How This Dad Dads
On the podcast How Other Dads Dad, Hamish Blake asks his guests to share the 3 Cornerstones of their fathering philosophy. Bec asked what mine were on our recent road trip, and I said: Be the example you’d like them to follow (I actually said “Monkey See, Monkey Do”, but this version sounds more refined) […]
The importance of wearing pants
I do a lot of business presentations online where I dress formally. From time to time I’ve considered only dressing formally up top, and keeping it casual down below (newsreader style). I’ve never done it though because the feeling isn’t right. Not because I’m worried about being caught out wearing shorts instead of pants. Rather, […]
Social incentives
Humans are social creatures, and it’s amazing how much our actions are driven by non-monetary means. It really doesn’t take much to provide social incentives, and they can sometimes mean a lot more than financial incentives. Here are a few that you could consider. Recognition Respect Accolades Acknowledgment Understanding Validation Joint accountability Standing Reputation Affirmation […]
For the Nth time
It’s common to think that a message should only need to be communicated once for it to be understood. But the reality is that it may need to be said multiple times before it’s fully embraced. This is especially true when: The audience is larger The beliefs are more ingrained There isn’t willingness to change […]
What’s the world’s most exclusive real estate?
Your phone Home Screen. This is the place you go to the most and where companies want to reach you (and ultimately set up camp on your phone). Any app that’s made its way onto your Home Screen represents a significant part of your life, because you have chosen these apps over all others to […]
Be Authentic or Be Consistent?
I’ve seen this question come up from time to time around career progression. Is it better to be Authentic or to be Consistent at work? Well, when I think about Authenticity, the person who comes to mind is Oprah. But do you know how many episodes there were of The Oprah Winfrey Show? 4,561 Sure, […]
Decision precision
Be very mindful of how much information is needed to make a decision. Trying to get more and more precise can work against you. The more precise you try to be, the more you risk your assessment being wrong (while being more confident about it being right). As someone who loves a complex excel spreadsheet, […]
Make the intangible tangible
When you describe a problem generally, you’re unable to address the fundamental issue or achieve a desired solution. Take “work/life balance” as an example. Someone could tell you that they want more balance across their personal and professional lives, but you both wouldn’t know what you’re talking about (even though it feels like you do). […]
Paying for your own advice
Bec and I have recently engaged a dog trainer, and the best thing they did is tell us what we already know. We got Maui before the kids were born, and he loved being top dog. But since having two kids, the social hierarchy needs changing. Maui loves attention (and I especially love giving it […]
I can’t accept this
Do you know the point when professionals will ACTUALLY change jobs? It’s not when they’re unhappy, or disappointed, or dissatisfied. You can be all of these and want things to change but not do anything about it – for a long time. It’s only when you can no longer accept your current state that you’ll […]