Posted on September 30, 2014
During First Crossings I was fortunate enough to learn first hand some of New Zealand’s pioneering stories. Stories that occurred at a time when our country’s native wildlife was abundant, so much so that naturalist Joseph Banks, a passenger on Captain Cook’s first voyage, described our native birds’ dawn chorus as ‘deafening’. With the arrival…
Read MorePosted on May 30, 2014
The sharing of effective feedback should happen all the time in teams. In fact, giving or not giving recognition or praise for doing good work is responsible for a 10 – 20% difference in revenue and productivity. However, many managers find its one of the most challenging parts of their role. Most of us have…
Read MorePosted on October 30, 2013
I’m often asked the question of how to transition from a high performer (subject matter expert) into a leadership role? Often the first things that come to mind are, build a diverse team, balance the time you put into work with time outside of work and select a good mentor. All sounds simple right, after…
Read MorePosted on October 28, 2013
In January 2007, and after two years of meticulous planning and training, Kevin Biggar and I reached the South Pole unaided after 52 days and over 1,100 km of freezing temperatures, torn hamstrings, lost toenails, rough ice and huge weight loss. Sounds simple right? Get to the coast, and then head south! But Antarctica is…
Read MorePosted on September 29, 2013
Last week I spoke at a fundraising event for the Mary Potter Hospice in Wellington. Wow, what a great organisation. They are one of the many superhero organisations in our community who perform miracles every day. They’re full of inspiring people, yet often go unnoticed until we ourselves need them. Palliative care is an extremely…
Read MorePosted on September 28, 2013
How many times have you walked away from a meeting and thought ‘that was not a good use of my time? You’re not the only one. A global survey of 38,000 people found that ineffective meetings are on of the top three corporate time wasters. According to the survey the average worker spends nearly six…
Read MorePosted on September 13, 2013
Few employees (or adventurers) start a new job demotivated, but many fail to maintain that ‘first day’ enthusiasm. Something happens to them. They become clock-watching zombies. Sitting at their desk drooling, physically present but mentally absent. How do you get these people back with the program? For that matter how can you keep all of…
Read MorePosted on September 4, 2013
Are you as gripped as we are at Inspiring Performance with the America’s Cup? We’re loving supporting the Emirates Team New Zealand boys and watching the racing excitement each morning while eating our weetbix. Looking back since New Zealand entered its first America’s cup in 1995 and white washed Dennis Connor’s Team America, so much…
Read MorePosted on June 29, 2013
Story telling has been used to pass on knowledge for thousands of years. We can tell a lot about our society or a business by the types of stories created every day. In my last blog I covered the mechanics of a great speech, but what are you actually going to say? And how are…
Read MorePosted on April 29, 2013
Last year I introduced you to Jacqui Edwards, whose aim was to put her early childhood teaching experience to good use in a Kenyan orphanage. We’ve recently caught up with Jacqui, and asked about her original expectations, her experience, what the gap between the two was, and how this has helped her define new goals….
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