Andy Ripley is a rugby player from the 1970s; he wrote the following:

Dare we hope? We dare.
Can we hope? We can.
Should we hope? We must.
We must, because to do otherwise is to waste the most preciuos of gifts, given so freely by God to all of us. So when we do die, it will be with hope and it will be withe easy and our hearts will not be broken.”
- Andy Ripley, 10th June 2007, Athlone Friary.

The article that brought this moving piece to my attention can be found here; if you have the time to read it, it might inspire you too.
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The party leaders have been criss crossing the country for the last few weeks lobbying, promoting, debating their parties policies. The behaviours they display are, most likely, a combination of their own authentic and preferred style combined with those behaviours encouraged by PR advisers and communication consultants.

Business leaders seeking a crash-course in ‘how-to’ and ‘how-not-to’ display the characteristics of leadership could learn much over the next seven days. The only caveat, filter out the agenda of the media source and the way in which the events are reported and make up your own mind.

A final note: diarise two months from today to compare your feelings today with the outcomes that have resulted. How do they differ? This is  the real and probably more worthwhile learning point. Exercise your self-development mandate.
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When speaking in business if our desire is to affirm a positive commitment, why not say “I agree completely”; if we have to use percentages to express the level of our agreement/support, “I agree 100%” will convey the appropriate meaning.

Exaggerating to a point of absurdity diminishes credibility and lowers the likely-hood we will be taken seriously.
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The rise in popularity of this phenomena reflects our desire to stand-out, to be noticed and reap the perceived benefits of fame, fortune or both.

Certainly, the featured individuals achieve a degree of both notoriety and income but others, those behind the scenes and pulling the strings reap even greater rewards.

Why place your destiny in the hands of others?
Take control, find out what needs to be done, identify those with the need and the ability to pay and do it for yourself.

The internet affords the greatest opportunity to achive your objective and all it takes is a mix of knowledge, skill, effort and determination.

Making the rules is much more fun than following them.
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When gifting you hope the recipient will be pleased to receive it; receive a gift and you may have a number of potential reactions:
1) accept or decline it;
2) display pleasure and genuinely mean it;
3) feign pleasure and consign the article to the closet, waiting for the next car boot sale to dispose of said item.

In business, the same principle holds true, ‘feedback is a gift.’ Essentially it’s no less fraught, the same outcomes apply.

Next time you give or receive feedback consider the options. Accept what’s been said, reflect upon it, then decide whether it will be of use to you.

Ultimately it’s one person’s opinion and probably not worth loosing too much sleep over.
On the other hand, maybe a fresh pair of eyes has noticed something you’ve been overlooking.

Either way, gifts don’t come along that often, enjoy them.
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It’s time for a paradigm shift:  in-thinking; in-acting and in-doing.

Regular, mini retirements that  redress the sole, the mind and the body are an alternative worthy of consideration; I am.

“I’ll be happy when I can…” “it’ll be alright when I am able to…”these are the words of the frustrated and disconnected. Ask yourself what would happen if you never got to the date in question? What a waste of life that would be.

A final thought, if you enjoy what you do for a living, why stop? If you don’t enjoy what you do, change!
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If you have a spare 30 minutes you may find this podcast from the BBC informative and stimulating.

Listen to comments from Sir Stuart Rose of Marks and Spencer, Damon Buffini of Permira, Sir Gulam Noon, Vincent Tchenguiz and Professor Manfred Kets de Vries of INSEAD business school in Paris.
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Comprehensive communication skills; capable of effective output at own direction or, working withing a group are a given; these business skills and behaviours are expected even a prerequisite of getting to meet face-to-face. Less common is the ability to demonstrate to the selection team how you have developed and deployed the skills. Describe what happened, how your/the groups actions affected the bottom line or changed the course of the project for the better.

And as always, brevity; be succinct. If they are interested, your audience with ask for more information. Less, truly is more. Good night!
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Returning after the winter break, the 2010 season begins on Sunday 14th March in Bahrain. Forward thinking cities/countries and politicians compete to secure the rights to host an event, one in a series of races which span the globe.

In business, we often focus on return on investment (R.O.I.) how else can we justify the expenditure of precious resources? Well, in the world of F1 just as in our lives, nothing is guaranteed. Investment is based on a hunch, a very well thought-out and planned hunch except the brains making the decisions are probably the best in their field.

Innovation created to serve Formula 1 often appears in commercial, military and technology environments some time later; carbon-fibre for strength and lightness is one example.

I’m reminded of a Chinese saving:
‘only a fool learns from their mistakes, a wise person learns from others.’

Well, this fool will be learning this coming Sunday, care to join me?
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2010 is the 82nd time the gold statues have been awarded so why then has it taken so long for a women to win?

Let’s hope the publicity associated with this important milestone inspires women everywhere; in business as in life itself, success often comes down to personal self-belief and confidence as anything else.
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