Commitment is easy. All it takes is a few works and, on occasion, a signature. But, commitments rarely do much on their own. But just committing is not enough. Every great thing we are capable of building - relationships, businesses, trust among others, are built on the foundation of re-commitment. Thus, what a person commits…

I heard about the news of Clay Christensen’s passing away this morning. A lot of people can write better about the legacy of Prof Clay and the impact he has had on the world when it comes pioneering things like the theory of Disruptive Innovation, Jobs To Be Done theory and other amazing theories he has…

As a consultant working with different entrepreneurs, clients and organisations, I have seen and experienced many leadership styles. The common ones have been: 1. Leading from the front: This is often the inspirational leader who inspires the team with a great vision and is on the forefront of everything. 2. Leading from behind: This is…

Power, influence and integrity are three inter-connected circles that create the foundation for being an effective leader. Leadership goes well beyond positional power, where someone has the authority to manage other people or projects and might rightfully use coercion as a strategy. People can also gain power by becoming an expert/authority on a specific topic,…

When you say to yourself you want to be a great leader, you are actually asking for trouble. Are you absolutely asking for trouble. In business, you are paid more as you move up the ladder with more responsibility. You are in essence paid more to deal with conflict, with tension. It is not enough…

What are you going to do today? Maintain the status-quo or work towards changing the status-quo. Maintaining the status-quo is good for stability, and security, however working towards creating a new better status-quo is what takes us forward. Progress comes from disruption. The path to building a successful, sustainable business is littered with innovative ideas,…

There is so much said and written about leadership. And, rightly so. Leadership is not a cloak you can wear for a few hours and remove at the end of the day. It is not the title on your door and business card. Once you take up responsibility, you are expected to be accountable for…

On a rainy Monday early in December 1955, 40,000 African-Americans boycotted the public bus services in the town of Montgomery to protest the arrest of 42-year-old Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat to a white passenger. Their boycott lasted 381 days until the city repealed its law requiring segregation on public buses.…

Much of our day-to-day joy hinges on our ability to accept ourselves as we are, flawed, edgy, and a continuous source of errors of judgment/learning opportunities [depending on how we view it] versus that fictional perfect self we get drawn to imagining and projecting. You have to be matured enough to understand that you have…

Simplicity, as a concept, is ever so powerful. Let’s take a minute to study the picture below. It is one of a regular road. And we, of course, use the road to take us from place to place. Now, there is of course that line right in the middle of the road that separates vehicles…

Many organisations spend hundreds of thousands of rands to bring in inspirational speakers to speak to their employees. When employees walk away from these talks feeling inspired, it all seems worth it. But, when they go back to their desks and get to work, reality hits them and inspiration fizzles away within a week. So what…

Sustainable change comes more from having a structure that encourages and sustains the change. New years resolutions are only as strong as the strength of your structures. It becomes difficult to change anything if the structure that keeps the status-quo does not change. Structure helps you stay focused and get things done. I struggled to stop…