I’ve spent countless hours searching for the best productivity apps and tools. Asana, Monday, ClickUp, Basecamp, Trello—you name it, I’ve probably tried it. For a long time, I thought the issue was that I hadn’t found the right tool yet. I thought the next app…
Here’s a sneak preview of something we first started working on four years ago. It’s a planner designed just for leaders. For leaders who want to get their sh!t together, be impactful and eliminate stress. Joel Bailey and I are big believers that simple planning…
We tend to picture grand things when we think of impactful leadership. But it’s often the small acts that count. Because most of our impact comes day in, day out as we go about our role. And it’s easy to miss these everyday opportunities when…
This cartoon nails it! (cartoon credit: Kendra Allenby, The New Yorker) It’s a common dilemma. One that many of us face at some point in our careers. After years of honing our (usually technical) skills, we’re presented with a crossroad: the only way up seems…
Here’s what they get wrong: ❌ Taking months to finish the process❌ Distracting their already busy team with endless ‘planning days’❌ Drowning in analysis before even starting the plan❌ Spending a fortune on strategy consultants The truth: ✔️ You can create a solid strategic plan…
You’ve probably heard of AMRAP in workouts – As Many Reps As Possible. Let’s apply this to your to-do list. Enter AMTAP: As Many Things As Possible. AMTAP goes against a lot of the conventional wisdom around productivity. Instead of prioritising your work using the…
You’ll want to say things like “they just weren’t a good fit for our team” or “they didn’t live up to their resume”. I know I’ve said things like this. But the best leaders take accountability for their hiring decisions. Here are three things to…
Inconveniently, leverage works in both directions, positive and negative. The people you bring onto your team can be the driving force behind your greatest successes or the source of your biggest problems. Bringing in the right people will elevate your team’s performance and make the…
Here are some of my favourites: No shame if you use these. I do too. They can be handy shortcuts. Once I got past the vagueness, I found most of them useful. My top piece of business jargon? “Organisation Strategy” Here’s why: So, what is…
Turkish Olympic shooter Yusuf Dekic reminds me of a common problem in management. So many of us overcomplicate things, because of sophistication bias… This is when we ignore simple solutions in search of something more complex, innovative or clever. As a result, we – wrongly…
The best team members demonstrate these behaviours. But other people don’t. What are they? Have you ever noticed that some people are very good at what they do AND easy to work with at the same time? They’re a manager’s dream. Because we spend more…
Many things are out of our control. But we can always choose our attitude and behaviour. And our attitudes and behaviours profoundly affect how impactful we are in our world. They affect how others perceive us. And therefore how open and cooperative they’re likely to be…
We’ve built a Strategic Planning Toolkit so any leader can create a plan for their team or organisation in a few weeks. A free sample is available to download now. Many managers want a plan. But they don’t know how to build one or where…
What makes a good recruitment process? Research shows that three things are most reliable at predicting on the job performance: 1. Work sample tests = 2. General cognitive ability tests = 2. Structured interviews Yet, few recruitment processes include sample work or cognitive ability tests.…
I’ve trialled a number of planning journals in the past. None of them really ‘stuck’. Sometimes the planning system didn’t work for me. Or I didn’t like the physical design. Or both. But I remain attracted to the idea of finding a planning journal that…
Update: Our Strategic Planning Toolkit has launched! Download a free preview here. Most leaders know they need a good strategic plan. But few know where to start. A Google search reveals lots of conflicting information on what a good strategic plan looks like. Most of…
Update: Our Strategic Planning Toolkit has launched! Our first Impact Society product will be a Strategic Planning Toolkit. It’ll give a step by step, four week approach – with templates and resources – to develop a straightforward strategic plan for any organisation or team. Whatever…
A daily review is an integral part of my overall ‘impact system’. It sits alongside other key parts of my system, including a weekly review, which I’ll cover in a separate post. My daily review has two primary objectives: My version of a daily review…
Many managers think employee engagement just is a touchy-feely, nice-to-have. That it’s not something to be confused with the real work of management. But they’re wrong. Here’s why…
Most managers feel relentless time pressure. We think, if I can just get over this hump, then I’ll get on top of things…. but the hump never passes. Fortunately, there’s a solution that doesn’t require killing yourself with more work. Here’s how. The answer is…