Success
213 posts
Walking As Yourself
The legendary British actress, Helen Mirren, says the hardest thing you can do is walk as yourself. She may have been speaking about acting when she said this, but I think her words carry wisdom we can use beyond the stage. Society conditions us to fit in from a young age. The way to fit…
Trust And Traction
When we want to get a project off the ground, we are often confused about the best way to achieve our goal. We believe if we could only reach more people, we’d immediately have traction. But reach is a poor substitute for the trust of a handful of the right people. A deep connection trumps…
A Stake In The Ground
Years ago, when the owner of our local bakery decided to bake only gluten-free bread and cakes, it would have sounded like a risky strategy. Many people would have advised her to sell both conventional baked goods alongside her gluten-free loaves. Instead, she put a stake in the ground. We are natur
Storytelling For The Rest Of Us
Every decision you’ve ever made was influenced by a story—every single one. From the decision about whether to wear a mask during a pandemic, to the charities you choose to support. A story you heard, the story you believed or that story you told yourself, had an impact on those choices. If stories
We Learn By Doing
When my sons were younger, they loved listening to the straight-talking comedian and radio presenter, Karl Pilkington. One of their favourite Pilkington quotes is: ‘You won’t get anything done by planning.’ They often quoted it to me during exam times when I made hints about the benefits of revision
When Things Catch On
When things catch on, we often assume that their success happened en masse and out of the blue. One day an idea is invisible to us, the next it’s everywhere. The truth about ideas that fly is that they gain traction in increments. One story, one believer, one advocate at a time. We earn the…
Trusted Over Time
We often hear it said that it’s hard to stand out in an increasingly competitive world. Maybe you can’t be the biggest, fastest or cheapest in your field. But there are plenty of ways to differentiate and make a mark. First among them is by being trusted over time. Make promises you intend to keep.…
On Influence
Many of us go through life feeling powerless to change things. After all, not everyone has leadership status or power conferred upon them. We sometimes believe that influence is a top-down construct—that we can have the most influence from a position of authority. Let’s challenge that assumption. Th
Raising The Bar
When I was a teenager, I joined the local athletic club. I’d never been much of a runner, but since I went to an all-girls school, the draw of the athletic club where boys hung out was abundantly clear. It was time to dust off my running shoes. The worst thing about contemplating long-distance runni
On Experience
Every time we approach a new problem we believe we have to come at it with fresh eyes. Sometimes that is true. But we mustn’t ignore our lived experience. Whatever challenge or goal is in front or ahead of us, it’s worth remembering the resources we called on to get where we needed or wanted…
The Human Touch
The woman on the other end of the line at the call centre hesitates. The change in her tone of tells me she doesn’t know the answer to my question. She hesitates. I hear the doubt in her voice. She’s having to go off script, and she’s terrified. She’s trained to answer only certain queries…
A Compass For The Heart
Where do you turn when you don’t know what to do? Perhaps you do a Google search for facts. Maybe you read a book and get information. You might consult a professional for their expertise. And friends will gladly offer you opinions based on their experiences. You can only gain insights and intuition
The Value Conundrum
When I was growing up, my mother tried selling various products from home to earn extra money to support our family. I remember cookware and cosmetics being demonstrated to small groups of her friends over cups of tea and homemade sponge cake in the living room. From day-to-day, Mum used the same ol
Forward Thinking
Every business owner or leader, entrepreneur or creative, walks the fine line between creating value in the present and thinking about what their contribution might be in the future. We need to do the work that’s in front of us today and plan for a tomorrow we cannot yet see. Often, we end up doing…
Up To Us
Sometimes we choose to focus on those things that no amount of energy and enthusiasm can change. By doing so, we miss the opportunity to have more impact, both on our own lives and in the lives of others. All progress comes from discerning where our effort is best applied, then taking the small step
Leveraging Our Mistakes
Each day we overlook some opportunity to see or to serve. We fail to challenge our assumptions and hold fast to our opinions. The result is that we sometimes miss the opportunity to do better. This feels like bad news. But it doesn’t have to be. What if instead of saying; ‘I could kick myself…
A Small Great Thing
We’re usually excited about growing our audience or expanding our customer base. It’s hard to close the door on what might look like an opportunity to serve or scale. But we do our best work when we know exactly who will get the most benefit from it and who it brings us joy to serve.…
Start To Finish
Conventional wisdom states that you can never have too much information when solving a problem or executing on a plan. But we all know that information and data alone won’t get us to where we want to go. All problem-solving and innovation require us also to imagine a future we can’t yet see. And per
On Ambition
Before I went to high school, everyone in our year sat an aptitude test. We were eleven years old, and the assessment took place over three hours one morning early in summer. The goal was to identify each student’s potential and stream girls into year groups based on their IQ. The theory being that
Imperceptible Growth
When our kids were young my husband and I charted their growth on a door frame. Every few months they’d stand next to the wall, and we’d mark their height with a pencil. Some months it looked like they hadn’t grown at all. Other times it seemed like they’d shot up overnight. The truth was…
