I’ve seen professionals alienated and politicians infuriated. And public policy has been the worse for it. We need effective influence. Thinking hard about what did and didn’t work, I offer eleven tips for effective political influence…
Humility
I hear a lot about humble leadership, and I don’t really believe it. By all means, avoid bluster and vainglory, avoid the strutting displays of power that mask only a deep insecurity. But humility?
Crisis 10: the surprise of the daily call
Since lockdown began, our senior team starts the day with a half-hour call at 9 am. We do this every day except Monday (on Mondays we have an extended staff meeting later on). Most days, each member of the executive starts a second call with their own managers immediately after. If someone can’t make it […]
Two tips for negotiations
There are plenty of good books on negotiation. There are plenty of bad ones too. I think a president may have written one… I don’t want to tread old ground or give a comprehensive overview, but I do want to share two key insights from my own experience. If you need my credentials: I’ve bargained […]
If something doesn’t work
It is a statement that is stunning both for the fact that it is blatantly true and for the fact that we usually do the complete opposite…
Crisis 9: Eldorado remains remote
If you’d asked me three weeks ago about the prospect of reducing office space and increasing homeworking, I would probably have been quite enthusiastic. This week, the monotony and isolation are kicking in. The physical toll of screens and long periods of sitting, the temptation to schedule back to back calls, the lack of a […]
Making rules
Organisations live down to their rules, so it comes to look like those rules are necessary. It takes a leap of faith to conclude that behaviour could improve as a result of reducing rather than increasing regulations…
Taking advice
Whose advice should you take? There’s no shortage of it. And not all of it is helpful.
Crisis 8: let science decide
Science cannot tell you what to do. It can tell you what will happen if you do it; whether that justifies the action needs something else…
Crisis 7: how NOT to think about the crisis and its aftermath
The crisis has created a moment of liberation in our thinking, where necessity frees us from the bonds of routine, scrutiny, measurement, caution and perfection to consider things we would never have dared before…
Note to self 