Belief is at the heart of everything we do.

As business teams, as family teams, why would we do anything if we don’t believe that what we are embarking on is possible?

This makes belief an important topic of discussion in a business context.

“It's never a good sign when extremism becomes the norm” Ari Melber

Have we as a society become trained to become more extreme?

Are people more polarised in their views than we were before?

If like me, you believe this to be true, it raises several questions…

There’s a passage in Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises in which a character named Mike is asked how he went bankrupt. “Two ways,” he answers. “Gradually, then suddenly..

How do you feel about your work and what the future looks like?

On a scale of 1-10 where 1 is “Uncertain as f**K, and 10 is "rock solid, bring it on”, where do you score?

If I asked those you work with, what would their range of answers be?

What are you fearful of? 

What do you put off and ignore?

I think we can all relate to having something we seek to avoid.

Let me share something personal, something I’ve never shared publicly before.

It’s this: I’m scared of the water.

Specifically swimming in the sea and feeling out of my depth.

Sound like a contradiction for someone who became known for sailing 2 1/2 times round the world?

Without data, you are blind and deaf and in the middle of a freeway.” — Geoffrey Moore

June 2024 - Gallup has just released their 2024 Report on the State of the Global Workplace.

It’s essential reading for leaders at all levels in business.

“I could push it, but I’m so frustrated with the way things are going that day that I’m like, ‘You know what I’m gonna do? I’m gonna do nothing.’”

You’re ambitious, you’ve got big ideas, big targets and you want to go and make them happen.

BUT: how do you motivate everyone on your team to get on the bus?

It’s a common question.

It’s a question I hear daily from ambitious leaders and their teams.

It’s a question I hear from people who are hungry for more.

Behaviour change happens most effectively when you

a) Have Better Knowledge

b) Change Beliefs

c) Develop Skills

According to the May 2024 research from the University of Pennsylvania, if you chose any of these, you’d be wrong.

How many of you filled in the word perfect without even thinking about?

Perfect. That’s a proper dangerous word.

Held up as being a worthy ideal.

Here’s the challenge with that. It’s not a good thing to aim at.

Harvard Business Review combed through four decades of research, some 95 different studies covering 25,000 people on perfectionism.

Some findings stood out:

What are the behaviours that define the Big Bold Mindset, a different way of thinking?

Let’s explore some defining characteristics I have observed from the many leaders I have worked with, spoken to, and studied. These characteristics make up the Big Bold Mindset which I want to set out and explore here.

As you read each characteristic, perhaps reflect and score yourself on a scale of 1-10. It is these characteristics that I invite you to reflect on and think about how you can embrace these:

Fortune magazine run an annual 100 Best Places to Work For list that surveys employees and ranks them based on a view of what a great employee experience looks like — measured in terms of high levels of trust, respect, credibility, fairness, pride, and camaraderie.

The statistics were similar year to year. Eighty-one percent of employees at companies ranked as “great” described their office environments as fun.