Can you hear me or are you just too rude to answer?

The art of communication seems more like finger painting than Picasso in the 21st century. Have we lost the use of our polite genes in this technological age? We have a zillion ways to communicate and yet so much of it is just noise that I wonder whether the art of communication will burn on […]

Curiosity is the lust of the mind

A quick note about the title of this post, it is a quote by Thomas Hobbes a 17th century philosopher best known for his book Leviathan which is a foundational work on political and social thought and structure. Curiosity as a notion is often thought of as a dangerous state- after all it killed the […]

It’s good to giggle… the power of laughter

Childhood joy and why it’s good to giggle Such simple things give children such enormous joy.  They look at washing up bottles and see a rocket and when they are given the empty container their joy knows no bounds.  Or when they find something incredibly funny (often for no reason or when it involves an […]

Why is a raven like a writing desk…?

Rediscover & Use Your Childlike Curiosity Children have the capacity to dream… What did you want to be when you were a child?  I have listened to childish lisped wishes to be an astronaut, ballerina, a dragon slayer (my favourite), fireman…. Adults tend to smile indulgently and think they’ll grow out of it when real […]

Could Your Next Great Idea come from Daydreaming?

What children could teach businesses and entrepreneurs about daydreaming I’ve never wanted to have children and remember declaring to my grandfather at the age of 10 that I wasn’t having them. He always said ‘wait and see, you’ll change your mind’ but I never did. That is not to say I haven’t enjoyed many childhood […]

Taking a stand – or just being bloody minded?

When faced with a challenge our response can be quite primitive- the adrenaline kicks in and biology dictates we have a fight or flight response. Well, we’ve evolved a little since caveman days and often we have a third response, that of freezing. A difficult situation can leave us feeling overwhelmed and we freeze into […]

Stop trying to be a hero…

.. take off the rose coloured spectacles and walk way   Part 3 Facing and Managing Challenge Sometimes you have to walk away from a challenge and be realistic and this can be just as difficult as facing the challenge in the first place. Our culture celebrates heroes and urges us not to give up. […]

When The Mountain Seems Too Big To Climb

Part 2 of Facing and Managing Challenge Sometimes you are facing challenges that seem so enormous, you just want to take a duvet day and hide. We’ve all faced a challenge that is so large in our lives that we have no idea how to tackle it.  Human reaction understandably is to shy away from […]

The Monster in the Cupboard – Overcoming Fear of Challenges

Don’t underestimate the fear factor Overcoming fear of challenge is the first step in managing challenges successfully- without it we are paralysed into inaction. Most things we do in life are a challenge. From standing up to walk for the first time, learning how to speak to sitting exams to starting out on a career […]

Systems for Transition

Last week I looked at the importance of managing transition for business and one of the ways to do this is to have effective systems in place. Solo entrepreneurs and start-ups often make the mistake of thinking they are not big enough or established enough to worry about systems. They also often hate this aspect […]