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Suddenly half the world is working from home and many of us have new workplace surroundings to adapt to. Remember folks, it’s not the most intelligent or fittest of the species who will survive, it’s those who can swiftly adapt to change. I’ve spent huge chunks of my career working from home, so here are […]

If SA is to live, its leaders must stop feasting on dead ideas and There are several reasons why Venezuelan polymath Moises Naim claims the attention of posterity. He served as the minister of trade and industry in his homeland when that country was the richest in South America. Afterward, he edited prestigious journal Foreign […]

25 YEARS IN BUSINESS 1. Marketing is the backbone of your business– always have a Marketing plan and ensure that every day you do something that will make you top of mind with your clients. 2. Stop playing small – always add another zero to everything you plan to do in terms of activities. Widen […]

In this article you will discover Emotional Management Practices. A person with poor emotional management in the workplace, or even in personal life, can have consequences such as being fired or failing to maintain a stable relationship. At work, those who do not have an awareness of their emotions are often someone who has difficulty appreciating and being appreciated […]

The Survival Guide, originally written for overworked and underappreciated public servants, offers ten checkpoints that signal burnout. After sharing this popular workshop based on the book with audiences filled with clerks, librarians, planners, firefighters, administrators, and many other municipal groups, the private sector came calling. Who cares about Public Servants and a The Survival Guide? Why? Because […]

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 […]

Few months ago, I was supposed to go somewhere with someone and realized What Drives You. We’d agreed to meet at a particular spot but I was trying to renegotiate our meeting place so I can avoid having to take multiple local taxies. And so this person exclaim in total shock…and said, “Nicky, you mean […]

To unlock employee motivation, you may need to change how you communicate special requests. These are things like important changes to operating processes or customer service procedures. You need people to embrace a different way of doing things. It has to be done right and it needs to be executed right away. But you notice […]

The Status Quo of Crisis Preparedness Puts You at a Disadvantage—and It’s Time For That To Change. Over the last couple of years, I’ve found myself increasingly frustrated with my industry, the crisis management profession. To put my frustration simply, the status quo of crisis preparedness and crisis management no longer suffices and, as a […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

In the traditional sales world, Engaging and Interactive Meeting, a professional salesperson would prepare for, and focus on, commanding the room, the conversation and the sales process, and you would be prepared to maximise the chances of success at whichever stage of the sale you are because that’s how you win deals for an Interactive […]

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, […]

If we are going to do new things to survive in the Industrial Age, we are going to meet uncertainty. If we are going to meet uncertainty, we are going to discover risk. A show of hands… How many people, when you were 12, 13, 14 years of age, had a mother or a father […]

Kirsten Landman Does It, and has completed the Dakar 2023 Malle Moto, coming 2nd in the women’s classification, 12th in Malle Moto and 71st overall! Saudi Arabia (16 January 2023) – Kirsten Landman has completed the Dakar 2023, and she has done it unsupported. We want to take the chance to wish her our congratulations! South […]

Generosity is an interesting beast so WHY SO STINGY. As a charity CEO, I have seen it expressed in many different ways. The best kind of generosity comes with warmth and good old NSA – no strings attached. This kind of generosity is glorious to witness and is the backbone of charity work all over […]

Over the last four weeks, I’ve elaborated on what I call the Closing the Loop with Cycle of Listening. This consists of:   Step 1: Recognizing the Unsaid – Unspoken things in your culture’s organization to recognize that your people aren’t telling their entire truth. Step 2: Seeking to Understand – Leaning in to understand someone’s perspective and […]

I once saw a cartoon meme that really caught my attention. A Father was chatting to his son. He was explaining the difference between being interested in success at school versus being committed to success at school. So Are You a Chicken, or a Pig? “Take your breakfast as an example, my boy,” the Father […]

Last week I got to spend five and a half hours of Beyond Strategy with one of the most influential strategic thinkers alive today, Gary Hamel. He has written five global best-selling books, published 17 papers in Harvard Business Review, and has taught at London Business School for 30 years. But most importantly, Gary has […]

To Think like a leader, you can’t really miss it. The headlines, the endless discussions and debates, the boundless optimism from some and apocalyptic warnings from others. Unless you’ve had your head stuck in the sand for the last few months – and who, at times, hasn’t wanted to do that?! – the turbulence in […]

Where do you get your most innovative ideas to boost innovation? How do you increase the rate of creativity in your organization? As a creator, entrepreneur, or founder these are probably the most important questions you can ask. So, where do you start? You’ve probably heard the phrase “think outside the box” a thousand times. […]

Worrying is psychologically debilitating and The Opposite of Worrying Planning Recently, I helped a client eliminate the worrying component in his narrative which was causing serious procrastination. This is not unusual, and here are some thoughts for those who find themselves trapped in this wheel of hell. I understand worry intimately. I know those who […]

Do you remember THE BAIT SWITCH DOES NOT WORK and the first time you were disappointed by a large organisation? My earliest memory of corporate greed (we all have those, right?) was what I recall being a few months after Smarties Mini Eggs were launched in South Africa. As a lifelong fan of the traditional […]

This post has taken me almost 8 weeks to think about posting, client is always the client. I have started to write and then, delete — delete — delete. Leave it for a few days and try again, but still my anger and emotions take over as I have tried to construct a well thought-out […]

‘Quick! The business is dying! Find me the humblest possible consultant to solve the problem!’ as Experts don’t disqualify themselves. Author Allen Weiss makes this tongue-in-cheek point in his book, ‘Million Dollar Maverick.’ And it’s a good one. As we strive to position ourselves as top-level experts in our industry, a demure and deferring persona […]

Chris Bertish | Captains Log 13th June 13th -17th June 29 05’474 N 128 01’447W Pacific Ocean Milestones-The waterline/ Hatches & rouge waves/MOB take 2 -Injuries /Slow is pro / It’s all shifting / Maslow’s hierarchy of Needs / Story of the clever turd! / Shifting spaces / Into the light.. Breakthrough/ Flicker on! / […]

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 […]

I Got Sued YESTERDAY. Just like this headline is misleading and complete clickbait, such is the reality we are living in, and the point of this author and PAPERBACK WRITER. I clicked on a post recently after reading wild news stories ACROSS THE UNIVERSE and stumbled upon the Yahoo! article entitled: “Fans Sue Movie Yesterday”. I […]

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 […]

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 Olympics are finally here after a year-long COVID delay and how Gratitude Wires Your Brain. The Olympic Games are incredibly inspiring. These men and women give a clinic on Peak Performance for twelve action-packed days. There will be thrilling victories, world-record-breaking performances, and soul-crushing defeats. But everyone competing will be showing you what peak […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

The Silicon Valley Unicorn craze is slowly fading, and in the dawn of the fourth industrial revolution, all eyes are riveting to startup in Africa, India, and South America as the new battlegrounds, yet people have no real understanding of the challenges faced by homegrown startups in these regions, trying to innovate in harsh environments, […]

I had a recent team meeting where I brought our Caring Inclusive Listening Leadership coaches together to discuss an idea regarding the community. The call ended up going in an entirely different direction, but ended up in an amazing place. As the conversation grew, many strong opinions came forth on all sides, but I trusted each of them […]

Some people get up every day and make excuses to justify the reasons why they “can’t” get what they want so here are my The 3 Keys to Peak Performance.  They allow their EXCUSES to take a VIP seat in their life. “I can’t” apply for a promotion because I don’t have the skills necessary […]

Here are 3 things I have now that a 6-figure salary couldn’t give me after I left my $500,000 a year job to start my own company, and I couldn’t be happier. On paper, everything about my career was amazing. I’d become the CEO of a large company at the age of 42. In less […]

New York, USA (24 March 2022) – The endangered black rhino in South Africa will receive extraordinary help from Wall Street with a new “Rhino Bond” that will only increase in value as the animal’s population increases! The pilot project has already been backed by the Washington-based lender which has issued a $150 million loan (over R2 […]

Unleashing the Power of Motivational Speakers: Jason Hewlett and David Allison In our journey towards personal and professional growth, we often find ourselves in need of inspiration, guidance, and a gentle push to unlock our full potential. This is where the power of motivational speakers comes into play. These dynamic individuals have the ability to […]

This expedition was the first in a series of five Beyond Engulfing Magnificence Expeditions with Jacques Marais. The idea was to mountain bike the edge of the incredible Namib Desert from Serra Cafema on the Angolan border to Swakopmund along the coast of Namibia. I’m on the edge of a gigantic granite outcrop. Ep.2/9 | Engulfing […]

Rules of Personal Branding if you have a profile on social networks like LinkedIn? Well, maybe you’re not aware, but without realizing it, you’re already working on your personal brand! But, what is this about the personal brand? The personal brand or Personal Branding consists of treating a physical person as a commercial brand in […]

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 […]

 “How you see yourself determines what you see for yourself, Are You Externally or Internally Driven?.” Veli Ndaba – ‘The NeuroEngineer’ Self-esteem represents an overall evaluation of oneself – the extent to which one feels positively rather than negatively toward oneself – and views oneself as a person of value and worth. Contingent self-esteem is […]

The Comeback Kids and “Misery loves company” so the saying goes – and in the age of Covid that seems to be the gravitational force that currently drives social and media conversations. Our attention is being continuously siloed toward the latest business failure, business rescue and somebody we know being adversely affected by the pandemic. […]

This The Incredible Desert Elephants expedition was the first in a series of five Beyond Expeditions with Jacques Marais and Peter van Kets. The idea was to mountain bike the edge of the incredible Namib Desert from Serra Cafema on the Angolan border to Swakopmund along the coast of Namibia. In this episode, we take […]

I once met this old man, whilst traveling. I guess as a tourist, anything goes. Owning your presence … by Lizette Volkwyn   His coat was tacky, his hair in desperate need of grooming, and his age betrayed by his body…but something pulled me back, calling me to start a conversation with this stranger.   […]

Push through the bad to get to good / Shifting spaces / Challenges of the Pacific / Don’t get run over / Injuries / Warnings / Water struggles & just Figuring it out then Man overboard-Captain!   Over the last 12 days, I’ve traveled just over 400 Nautical miles SW. I’ve passed by the US […]

I’ve often wished there were a remote control for real life that let you fast forward through the unpleasant parts and pause on the good stuff just so that Everything You Need to Enjoy One Tech-Free Day a Week. There’s not, but there is a practice that will put you back in control of your […]

In business, I have learnt the incredible value of Lessons in building business dashboards that eliminate unnecessary data (ruthlessly) and focus only on imperative and useful stats that help you make informed decisions quickly. In my average week, I refer to two central dashboards. One the shows the health of my business and the other […]

Regular Mindfulness Practice, Meditation and Benefits Forget about the incense making you feel all balmy… I want to share with you some of the scientific evidence of the benefits of Regular Mindfulness Practice (*) Results from fMRI scans after 8 weeks of Regular Mindfulness Practices training… Intervention studies have been carried out that specifically look […]

Moderating a online panel discussion can be really fun, especially if you and the panelists are well prepared and you create a good atmosphere. Here are my top 10 tips for you who will be a part of a panel discussion as an MC or a panelist 10 tips for a great online panel discussion […]

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 […]