2 min read
Master the world’s most valuable skill
Critical thinking is the world’s most valuable skill. Unfortunately, being overworked and overwhelmed keeps people from learning how to do it. They...
Wednesday Wisdom (7)
1 min read
The problem is never the problem
Picture this: you're frustrated with your partner. They've loaded the dishwasher wrong, again, and they've left the door wide open for you to knock...
1 min read
Use your personal compass to make tricky choices
The average person makes 17,000 decisions a day. Most of those are easy, like what to have for breakfast or what time to leave for work, but some are...
4 min read
Business planning in a recession with bright spot thinking
Earlier this week, I was working with leaders from a large corporate to set some strategic priorities. Talk quickly turned to how to survive the...
3 min read
How to care about your job again
If you've woken up today with a sense of dread about what awaits you at your desk, you're not alone. A 2019 Gallup poll found that out of the world's...
3 min read
Setting boundaries around bullsh*t
I've drawn a new boundary around my professional life: no more leadership team coaching.
2 min read
Create systems change
Have you ever started a job and had that new-starter clarity? You're baffled by all the things that don’t make sense and say annoying things in...
6 min read
Why change makes things worse before it makes things better
I recently received a request from Angela, a Wednesday Wisdom reader, to talk about the immediate impact of organisational change on productivity....
2 min read
Wear and tear
I've had a hell of a time with my house lately. After an initial few years of primarily uneventful occupation, she's turned on me in the last couple...
2 min read
Own your outcast status
How it started I left my job as a policy analyst and strategic planner in 2014. I'd been so excited by that job—for lots of reasons. I was the first...
5 min read
Boundaries, burnout, business and #bigrantenergy
I've been ranting my wee head off lately, and it's been an utter delight. I'm trying to channel that energy into pushing as much helpful goodness as...
2 min read
Don't be afraid to narrow down
Little known fact: the more specific you are about what you want, what you'll do, and what you won't do, the more likely you are to get it. When you...
4 min read
Good people and bad systems
Change is hard to talk about, because people tend to feel personally attacked. They have good reason to feel that way. When we talk about the things...
4 min read
Nail your next 8 weeks: how to keep strategy alive
In this article: How to run a great strategic check-in Free template for a 2-day strategy session Strategies are great, and 3-5 year plans are...
1 min read
Get outside of yourself
There's an excellent AA meme: "I'm not much, but I'm all I think about."
4 min read
Why strategy fails (and what to do differently)
Many of us have the wrong idea about strategy. We think it's about workshops and documents, and then struggle to understand why everyone's still...
2 min read
Use your big voice
Last Tuesday, I took my children to see Clementine Ford at the Embassy Theatre here in Wellington. Of all the wonderful things she said, one...
4 min read
Gaslighting at work
I met a curious, clever young woman recently. She was smart, a real systems thinker, and passionate about doing great work. When we got to talking...
1 min read
Throw your raft in the ocean
In an old Buddhist parable, a man is trapped on one side of a rushing river. On this side of the river, there is great danger and uncertainty; on the...
1 min read
Facilitate meaning through experience
I've been lucky to spend some time with Optimal Workshop recently. One of the coolest things about their office is the large library in the main...
2 min read
Disagreement needs dignity
I had a positive social media experience this week (...I know right?!). Someone with a large public following had posted an open question about a...
1 min read
4 ways to move fast without breaking things
Hi, I'm Alicia McKay, a serial fast-moving thing-breaker. It's one of my best qualities - I execute ideas quickly and fix them as I go. I'm often on...