The secret questions you didn’t know you must ask
Negotiations are about trying to find outcomes that settle more than one person’s or party’s needs and goals. The most human thing is to shy away from conflict; fleeing from a difficult situation is much easier than staying to solve one. Yet, as Chris Voss reminds us, negotiations are an inherent part of life and […]
How to improve performance in real-time
This week I have further reflected upon the Measure what matters, in particular the question: how do we know that we are on the right track even when we have set our mission, objectives and key results? In order to reach our Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), these should be supported by what John Doerr […]
How uncertainty hits decisionmaking
The last few months have been a mix of uncertainty while we all have been adapting to a new normal. What this pandemic has made clear at least for me is the new unfamiliar territory of decisionmaking where even small decisions carry tremendous potential for uncertain outcomes. Most of us are no fans of uncertainty, […]
How to make great thoughts into a daily practice
The way we choose to see, act and be is what our world becomes. This is the underlying truth of Stoicism that seem to be popping up across newspaper outlets, an ancient philosophy and practice that great many leaders of our time and of the past have practiced. If you think it sounds too soft or […]
The art of reframing obstacles
With many of us waiting for life to return to somewhat normal, I finally got a new book “The Obstacle is the way: The Ancient Art of Turning Adversity to Advantage” by Ryan Holiday. It’s exactly what I need to be reading now; a practice-oriented book that digs into your perceptions, assumptions and ways of […]
Want to learn to lead during coronavirus lockdown? Develop emotional intelligence
By now, most of us have heard of the actual skills that are required to succeed in today’s work place: the “soft” skills like listening, detecting moods, reading power relationships, collaborating and influencing. For a long time, many of these skills were not recognised as core competencies because they exist under the surface and have […]
Defining your purpose: easier than it sounds?
In the midst of chaos, the unfolding pandemic, poor decisions on warnings and emergency management, the world can seem like it is literally coming to an end as we know it. It is soooo easy to get swept up with screen time being 67% up from last week (ahemm….), checking on Twitter and news sites […]
Leadership as Empathy in the era of coronavirus
I have been on Twitter on minute-by-minute basis this last week, trying to understand the unfolding trends of coronavirus and what lessons are already emerging in how countries and leaders are handling the situation. Many of us are scared, trying to understand what is happening in other countries, which measures seem effective (washing hands, social […]
How to use decision points in real time
This week globally we have had a new challenge with the Coronavirus and a lot of decisions have been made, are being made, and will be made regarding for example whether to organise conferences or other gatherings with overseas attendance. Most of us are erring on the side of precaution, while also thinking ahead both […]
How to change your self-image
When I’ve shown my current book, Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz, to a few friends and colleagues, I’ve got lots of concerned looks and questions about Scientology. But fear not, I have not gone to the dark side… the book is actually about psychology of our assumptions, habits, and beliefs and how these form the image that […]