Hindsight (on scaling a business) is a wonderful thing
We don’t all have the benefit of hindsight or experience when it comes to scaling a business from the ground up to around 450 people. Recently, tech entrepreneur Ashley Unitt agreed to let me ask him some questions about scaling his business. Because of this, I...
How To Be A Better Interviewer
I started this article wanting to give any interviewer a few great questions I use pretty much every time I interview for staff. (Hat tip here to Rob Lambert at Cultivated Management, who taught me so much about hosting a great interview…and gave me SO much...
Are You Enticing The Best Staff To Work For You?
Why post-pandemic recruitment is likely to be harder, not easier Post-pandemic, recruitment WILL change at your company. You have no option but to consider what changes you will make to your approach to recruitment if you want to seize this as an opportunity. ...
Why You Need To Embrace Remote Working
Recently I have seen a lot of articles claiming remote working is the new normal. It reminds me of conversations I've had with both companies that excelled at remote working, and ones that refused to even consider it. I learned a lot from both sorts of conversations. ...
How to Use a Crisis to Trigger Positive Change
Changing behaviour is difficult. Our human brains generally dislike change. When things change, our brain has to work harder to remember the new stuff we are trying to do. This is also why it can be so difficult for a company to change its culture deliberately. But what if you could make some significant changes, quickly AND have them stick?
Respect is a Key Habit in a Successful Team
I've worked with a lot of teams. Teams made up of individuals, obviously. I've worked with people I respect & those I didn't, and with both respectful & disrespectful people. I have been both too - we all have at some point in our lives. Its still at the...
The True Story of Agile Transformation – Marginal Gains Matter
Agile transformation isn't a single 'ta-da' moment when everything is done. I feel I need to say this up-front. Now I can relax a little and tell you why I am saying it, and how an agile transformation might look after the first bit. The thing is lots of people are...
How to Be Coached Successfully
If you are wondering how it could possibly be difficult to be coached, you are not alone. Surely, you just turn up, listen to the coach, tick off the things you've learned and go back to work? Actually, no. Its not quite as simple as that. At the end of June,...
Patience
This is one of those posts I am writing purely because I find myself giving versions of this same advice time and again! I've touched on the subject before; the importance of taking some time to observe when you first take on a new job or join a new team. Now I want...
A New Reading List From Just One Day At The EQ Summit
Disclaimer: this is not a post specifically about agile. Please feel guilt-free in skipping bits (or all) if you're not interested in Emotional Intelligence or the EQ Summit. (If you are interested, but need a grounding in what I;m talking about, try this article...