How do we know when to quit?

A young student recently asked me the following question: How do I know it is time to quit something and when to persist with it? Here is how I answered the question: There is no one answer that fits everyone. There are many ways to figure this out. For me, the best way is to go back to the reason why I started something. If the reason I started something is still relevant and important, I know that I would like to continue to engage on this topic. Then the next question to ask is if the activity is taking you towards […]

Becoming Change Agents..

Whether we like or not, we are all involved in some form of transformation at any given time. Some of these transformations are self initiated, at times they are forced upon us, on our companies, industries or even economies. It is in our own interest to learn how to navigate these changes. The best way to do that is to learn to become a change agent and lead the change instead of allowing the change to lead us. Being or becoming a change agent is not simple. We need to learn specific skills around managing and leading change. Unfortunately, we […]

The Source of Grit and Resilience

In a recent post on HBR (https://hbr.org/2021/01/the-secret-to-building-resilience), authors Rob Cross, Karen Dillon and Danna Greenberg talk about building resilience based on their yet unpublished research. They argue and I quote, A well-developed network of relationships can help us rebound from setbacks by: – Helping us shift work or manage surges – Helping us to make sense of people or politics in a given situation – Helping us find the confidence to push back and self advocate – Helping us see a path forward – Providing empathic support so we can release negative emotions – Helping us to laugh at ourselves and the situation – Reminding us of the purpose […]

Four insights on Achieving Resilient Growth Consistently

The best selling authors of the book – Blue Ocean Strategy, recently sent an email in which they speak about the 4 pieces of advice they give to their customers on how to build resilient growth for their organisations. Here are the 4 pieces of advice. 1. Focus on building a healthy, balanced portfolio of market-competing and market-creating strategic moves. Both are important. While market-competing moves generate today’s cash, market-creating moves ensure tomorrow’s growth.   2. Don’t wait for growth to slow to make market-creation a strategic priority.Prepare in advance. You’ll be buffered by your market-creating move in a downturn cycle […]