HBR Indulgence
What’s your guilty pleasure?
For the past 18 years, I’ve subscribed to Harvard Business Review (HBR). I haven’t read every copy or every article. But when an edition lands that resonates, then I’ll devour cover to cover.
And the latest edition is a classic—the theme is ‘Busyness’. (Something we could all do paying more attention to).
A few standout articles this month include:
Beware a Culture of Busyness, by Adam Waytz. Top tips: focus on output over activity, build slack into your diary. eliminate low value work.
You Need Two Leadership Gears, by Lindy Greer, Francesca Gino and Robert I. Sutton. Top tip: know when to take change and when to get out of the way!
Gitlab’s CEO on Building One of the World’s Largest All-Remote Companies, by Sid Sijbrandij. Gitlab has published a handbook for how it operates—great reference.
And once you’ve solved your ‘busyness issues’, you’ll have more time to indulge in those guilty pleasures.
Looking forward to the next edition.
Fixing that Leaky Tap
Setbacks occur when a minor problem becomes a bigger problem. Forever on your mind. It’s those seemingly small things that’ll grind you down—drip-by-drip—triggering trauma and testing your resolve.
And so it was. After far too long in my to-do list. I’d arranged for a plumber to fix that leaky tap. And second tap, two toilets and a water inlet pipe. How hard could it be?
Well, if it were simple, I’d have fixed it myself. So this one needed a specialist.
Derek was the third plumber to visit. Number four if you include the one who didn’t show. He worked hard, didn’t leave a mess and was polite at all times. More importantly, he did what he said he was going to do—all without minimal fuss. I’d say the service was good according to our EGSP Framework®.
And so I can sleep again—not being woken by a dripping tap. Or being embarrassed when visitors come to stay. Or constantly thinking of that leaky tap when I should be focused on other things.
The morale of the story? As long as a problem remains a problem, the chances of experiencing setbacks remain. And so the sooner you fix those minor issues, the better for your health and well-being.
A Simple Melody
“What the world needs now is love.”
He inspired a generation of musicians.
Still gigging at Glastonbury at 87 years.
Never ashamed of a simple melody.
And the real star of Austin Powers.
RIP Burt Bacharach, xx
A moment of weakness
All good things come to an end. And this week it was my 3-month abstinence to chocolate.
I could see the early warning signs. All the sweet stuff in the cupboards disappeared. A bumper batch of homemade flapjack. A deluge of syrup on my daily porridge. I’d even devoured next year’s Christmas pudding! It was only a matter of time.
And so a late night visit to my local petrol station. £7.40 on the essentials: Maltesers, Galaxy and Rocky Chocolate Bars. All gone within 24 hours!
I’ll just have to put in a few extra reps at the gym this week, next week, and week after!
A Plumbing Nightmare
This is a tale about a leaky tap—one that should have been fixed months ago. (In all honesty, it should have been fixed 18 months ago.)
Drip-drip-drip. Constantly on the mind.
Drip-drip-drip. Readjust the tap. Drip-nothing-half a drip.
There’s also a second leaky tap to the tale—located downstairs.
Drip-drip-drip. Readjust the tap. Drip-drip-drip-drip. Isolate the tap.
And then we have two toilets—both passing water.
Randomly filling to wake the house—and the Patterdales living next door.
Both toilets get isolated when not in use. And we keep the truce.
You could argue the situation is poor. (It’s certainly a little embarrassing when visitors come to stay.)
And whilst at first, just one leaky tap was deemed satisfactory.
Over time, and with further faults, the plumbing has now crossed the Thick Red Line.
I agree, it is poor. It’s unacceptable.
(Especially, for someone preaching Excellence.)
And so the time has come. To fix that leaky tap.
How hard can it be!
Inspired by Bees
This colourful photo was taken four ago today.
It inspired me then. It inspires me today.
Bees are important to Twelve Scholars.
They represent cross-pollinating ideas and encouraging growth.
Bees are also important to Manchester.
They symbolise the city being a hive of activity and enterprise.
What inspires you?
What symbols or signals do you use for inspiration?
#Values
#WorkerBee
Obsessed by a Swiss Grid
Once you’ve seen and understood, you can’t not see it.
That’s how I best describe my relationship with the grid system.
And you start seeing mediocrity everywhere—even in your own work.
Many apps make it simple to design with a grid system in mind.
Think how the your iPhone (or camera) comes with a helpful 9 box grid.
But then you start to consider margins.
And that’s another whole level yet to be explored.
Groundhog Day
Ever feel like you’re stuck in a Groundhog Day?
You know, that situation where a series of tedious events appear to be recurring in exactly the same way. If we’re not careful, even the most productive of leaders can feel like this.
Here’s a few suggestions designed to break the pattern:
Eat something else for breakfast
Travel a different way to work
Cancel your first meeting—to focus on a higher priority work activity
Delegate 3 items from your to-do list
Only attend 3 meetings (maximum) for a day
Take time out for a walk
Wordle at one o’clock
Take lunch with an old friend or past colleague
Change your soundtrack—listen to a different station
Call a friend you haven’t spoken to for a long time
Do a random good deed—spend 10 minutes picking litter
Switch off the television
What would you add to this list? What works for you?
#ThinkDifferent
#AvoidingSetbacks
#Productivity
Firm Foundations in February
What does February look like to you? If January was all about looking back—whilst planning ahead. Then February has to be all about putting those plans into action. And like all good plans, you need to start with firm foundations. So let’s make February matter.
On A Good Day
What’s does ‘a good day’ look like to you? I’m not talking about an excellent day. Nor a perfect day. Not even a merely satisfactory day. Have you ever thought about it before?
When you start using the EGSP Framework® to define your day, it becomes easy to imagine what ‘good’ looks like. (And deep down, ‘good’ is what we really want).
Here’s five simple steps to help
Start with poor—what would unacceptable look like?
Define satisfactory—what are you prepared to accept as a minimum?
Define good—this is what we’re aiming for—today.
Define excellent—this can wait for another day—hint, it’s not for today!
Maintain focus on achieving good.
Yes, we’d be delighted if we achieved excellent. But let’s focus on avoiding poor, not settling for satisfactory and hitting good. That would be a good start for anyone. (Me included).
Remember, it doesn’t have to be ‘excellent’ to have a good day. Liberating, isn’t it.
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