30 Years Ago Today
When’s the best time to plant a tree?
Today, my eldest brother (pictured) and I braved the cold and wet to plant 30 new trees in his village meadow—with a few knowledgable villagers helping too!
We planted 10 English Oak and 20 Sweet Chestnut.
The young trees (seedlings) were donated by my brother’s employer—CGI as part of their community tree planting initiative.
As can be seen from this photo, the area suffers from flooding in heavy rain. The trees will augment the landscape, help manage the high water table and protect against land erosion close to the river.
Looking forward to watching these trees grow—and can’t wait to see the meadow 30 years from now!
#Vision2053
#EncouragingGrowth
A bucket called ‘Periodicals’
We’ve included a new space on our website—it’s called ‘Periodicals’.
Periodicals will be a place where we publish all our written-form content. This includes information on the Journal, our weekly newsletter, transcripts to podcasts and films. A place to share and download lessons learned.
Moderation in Progress
What have you thought about recently?
Over the festive period we had time to reflect. And plan for the future. We also had chance to sharpen our mission—or BHAG (Big Hairy Aggressive Goal).
OUR MISSION: Headquarters in Manchester, Twelve Scholars will be a Global Institute for Leadership Development that inspires Excellence on every level… by Friday, 27 August 2027.
(The crazy part is the deadline—it’s certainly got me more focused on what we need to achieve!)
And now, everything seems to fit—or not. I suppose that’s how these things work. Self-selecting. Moderating. More focused.
#GoalSetting
#Vision2027
Getting creative with books
I thought I’d share this image—it’s the final shot from our latest video.
This photo shows our camera mounted on a long pole—and plugged into a HDMI connection. The final sequence took a few attempts. The idea was to drop each book to the floor—in slow motion. And I think it worked. Really impressed. (Although the carpet could do with a vacuum!)
In the film, we introduce 6 books that will help you navigate the highs and lows of goal setting. Let me know what you think. Which book(s) resonate most with you? Which alternative books would you recommend?
#GoalSetting
#BobsBookClub
An epiphany
What great moments of revelation have you had so far this year? How things will be different in 2023? For me, it’s to think bigger, bolder and shoot for the stars. As a leader, you must set the vision—no one else will do it for you.
#GoalSetting
#BHAG
Monomaniacal Bank Holiday
Early start today—after the frivolities of yesterday. Lots to do, and get excited about. Starting with an EGSP of the year ahead. An opportunity to define Excellent, Good, Satisfactory and Poor.
Today—is the best time reflect and plan ahead. Tomorrow will be here before you know it. And very soon it’ll be the start of another new year.
What would EGSP in 2023 look like to you?
#EGSP
#Goals2023
Live from Vienna
And relax… just popped the champagne cork and sat down. Casserole in th’oven. Happy 2023!
Did you catch NYD Concert earlier? I’m listening on repeat—for the umpteenth time.
As per tradition, I went for a bike ride this morning, and just returned from my regular run! Starting the year as I mean to go on.
Have an excellent year!
#BestYearYet
#NYDConcert
A Cupboard of Contraband
It’s almost a month since I stopped eating chocolate. Making the decision was easy—sticking to it has been the challenge. One simple way I discovered was to create a cupboard of contraband. A place where I could safely store (for now) all treats received. Inside, you’d find a hard-to-open tin, with chocolate coins, Tony’s Chocolonely and a tube of Jelly Tots.
Let’s see how long this abstention will list into January!
#BehaviourScience
#SelfRestraint
The King’s Speech
A festive lunch with family, a rollocking repeat of a comedy classic or hiking in the hills to make room for more pudding. What will be the highlight for you this Christmas?
In this weeks The Sunday Scholar, we discuss the frolics and festivities associated with Christmas. We learn about deep respect, fitness goals and faith. We also take a look at writing an alternative Christmas Message.
Our latest episode is now available.
Merry Christmas
Wishing everyone all the happiness.
And thanks for the support throughout the year.
Merry Christmas, Bob xx
Take Smarter Notes
A short film that introduces 3 books:
How to Take Smart Notes, by Sönke Ahrens;
Getting Things Done, by David Allen; and
Building A Second Brain, by Tiago Forte.
Getting better with lighting, B-Roll footage, and the boom mic is better positioned (suspended from a newly purchased C stand)—happy days!
#BobsBookClub
#ProductiveNoteTaking
10,000 metre swim
What fitness goals have you planned for January?
I've a pal in the gym who's planning a 10,000m swim—in one session. He's a good swimmer, so for him, that's 2½ hours in the indoor pool. (Bonkers!)
But it got me thinking.
Why not swim 10,000m—in total, next month. It'll put that crazy distance into context!
Breaking it down—the distance is 2,500m per week, or 1,250m twice a week. And that’s almost achievable.
Big goals are easy when broken down.
#GoalSetting
#InspireBeInspired
The EGSP Wooden Block®
It’s official…
We’ve had confirmation that EGSP Wooden Block and EGSP Framework are now officially registered trade marks. This means quite a few things.
Both trade marks are considered sufficiently different to any existing trade marks.
We can take legal action against anyone who uses our brand without permission, including counterfeiters.
We can put the ® symbol next to our trade marks. :-)
The process was relatively straight forward. All details and process steps are explained at gov.uk website.
We chose the following classes: printed publications (Class 16), business management (Class 35), education and training (Class 41) … and wooden toys (Class 28).
Onwards!
#IntellectualProperty
#EntrepreneurialJourney
A Precarious Walk Home
I should have known better… I wrote today’s The Sunday Scholar with a rather a thick head. Arranged over WhatsApp, it’s been a long-time date in everyone’s diary. Except mine. What was supposed to be a festive drink with neighbours, turned into a few more than expected—then a precarious walk home.
Our latest podcast is now available.
A Fun Way to Improve Productivity
A surprisingly fun way to improve productivity, gain clarity and achieve focus. Who knew! A short tutorial on the benefits of standardisation. Plenty of real life examples, a case study, top tips and an action step to help you on your way.
Apologies for the poor sound quality in a couple of places. It sounds like the mic has been clipped. Going to reduce master sound on Zoom H6 and reposition Rode Boom Mic.
Always learning, Bob xx
#TuesdayTutorial
#StandardWorkingWeek
12 Books in 12 Seconds
Challenge accepted.
Always up for a challenge. I was asked to simplify our latest book review and re-record it in under 12 seconds. The original review was 12 min 48 sec. Not bad considering we mention 12 books and a little bit about each one. (You can watch it on YouTube here).
So thinking creatively, I used a simple prioritisation tool, known as Moscow. Enjoy!
#ChallengeBob
#Moscow
Progress checks in place
What quality checks do you have in place?
Here’s a simple example from our laser cutting process. Any letter that’s not within tolerance (+/- 0.5mm) is considered out of specification. (We’re improving—this used to be +/- 1.0 mm).
Notice the faint burn marks across the Twelve Scholar logo. Protective masking tape helps reduce these marks. And the hand-sanding process will remove them altogether (knuckles withstanding!).
#QualityChecks
#BehindTheScenes
#RepeatableProcess
Behind the scenes: Laser Etching process
Well, this looks interesting.
We’ve been perfecting the laser cutting process for nearly two years. In that time, we’ve made templates, remade templates, created checking fixtures and ultimately developed a process that leads to a consistent product—every time (well, almost!).
This short clip introduces our Scholar Bee.
Notice the hand drawn bee on the right hand side—this acts as a pertinent prompt.
Each side of the wooden block is protected with 45mm masking tape—this prevents burning and damaging the maple. The masking tape is then carefully removed, before fresh tape is placed on the next side.
Hand finished by Twelve Scholars. Every scholar on our Leadership Development Programme receives a unique and limited edition EGSP Wooden Block™ (aka 'Leadership Compass').
Always learning.
#BehindTheScenes
#LaserCuttingProcess
#ScholarBee
Off to a New Home
This little Scholar Bee is off to a new home—somewhere near York.
As part of The Essential Scholar leadership development programme, you’ll receive a precision-engineered hand-crafted EGSP Wooden Block™.
Designed as a Leadership Compass.
Perfect as a paperweight.
Check out the cross-section grain structure.
And just like every leader—each EGSP Wooden Block™ is unique.
#EssentialScholar
#NewHome
Defining Success
Our latest podcast episode is now available.
Listen via our website or simply search for ‘Twelve Scholars’ or ‘The Sunday Scholar’ on your podcast platform of choice.
#TheSundayScholar
#DefineSuccess
#WorldCupFootball