How to play the (in)finite game
The book that has been generating lots of buzz this year is Simon Sinek’s The Infinite Game that has been recommended to me by so many that finally now I got it. I have only read the first chapter but already I can see clear linkages between how Simon describes finite vs. infinite leaders and how […]
How to grow strategically
This week’s insights are based on two different yet similar books: John C. Maxwell’s No Limits: Blow the cap off your capacity” and Annie Stewart’s “Career to Calling: How to make the switch“. The books have lots of similarities: both authors are coaches and focus on building people’s capacity to do things they didn’t think […]
How to leap between theory and practice
Many of us who aspire to be great leaders and wanting to make an impact know how much leadership is a learned skill that is a mix of theory (all the leadership resources we consume) and practice (actually dealing with people). You can read piles of leadership books and understand the core principles of good […]
How to prioritise through directed commitment
The famous Jim Collins quote says that the most important thing is to first to get the right people in the bus, otherwise you’ll spend most of your time arguing where you should be heading and how to get there. This is highly applicable also to how you prioritise your activities and goals: if you […]
How to see around corners and enable organisational innovation
The latest book I have been reading is Seeing Around Corners: How to spot inflection points in business before they happen by Rita McGrath who delivers a sobering message every leader and innovator needs to hear: if we want to stay ahead and innovate, we need to understand how trends emerge and spot them before they […]
How to learn to lead (well)
In the university context, we often focus on issues like how to develop robust research methodologies, how to write a good journal paper, how to do amazing literature reviews, and how to contribute new knowledge to existing research topics and themes. However, we spend much less time in thinking about professional development, the skills that […]
How to develop robust decision principles
Learn from the best is what most of us aspire to do. So no wonder that when people like Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, decides to put his life principles into a book, you simply cannot not buy that book. Principles (Life and Work) is Ray Dalio’s personal explanation of his life work […]
How to get and maintain innovation capital
How many of us have spent hours in cool wanky workshops where we unleash our individual and collective creativity? Everyone feels great and super excited about the next phase and the state of the world. The only problem is that for most ideas, the next phase rarely arrives: the actual move from big bright ideas […]
Finding your voice
This week has marked the International Women’s Day and it seems timely again to reflect on some of the issues that are coming up in media. This year I was invited to join our university table at the Gold Coast Women of the Year Awards with some of our most influential women from Griffith University. […]
How to know when you have ‘arrived’
This week I’ve been inspired by several different ideas. Listening to the latest episode of Learning Leader (#299 with Kyle Maynard) one of the things struck me is the question when we have arrived. ‘Arrived’ in this context means about reaching a point or end goal, and recognising that moment as significant. I have also […]