45 years – a lifetime of hits and memories

“Over the years there have been so many mentors, bosses, employees, and friends I’ve made in this game … too many to single them out”

Wed Workshop – 80:20 vision

In my Thursday Thoughts post two weeks ago, I wrote about ‘draining the swamp’ – or dealing with the big picture, and not getting bogged down in the minutiae. And that led one reader to point me to a really useful ‘life hack’ page about the 80:20 rule. The 80:20 rule, as Steve Young points out, is…

Wed Workshop – Best Laid Schemes …

You may have noticed that this week’s Wed Workshop’ is actually being posted on a Sunday (Australian time). That’s because, as the poet said, “The best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley….” I am, as I’ve mentioned, an occasional ‘enrichment lecturer’ on cruise ships – and in recent weeks I’ve been on…

Wed Workshop – Dot points = dead message

I am, this week, on a cruise ship sailing around the South Pacific. I say that not to make you jealous – although I AM ON A SOUTH PACIFIC CRUISE! – but to tell you why I am on that ship. I’m what’s called an ‘enrichment speaker’ .. In return for a ‘free’ cruise for…

Wed Workshop – Training v Real World.

I was at a Toastmasters meeting last night when a member, attempting to encourage newer speakers, said “No speech is a failure – Each speech has an outcome. It’s how you deal with that outcome that counts.” And I’d agree – at least as far as the sentiment goes. But to paraphrase the old saying, sentiment (and…

Wed Workshop: The devil’s in the details – or the lack thereof.

One of the first ‘Train the Trainer’ sessions I ever undertook started with us being asked to make a hot drink for a fellow participant. However, we were told we could only ask what what was required once – and after that, we could not ask for any further information. The idea, of course, was to show…

Wed Workshop: Winging It will almost always see you crash land.

It’s a cliche that we’ve all heard – PRIOR PREPARATION PREVENTS POOR PERFORMANCE – but just because it’s a cliche doesn’t mean it is untrue. Over the years, I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of successful presentations that resulted from the presenter ‘winging it.’ Oh, we have all seen cases…