However good you are, however hard you work, sometimes your success depends on events completely out of your control. And the control of th

“The creative act does not create something out of nothing; it uncovers, selects, reshuffles, combines, synthesises already existing facts,

You can learn a lot from unsolicited promos on social media. Especially what to avoid... Here are the 10 MISSTEPS to making a video that no-one will want to view (unless as a warning lesson): MISSTEP 1. Put the CEO on screen immediately. If you have a handy stained-glass window (see video below), tilt the camera so the boss looks beatific, framed by a halo. Here's the opening pitch: "We’re living in a world of tremendous change; MISSTEP 2. Scare your potential customer. Here-

"I'd like to talk about the tree between our houses." J - a coachee on a development program - was open about the problem with his neighbour: "The tree might be on his side of the fence, but the branches are equally on my side. It blanks out light, even on sunny days." I asked how long it had been a problem for him. "Years. Maybe ten." So why haven't you spoken about it? "Because we're both good neighbours. We have a good relationship, and I don't want to be the person who p

Sometime when you're feeling important When your ego is fully in bloom. Sometime when you take it for granted You're the best qualified in the room. Sometime when you feel that your exit Will leave an unfillable space. Sometime when you cannot imagine How others will continue with grace. Take a bucket and fill it with water. Put your hand in it, up to the wrist. Pull it out - and the hole that's remaining Is the scope of how much you'll be missed. For Rutherposts direct to y

Four months since I last blogged; four months of Client activities, family milestones, personal ill-health, and - oh yes - the world politically turning upside down. Of course, at the time the reason for not posting wasn't as clear. That's the reality of explanations; they all make perfect sense after the fact. So, for future reference, let me go on the record to explain why I am dusting off my keyboard and re-starting the blog now: It's a recent LinkedIn posting from someon

Excerpt from 'Why Unusual Job Titles are Bad for You and Your Company' by Daniel Bukszpan. Director of First Impressions All About People is a staffing and recruiting company based in Phoenix, Arizona. It has 25,000 successfully-placed candidates to its credit, and co-founder Sherri Mitchell said that she’s seen numerous jobs of old sneak into the 21st century with new-look titles. “Back in the day you would hear ‘receptionist,’” she said. “One of the trendier ways of describ

So what does it mean to be a Partner? At heart, it's belonging and not belonging – the want to be an integral part of a venture and the need for independence, to be on the outside. PROFESSIONAL PARTNERS Partnerships are most common among professional services – accountants, architects, doctors, dentists, lawyers, management consultants. There are plenty of the legal practices on TV (The Good Wife, Kavanagh QC, Suits,) because the core of their business is conflict, especially

For 15 years, I was wading through the murky waters of GMs / VPs / CMOs, all of which made me feel important but much of which was mutual stroking. If I’m a Chief of something and you’re Head of something, we’ll both be impressed with each other (and ourselves). Starting afresh at Beaumont Karlson was a welcome change. Two founders – who had already run two (successful) start-ups - invited me to join them in venture number three. I wrinkled my nose, thinking "why on earth do

Someone asked me recently about my working life; what have I done in my career? And, like many, I slipped in the audio version of my CV - a well-honed, anecdote-filled summary of 30-something years. That same day, I was on the train out of London. Two Asian lads - 14 years-old, perhaps 15 - sat near me. One of them had money worries. Not mortgage or credit card levels of worry; something much more pressing. New girlfriend levels of worry. How was he going to pay to take her o

When a stint with a global corporation ends abruptly, the brand still opens career doors. A combination of “you must have been good to get in” and “you must have learned good habits while you were there” carries momentum. Not to say that positive change happens immediately. The futher you rise, the more frogs you have to kiss. After I'd spent many months splashing in many ponds, a head-hunter invited me to meet with a newly-appointed CEO. He’d just joined a software company w