Decayed Decade

Acknowledgement: I stole the name from a University Revue in 1979. It’s also a song by Sabertooth Zombie but you probably knew that. At the end of every decade we may feel that the human condition/society has lurched another step down. But the reality is much more uplifting: most of the poorest people today have better lives than a billionaire had a century ago. As we head for the beach and then gear ourselves up for a new decade, give yourself some reasons to be hopeful.

Succeeding at Succession

The HR Industry Benchmark Survey Report 2019 released in November identified that succession planning was a challenge for 16% of respondents – well behind leadership development, culture change and change management.

But for those facing the issue, it can be their greatest challenge.

Cultivating Purpose

I was leading the debate for the cynics by asking why we should start with why. I lost the argument.

Being clear about purpose and values doesn’t drive performance on its own. But it helps you hire and grow people who get what that purpose is about and who you are. And it helps you dehire them too, which is every bit as important.

The Last Word on Hansen (for now)

There’s not a lot to say about the result that hasn’t been said. That’s sport. That’s life.

But I was interested in how Ian Foster characterized Hansen’s approach. He praised his combination of high expectations, empathy and compassion, which I thought was just a fabulous definition of what good leadership looks like.

Self-Taught Genius

Certainly, one of the things I enjoy about playing guitar is improvising on the spot, just picking it up and playing whatever comes into my head and fingers, creating something that will disappear the minute I stop.

But being self-taught cuts both ways. If you’re a genius like Paul McCartney, you don’t know the rules so you create all sorts of extraordinary music that changes the world, not just the music industry.

But I’m not a genius.

Breaking through the podcast scene

The Breakthrough Company has decided to enter the podcast industry and armed with 700,001st mover advantage we aim to disrupt the industry.

You might well ask why we’re entering this space when it’s going to be so hard to compete with the 7000 that have an average download of 35,000 per episode.

Because we’re not seeking to be in the top 1%. We’re aiming to be in the top 10%, with an average of 1100 downloads.

Dr Mike’s Blog