From the Desk of Caspar
I had perhaps my toughest speaking gig this week.
In the audience of 1,000 children aged 7-11 was my 7 year old daughter.
Whilst I'm super excited to share stories and ideas I also know my harshest critic is there and she'll know if I get anything wrong AND she won't be afraid to call it out!
That and a long list of things that I have to remember to say!
The pic is her the morning of the talk vetting things and making sure I've got the right pics, stories and props for my speech!
On a more serious note, having home schooled my children for two years, I have the utmost respect for the teaching profession and the myriad of challenges that school leaders and teachers have facing them when so many things are changing in the world.
It's for that reason that whilst the majority of my time is taken with speaking events and workshops for companies, I do keep back a proportion of my time for speaking to schools - both students, staff and at Head Teachers' conferences.
Tip: Leadership isn’t about you. it’s about building those all around you.
Two Teams - Charting Success
I’ve consistently found the most successful leaders are the ones who recognise we're all building two teams.
A work team & a home team.
And it’s exactly the same set of skills and tools that you need to use to building BOTH thriving teams.
These are the core messages that over the past few months, I’e been quietly working on my showreel video on leadership with my brilliant team based in San Francisco and I’m super excited to be able to share it right here…
Does your company need an inspiring leadership, teamwork and resilience speaker? AND someone who can run workshops with your team to help them to action these ideas. Please do share this.
P.S. It’s got subtitles so you can still watch it in the office with the sound off!
P.P.S. Despite my particular experience, you do NOT have to the sail the world to learn these insights!
Why your attention and focus may be decimated (and 2 things to do about it)
We were off the grid. Disconnected from the minute by minute barrage on our senses from Email, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Netflix and so on. It’s hard to imagine now. For 2 years my family (my wife and 3 kids under the age of 10) were on a sailboat at sea.
The experience revealed a very powerful truth for me which I have fought hard to stay in touch with.
Here’s how I see it.
👉 We all know we’re insanely connected more than at any time in history.
👉 We all hear the messages that its affecting our mental health (recent stats show that tech workers are 5x more likely to experience depression).
👉 I’ve experienced my ability to do deep work and concentrate has been decimated and I’m working hard to rebuild it.
How do we deal with this?
Ignore it and ride the wave because everyone else is doing it?
Or be pro-active.
I favour the latter. To be deliberate, specific and intentional.
First a story.
For 2 years whilst we were at sea we literally unplugged for weeks and months at a time whilst at sea.
We talked more. We played games. We sat around the dinner table together. We connected more as humans. We got to know each other.
We returned in 2016.
The year that followed was a blitz of re-connection. Phones and iPads, Emails, social media and Netflix became the standard. We got immersed in our digital personal views of the world.
In 2017 we retuned to sea again.
A 6 week expedition sailing 2,000 miles from San Francisco to Canada and back.
Once again we disconnected.
The magic returned.
The dinner table conversations, the playing, the reading, the human connection. There was more laughter. More time knowing who we were as humans.
It was stark.
We’d gone from one extreme to another and back again.
Back in the UK, the devices returned.
I’m not perfect and we’re not perfect. It’s taken me time to see the truths in this and I’m as susceptible to this as the next person.
The truth it revealed is just how corrosive the "always connected" lifestyle has become.
There are so many amazing things about the technology, the smart phone era and culture we have developed around this. The access to global learning and insights. The ability to share and connect on a level unimaginable 20 years ago.
There is a dark side. The corrosion to family life, to our attention spans, to our ability to focus and be truly present rather than craving the next hit of stimulation and attention.
Let’s get practical.
I have 2 ideas to share.
Tip: The ability to avoid distractions and to continually train ourselves to work deeply is one of the most valuable skill sets we will all need.
Thought Provoking
Have you watched the documentary on Netflix called Game Changers?
It’s an incredibly powerful take on diet, health and the climate. It’s provoking lots of debate.
Tip: Are you continually seeking out ideas to challenge your thinking? One of my favourite questions to ask is “how do I know I’m right and to continually seek out fresh thinking”.
In The Spotlight
It’s the busy season for keynote speaking. In the past few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of addressing audiences all round Europe ranging from speaking to 600 Health and Fitness professionals in Dublin to running workshops and events for Investment Banks, property companies, to schools and middle managers in Lithuania.
Amongst the lovely feedback from these events has been these words from Jon Waters who attended one of my keynote events…
Thank you also for Aberdeen Standard Capital for the mention in this article on “What If” and how to thrive both at work and at home.
Be A Better Leader
Just how distracted are you? This is something worth fighting for.
PS. If you like this, you can subscribe to my YouTube channel to get these tips every week rather than just every fortnight.
Thought for the Day
I used to think that the numbers in a business were the leading indicator of how it was doing. I came to realise they are the trailing indicator. People are the leading indicator - get each person in roles where they play to their strengths. It's people first, numbers second.
“Great speaker, interesting content, inspiring examples and impression to the audience - it was a pleasure to work with Caspar starting from planning stage to his involvement after the conference. Highly recommend to invite Caspar as a speaker to your events!”