March 17

Are you motivated enough?

Are you motivated enough?

We’ve just had another successful Winter Paralympic Games. What stands out for me as an able-bodied person is how much we have to learn about motivation from people who have different physical and mental challenges to me. We hear a lot about can do versus a can’t do mentality. These Games have reminded us that the only limit to what we can do is ourselves.

May 30

Do you have a 37th move? What can we learn from AI?

Do you have a 37th move? What can we learn from AI?

In March 2016, world champion Lee Sedol pitted his skills in the game of Go against the AlphaGo algorithm developed by DeepMind in a series of five matches. Sedol famously lost, however something quite ground breaking happened in the 37th move of the second game.

February 1

Career success: Do you need to try harder?

Career success: Do you need to try harder?

Whilst much of the press coverage of the Australian Tennis Open this month focused on the implications for Andy Murray’s career, it was a stepping stone for the two-times Wimbledon Champion Petra Kvitova.

November 25

Do you REALLY listen?

Do you REALLY listen?

In a business context, I often find when you say to an organisation that they should listen to their customer more, what they most often appear to hear is “you need to give the customer what they want, unconditionally”. In some ways this is understandable, given financial targets, personal objectives and pressures to deliver you can see why this is likely to be interpreted as “roll over and play dead”. In reality, what this represents is a failure to listen.

October 26

Do you need to get a life?

Do you need to get a life?

You may remember the story of Curtis Woodhouse, who was a boxer taunted by Twitter trolls in March 2013? Essentially having lost a bout (on points) he was branded a “disgrace”, amongst other things.

September 14

What has age got to do with it?

What has age got to do with it?

With life expectancy increasing and people expected to work for longer, we are increasingly working in an environment where workers in organisations have ages spanning different generations. So how much should we pay attention to the ever widening disparity of expectations between older and younger generations?

August 20

Certain? Are you sure?

Certain? Are you sure?

A little while ago, I read The Marshmallow Test by Walter Mischell. Most people will have some familiarity with the test that Mischell devised in the 1960’s and 1970’s. It was not his thinking about what this test tells us about human nature that caught my eye…

May 28

Are you better than average?

Are you better than average?

Are you better at your job than most people? Are you a better driver? Do you have a greater social conscience? What if I said that this is also how the majority of people think about themselves?

March 20

The myth of multi-tasking

The myth of multi-tasking

Whilst listening to my local radio station last week, they asked a well known, and possibly provocative question – are women better than men at multi-tasking?

November 17

Can you change the idea of what is possible?

Can you change the idea of what is possible?

Avid followers of America’s Got Talent will know about singer Mandy Harvey. For those who don’t know Mandy suffers from a connective tissue disorder and reached the point where she was legally deaf at the age of 19. How on earth did a deaf singer end up on a TV talent show?