how lacking we are when it comes to understanding real life probability