Leadership

Hamish Mackenzie

3 min

An extra day a week

Most time poverty problems aren’t about minutes and hours. They’re about prioritization and self-management. If you get better at those...

Hamish Mackenzie

1 min

The power delusion

The most interesting thing about Elon Musk's "homeworking is unacceptable" memo isn't whether he's right or not. It's that he thinks he...

Hamish Mackenzie

1 min

Brainstorming doesn't work

A recent episode of the Tim Ferris podcast featured renowned parapsychologist Professor Richard Wiseman. He pointed out that scientific...

Hamish Mackenzie

1 min

Manager or Leader?

Manager: Someone who wrangles processes, tells people what to do, frequently checks if it's been done yet, and carries around a huge list...

Hamish Mackenzie

1 min

5 truths about motivation

1) It’s intrinsic, not extrinsic. That’s why the idea of being (or hiring) a “motivational speaker” is so ludicrous and ineffective. 2)...

Hamish Mackenzie

1 min

In sync.

A lack of synchronicity between words and actions is one of the greatest failings in the human condition. Politicians talk about wanting...

Hamish Mackenzie

1 min

Why not just lead?

Whether or not you buy into the hype around the "great resignation", it's clear that many people are getting a lot less tolerant of old...

Hamish Mackenzie

1 min

Ouctomes not hours

It was Ramit Sethi who really got me to accept the absurdity of measuring value in units of time. This is probably not a perfect version...

Hamish Mackenzie

1 min

Built not found

A lot of people seem to think they need to "take" or "find" the road to success. The reality is that everyone needs to BUILD that road...

Hamish Mackenzie

1 min

You're fired.

The most shocking thing about the Better.com firing debacle isn't: - the short notice - the timing - the fact that Zoom was used - the...

Hamish Mackenzie

1 min

Stable doors.

Exit interviews are a classic example of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. In my experience, the feedback you get is...

Hamish Mackenzie

1 min

Oxymoron Alert: “Leadership Training”

The terms “leadership” and “management” often seem to get used interchangeably. Which is a problem, since they are two very different...

Hamish Mackenzie

1 min

Time Sinks.

The executives who complain to me that they have never have enough time are usually those who are either a) terrible at delegating, or b)...

Hamish Mackenzie

2 min

Don’t cut out the middle man.

When large organizations embark on a cost cutting exercise, the axe often falls fastest and hardest on layers of middle management. It’s...

Hamish Mackenzie

1 min

Headstart.

Counterintuitively, it takes a lot of effort to become more efficient and productive. At least at the beginning. You have to change...

Hamish Mackenzie

1 min

Stop or go?

Not many people are reckless enough to run a red light, putting themselves and others in danger. But occasionally, we’re all faced with a...

Hamish Mackenzie

1 min

Embrace hybrid working

We should have all realized by now that neither 100% work at home nor 100% work at the office is a good state of affairs for most...

Hamish Mackenzie

1 min

Enough is enough.

I've been reading (ok, listening to) "Anything you want" by Derek Sivers and he said something which really resonated with me. It was...

Hamish Mackenzie

1 min

Adversity is overrated.

I know everyone loves a good story about the hero who faces severe adversity and triumphs anyway. But for most people, it would be a lot...

Hamish Mackenzie

1 min

Choose what to fix.

Before you let someone tell you your business model is permanently broken because of Covid-19, take the time to ask: Is it really? Of...