Thoughts

How can we be more ‘unhurriedly productive?’ That’s a question I’ve been exploring for a couple of years now. Here’s why I think it’s so important: Burnout levels are high, and on the rise. Here in New Zealand, workers work longer hours and for less reward than workers in most other OECD countries. We work harder rather than smarter. […]

  “Learn how to see” – Leonardo Da Vinci   The other day I was checking out guitars online. I’m a bit of a guitar freak, and I was with a friend who doesn’t know much about them. As I was geeking out, explaining the different body shapes and configurations, she said “I just see […]

  “Don’t change your behaviour. Change what shapes your behaviour, and watch your behaviour change.”   Got a gnarly problem? Most of the time, we try to solve problems by changing what we do. Faced with a challenge, we ask what can we do differently? For simple problems, that’s usually sufficient. Light bulb blown? Replace […]

Lately, I’ve been writing about creating space. I’ve realised that there are two forms of this practice that we need to master: ME space: Getting away. Taking time out. Retreating. Escaping. WE space: Creating space for others to pause, reflect, make sense and decide. Here’s another way of thinking about it: ME space = ‘leaving’, […]

When Naomi Osaka announced that she was not going to attend the post-match press conferences at this year’s French Open, she did me a favour. She shone a light on a status quo that I hadn’t really paid attention to before. That status quo was the requirement for professional tennis players to show up at […]

Last week I was in a session with my counsellor. Yes, I see a counsellor! He’s super-helpful to help me try to make sense of my life in a turbulent world. I was sharing with him how full-on life is right now and how it just feels non-stop. It’s like I’m always ‘on’. I’m on […]

I just watched Seven Years in Tibet. Brad Pitt stars as a headstrong mountaineer who becomes a prisoner-of-war in 1930’s Tibet. After multiple solo attempts, he escapes by teaming up with his fellow prisoners. When he’s out, he says “I’m going it alone” and runs off into the wilderness. Yet another movie upholding individual heroism. […]

When he was three years old, he was stung by a bee. His mother said “what a naughty bee!” And he replied “Mum, it’s OK. I think the bee thought I was a flower.” When she was 39 years old, she got a note from the tax department saying that she was due for a […]

Are you hearing a lot about ‘wellbeing’ at the moment? It is the flavour of the month or a fundamental strategy? I had conversations with two different client organisations last week, both centring on wellbeing. Their two lenses couldn’t have been more different. For one client, their wellbeing agenda was a list of activities that […]

When you’re on a mission to change the world, you’re going to hit some headwinds. Below is a transcript from a conversation I had with a client last week about how they’re dealing with headwinds, and how they can use them…   Right now, I feel like my wings have been clipped. For the past […]