21 November 2022 Peter’s career started back in the dark ages before personal computers. For a decade, he worked in the confines of the corporate cubicle. In 1993, he turned down a CIO position and decided to strike out on his own as a professional speaker, writer and consultant. He’s currently winding down his career. […]
Embracing Complex & Messy
The work that I specialize in is figuring out viable solutions to complex, messy and challenging projects. It is intense and it is consuming. There are also numerous pitfalls to doing it well. You try to create clarity around something that is inherently unclear. You also need to avoid making it too simple, where simple answers become tempting and potentially create further challenges. Doing this work is as much art as it is science.
How To Become Excellent
Most of us want to be good at what we do. We want to be exceptional. Figuring out what it takes to get there is tough. We need to know what excellence looks like, we need a realistic assessment of where we are and we need insight into how to keep moving forward in a way that supports continued growth. The challenge is that most of our formative learning periods have specific stages and outcomes that signal when we have arrived. The journey to excellence is a little bit more circuitous.
Process Shouldn’t Get In The Way
How people experience working with you depends upon a number of factors. A big part of that is process. As I have written about extensively, process is important. It helps to coordinate, to deliver results, and to codify expectations and principles into guidelines that can be followed. Those benefits tend to be internal to an organization, however. Frustrations and unintended consequences can occur when those same processes bleed to the outside. For those who lead with process, consider this a cautionary tale.
Next Webinar: Taking Centre Stage – Insights & Answers
Delivering effective presentations is not easy. When it is done well, however, the results can be exceptional and the impacts can be profound. Peter and Mark have each been presenting for decades. In this, the third presentation in a trilogy, they unpack and explore the similarities and differences in their approach and the insights they have gained from each other. They dive into your questions, and provide recommendations of how to present confidently and well.
Checking Back In
It has been a while since I have posted here. I have unintentionally taken a bit of a summer hiatus. New projects have emerged, and I’ve also been reflecting on my overall focus and intent here as I find my voice and hit my stride with some of my other endeavours. I’m excited to be back here, contributing, observing, reflecting and sharing. I look forward to that continuing going forward.