I may have mentioned it before, but I have a tendency to procrastinate when I am unsure where to begin. I find that starting is the most difficult task. I find myself doing anything except the task at hand. And with Google, social media, and YouTube being readily available, time can fly by without you noticing.  A piece of work that should have been done in days has taken weeks, and my manager is getting frustrated with the lack of progress. Now the deadline is here, and I pu

On a recent long-haul flight, I watched the film "Ford vs Ferrari". To be honest, I'm not a big petrolhead, but I thought I'd give it a go anyway. I am so glad I did. What a film. What I expected to be a slightly boring racing film turned out to be something far more engaging. It’s fast, absorbing, and for me, unexpectedly emotional. At its heart, it’s a story about pride, craft, and what happens when people who know their work collide with people who manage by hierarchy. Set

Let me tell you the story of a farmer in Africa who had a smallholding and spent his life searching for riches while ignoring what was right in front of him. This is one of my favourite, supposedly true-life stories. It had a profound impact on me, and I refer back to it whenever I need to be reminded of the lesson it taught. Now you're probably wondering how this will help you deal with overwhelming emails, bosses, colleagues, and other time-consuming tasks that make you fee

I came into work this morning, opened my email, and there it was. I had been dreading this email. I had heard rumours that it was on its way, and now it had arrived. My heart pounded. I've been asked to lead the quarterly presentation to one of our company's largest clients. It was a fantastic opportunity to shine in front of my company's leadership team, but right now, that was the last thing on my mind. The meeting was in five days, so the pressure was on. I had a tight dea

All the self-help books in the world are summed up in this simple but genius poem. Act on its advice and you will thrive. This is one of my favourite pieces of poetry. I say that as if I am some kind of expert and widely read. To be honest, I have never really got poetry. Yes, we did it at school, but during these lessons I mostly tuned out. It never captured my imagination. “If” is such a simple two-letter word, but somehow the genius of Rudyard Kipling turns this word into