From the Bull:: On Being unreasonable
Being unreasonable…
A small number of people have suggested to me that I have made a career out of being contrary and at times unreasonable. This always makes me smile and nowadays I accept it as a compliment. Like a friend once told me, “you don’t get a nickname like The Bull from baking scones on [...]
FROM THE BULL:: Innovate or Perish
Recently I had the great pleasure of participating in an Innovation Forum (IF) in Melbourne hosted by the charming and charismatic Ben Rennie of Uncluttered White Spaces. It was a brilliant evening with a great panel, an engaged audience and some lively discussions.
Innovation is a curious term that means different things to different people. My [...]
From the Bull:: What happens when you give more than you take?
Recently, I was chatting with a great friend of mine who runs his own successful business. He’s a fantastic guy who is loved by everyone. His network of friends, business contacts and acquaintances is huge. He is smart, pragmatic and has the best “bull-sh*t detector” on the planet. He can be gruff at times and [...]
From the Bull:: The ultimate feedback question.
Remember the old staff suggestion boxes? Staff were encouraged to submit ideas, suggestions, criticisms etc via a suggestion box which once every week or so a manager would open and review. If their suggestion was controversial or personal they could submit it anonymously. In the bad old days this was sometimes the only voice that [...]
THE BULL :: Bill Clinton has the X Factor
In the past ten years two of my friends had the pleasure of meeting Bill Clinton. One met him at a speaking function where he was part of a greeting line of probably 200 people. The other met him, by accident, on the wharf at Port Douglas in Queensland. On both occasions the meeting took [...]
FROM THE BULL :: The ultimate test of a great manager
We’d all like to think we are great managers. Right? However there is a big difference between being a great technician and a great manager. Great technicians come in many forms – they might be great buyers or accountants or web designers or warehouse pickers. Their job is to do fantastic work and they focus [...]
FROM THE BULL :: IN HARMS WAY.
Military leaders get paid to make the hardest, most stressful executive decisions that anyone will ever have to make. Essentially, they have to decide (or not) whether to commit their military personnel to armed conflicts and in the process put their people in harm’s way. The stakes are different in business. Very few, if any, [...]
THE BULL :: ARE YOU A CURIOUS PERSON?
Curious people are voracious readers and active learners. The great US President, Teddy Roosevelt, fitted this description perfectly. He didn’t just read books, he devoured them. While he was President he would read a book every day before breakfast. Depending on his schedule he would read another two or three books at night. He reads [...]
THE BULL:: ‘TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY (AND TO REFLECT ON WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO YOU)
We’re all busy doing what we do and getting on with our lives. Right? However, how often do we stop and consider why we’re doing what we’re doing? How often do we reflect on what it is that we really want to achieve from our lives, not just from our businesses? This is especially important [...]
THE BULL :: Will it make the boat go faster?
Sir Matthew Pinsent is an elite rower from England who competed in four consecutive Olympics, from 1992-2004, winning four gold medals. Pinsent also won gold in every World Championships from 1991 to 2002. He is a legend of the sport.
In the 2003 World Championships Pinsett finished a disappointing 4th. Following this disappointment Pinsent and his [...]
FROM THE BULL :: IS YOUR REPUTATION WHAT YOU THINK IT IS?
A friend of mine called me recently for some career advice. He has been at the same company, a large multinational corporation, for the past 12 years. He has kicked some goals but hasn’t made the career progress that he was hoping for. He’s not sure why.
I asked him whether he considered himself “engaged” in [...]
THE BULL: Fly under the radar?
Each year the Australian business magazine, BRW, publishes its list of the 100 fastest growing companies in Australia. It calls this the BRW Fast 100. The criterion for inclusion, for a business, is as follows:
Minimum revenue of A$500k pa
Fewer than 200 full time employees
Entry forms must be signed by an external accountant [...]
FROM THE BULL: It stops squeaks and 2000 other uses.
“Don’t be like a blind dog in a meat house”. (John Barry)
Does the name John Barry sound familiar?
No?
What about WD40?
It’s hard not to recognise the lubricant WD40 with its distinctive blue and yellow aerosol can. It is sold in over 160 countries and is found in as many as 80% of American homes. It [...]
The Bull Splits Opinion
Some interesting discussions surrounding “The business of being busy” worthy of a re-post. What are you thoughts?
Kathleen says:
November 12, 2009 at 9:20 am (Edit)
Way back in the 90’s I left the private practice of law after 8 years of painstakingly “docketing” my units of time and I do not miss that! A few of my [...]
FROM THE BULL: The business of being busy
Why do the majority of people when asked the question – “how’s work?” – respond with the stock standard answer – “busy”? The response usually sounds like it is pre-programmed, almost automatic. If you don’t believe me, ask five people you know! It is as if they believe there is no other acceptable answer to [...]
Is the price of customer inconvenience actually worth $1.00 per hour?
FROM THE BULL:
Is the price of customer inconvenience actually worth $1.00 per hour?
Last week I flew from Melbourne to Sydney for one day of business. On the return leg my flight was delayed by 2 hours. The airline announced the delay as resulting from “a late arriving flight”. I sat in a crowded departure lounge [...]
FROM THE BULL
PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH – I DON’T UNDERSTAND YOU!
“We need to do some out of the box thinking from the get-go with sufficient granularity in the drill-down phase to ensure our value-added strategy is consistent with our core values and beliefs.”
This statement was actually made by the CEO of a $400m company to his senior management [...]
THE BULL
GET CREATIVE TO SOLVE PERSISTENT PROBLEMS
For every problem there is a solution. Sometimes the solutions are easy; sometimes not. However you decide to solve a problem make sure that you only have to solve it once. There is nothing worse than a problem that repeats itself every week. The key is to understand the [...]
FROM THE BULL: Listen
Good question! Easy answer – use your ears and mouth in direct proportion to the number you have of each. OK, maybe that was a bit cryptic. Try this – speak half as much as you listen.
That simple advice would change the world (for the better, I might add). By making yourself listen more you [...]
FROM THE BULL: Bond
My word is my bond. It’s a powerful sentiment, isn’t it?
How many meetings or conversations have you been in when someone is trying to convince you how fair, reasonable, sincere and committed they are? This is probably after they have failed to deliver something as promised or are trying to renegotiate themselves out of an [...]
FROM THE BULL: Boss your boss
“Boss your boss just as soon as you can; try it on early. There is nothing he will like so well if he is the right kind of boss. If he is not, then he is not the man for you to remain with – leave him whenever you can, even at a present sacrifice, [...]
FROM THE BULL: Getting interesting
Let’s face it most companies are dead boring and they are certainly not curious.
Because they are boring and not curious, their products and services (and probably people) are, by extension, boring and their customers know it. They don’t need to be. It is the curious people who force progress and make companies endure and [...]