Clarifying the project

Yes this process is painful Yes we still have loads of time Yes there is a lot of questions Yes it may seem like overkill But consider the benefits of this short term pain. Clarifying the project early means avoiding the last minute, all hands on deck, backs against the wall, stress of scrambling to … Continue reading Clarifying the project →

MITs

Firefighting is exhausting and it never leaves time for planning for the future. In his book Zen Habits, Leo Babauta recommends this great practice called listing your MITs. It stands for Most Important Tasks and these are the tasks that will bring you one step closer to your long term goals. What you do is … Continue reading MITs →

Transfer of knowledge

Paul O’Connell was on ‘Off the ball’ recently and he was talking about his experiences with coaching. He found that one of the biggest challenges is communicating the transfer of knowledge. When he’s trying to get his message across there’s doubts about whether the listener understood it. In his head it makes sense but does … Continue reading Transfer of knowledge →

Behaviour changing bins

There was a small village with a big litter problem. The local authorities had tried a number of different tactics. They asked the public to report offenders, they handed out fines, they ran ads publicly shaming litterers. All to no avail. There was still rubbish everywhere. Then they tried a different tactic. They introduced mechanical … Continue reading Behaviour changing bins →

It appeared simple

It appeared to be a simple task but once you got into it you realised you opened Pandora's box. The list of problems is growing exponentially in front of your eyes and it doesn't show any signs of stopping. You check to see if this task is absolutely necessary to do. You groan audibly when … Continue reading It appeared simple →

Not addressing the problem

I was at a rugby match recently. It was the final of a tournament, at the end of a long season. Pretty quickly into the match, it became apparent that the hooker on one team couldn't throw well. He couldn't throw straight and he couldn't make it past the first player. So slowly but surely … Continue reading Not addressing the problem →

Owning vs disowning a problem

The power rangers are having a meeting to discuss the latest attack on their city. You can tell just from the body language who is going to take ownership of the problem and who will ignore it. The green power ranger isn't paying attention he's on his phone. He's leaning back in his chair with his feet … Continue reading Owning vs disowning a problem →

Initiative

Taking initiative is a big win for all involved and I would highly recommend it. Managers like initiative because it means you weren't just standing around waiting for orders. You showed the ability to see an opportunity and the courage to act on it. Furthermore, managers are very busy, they can't do all the thinking and … Continue reading Initiative →

It’s easier to ignore an email than a person.

In today's world it's becoming more and more common for people to ignore emails. People are getting better and better at ghosting others. But saying your project failed because no one answered your emails isn't good enough. Nobody wants to hear it because it's obviously a cop-out. An unanswered email is just the first test … Continue reading It’s easier to ignore an email than a person. →

Leadership at the nightmare realm

Back around Halloween, I went to the nightmare realm with a friend. It was just the two of us and the guy working there recommended we join the group in front of us, as a bigger group is more fun. The group ahead of us was 4 hysterical adolescent girls. They were jumping at the … Continue reading Leadership at the nightmare realm →