The days are getting darker and some people are already suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder — or SAD! We all discuss the weather, and it’s true, its permutations do affect our daily mood. Our unique genetic mixes react to different seasons and shifts in wind and humidity. You know the story — some love tropical climes, others thrive in […]
How to build collaborative cultures
Corporate and government appetite for collaboration is definitely growing, albeit unevenly. How many times have you come up with an idea only for someone higher than you to either shoot it down or claim the credit? There’s an excellent New Yorker cartoon with an executive telling the employee, “I know it was your idea but it was my […]
The most successful ways to solve problems
Problems are life’s ingenious habit of tossing a curly one in our path, just when things are going smoothly or when they couldn’t be worse. In business, people often adopt a very black and white approach to solving problems; too often, business rewards those who appear to “get things done” and fail to recognise that […]
How to unlock energy, persistence and resilience
Energy fuels our lives, our housing, transport and infrastructure needs, through coal, wind, solar, gas, water and so on. Psychologically, humans respond to a similarly wide range of sources. The key to successfully powering yourself will vary over the course of a lifetime. As a kid, you may have loved blockbuster movies, going on hikes, […]
Does your team suffer from PMT — project management tension?
Too many teams suffer from project management tension. Some project managers (PMs) are absolute experts in creating workplace hell and the awful thing is, they were designated to be in charge when they couldn’t organise a kindergarten picnic. Seven undesirable project manager characteristics? The list of what makes a PM bad is almost endless. Generally s/he […]
Why we should all care about office design and productivity
The modern workplace is seldom depicted as a congenial way to spend the majority of your waking existence, and it’s little wonder — the average office layout is not optimised for happier staff (and consequently improved productivity). In virtually every decade since the modern workplace burst into existence, some film, poem, painting or television program has […]
Lessons from Centrelink: 7 steps to undoing anger caused by automation
Around the world there have been debacles caused by automation. A Michigan government agency wrongly accused 20,000 people of fraudulently seeking unemployment benefits. Imagine the angry clients! Centrelink started the year badly. An upsurge of complaints about its over-zealous, frequently inaccurate robo-debt collection methods might hopefully spell an end of misplaced bureaucratic faith in automation — and […]
10 steps to hiring the right talent for your startup
Interviewing job candidates has become rather like Shark Tank — except that you’re in the driver’s seat, which automatically puts you in a position of relative psychological advantage over the candidate. Because job interviews are seldom level playing fields, it’s really in your mutual interest to make the process worthwhile so that both of you, having exchanged […]
The A list: 6 steps to accountability in your business
Businesses should strive to get a gold star for their own “A list”: accountability. It’s a vital trait in best business practice and essential for any company wanting to be an employer of choice. So here’s six steps to follow for anyone who has trouble grasping the salience of accountability in business. 1. Self-honesty Accountability […]