The Playbook arrives
Just taken delivery our our first Leadership Playbook.
So excited. Words cannot describe—or do these photos justice.
Two years in the making. Something special. A thing of beauty.
A big thanks to Galloways the printers—they’ve just delivered Excellent. :-)
Can’t wait to start sharing the content and course material soon.
#LeadershipPlaybook
#MakeExcellenceYourMission
#NewPublication
Spot the spinal difference
The print proofs and colour look amazing! Seriously, I’m very impressed.
And here’s how the Playbook spine will look when compared with our two journals.
#CompareAndContrast
#LeadershipPlaybook
Print proofing process
We’ve just received the print proofs from the printers. These sheets are the closest to the real thing before it hits the Heidelberg. So it’s important to not only spot the deliberate mistake and grammatical, but also check for colour balance, layout and anything that you miss on screen. It’s an important step.
Key observations and changes.
What worked well (since dummy prototype)
Background colour within the BIG IDEAS section
The front cover—wow! Simply wow. Super amazed at how this comes across.
The back cover—even more impressive than the front. (IMHO) And a step change forward since the prototype and Journal.
Consistency of typeface throughout publication
The outro sections and course summary.
Areas for improvement
Text against the new background colour within BIG IDEAS.
A couple of lessons need a punchier start.
Inside back cover and masthead—need to do some thinking here.
And back cover—one more tweak with the bees ;-)
So we’ve got 72 hours to review and update before final approvals.
Starting to get very excited!
#howhardcanitbe
#PerfectionParalysis
#PrintProofingProcess
feedback is a gift
How comfortable are you with feedback? No really, how do you cope with feedback?
We’ve been fortunate enough to test and trial 90% of our material before launching the Leadership Playbook. Both online and offline. In small groups and large groups.
And so here’s the opening paragraph from Lesson 26—Faster feedback loops.
All she wanted was a better tree swing. And so you went away, buried your head, locked the door—thinking and believing you know better. Ultimately you came back with an unworkable solution. Hmmm.
Feedback is essential in leadership. Feedback is also a gift. We can’t wait to start sharing our content and ideas soon.
(And receive feedback).
#FasterFeedbackLoops
#ResettingExpectations
#MakeExcellenceYourMission
Personal development toolbox
Genius! It happened again, late evening, early hours.
One the best ways to add value is to simplify something that’s complex—or complicated.
Now, even though we’ve made our Leadership Development Programme as easy as possible to digest (this is one of my personal obsessions), there’s still plenty to go.
7 chapters in leadership.
84 ways to achieve Excellence.
21 big ideas.
And then it struck me.
A personal development toolbox that selects a small number of lessons that are most suited to you and your leadership journey.
First Line Team Leader vs Senior Leader.
Project Manager vs Continuous Improvement Manager
A leader that oozes confidence vs a relatively shy leader.
And so, we can pull together a more personalised development programme to support leaders.
More to follow soon…
Going to printers next Monday
A quick update on the new workbook that will accompany our Leadership Development Programme.
Almost there. Two more days of final faffing. It's off to the printers next week!
Just two more pages of text to complete.
Then, proofread, proofread, proofread.
Check for consistencies.
Got a few photos to retake
Editor's letter
Back cover text
And the all important FOMO pages ;-)
Otherwise, I'm really pleased where it's at. Yes, later than planned, but looking great. I'm starting to feel proud!
ps Weakness at the petrol station tonight... £7.49 on chocolate and biscuits!
GFI Friday
Good coffee, chocolate croissant and a Danish.
Excellent for a catch up with an ex-colleague and friend today.
#FridayFeeling
#EGSPWoodenBlock
#SharingIsCaring
Going round in circles
Confidence can be strange thing—especially if you don’t know where you’re going.
A lack of confidence, you go round in circles, always looking for the right answer. Spend too much time here and it can be soul destroying. For you—and your team.
Too much confidence, and you’ll take people down the wrong path. You’ll make a few mistakes and upset people along the way. But at least you’ll have learned what not to do next time.
Of course, the balance is to have the right level of confidence and know the direction you’re travelling. This prevents wasted effort—and unnecessary U-turns.
#leadership
#uturn
Teaser trailer episode
The THICK RED LINE is our new weekly podcast. With a handful of episodes in the bag, it launches next week. In the meantime, here’s a little teaser trailer. Enjoy!
#thickredline
#culture
#leadership
How to judge a CV by its cover
What should you look out for when writing a CV? What are the dos and don’ts?
What will help you recruit better talent, make better decisions and speed up recruitment process.
Here’s a short tutorial that’ll help both candidate and hiring company.
#cvwriting
#redundancy
#newcareer
A definition of poor
When was the last time you received a poor service?
Perhaps it was in a restaurant, queuing at the shops, or being put on hold.
Was it really poor?
Or were you just disappointed, kept quiet and accepted the fact that they could have (should have) done much better?
We define poor as a substandard, inferior experience that’s unacceptable.
Unacceptable to you. And unacceptable to others.
And if you truly care (and want to help others), then a failure to call out poor is, in itself, poor.
#thickredline
The launch of a new podcast
This is something we’ve been working on over the summer months.
A weekly podcast that allows us to discuss the Thick Red Line.
Yup… my obsession with the Thick Red Line continues.
(And so too the perfection paralysis when designing the show’s thumbnail image).
The Thick Red Line is a podcast that will distill the difference between what’s right and what’s wrong.
What’s good and what’s bad.
What’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable.
No questions asked. No explanations required.
A satisfactory launch date will be October.
Poor will be November.
#leadership
#ticktock
#thickredline
Swim lane etiquette
I’ve always said the EGSP Framework™ can be applied to any situation.
In this week’s THICK RED LINE podcast, we visit the swimming pool to explore what EGSP looks like—specifically, swim lane etiquette.
What would you consider poor behaviour? What would you consider satisfactory behaviour? How can we get over the Thick Red Line?
As always, they’ll be a few lessons you could apply to your organisation?
The First Ten days of leadership
Much gets written about the first 90 days, or first 100 days days of leadership. But what about the first 10 days. What can we learn from King Charles III first foray as a new Monarch?
In this week’s THE SUNDAY SCHOLAR podcast, we delve into the past 10 days, and look at what we can all learn.
As always, there’s a recommended book, word of the week, and action step!
Market research—over a glass of wine
Some of the best ideas happen when you’re relaxed. And tonight was no exception.
Earlier in the day, I’d visited Jane Blease at Manchester Craft Village to buy a couple of gifts. (Jane has a remarkable skill in woodwork and sewing—she’s previously designed a fabulous lampshade for my lounge).
And whilst browsing her wares, it occurred that we could take our bookmarks to the next level.
Why settle for satisfactory, when you can have good or excellent?
Rather than digital print in black and white, guillotined. Why not work with Jane to produce a limited edition range of Twelve Scholars bookmarks, out of a wood veneer and cotton.
But do we go for walnut or oak? And yellow or black cotton?
Well, I tested the options with a good friend mine. We did a spot of market research at a trendy wine bar in Ancoats, Manchester. (Hey, it was our annual birthday dinner).
Which one did the prefer?
Watch this space!
Setting Expectations at a State Funeral
Collectively, we’ll all have a good idea what to expect on Monday, 19 September—the day of Her Majesty’s state funeral.
Pageantry and flags.
King Charles III. Flanked by Camilla the Queen Consort, William and Harry.
The BBC will do an amazing job broadcasting to the world.
The Metropolitan Police will do their bit.
As too all the military personnel involved in the procession.
And the outpouring of stories and adoration from the British public.
So what can we learn from the Thick Red Line?
In this week’s episode we explore EGSP and how it can be applied to a state funeral.
Queen Elizabeth II
What can be said? When so much has been said, and will be said over the coming days and weeks.
In this week’s THE SUNDAY SCHOLAR podcast, we pay our scholarly tribute—featuring 12 valuable lessons in leadership.
(Tbh, we could' have featured 112 valuable lessons—so here’s our top 12!)
As always, there’s a recommended book, word of the week, and action step!
A nation and world in mourning
Time for reflection and contemplation. So many valuable lessons in leadership. So many stories to tell. This will be a chapter we’ll all remember. Godspeed.
The Thick Red Line
Imagine a world where it’s obvious what’s right and what’s wrong.
A place where you can tell the difference between good and bad.
No questions asked.
No explanations given.
The Thick Red Line is our new weekly podcast—released every Wednesday at 12 noon.
Lights. Camera. Action.
It’s been a while—too long.
YouTube videos and revised podcast will start appearing again very soon. :-)
Inspire, be inspired!