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Hi, and welcome to another Thoughts on Leadership. I have entitled this one ‘Faulty Reasoning – the Slippery Slope’. There are many reasons why you can have faulty reasoning. But this particular one that we are going to focus is about a type of reasoning that people can have. It is so subtle, so slight, that you don’t realize it., particularly because it doesn’t always have an immediate impact on you, and so it slides away from you.
Get TOL in three ways; reading, watching or listening. The video and the audio versions are available as a free download either directly or via our podcast. You will find the RSS feeds at either: http://thoughtsonleadership.biz/video for the video version or http://thoughtsonleadership.biz/audio for the audio version.
Hi and welcome to another thoughts on leadership. I’m still surprised at how many organizations I go to where things are going wrong in the organization and the people at the top are the last to find out. There’s a mistake being made, there’s a problem with a customer. There’s an issues over here. People are aware that something’s going wrong down the line. We’ve got this BP Oil crisis, and people knew that there were issues there and yet nobody spoke out. This is going on all the time and it’s just not good enough. So I’m not in any way going to apologize for being quite blunt this month about what I see as something that needs to be worked at. Read the rest of this entry »
Get TOL in three ways; reading, watching or listening. The video and the audio versions are available as a free download either directly or via our podcast. You will find the RSS feeds at either: http://thoughtsonleadership.biz/video for the video version or http://thoughtsonleadership.biz/audio for the audio version.
Recessions Not Over Until the Lessons Are Learnt
Welcome to another thoughts on leadership. This month I want to talk to you about this economic turmoil that we’ve been through. However, many will say that we are heading for a double dip. And before we go any further, this months thoughts on leadership is going to be a good question for you to think about. And it is this; the recession is not over until we have learned the lessons.
Have you learned the lessons? There are a couple of lessons that I am talking about here. First of all, how did you go about dealing with the situation when you knew that the recession was starting? A lot of people did ‘knee jerk stuff’. A lot of people immediately went into slashing and cutting and all the rest of it. I am not saying those are the wrong things to do but I’m saying that there is a balance you need and I will come back to that.
Get TOL in three ways; reading, watching or listening. The video and the audio versions are available as a free download either directly or via our podcast. You will find the RSS feeds at either: http://thoughtsonleadership.biz/video for the video version or http://thoughtsonleadership.biz/audio for the audio version.
Reflection of Yourself
There’s an old expression that says what you don’t like in others, is what you see in yourself. In other words, it’s a reflection on you what you don’t like. People react quite negatively to this rubbish, just because I don’t like child abuse doesn’t mean that I’m a child abuser and don’t like myself for it. And they react like this, but just before we get like that lets just look at the situation.
What are we talking about here? Look at smokers; lets take smokers for an example. I’m an ex-smoker so I can comment on this without being bad. Smokers, the worst ones who don’t like people smoking are ex-smokers. So when you see something in others and you could have a reaction to it, because it had some sort of effect on you in the past. Maybe it was something that you did, or maybe something that you are. So it may not apply to now, maybe when you were younger you were like that. Because lets face it, when you don’t like something, the majority of the time you don’t like it you just, I don’t like it. Don’t allow it to bother you. So what is it that allows you to be bothered by certain things but not by others? Say on the road, every once in a while somebody goes shooting past and the person goes Uhhhg and they get angry with them. Is it because when they were younger they were like that and now they’re not; they resent it, they miss it. Are you getting my drift?
So what I’m asking you here is what are those things that are annoying you about other people, that maybe its time to look in the mirror. Maybe it’s a reflection of yourself that’s the problem here. Maybe it’s not the person at all. Ok, and even if they are doing it wrong, or something that you aren’t very happy with; getting angry, getting upset, and allowing it to effect you is not going to solve the issue.
So what I’m thinking of, is think about your relationships; weather it be work relationships, or home relationships, or friendships or whatever. Think about what are these things that are bugging you, what are these things that are annoying you. And ask yourself, why is this bugging me, why is it annoying me. Because it may be that it’s a reflection of yourself. Maybe it’s a habit that you’ve just gotten in to about being annoyed by it. A lot of people get upset about things, and the time comes when they think about why they are upset. Where did it all start? Where did it all come from?
So this month, this time, I’m wanting you to really answer this question for yourself. Look around you; think about the things in your life that are upsetting you, that are annoying you, that are getting you wound up. I see it a lot with parents; they get wound up about their kids. Actually what it is, is it that they are jealous that they couldn’t do that when they were kids; or they know that they behaved like that now I don’t like the idea of my kids behaving like that. So again it’s all about a reflection of yourself. So really think about this over the course of the next few weeks. Consider your time ahead and say ok what are the things that are currently bothering me? What are the things that are really getting to me? What are the things that are upsetting me? And basically what I’m saying is, do you need to get upset anymore? Because if all the problem is that you’re getting upset and there is nothing else there, then maybe its time to put things behind you. Maybe its time to look in the mirror and accept who you are, and move away from that.
So, a bit of a thoughtful topic for this particular thoughts on leadership. I hope that you are having a great year. I hope things are going well for you and that you’re keeping busy. And I hope your relationships are growing and developing in a world where relationships are more and more important than ever. Have a great time in the weeks ahead, and Ill speak to you again soon. Bye now.
Get TOL in three ways; reading, watching or listening. The video and the audio versions are available as a free download either directly or via our podcast. You will find the RSS feeds at either: http://thoughtsonleadership.biz/video for the video version or http://thoughtsonleadership.biz/audio for the audio version.
Knowledge is Power
Hi and welcome to another thoughts on leadership. This one is entitled “Knowledge is Power, a Killer of Your Business.” Yes, I’m still finding in organizations the attitude that knowledge is power, and it doesn’t matter if it’s from the top of the organization or somewhere down. I’ll tell you where it most commonly is; it’s among those who are the least effective in your organization. There’s a thought for you! Look around some of your managers. Look at yourself in the mirror. Think about that point. Are you the person who thinks knowledge is power? I need to know; if I know something they don’t know that makes me more powerful than everybody else? Hey, do you know something? That can be a killer in an organization. Think about the effect that has on other people. How it demoralizes them. How it under rates them. How it keeps them in a position where they’re never sure what they’re doing. And of course, for the person that does it it’s a safety net! Because if everything goes wrong its ‘well you see’, and they use it to defend themselves. So it’s not a good situation to have in an organization. Read the rest of this entry »
Get TOL in three ways; reading, watching or listening. The video and the audio versions are available as a free download either directly or via our podcast. You will find the RSS feeds at either: http://thoughtsonleadership.biz/video for the video version or http://thoughtsonleadership.biz/audio for the audio version.
In December of 2009 I went to a number of conferences where I heard people say; “Oh I’ll be glad when this year is over and we can start afresh next year”. Hey, what is this? Is there a reset button on life? Life is a continuum. It isn’t a day where you can cut this bit and then just go back and restart. You want change? What are you doing about it? You won’t get change in your organization unless you are prepared to change. I read a report recently that said that 50% of directors interviewed say that they “felt that their organization had not reacted well to the financial downturn”. A lot of organizations went into reaction mode, a lot of them stayed in reaction mode. A lot of them have not looked forward and said, “well what will the world be like after this?” They are not conceiving the idea of reinventing themselves or asking where they are adding value.
Get TOL in three ways; reading, watching or listening. The video and the audio versions are available as a free download either directly or via our podcast. You will find the RSS feeds at either: http://thoughtsonleadership.biz/video for the video version or http://thoughtsonleadership.biz/audio for the audio version.
Are You Healthy?
‘Picture this scene, a man is lying on the floor, he’s obviously over weight, a doctor is stooped over him. The doctor is pushing on the mans chest. He stops momentarily to open the eyelids and have a look at the size of the pupils. He continues to press, gets a stethoscope out, puts it to the man’s chest, hoping to hear for a heartbeat’.
Hi, my name is Paul Bridle and this month’s ‘Thoughts on Leadership is, ‘Are you healthy’? Do you realize that over 80% of fatal heart attacks could have been avoided with just a little bit of knowledge in advance. Just knowing a little bit more about what’s going on with your own body and being able to avert the risks in advance.
I am sorry this TOL is so late. Please remember you can get this TOL in three ways; reading, watching or listening. The video and the audio versions are available as a free download either directly or via our podcast. You will find the RSS feeds at either: http://thoughtsonleadership.biz/video for the video version or http://thoughtsonleadership.biz/audio for the audio version. Now for the content you have been waiting for:
A Reminder to Myself
I have two Granddaughters and recently I decided to write a little book entitled, Thoughts for my Grandchildren. It is just some thoughts I wanted to share with them that may help them growing up.
One of them was,
The past is over… make peace with it and move on. You can’t always change the past… but you can always create the future
Leadership is long term, not just short term. Recognition is long term, not just for xmas!!
I hope you have a lovely time over the holidays and see you all in the new year.
- Paul Bridle
P.S – On a side note I wanted to add to this post of Thoughts on Leadership to let you know something my son is doing for Cancer Research in 2010. Below is a short summary of what he is doing and why:
First a quick apology for this being so late. Second remember there is also a video version and an audio version, that you can watch from the site or download to your computer for later viewing.
Today’s TOL is about ROI, does it have meaning in the events industry? Recently I have been talking to some meeting planners and speakers about return on investment. It is a well-known phrase with in the financial circles. But can it apply outside the financial services? Is this an expression that can be used? Many people are arguing that in the meeting industry, you cannot use phrases like ROI for their meetings, because, how can you measure the return on investment in financial terms? Read the rest of this entry »
Get TOL in three ways; reading, 
Reflection of Yourself
In December of 2009 I went to a number of conferences where I heard people say; “Oh I’ll be glad when this year is over and we can start afresh next year”. Hey, what is this? Is there a reset button on life? Life is a continuum. It isn’t a day where you can cut this bit and then just go back and restart. You want change? What are you doing about it? You won’t get change in your organization unless you are prepared to change. I read a report recently that said that 50% of directors interviewed say that they “felt that their organization had not reacted well to the financial downturn”. A lot of organizations went into reaction mode, a lot of them stayed in reaction mode. A lot of them have not looked forward and said, “well what will the world be like after this?” They are not conceiving the idea of reinventing themselves or asking where they are adding value.
First a quick apology for this being so late. Second remember there is also a 
