Author Archives: Peter Young

According to Jim Collins writing in Good to Great, successful organisations and individuals don’t just have ‘to-do’ lists, they also have ‘stop doing’ lists. Collins cites Kimberley Clark as a classic example. In order to focus on growing its core… Continue reading →

“The Eurozone must have a decisive plan”, declared David Cameron this week. And of course he is right. The EU has signally failed at reaching conclusive agreements and taking decisions. I am struck by the large number of people I have spoken to in… Continue reading →

Who is your harshest critic? If your answer is yourself, then you are in the company of a great many people! I am struck over and again by the otherwise successful and high-achieving people I meet whose impact and influence is diminished by their … Continue reading →

This question frequently gets raised in workshops on leadership and management, and the answer quickly comes back: “your own”. Yet even though this characteristic of human motivation is intuitively known by us all, it’s still surprising how much m… Continue reading →

I’ve been pondering this question for some time, having been asked it by a young leader, new into his first significant leadership role and keen to make an impression. It seems that having observed other leaders acting ‘presidentially’, he is weig… Continue reading →

In the gym this morning I was sorely tempted to ask the man who was noisily lifting weights close by whether he understood the difference between effort and strain. It’s probably a good thing for my sake given his size and demeanour that I resiste… Continue reading →

This question has come up in several conversations over the last few days, prompted perhaps by the growing discussion about how we should all be actively managing the impression we create online.While the whole idea of ‘personal brand’ will turn s… Continue reading →

How do you get a group of battle-hardened professionals to continue to improve their skills and to stay at the top of their game? This challenge is no more pressing right now than in the public sector where headteachers, police chiefs, nursing man… Continue reading →

Watching British Prime Minister David Cameron speaking on the subject of Scottish independence this week, I was struck by what seemed to be a change of approach to the debate; a change that holds a greater probability of achieving an outcome that … Continue reading →

Thanks Colin for raising this question today; one that I am often asked on workshops and courses. As with many other perplexing questions, exploring what lies behind the question itself can be of greater help than finding a resolution. It can be e… Continue reading →