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What sank the Titanic? It wasn’t just an iceberg, it was people. Leaders whom no one dared challenge, employees unable to communicate, organisations lulled into a false of security. The lessons [...]

This book focuses on the people aspects of the Titanic story; the key stakeholders, power dynamics, underlying perceptions, communication, leadership and team interactions. We draw on this tragic [...]

47% of employees complained that meetings were the #1 time-waster at the office. Most employees attend an average of 62 meetings a month. Unproductive meetings cost companies time and money. [...]

Do you ever need to run sessions with your teams to identify solutions to problems, or find a way to move forward? Why not learn a broad range of practical facilitation tips, tools and techniques [...]

Wellbeing and self-care are trends worth promoting not only because they feel good, but because they lead to better productivity and happier people.

When you’re faced with change and having to do things in a new way, have you noticed that it takes longer to get things done? When you change your mobile phone or your television, this can [...]

It is now known that the brain organises things using a basic threat or reward principle, and that our first instinct is to assess threat levels. However, dealing with a ‘threat’ takes more brain [...]

We live in fast moving times. Never before has there been such rapid transformation, and uncertainty, across all industries as in recent years. Technology is advancing at a phenomenal rate, and [...]

Last week I was in Barcelona, at the headquarters of Fusion for Energy, the EU body managing Europe’s contribution to the ITER project – the biggest international collaboration in the field of [...]

Familiar routines and processes are comforting. Following a well-trodden path is easier and less taxing on the brain. I was reminded of that recently when I went to meet a client for the first [...]

I caught the Olympic bug as a 9 year old, captivated watching Valeriy Borzov in 1972 winning the 100m and 200m. This turned into a full blown cold with Alberto Juantorena at the 1976 Montreal [...]

Most of us are aware that becoming angry, fearful or frustrated gets in the way of clear thinking, so it pays to stay calm. But when we’re under pressure and our emotions are rising, then it’s [...]

A Triumph for ‘Teamwork’ over ‘Individuals with Talent’ There was an outbreak of joy in the early weeks of May centred on the City of Leicester, but shared throughout the country for people who [...]

I have had many discussions recently about transformation – business, digital and IT transformation – but there is one common theme that underpins each of these conversations: Organisations [...]

It seems such a passive thing, listening. And yet, it can be so much more powerful than speaking — particularly when supporting people through a period of change. If we’re not careful, it’s easy [...]

I think this is going to be a blog about contradictions and opposites. After all mindfulness is about noticing details in the ’here and now’, giving us an appreciation of the status quo – whereas [...]

The first lambs are appearing in the fields – bright and bouncy, and seemingly unfazed by the coldness of the wind. Whenever I’m admiring lambs, I find myself wondering why we are generally so [...]

Most Agile methods focus at the product development level. There’s a revolution from below aspect to them which is seductive. It encourages teams to change the world by doing it. Who [...]

You’ve arrived at the site of an important customer. You’re about to address a group of their senior executives and you’re feeling excited about it – you’ve done loads of work on this, and feel [...]

In today’s world, all change cannot be planned. Increasingly change is emergent – it happens as a result of an organisation’s need to be adaptive to stay competitive in fast moving times. It [...]

The updated change management certification was launched 3 months ago. I recently wrote a blog for APMG International containing some reflections and observations from running this course with 6 [...]

Almost a month into the New Year, we’re each beginning to evaluate how the year is going. How are we progressing on those New Year goals? When working towards a goal, it’s helpful to [...]

Last week Ranjit did one of her popular talks on the Titanic disaster. From what she told me, a visitor needs to hit the ground running, and be right up to speed on the dramatis personae of [...]

My guess is you think of Creativity as art and design, technical innovation, or perhaps the latest wacky ideas? But that’s not all. Today’s business world is very different to how it was a couple [...]

Our brains are constantly on the lookout for signs of threats or rewards – clearly the survival of early man depended on this. The decisions we make about what to pay attention to are based on [...]

Ruby Wax’s new book* is published next week. Not surprisingly, it promises to be a good read and an entertaining portal to some pretty big ideas – neuroplasticity, for instance. But [...]

A recent article in New Scientist* offers some valuable insights — and they’re not necessarily the ones you may expect. Many management courses include some guidance on body language, the reading [...]

From very early on individuals in competitive sports are hardwired to win, they’re driven by a need to be ”top dog”, sometimes at any cost as many scandals have revealed (Lance [...]

When I first heard about APMG’s plans to launch a new Facilitation skills certification it piqued my curiosity, as it’s such an important skill-set both for people working on projects and for [...]

A few days ago, I watched some of Clare Balding’s TV game show –they showed clips of an experiment, with people buying fruit and vegetables at a busy market stall. The experiment highlighted how [...]

Is there a difference between a decision and a choice? And does it matter anyway? Why is it that a decision feels as if it should be based on a full situational analysis and yet a choice can be [...]

A recent report from Deloitte has found that “the quality of senior leadership — including core capabilities as well as personal qualities such as honesty and integrity — has a direct, and [...]

When you’re faced with change and having to do things in a new way, have you noticed that it takes longer to get things done? When you change your mobile phone or your television, this can [...]

Very soon we will all once again be happily jumping up and down cheering the world’s Super-Humans, the Paralympic athletes. After Team GB’s hugely successful performance in the 1st [...]

On any given project you can be fairly sure that things won’t go smoothly. Add to that being expected to do more with less, dealing with setbacks and disputes, things constantly chopping [...]

I hope by now many of you have managed to watch the wonderful spectacle that was the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony and you’ll no doubt have your favourite bits – perhaps it was the [...]

You’ve probably heard about statistics that say 55% of meaning comes from non-verbal communication, 38% from tone of voice and just 7% from the words we speak. This is based on Albert [...]

I was saddened with news of the death of the inspirational role model and teacher Stephen Covey. His book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People sold over 20 million copies and was listed as one of [...]

There are many techniques around to help with decision making, which typically involve understanding where you need to get to, exploring possible options, gathering information to weigh up the [...]

Last year I was running a large number of short change management workshops for an organisation, touching on theory around their change management framework, but mainly facilitating discussions [...]

In the current climate many companies are dealing with difficult situations and facing change. In the ideal world they may well not be choosing these changes, but are having to impose them and [...]

Yet another traffic jam. Crawling along in my car the other day, craning to see the reason for this 20mph procession, the news on the radio announced Clinton Cards were going into administration. [...]

The other day my husband was nostalgically watching one of the original Star Trek re-runs. Feigning interest I received a quick induction into the show’s formulaic format.  I learned [...]

Titanic Lessons in Project Leadership The story of the Titanic has captivated people for the past 100 years. It stirs our curiosity and emotions and it is still amazing to think that what was [...]

Animation showing how a deeper understanding of communication skills could improve the performance of your projects.