What you do today can improve all your tomorrows
We often look at other people and how well they have made in life. They have a great career, they are successful and it seems to be so easy. It is not. In 99.9% of cases, it has required heaps of hard work and continuous improvement. It is not useful or productive to envy the […]
Creative break
I have not been posting anything in a long time. I would love to say as the title says, that I have been on a creative break. This is how sometimes some people are labelling things when they have not got anything done, been lazy or just otherwise tired or disengaged. For me, it has […]
Customer service
After visiting a restaurant, a feedback request pops up in your e-mail or now more often your phone, asking you to rate the place you just visited (which is a little creepy if you have not asked or told your phone anything about the visit). In either case, companies want to measure the quality of customer service […]
Theory vs. practice
Have you ever thought of how we learn a skill? According to science (and everybody who have learned something), the best way to learn a skill is to do the work. We all know people who say that ‘I have been to this one-week course, I know how to do it.’ Do they? No. Theory […]
Constant vigilance - at garden and at work
I was gardening on the weekend. It has been very hot for the last few months and I have been neglecting the garden care besides just mowing the lawn. The lawn is now filled with the plethora of weeds, all sorts and sizes. My beautiful lawn that even the neighbours admired when walking past looks […]
Smile - and the whole world smiles with you!
Smile is a very powerful tool. One of the simplest things to raise the mood around you. If you do not believe me, try. For one day at work or home, smile to everyone. For sure you will notice the change. I remember when I moved from Finland to Australia, the biggest change was the […]
The notorious list maker
Some time ago my beloved friend turned 40 and wanted to have a great party at her home. I flew in few days earlier to help her getting ready. To be honest, she did not need help, more in the lines of we both needed an overdue catch up before anyone else arrived. The reason […]
Holidays!
Happy New Year for all the readers! Hope you have had a great time celebrating the new start and possible some time off to relax. People in different countries have very different holiday cultures. In some countries, employees take few weeks off annually. Some have over six weeks of holiday time. How this is divided […]
Are you performing?
You are sitting in your managers office with sweaty hands and wait until they get to the point. And you wait. And wait. Eventually you understand that they do not get into the point. You are disappointed and relieved at the same time. At least it was not bad news. But you are left with […]
When they disagree...
When you are in a leadership position, the most difficult aspect in almost any job is people management. Many people say they are good at leadership and when I ask them where they base their claim, they say they are good at delegating tasks and giving orders. Once, I thought the same way. Then I […]