A colleague of mine came back from a corporate away day and told me this story. A rather grand Dutch executive was expounding a theory that there are two types of people in the world: farmers and poets. His point was that you can’t expect farmers to become poets or poets to be farmers. At
Donald Rumsfeld and the second Iraq war offer some salutary lessons for those, like me, who emphasise agility and adaptability as the best way to meet the challenges of an uncertain business environment. Donald Rumsfeld was appointed Secretary of Defense by President George W Bush in 2001 after a stellar career in politics and business.
One of the most valuable skills to acquire to progress your career is influencing: the set of personality traits, behaviours and techniques that enlist people to your cause. There have been several moments in my career when I left a meeting confused as to why I had failed to carry the day. My arguments had
Only those that need the money buy a lottery ticket. If you are already comfortably off, the big win is not so alluring. So it is with stock market trading. Some years ago, I put £500 into a spread-betting account and started my trading career. I lost it all. I think of it as a
The most unexpected feedback I ever received was that I could change my mind. It was meant as a compliment but I was taken aback to hear it. I regard changing my mind as neutral: neither good or bad, but the person giving the feedback clearly thought it a valuable skill. Changing your mind is