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The best way to predict the future is by Creating a Personal Strategy A powerful quote! Do you know that Abraham Lincoln considered even himself a failure for the most parts of his life? He failed far more than he ever succeeded in life, yet most people remember and reference his success rather than his failures. […]

The Dos and Don’ts of Handling Courageous Conversations at work or in your personal life that needs to happen that you keep putting off? We all face difficult conversations that need to be handled, but we all dread them. We can call these ‘Courageous Conversations’ because they oftentimes require so much courage to handle. In […]

Go ahead and search ‘happy employees lead to successful companies’ and you will be bombarded with consistent uplifting messages about employees and happiness (LinkedIn, Fast Company, Business Insider, Fortune). Just about every content piece promotes employee happiness benefiting organizations at large. That is why, contrary to consistent media, I couldn’t believe that Phil Rosenzweig in The Halo Effect completely disagreed.   With […]

You CAN Make Meetings Productive with most meetings occurring online, I’m hearing about the frustrations of time wasted during meetings from leaders and teams’ members alike. Meetings are running overtime. The structure is lost. People can’t make it to their meetings on time – even virtually! Some people talk too much while others never utter […]

On a recent flight, at almost every stop along the way, the airline I had chosen reminded me that I was flying with “the best” So can you over-compliment your CX. Airport signage told me…the CEO appearing on the pre-flight safety video told me…the flight attendant announcements told me…well, you get the picture. The problem […]

What are Afformations as I invented The AFFORMATIONS® Method one morning in “The Shower That Changed Everything.” Afformations are positive and empowering questions you ask yourself. The goal is to change your beliefs about yourself by focusing on what is good and right about you instead of what is bad and wrong about you. This […]

In a recent CIO article (Great IT Leaders Must Have This Trait)  talking about the traits of Successful Women in the technology world, it mentions the importance of being a connector. When you think about it, it doesn’t matter what your industry; being a connector has value in all walks of life. A friend of […]

It is difficult to conceive that 11 months on from National Lock down on 26 March 2020, our tiny business survives and feels strongly that the tide is turning. What a significant time and mighty relief for us, acutely mindful that so many are struggling desperately just to survive. Despite it not being my natural […]

For many of us, robots used to conjure up images of humanoids in sci-fi movies, and we thought them to be Robots are creepy? Not at all. We need them. But now that they have become so ubiquitous, this is no longer the case.   More and more companies are embracing the robotics revolution, introducing […]

The word strategy has become a word that often evokes fear, confusion, and in most cases stress as to how to Identifying and executing a winning strategy. The reason for it, is a strategy has often not been thought through, and the outcome has not been outlined. What I mean by that is, we often […]

We’ve recently been on an investment drive to raise massive capital for our product, Lohocla and the number we are gunning for is rather massive relative to what we were thinking years ago and as such we Earn Your Stripes, The funny thing is that the people we are contacting today are the very same […]

I’m not going to pretend that this is easy stuff for Second Best, especially given all the uncertainty in the world. Over the course of the last three weeks, as corporate America has made the transition from meetings in conference rooms and common spaces to Zoom calls and other online sessions, I’m struck by the […]

How many times have you written off an entire company based on your interactions with ONE employee? Don’t make the choice Xfinity made…   A few weeks ago I got a call out of the blue that left me so shocked I have to share the story.   Let’s get into it… We’ve all been […]

THE STRUGGLE OF ALL SALESPEOPLE, UNDERSTANDING THE MONEY VALUE Here’s what you should know about salespeople, and really people in general. They don’t struggle with time management, they struggle with self-management. You can’t manage time, time ticks whether we want to or not. Here’s why we struggle with self-management In the absence of a clearly […]

Can you imagine Say No To Revenue? It doesn’t sound right, does it? Ironically enough, that’s exactly what might be necessary to set you and your business up to achieve success. Anyone that knows chicken, has at least heard of Chick-fil-A and their famous chicken sandwiches served across locations in 48 states in the US. […]

A common problem new pilots struggle with is avoiding a PIO or pilot-induced oscillation. So how do we Stop the Cycle as We’re all familiar with the concept of overcorrecting in a car. A deer runs out, you’re driving tired, you’re near the edge of the road, and you yank the wheel the other direction […]

If you’ve ever seen expectant parents in a baby shop, you’d know that pregnancy is a life stage that usually triggers an avalanche of consumerism and to find Pink Sheets.   I (thankfully) never tallied what I spent during my pregnancy, I just know that becoming a mum, while filling my heart, has drained my […]

On this day that has been set aside to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it’s important to note that Dr. King’s words still ring true today, It Really Boils Down to This. The power of truth does not decay with the passing of time. Dr. King’s message is proof that you […]

Is it that, “They dont want to work!” – or – they dont want to work for YOU? Here’s a problematic question for entrepreneurs and managers: is it that people dont want to work nowadays? Or is it that they dont want to work for YOU? Twenty years ago, I wrote that you must provide […]

Change Your Sleep, Change Your Life: Do you suffer from the inability to go to sleep? I have my entire life. Until lately things have finally begun to change, but it is a choice, as I’ve begun to make and keep simple promises that are making a huge difference. Change Your Sleep, Change Your Life […]

If you’ve ever launched something as 3-2-1 Liftoff!, whether it is a basketball shot, a new business, or the 2 Liter bottle rocket for your kid’s science project, you know the arc of senses one feels in each attempt to succeed as we let go of our security and send the object into motion to […]

A couple of weeks ago I was in Orlando for a talk and I knew the THE 3 C’S OF ELITE TALENT DEVELOPMENT. The night before I was sitting at the hotel restaurant grabbing some dinner. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that there was a basketball game on the tv at […]

I’ve recorded a short video about the value of taking time ‘in’ to help with solve problems, creating, sorting & strategising. I like to call it ‘time-in’ because these insights don’t come from our busy external world, nor from our noisy internal chatter. They come from a place within us that very few of us […]

When the Chief Marketing Officer mentions brand values in the boardroom they can be treated with disdain and Why your brand needs values. Eyes roll. Disparaging glances are passed. Brand marketing mumbo jumbo. Nothing could be further from the truth. Brand values are important. They are powerful brand assets. This post explains why.  Values influence […]

“I’m getting angry at myself just practicing these things and why Your Team Isn’t Listening !” The comment by a business owner in my leadership training session caught me off guard. When I asked him to explain, he responded with, “I know the value of listening, but I won’t take the time to do it […]

What does it mean to be an inspiring leader? An inspirational leader is someone that people follow, if you’re a leader and nobody’s following you, you’re not really a leader or you lack leadership skills. Think of the world’s most inspiring leaders, who are inspiring leaders throughout history?   What does it mean to be an inspiring leader? An inspiring leader is someone […]

Leadership Hack: How Sticky Notes Can Help Your Career Sticky notes have been my savior. And I don’t mean in a “don’t forget the milk” kind of way. True, sticky notes are great for grocery lists, but what I’m talking about here is how a few small squares helped me become a better leader, and […]

I promised that I would unpack my personal Habits That Help You Thrive! and give you examples of my high value, low value and time stealer habits. Keep reading to get insights into: My top 5 high-value habits Examples of each habit category High-value habits that you can add Low-value habits that can be transformed […]

I’ve always been a fan of the multitude of skills that Leonardo da Vinci brought to the world to REACH PERFECTION. A painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor and architect (thanks Wikipedia), his art – in whichever format it was created – is well-known across the planet, throughout history. Stories shared through time explain his commitment to […]

When I first began studying nutrition in 2009 there was pretty much no mention of make your gut healthy. I TOOK THE DEEP DIVE INTO NUTRITION TO TRY AND HELP MY OWN HEALTH AND IN PARTICULAR MY MENTAL HEALTH. Since then a lot has changed and most of us now know that to maintain good […]

We all end up needing to have an Uncomfortable Conversations. We may have to share with someone our unmet expectations, disappointment, or actual annoyance. This could be with a direct report, our boss, a peer, a spouse, or maybe even a child. No one likes these situations, but we must deal with them appropriately in […]

In organizational culture, there are two types of people: those who look for reasons to be offended, and those who look for ways to understand others. The former type tends to lash out at coworkers, saying cruel things in private or criticizing them in public. They seek revenge on their managers if they feel they […]

Business success isn’t only reserved for large corporations with seemingly unlimited budgets to design customer experience. There are countless stories of small businesses that have grown to incredible heights simply by treating customers in a way that made them want to share their experience with family, friends, colleagues and on social media and encourage them […]

Emotions That Could Be Stopping You From Living Your Dreams and Hurtful memories can stifle your development and growth. How do we break through this insidious mental conditioning? How do we grow and develop beyond hurtful episodes that bury themselves in our subconscious and influence our lives? Do we change and grow so that we […]

LONG LIVE THE COMFORT ZONE. It’s been getting a bad rap for years! Popular activities for team-building include exercises to help teams think outside the box, workshops that force us outside our comfort zones, seminars are designed to inspire attendees to embrace discomfort in the name of personal growth … the list goes on. As […]

Is Complacency Putting You Risk? Lessons From a Fighter Pilot Flying taught me a valuable lesson about life: complacency can cause serious problems for ourselves and those around us. In this newsletter, share a personal story about the dangers of complacency including the following topics: Complacency Consequences What leads to complacency? Signs Complacency is Creeping […]

Other than a brief period when I was in the Middle East, for the past 13 years I have not had an office out of which I worked. I have however, been part of teams that have worked closely together every day and Living in an online world: Virtual Collaboration and Virtual Teams One year […]

Clarity Certainty and Hope. Many have spoken about VUCA times, where it all becomes Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. We had a large taste of it in 2008, during the global financial crash, but the Coronavirus has really challenged every nation, and every person. We will share some thoughts and insights that may help you […]

Odds are good that you’re doing 10 SMALL THINGS YOU SHOULDN’T SWEAT AT WORK things to proactively manage how you present yourself at work: writing concise emails, speaking up in meetings, and trying not to make your sentences sound like questions. But when you’re in the first phases of your career, sometimes understanding office etiquette […]

Leading significant organizational change is hard, A Navy SEAL’s 7 Steps for Using Culture to Drive Change. Though well-intentioned, that’s why over half of major transformation efforts fail. Why?   Many reasons can include but aren’t limited to a bad strategy, a weak culture lacking trust and accountability, poor communication, low levels of buy-in, change […]

While The Future of Optimization has permeated our culture at large, it is Gen Z that has grown up in era when technology has enabled them to optimize everything from their sleep and their workouts to their study habits and even their intellect. Last year, I interviewed executives who work in the vitamin division of […]

I’m already working–virtually, of course–with clients on what comes after COVID and what the future may hold. One trend is clear: the “virtualization” of our world has greatly accelerated. Work from home, telemedicine, virtual shopping, distance learning, socializing, exercise: more activities than we might imagine will move to the virtual world during the rest of […]

Chris Bertish- Captains Log 7th July is Shifting gears mentally! Finally getting to this point where you are comfortable with yourself, your position, and the craft– that’s a huge milestone. No leaks, all my main key systems are still functioning properly- Chart-plotter/ AIS/ water maker/ GPS/ Autopilot & Satellite coms….even though I have implemented a […]

As Gerd often says that we keep asking the wrong question i.e. ‘what will 2022 bring?’ Instead, we should ask ‘what kind of future do we want?‘ This is a key point Gerd also reiterates in his year-end interviews; below. The Hong Kong Economic Journal, asked Gerd to talk about the future and what’s happening in a […]

Ten years ago, I was retrenched from a marketing and sales position. My story is the same as many other people. Sometimes losing a job can point towards a better life and opportunities you never thought possible and now Ten Years as an Entrepreneur. After my retrenchment, I didn’t have an epiphany about starting a […]

I am very excited today to talk about one of my favorite topics of all time, HOW TO REMOTIVATE YOURSELF. Based on the fact that I got this question twice yesterday from two separate people from two separate parts of the country means that I’ve got to address this. It’s not just how do you […]

One of the attractions of Work-At-Home schedule is the vision of freedom it invokes — no time clock, no time sheets, and no one to account for how you spend your time. Yes, it is an attractive proposition, but like so many attractive propositions there is a heavy downside — you are likely wasting a […]

Be prepared for Remote Selling – How to Become A Technical Set Up Boss As any Boy Scout (or Girl Guide for that matter) knows, you should always be prepared – in fact that is the global motto for the Boy Scouts and one that I feel should be adopted by all business professionals as […]

With all the recent fervor over the confrontation between Will Smith and Chris Rock at the Oscars® over a comment made about Jada Pinkett Smith, there’s one character I have yet to see explored in the aftermath to change your perspective: G.I. Jane.   Several years ago, when I was building my business as a […]

Robyn Benincasa on Building World Class Teams, one of the highest rated female athlete speakers, and her adventure racing teams have learned about building world class teams the hard way – by competing in and winning the world’s toughest ultra-endurance adventure races.   She shares her lessons on ‘Building World Class Teams’ with Fortune 500 […]

Until someone creates a way to accurately predict the future and Beyond Disruption, there is no way to prepare your business for every change that will come its way and beyond disruption. Whether it is a pandemic that changes the economic outlook, societal trends that change consumption patterns, or machinery or infrastructure that breaks down, […]

Are you someone who starts a whole bunch of projects and tasks yet rarely finish any of them so then How to Finish a Task! is for you? You are in excellent company! A huge percentage (89% according to a study shared in the Huffington Post) of business people don’t know How to Finish a […]

I mean, isn’t that the nature of goals to begin with? What’s missing between you and your goals might be walking the walk of your goals — not just talking the talk. Or rather, running the run of your goals. I’ll tell you what I mean. Goals are easy to think of but harder to achieve, aren’t […]

Easter is obviously when Christians celebrate a miracle that is central to our faith and The Importance of Belief. We are also in the seasons of Ramadan and Passover.   Although my work here is never intended to be about any particular set of spiritual beliefs, it struck me when thinking about these observances that […]