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To risk or not to Risk – could I cope with 12 pairs of gloves? The quandary: There’s a question on many female’s hearts and minds this week as the 29th looms ahead about whether to really pop THE question. It might also be on everyone’s hearts and minds wondering if they might be the […]

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 […]

Build your leadership confidence with these 7 Ways to Be a More Confident Leader instantly-actionable tips from leadership keynote speaker and relatability expert Rachel DeAlto. In leadership, healthy confidence is key. Your team is looking to you for guidance, security, and support. But what if self-doubt is crowding out that inner boldness?   First of […]

Some say great leaders are born. We say great leaders are made, HOW TO BE A GREAT LEADER. There are many different types of leaders and leadership styles. While it’s important to find your own style, there are many qualities of leaders throughout history that have stood the test of time. While we will view […]

Imagine this scenario: You are considered THE BEST in the world at your chosen profession – according to critics, peers, well known in the public – and suddenly you MUST change your career. Does this thought excite you, or terrify you? If it is YOUR choice, then it’s a great thing! If it’s doctor’s orders […]

One morning when I was on my way to school, my life changed for the better with The Power of a Vision. I was 14 years old and an eighth grader at the time, and my school was on the other side of Matlala River in Limpopo. It was quite a long walk through the […]

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 […]

“Technology is exponential but humans are not and can do great things, but it does not WANT to do great things – it does not want anything” says Apple’s CEO Tim Cook (a quote I have often used in my talks). Technology is a tool not a purpose – see my ‘carpenter and the hammer example’ (video).   “Both […]

How to bounce back after retrenchment or a job loss. Got retrenched? Here’s how to recover and step up One of the most devastating feelings is the realization of the loss of your income. It puts you in an immediate spiral of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. Retrenchment affects you emotionally and the whole process can […]

My South Africa was not supposed to be a hit. Ingrid Jones contacted me late on a Sunday night to explain the concept and to urge me to do a ‘quick one’ for an inflight magazine. I did the piece in less than an hour and went to sleep. Next thing I heard was that […]

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 […]

What’s on your resilience resume? For most people in North America, this week marks the first anniversary of the pandemic changing our lives. It started with disbelief, upheaval, and constant change and progressed to the monotony of sameness. Regardless of the phase, there has been a consistent undertone of uncertainty as to what comes next. […]

Four Reasons Why Employees Manage their Personal Brands daily? It’s simple, really. They get the concept that every time someone has contact with you at work, outside of work, or on social media, one of two things happen: your Personal Brand is either strengthened or weakened by what you say or don’t say, and by […]

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. […]

How do you motivate yourselves and others in a brand new year when you are out of oomph. Many business leaders are entering 2021 feeling rather hesitant, concerned and uncertain. 2020 was challenging in many ways and I believe that many business owners and managers had the fight of their lives to keep their businesses […]

Rebel technologists thrive when a couple of key environmental factors are in place The first thing is budget.  Making sure that you can find the necessary budget to be able to instil these changes is an ideal starting point. If you aren’t working towards some kind of return on investment, somewhere along the line, why should […]

I was fantasising about a new Outlook feature today. No really, I  am that sad! Here was my fantasy, Stop inviting everyone whenever you create a new meeting event, there is a little box showing the estimated meeting cost. This cost should double as you double the length of the meeting and also double when […]

THE RISE OF THE MINI TYRANTS, we all know the type. Dress a man in a hi-vis vest, armed with a clipboard and a biro, and you’ve just built yourself a mini tyrant. You’ve licensed a tiny authoritarian to impose the rules verbatim, as he sees fit, no matter the context or circumstances. It’s worrying […]

Companies are constantly adapting to provide Habits of Collaborative Leaders as the most efficient and productive work environments for the employees. The team – not the individual contributor – is the new secret for business success. U.S companies spent $12 billion on leadership development. 56% of company leaders say they will soon face a shortage […]

While microwave ovens were created for convenience here is Why You Should Toss Your Microwave, the dangers and negative effects you are about to read just may make you want to stop using it altogether.   As more research has been done, studies have shown that not only the microwave itself can cause danger to […]

Kevin Gaskell seems to be meeting more and more people in business at the moment who are concerned that the economy is a bumpy ride and unpredictable.  You can certainly feel a lot of turbulence in the air; Brexit, Trump, FX rates, inflation, Russia, Middle East, fake news etc. The truth is that if you […]

#NoMatterWhat is a system to get results regardless of outside circumstances. A set of 5 practices to create transformational growth for people, organizations and companies. The world is more uncertain and more unpredictable than ever. We have a pandemic, civil unrest, tech disruption, misinformation and still brutal competition and more customer, community and family demands […]

The old saying, “What got you here won’t get you there,” applies as a Skill You Need to Master to your professional life today. The world is quickly changing as well as the competitive landscape. Whether you are running a business or trying to increase your career equity, ramping up your skill set is important. […]

“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 […]

Think Yourself Thin reaches no.1 Best Seller rank on Amazon VANCOUVER, July 19, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ – Nathalie Plamondon-Thomas, inspirational speaker and Life Coach, tops Amazon.com bestseller lists with her new book Think Yourself Thin. In Think Yourself Thin, Nathalie combines her experience in life coaching, fitness, nutrition and Neuro-Linguistic Programming into a system that shows you how to reprogram […]

WIFU: What’s in it for you, to read this? If you are ‘time-poor’,  and therefore don’t have time to read this article right now, then simply use the acronym: BOOST©  to ask yourself five questions:  B = Bed- Do you wake up refreshed?    O = Oxygen- Do you get enough oxygen to your brain throughout […]

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 […]

This is a great article on Bringing the mountains home which addresses employee happiness and developing a beneficial culture that contributes to a business’ success. *** Written by Travis Gale, CEO of Appletree Catalyst Agency, which discusses how to deal with end-of-year burnout and how to ‘Bringing the mountains home’. This past festive season, I […]

I have worked with corporate teams that measure what seems like everything. My concern with these teams isn’t what they are measuring, but rather what they are not measuring — leadership effectiveness. Teams measure on-time delivery, sales call per day, employee engagement, and so many more useful metrics. I’ve even seen a team measure coffee […]

I was concerned about working virtually and leading through adversity so In March 2020, when the world shut down and my live event calendar was wiped clean   As my speaking business went online, I wondered if it would survive the transformation. Would I still have an impact? Would I still matter? I’m sure you […]

Me to My Husband, Bill:     Bill – look! My phone is blowing UP with all these stories about people getting this flesh-eating bacteria from getting into the ocean! Bill:    You’re kidding. (Not even breaking stride in his email checking) Me:     It’s true! It’s right here. A man who’s about to lose his arm. A 12-year old who is about […]

Are we on the brink of the Un-Recession? The latest jobs report–published August 5–showed that the United States added over half a million new jobs in the month of July.   Unemployment is at or a near a 50-year low. Both points add credence to a growing number of economists who are pushing back against […]

The Essence of Business is People , each and every business needs people to service and most of them are geared towards offering a product and or service to people. So therefore the foundation of any great business lies in the People Engagement and Growth strategy. There is an illusion that technology and apps will […]

Building brands takes time. Be patient. Branding is an overused, misused and even abused management term. People think brand is a quick design fix for many management ills. It’s not. Building a brand takes time to root and enact change. The reason being, brands can influence our emotion and behaviour and that doesn’t happen overnight. […]

As a keynote speaker on the topics of leadership, connection, resilience, and relationships, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about Choose Compassion Over Empathy over the past year and Why Leaders Must Choose Compassion Over Empathy. In fact, in my virtual presentations on personal connection, I quickly became aware of the buzzwords associated […]

How to Craft Powerful Stories that Can Drive Culture Change There is an old adage that says:   If you want to learn about a culture, listen to the stories. If you want to change a culture, change the stories.    I had a first-hand experience with this very early on in my career. The MD […]

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 […]

We all know remote working and the loneliness in your team has had a large impact on our mental health with loneliness being cited as the most common emotion being experienced by entrepreneurs, leaders and employees. This can cause us to withdraw and be less committed, creative, collaborative and attentive, and both the quality and […]

It’s that time of the year for New Years resolutions again, where most of us put together a comprehensive list of resolutions and goals to be a better version of ourselves by thinking what we would ideally look like in the future: lose weight, get fitter, be a better spouse, etc and Why New Years’ […]

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 […]

In life, we get so much input. It is hard to keep up. One piece of advice that I got was to Focus on your skills and on my strengths. We are not meant to be great at everything, but we all have talent. At times we try to improve skills we don’t have a […]

Speakers in the virtual space during this pandemic we have heard the word pivot frequently. And now it’s typical to hear phrases like “all Zoomed out”. In the world of events and training we are seeing a mixture of virtual, hybrid and face to face. No one expected this pandemic. While we continue to navigate […]

I have found that running gives me time to think, running give me time to introspect and running helps me heal so WHY ARE WE RUNNING?. I have embarked on all these journeys over the past 12 years for probably two main reasons. I suppose the first is the selfish side. It’s something I love […]

Things to QUIT if you Ever hear that saying that says before you can grab hold of what you really want you’ve got to let go of what’s you’re currently holding on to so tightly and QUIT Starting Today?  That’s what I want to talk about in this article.  Those things that no longer serve […]

Native Americans Voices in Corporate America: Inspiring Change and Inclusivity Introduction The corporate world has increasingly recognized the value of diversity, inclusion, and fresh perspectives in today’s globalized and dynamic business landscape. Indigenous voices, often underrepresented and underheard, offer unique insights and experiences that can enrich corporate America. In this Native Americans article, we will […]

I want you to think about investing in yourself as you become more resilient. The work that feeds your mind, body and soul. Self-investment is the first step in your resilience journey   I want you to think about investing in yourself as your most important work. The work that feeds your mind, body and […]

This morning I woke up with a feeling of total despair as An eagle eye in trouble times…, the feeling of not doing enough. Not having enough, not knowing where to start and not knowing where I wanted to go. This uneasy feeling of negativity was so out of character and my first reaction was […]

Now that we are in the midst of the world’s largest remote work does not work experiment, it’s worth asking: what does it take to run a good virtual meeting? It is all too easy to just focus on what can be controlled and configured: security, bandwidth, platforms or devices. However, when it comes to […]

It’s hard to believe twenty years have passed since I was honoured and humbled to carry the 2020 Olympic Torch Hindsight to Rekindle Embers of Hope, on the day of the opening ceremonies of the Sydney 2000 Olympics; one of only 26 people before Cathy Freeman lit the cauldron in the stadium. I’d been privileged […]

Howard Saunders, a leading retail keynote speaker was wrong. FORGET COVID. THIS IS THE KILLER VIRUS. I thought that the crescendo of hysteria that’s been festering like a planet sized boil in the wake of Trump and Brexit would dissipate once a serious crisis came along. It’s like we’d been massaging a giant zit with […]

How Joey Evans Went From Paraplegic To Dakar and In October 2007, a devastating off-road bike accident left Joey Evans paralysed from the chest down. Ten years later, he achieved his dream of finishing the 2017 Dakar Rally on a motorbike. This is the story of the power of grit, determination, and following crazy, audacious […]

Practice These Resilient Skills to becoming a Resilient Leader When my friend Petra was diagnosed with cancer, not once, but twice, life gave her no choice but to be strong. When she went into remission for the second time, she decided she was going to wake people up to the precious gift of time. Through […]

A former 9-figure corporate CEO gives you 10 powerful questions to help you seal the deal in your next interview. Just like dressing professionally, showing up on time, and wielding a firm handshake, asking the right questions can make or break the outcome of a long-awaited interview for a super-coveted position. Asking no questions at […]

Zigazoo is the new “TikTok” for kids. In a nutshell, it’s an education/entertainment app, which engages students in meaningful learning and problem-solving activities whilst entertaining them. It doesn’t seem so harmful, does it? But, is it safe for kids? The terms of service (but not the app description) clearly state that Zigazoo is meant to […]