“Be with those who celebrate you, not with those who tolerate you” (Keith McEvoy) We are different in many ways, but one thing that we have in common as people is that we all have a variety of likes or dislikes, in varying degrees. Some are harmless – “I love rollercoaster rides” or “I hate…
Jack William Edouard Heuer was born in 1932 in Bern, Switzerland, as great-grandson of Edouard Heuer, the original founder of TAG Heuer in 1860. He holds an Electrical Engineering degree and a master’s degree in production and management from the Swiss Institute of Technology in Zurich. During his student years he was very active in…
An optimist was once defined as a fellow who believes that a housefly is looking for a way to get out! Well, that’s maybe ‘silly’ optimism. Expressing some humour, James Branch Cabell (The Silver Stallion) said: “The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is…
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm” (Winston Churchill) Economist and Financial Times columnist, Tim Harford, in his book “Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure” noted: “Few of our own failures are fatal”. This may ring true, but we certainly don’t enjoy the pain and…
In the movie, Office Space – a comedy about work life in a typical 1990’s software company – the protagonist, Peter Gibbons, has eight different bosses. All of them, seemingly unaware of each other, make requests of his energy and time as they pass his desk. While the movie is most certainly a satire,…
The word “genius” perhaps brings to mind a prodigy or mastermind of the past, either in the musical, scientific or mathematical fields – Bach, Einstein, Mozart, Aristotle, Beethoven and Da Vinci, to name a few. There are conflicting ideas, however, on how a genius is developed. John Dryden (English poet, literary critic, translator and playwright)…
Decision-making is tough, especially the life-changing ones. Wrestling with possible outcomes, attempting to ensure that others (especially those closest to you) are not negatively impacted by a decision, not being sure, realising that there could be unexpected fall-out – all this plays on the mind and ultimately on the emotions. The same is true in…
It has become a disease for many – the practise of multi-tasking! With the onset of the digital era, our lives are plagued with ring-tones, “pings”, interruptions, LED’s, the need for texting whilst we are talking on the phone (or driving) or typing whilst talking to a colleague or employee – all these activities or…
Emotional expression is part of being human – emotions need to be communicated, shared and debriefed whether they are positive or negative in their origin. All emotions need resolution – joyous news needs to be celebrated together with others; sadness needs empathy and closeness within meaningful relationships. The work environment is no exception as it,…
It is often said that flexibility and adaptability are the hallmarks of a good employee, but what exactly does that mean and why are these skills so important? Risk and instability have always been present in any growing business, but today’s hyper-competitive and fast-paced environment has turned the workplace into a much more turbulent and…
Sarah is an intelligent and talented thirty-four year old woman – a graphic designer and skilled one at that. Her business is reasonably successful, but she constantly lives with the anxiety that she will one day be revealed as the imposter that she feels herself to be. She feels that people who really know her…
In the 1980’s, a new ‘life approach’ theory was introduced by American social scientists, James Wilson and George Kelling, called “broken windows”. The theory proposes that the effects of urban disorder, vandalism and other crimes begin with the broken windows of vacant homes. Wilson and Kelling’s research suggested that a building with windows left unrepaired…
