A Haircut in Halifax
How do you look after yourself? What do you do to reset when things go off track?
In this week's podcast, we take a trip to West Yorkshire, make a brew, and discover the importance of an all-important visitor.
It's a simple lesson in rejuvenation.
Listen up, and enjoy the read.
Leadership Unplugged
A eureka moment at 3 o’clock in the morning.
How best to describe our leadership development programme, but without the learning platform, tutorial videos and project support. Yes, we’ve decided to call it our Independent Scholar. An unplugged experience.
You’ll still get the leadership playbook, the leadership compass and a few bonus extras. But at a different, more accessible price point. More details here.
A rather special birthday
There’s no other words for it—these flowers bought for my aunt’s 80th birthday are truly Excellent.
A pivotal figure in my early childhood, my aunt is renowned for being positive, proactive and passionate about life.
In previous years, her ‘special day’ would coincide with Queen Elizabeth II’s. And so we’d all sing the national anthem! This year, my aunt will take centre stage—if only she could be prised off that golf course!
Introducing our Special Scholar bees
Well, this looks interesting…
These three blocks have been two years in the making. A special project.
Made from walnut. Hand-sanded by yours truly. Each scholar bee has a unique design.
They’re the reward for completing our Leadership Development Programme. An opportunity to become a ‘certified scholar’.
Inspire, be inspired!
The Flywheel Builds momentum
Have you got precisely 10 minutes?
If so, grab your popcorn, take your seat, our latest Tuesday Tutorial is now available!
It’s taken 1½ days to write, record, edit and publish. And I’m very happy!
Always learning. Always improving. Do let me know what you think. Your feedback is a gift!
Early Systems thinking
Where do ideas begin?
Back in 2005, I was a Shift Operations Manager at a paper mill. I was also in my final year of an MBA. It was an exciting chapter.
My MBA dissertation researched decision making in world class organisations. And I was hooked.
I read everything I could. And then practiced what I learned with my team. It was the ultimate learning curve.
I got into the habit of making detailed daily notes (a precursor to the bullet journal). I used my diary to reinforce what I learned, and what I needed to do differently.
Here’s my first attempt at drawing the papermaking process, from a systems-thinking perspective.
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#SystemsThinking
#DailyNotes
Meet the Author
Having fallen down yesterday’s rabbit hole, I decided to reach out and thank the author. To my delight, he accepted my invitation. We’ve exchanged messages and have agreed to chat sometime soon—can’t wait!
It just goes to show how small the world is.
Inspire, be inspired.
—
ps I also bought his latest book—it arrives tomorrow.
Flywheels and Rabbit Holes
It happened. I knew it would. Two hours slipped as I fell down a rather large rabbit hole.
Doing some research and background reading for this week’s Tuesday Tutorial. And I stumbled upon a book I haven’t read for a while. Bought back in 2005, Seeing The Forest For The Trees was a book that fundamentally shaped my thinking. It’s an introduction to systems thinking, written by Dennis Sherwood. And I remember pretty much every page turned—that was almost 18 years ago!
Before giving myself permission to use ink in books, I used to write on small post-it notes. And this one caught my attention today. It’s a quote from my old MBA tutor, Joe Marshall.
“Organisations must divide in order to function, yet these functions must come together to operate.”
— Joe Marshall
Make that 2x people who changed my thinking for the better!
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OMG… just found my offline notes from my page-a-day diary. It looks like I started to learn all about systems thinking on Friday, 27 May 2005. Jeepers!
#RabbitHoles
#SystemsThinking
The Bare Necessities
I’ve really enjoyed writing and recording this week’s The Sunday Scholar. Always a challenge. Always trying to improve. Always learning. I think we’re almost there with the format—it’s taken 100+ editions!
What do you think?
Our latest episode is available to download as a podcast. If you prefer, subscribe to our weekly newsletter and it’ll appear in your inbox every Sunday at 6am. (Well almost six o’clock!)
Tuesday Tutorial… Trailer
Loving this one. A jazzy intro to our Tuesday Tutorial. Each week, we’ll upload a short and impactful lesson in personal and professional development.
I’ve used the Monochrome Faded Film 50 preset in Premier Pro to achieve a more consistent film.
And the music is by LynnePublishing, licensed from Pond5—it’s described as an acoustic playful happy ident. I think it works a treat!
Bob’s Book Club… trailer
Always striving to improve (and hit that perfection button), we’re in the process of revamping the introduction to all future videos—using a relevant soundtrack and suitable B-roll footage. Here’s one we’ve been working on for ‘Bob’s Books Club’.
And yes, that is the title of the next video, “Hell Yeah or No”. It’s a brilliant book written by Derek Sivers. It was also number 2,000 in the Leadership Library!
An infinite purpose
TWELVE SCHOLARS is a platform for leadership development. Our mission is to create a Global Institute that inspires Leadership at every level. Transforming you, your team and your organisation.
Taking inspiration from Rapha, amongst many other businesses, we’re getting closer to defining our infinite purpose. Not just any purpose—but one that serves a higher purpose. Our infinite purpose.
In many ways, we’ve been there before. Using similar words, perhaps in a different order, or with a subtle change or emphasis. We’ve come full circle.
And so we’ve made it bold. And put it front and centre (well, left align). And created a new tab called PURPOSE.
#MissionVisionValues
A new tutorial for Tuesday
Check out the jazzy introduction! Latest video uploaded. Available from our website (link below), or via our YouTube channel. Let me know you think!
A reminder… “People first!”
It’s official. Tom Peters is finally signing off from his weekly quote. One of those rare things. A weekly email I’ve always looked forward to. And in his final message, he leaves us with his favourite quote “People first!”
Tom turned 80 years old last November. Wishing Tom a restful retirement!
Website updates
A few tweaks and updates over the Bank Holiday weekend. Really good to see all our videos and podcasts in one place. Just click the ‘Periodicals’ tab from the menu for more info.
Chasing 12 Rabbits
There’s an old proverb that states when you chase two rabbits you will catch neither one. So what happens when you chase 12 rabbits?
In this week’s The Sunday Scholar, we explore what happens when you chase too many things. We take a deep dive down those black holes called rabbit holes. And look ahead to what Chinese symbolism says about 2023.
Seeking inspiration
In preparation for a new YouTube video, I re-read Derek Sivers brilliant book, Hell Yeah or No. And tbh, I’d forgotten how good this book was. I’d scribbled blue ink on pretty much every other page!
Here’s three quotes that particularly resonated.
“How you do anything is how you do everything. It all matters.”
“Judge a goal by how well it changes your actions in the present moment.”
“Inspiration is not receiving information. Inspiration is applying what you’ve received.”
Wise words.
The age of AI has begun
Who do you listen to when predicting the future?
Should you listen to your mates down the pub (or gym), follow the latest LinkedIn post or turn to someone who’s actually got the T-shirt from the last revolution?
For me, I’ve been watching, reading and generally paying more attention to Bill Gates. And I like his style.
He’s dropped his computer-boffin-know-it-all status and adopted a more down-to-earth approach to solving the world’s biggest problems. As you’d expect, he’s still at the forefront of conversation.
In a recent article, he discusses artificial intelligence (AI). And he’s excited by the opportunities—to advance humankind and solve real world issues.
He concludes, “We should keep in mind that we’re only at the beginning of what AI can accomplish. Whatever limitations it has today will be gone before we know it.”
Interesting times ahead.
Dashboard turning green
How do you keep track of progress?
Here’s the dashboard we’ve used to keep track of our video tutorials for our Leadership Programme. It’s a simple spreadsheet in Google Docs.
The colour scheme is a simple one. Green and red represent complete and incomplete. Dark red is not yet started. Yellow are my next actions. Dark yellow is my priority.
It’s been great to see this course come together. It’s been quite a journey. And it feels like we’re finally approaching the home stretch.
Almost there. Everything above row 132 has turned green!
#LeadershipDevelopment
#BehindTheScenes
Excellence. [Period.]
What was the first ‘business book’ you ever read?
For me (and a million others), it was In Search of Excellence. Written by Tom Peters and Bob Waterman, ISOE was one of the first non-academic business books to hit the shelves. (This was 1982).
Since then, Tom Peters has made it his mission to pursue Excellence.
He’s travelled the world talking about his findings—2,500 speeches, 2,500,000 frequent-flier miles, 63 countries. And written 20 books on the subject.
But now he’s decided to hang up his clogs. (It was his 80th birthday last November).
In Tom’s words, here’s how it all started.
“In mid-1978, I was summoned to New York City to meet with the Managing Director of McKinsey & Co. When I did so, I was given an assignment. McKinsey developed genius strategies. But the clients by and large couldn’t implement them. What was going on? Answering that question, or trying to, has been my preoccupation ever since (45 years).”
My life (and a million others) has been shaped by Tom’s passionate plea to pursue Excellence.
Excellence. Now.
Excellence. Forever.
Thank you Tom, for everything.