Over the years, I have been part of many teams. I have led teams, built teams, and trained teams. Some worked incredibly well. Others struggled. A few completely fell apart. When I look back at all of them, one thing stands out clearly. It wasn’t the smartest team that performed best. It wasn’t the most […]

“Failing to plan is planning to fail. Hope is not a plan.” — Harrison Jones A surprising number of management problems have a very simple cause: poor planning and weak organization. Over the years I have sometimes been tempted to say something quite direct: if planning and organizing are things you simply cannot do, management […]

A few years ago, someone said to me, “You should have seen this place ten years ago.” They didn’t say it with pride. They said it with a mix of nostalgia and disappointment. The beach was still there. The buildings were newer. The prices, noticeably higher. But the service felt rushed, the food less memorable, […]

Almost everything written about communication sounds like a cliché. And yet, most of it is true. Many conflicts do not start because people disagree, but because they misunderstand each other. Or better said: because communication goes wrong. This happens even more today, when a large part of our communication takes place through email, WhatsApp, Messenger, […]

“When you become the master of your mind, you are the master of everything”

MANAGERS DON’T HAVE MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS… RIGHT? I don’t think anybody would really believe that. Yet, somehow, the topic remains a kind of taboo in the world of managers. I was reminded of this recently when I read that it was World Mental Health Day. These days, it seems there’s a day for almost everything […]

“The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer” — Nolan Bushnell – Picture this: a lodge somewhere in the Delta. The manager walks the grounds early in the morning before the guests wake up. He notices the kitchen team preparing, the cleaners busy, the guides checking vehicles. He doesn’t own the lodge, but he […]

‘Listen more then you talk. Nobody learned anything by hearing themselves. [Richard Branson]’ When I first became a manager, I made the same mistake many new managers do: I thought I had to show how good I was. Every meeting felt like an opportunity to prove myself. I spoke too much, too quickly, and often […]

By someone who has stood on both sides of the desk. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when your manager asks to see you? If you’re like most people, the first thought probably isn’t, “This will be a nice surprise.” It’s more likely something along the lines of: “What did I do wrong?” […]

Some lessons in life only land the tenth time you hear them. I didn’t always know that. Early in my training career, I truly believed that one good workshop — full of smart insights, hands-on tools, and a few well-placed jokes — would change how people lead. You can guess how that went. A few […]