Don't!

I'm feeling quite ill - some kind of virus. I know I am not at my best ... physically or mentally. The answer is to stop doing things! Especially things like taking important decisions. Of course, sometimes we have no choice ... but try to make it your choice. If forced to take an important decision whilst ill, don't!

Does it make phone calls

New mobile phones seem to do almost everything ... yet, whilst upgrading recently and selecting a new phone, I found it amazing that many of them do not do the basics well. Call quality is poor ... or battery life is low.

Get the core things right before adding 'extras'. People will forgive you for not having a feature ... but never for falling down on core competency!

Just give me the facts

In China recently someone pointed out that China uses one tenth of the world's farmland to feed one fifth of the world's population.

Now when you are 'communicating', try to go for simple, straightforward messages like that one ... even better, of course if they have some degree of 'wow' factor ... like that one.

Say less but make it count!

Learn to Play

Recently I urged you to learn to dance ... now I am suggesting you learn to play an instrument. (A Fender Telecaster is my weapon of choice.) Why? It helps you realise that music is made up of a tiny collection of notes that can be combined, re-arranged and re-presented to form new tunes and songs. Even though man has been doing this for hundreds, thousands of years ... we can still create new songs from the same, small collection of notes.

In your business what can you achieve by looking afresh at what you do - by combining and re-arranging activities to come up with new ways of doing things?

And remember, in music a silence, a pause if often very effective. So, what can you eliminate to improve what you do?

Ask!

We have had an overseas visitor in the office recently. Someone on day 3 asked me if we should take him out for a meal (as we had done on days 1 and 2) or did I think he had suffered enough of our hospitality. My reply? Don't ask me ... ask him ... but ask him in a way that allows him to say 'no' without feeling he is giving us offence.

Learn to Dance

When things look complicated, try to uncover the basic simplicity underneath. Take dancing ... very sophisticated dances are made up of a very limited set of basic steps.

Don't look at the dance. Look at the steps. Then the simplicity emerges.

Many complicated issues have such underlying, simple features. If you can identify them, you can understand and solve complex problems far more easily.