Monthly Morsels

No Health Without Mental Health is the Governments strategy for tackling mental health and was the title for an inspiring conference I went to last week. For details of the six objectives, please visit http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2011/07/mental-health-strategy/. This is a key topic for you as an employer and your team as one in four adults experience mental […]

I am currently training a horse to stand still while I get on. This is for safety reasons, as there is a point when you have to put your foot in the stirrup and mount that you are very vulnerable. This is a key moment of trust. I am learning a lot more about myself

As I sit in the plane waiting for a slot to take off from Istanbul airport, the thought suddenly strikes me – this is a leap of faith. Three hundred plus people have put their faith and their lives in a complete stranger they haven’t met; the pilot. They trust his training, his professionalism and

How do you measure your judgement? Using the Judgement Index allows you to quantify and improve your judgement capacity. This can be invaluable for individual or team development, when you consider the cost of making the wrong or too slow a decision. Here is a brief example where the results are real, but the names

Our focus over the next twelve months will be mainly on how you can maximise the mental capabilities of your business. This is to tie in with a major event we are running in conjunction with the Phoenix Legacy, our community project. The 2012 Dorset Mind Challenge is being launched on August 12th. The vision

The term ‘no brainer’ means it’s an easy decision requiring little mental effort.  Does this cliché disrespect the power of our brain and our judgement capabilities? My concern is that over stating this phrase can insidiously undermine our brain usage and we will make poorer decisions as a result. What was the worst business decision

I was fortunate last week to attend a cultural leadership seminar in Bournemouth and hear from Ruth McKenzie, Chief Executive of the Cultural Olympiad and Phil Gibby, Chief Executive of Arts Council England South West. These were two very different speakers, but both bringing leadership to the cultural sector. There were some excellent messages for

A new aspect I introduced on the Achieving the Best from Performance course yesterday (18/2/11) was H.A.P.HAZARD. This concept came from a strategic review of the business and was related to financial aspects, but it seemed to me to apply very much to human potential. In terms of performance, there is a difference between a

Imagine Gulliver lying on the beach, waking up to find himself tied down by hundreds of tiny ropes set by the Lilliputians. Each single rope he could have broken easily, but the mass bound him down. He was hopelessly stuck. Our habits can be like that. Each single habit can tie us down to old

Will you be making New Year Resolutions and will you keep them?  I just came across a reference as to the challenge we face from “Yesterday, I Cried” by Iyanla Vanzant (autobiography) “Often when you are on the spiritual path, there is a war that goes on between the person you once were and the

We have recently been putting a tender together for a training contract. This proved an interesting exercise, because it required us to ask a lot of difficult questions about our business. We found we were too close to be totally objective, so we employed a consultant to help us.  Karenlee Knott was excellent. During the discussion,

David Cameron is asking for the ‘big society’. What does that mean in reality for an individual and how do they go about it? I have founded and am running The Phoenix Legacy, as a complete novice. This is a voluntary project to enable people over 50 to be more active in mind, body and

For those that follow Star Trek, you will know that when Captain Kirk and the Star Ship Enterprise were facing their enemy, the first consideration was what state the force field was in. This was the energy field around the ship, which protected it from attack. If it was low for some reason; often from

Inspiration can come from strange places. I came across a good game at a party and used it with great success on our Achieving the Best from Your Team workshop last week. (Thank you Linda for the idea).  Like so many things, although simple, it had a powerful message. Two teams stand facing each other

“Once in a century, a man may be ruined or made insufferable by praise.  But surely once in a minute something generous dies for want of it” John Masefield How easily we could give praise and it costs nothing. Too often I hear from delegates, that at work, they are frequently told when something is