7 P’s in a Pod ~ The Seeds of Leadership

Welcome back to my blog, sorry to have been away so long since my last post. I’ve been quite busy in the Social Media arena and Google+ Communities, discussing and learning about Leadership. There is a common topic that is recurrent, namely, the traits / characteristics / hallmarks of a great leader. Thousands of words have been spent on describing what makes a leader special. I have no intention of reinventing the wheel but I would like to simply share with you the image that came to mind when I approached the subject.

Poker, The Game of Life & Leadership

In the beginning there was Poker; at least for me. This post has been brewing inside my head for the last 30 years. Only now and through this medium can I finally explain an odd parallel that has accompanied me throughout my waking and working life.

As a child I recall having been introduced to the game of poker by watching my father play, for fun, with friends and colleagues. As I matured so did my knowledge of poker and by the time I started my first job I was quite in love with the game. The fact is that I’ve always found strong associations between poker and life in general.

War on Murphy’s Law

I hope everyone knows or has heard of Murphy’s Law [also referred to as Sod’s Law]. For the uninitiated don’t worry, it is quite simple; the old adage is:

Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong

This simple phrase does not do justice to the total havoc that ensues when the forces of Murphy’s Law come into play. If you intend on doing anything in life more complicated than boiling an egg then beware of Murphy and his blasted Law. By the way, it has nothing to do with Ireland…it’s just a name.

Smartphones 360° – Work, Rest & Play

Intro

For starters, a quick rant. Is it just me or does everybody and their dog have a smartphone nowadays. It is frightening just how viral this trend has become. I see people of all ages glued to their devices; mesmerised and oblivious to their surroundings…no wonder there are a lot more accidents than before. Incredulous, I read just a few days ago that by the end of 2012 mobile devices could outnumber the world population…I did say everybody and their dog!

I grew up in an age when there were no cellphones so I find these little gems of technology to be utterly fascinating. Luckily, I’m a bit of a technophile so I naturally adopted this new technology and have adapted it to meet my needs.

For this reason I want to share what I’ve learnt and help others who may be struggling up the steep learning curve needed to get the best from their smartphones. From what I’ve observed it is not a question of age; I see both young and old struggling with their devices and I know it can be frustrating. Therefore, with this guide I’m targeting past, present and future owners so that everyone can learn something new.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Congratulations! You have graduated from your managerial training course. You are now a Manager, at least on paper. You are at the beginning of your executive career and you hope to change the world. Unfortunately, at this point you are between a rock and a hard place. On one side there is your ever demanding boss Rock and on the other side there is the general workforce Hard Place.