Start Right

Aug 24, 2021 | General

A company director recently related quality at their company to his training as an apprentice carpenter. He was told to “start right”. Before you cut any piece of wood, pick it up and inspect it. Is it the right piece of wood? Pick up your saw and inspect it. Is it...

Zero Means Nothing

Aug 17, 2021 | General

Back in the early 2000’s the organisation I was working for awarded us all with a portable DVD player for achieving 200 days without an injury. It was amazing! Looking back now, I wonder if someone had been injured on day 199 would they have wanted to report it....

Customer Trust

Jul 31, 2021 | Uncategorized

“The cheque is in the mail”. “It will be ready first thing tomorrow.” “I’ll call you right back.” How many times have you been told one of these beauties? Have you ever caught yourself saying something similar to your customers or workmates? Forever the optimist, over...

“What If?” is better than “If Only”

Jul 23, 2021 | Uncategorized

How many times in your life have you said, “If only…”? There are no guarantees in life or business but embedding a risk approach in your decision making can minimise failures. Isn’t it better to ask, “What if?” before launching a new product, new service, new market...

Stakeholder Experience

Jul 22, 2021 | General

A few years ago I broke my ankle on the soccer field. Both the tibia and fibula were cracked! It meant a period of time on crutches and a boot. After a short rest I was determined to remain working, which at that time involved a bit of travel. (Online meetings hadn’t...

Difficult Conversations

Jun 28, 2021 | Uncategorized

Nobody enjoys those difficult conversations with employees. Some years ago, I had a leadership role with the local school band program. We ran a number of bands, with the senior band regularly achieving high standards at the various band festivals entered. The...

Organisational Values

Jun 22, 2021 | Uncategorized

In the 2001 book Good to Great, Jim Collins talks about companies that reach and sustain greatness. They achieve this by finding what they can be the best in the world at, by understanding clearly where their profitability comes from, and they are deeply passionate...

Strategic Thinking Tools

Jun 14, 2021 | Uncategorized

Before a State of Origin match, the teams analyse the opposition to identify threats and to look for any opportunity to take advantage of their weakness. The teams also analyse themselves to identify potential weaknesses and to optimize their strengths. They have a...

Attention Management

Jun 9, 2021 | Uncategorized

Do you struggle to get everything done in a day? Is time management a struggle for you? Do you feel that for much of the time you are just a little out of control? Perhaps it’s not managing time that you are struggling with but rather your attention management. When...

Know Your Values

Jun 8, 2021 | Uncategorized

Have you ever played sport with an ace player who hogs the ball and scores all the goals by themselves? Over my years playing and coaching team sport I have experienced this on a few occasions. Sometimes the team loves it because that player is the difference between...