I’ve revisited reading High Output Management by Andy Grove this week. It’s easy to dismiss a book first published in 1983, but it’s a text I go back to for… Continue reading What I’m Reading This Week: Andy Grove on Leadership, Friendship and the Conversations We Avoid
Author: Helen Woodward
‘We’re too busy to save money’ and the ‘switch cost’ for schools.
In the early days at Zen Educate, well before the online teacher supply platform was launched, we asked: ‘How can we create the best experience for both schools and supply… Continue reading ‘We’re too busy to save money’ and the ‘switch cost’ for schools.
‘The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice…’
I borrowed Alan Sieler’s ‘Coaching to the Human Soul’ having seen it on a friend’s bookshelf in 2017. This was my introduction to ontological coaching. Alan writes about our ‘way… Continue reading ‘The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice…’
‘Let’s hope things don’t go to plan. How boring would that be?’
I’m still laughing about this email response from Stephen Priest Principal of the British International School Tbilisi, Georgia. The truth is of course that Steve makes rigorous plans which he… Continue reading ‘Let’s hope things don’t go to plan. How boring would that be?’
Summer Reads: The Heart Aroused by David Whyte
The Heart Aroused is a great read for anyone grappling with what it means to keep humanity in the daily experience of work; what David Whyte calls the ‘preservation of… Continue reading Summer Reads: The Heart Aroused by David Whyte
The Opportunities We Notice
Earlier this year I took some time out to travel and spent several weeks hiking and exploring Tasmania and New Zealand. I was enthralled with the mountains, trees, lakes, deep… Continue reading The Opportunities We Notice
Scenario Planning or Strategic Planning: Which One, and When?
Scenario Planning or Strategic Planning: Which One, and When? Someone once said we can be certain of two things: death and taxes. Even that feels less stable than it used… Continue reading Scenario Planning or Strategic Planning: Which One, and When?
The Power of One-on-One Meetings: Building Communication and Productivity
One to one meetings are the foundation, the engine room of our business. If they’re led well we get to know our teams and what motivates them, show we care… Continue reading The Power of One-on-One Meetings: Building Communication and Productivity
A Tale of Two Sculptures:
I have two favourite sculptures in London: Dr Salter’s Day Dream on Bermondsey Wall East, and the recent Banksy sculpture at Wellington Place. The juxtaposition of the two has stayed… Continue reading A Tale of Two Sculptures:
“Well, I would have expected…”
I’ve noticed this phrase pops up in coaching, consultancy conversations and in investigation interviews. So I’m curious. ‘I would expect that’, in linguistic terms, is an assertion of an assessment: a… Continue reading “Well, I would have expected…”