Hello from a small village, at the end of a valley in the French Alps – my home. I want to tell you about a series of 21 short videos I’m making called ’21 Days on the Mountain’. From tomorrow, I’ll post one video every morning, from a different spot out in nature, close to […]
Leaders are made, not born. This was one of the first things I was taught as a trainee Royal Navy officer back in the 80s. I didn’t wholly buy into it at the time, and over the years I’ve seen a few naturally gifted leaders in action — inspiring and engaging the people around them...
It’s years since I left the Royal Navy. Since then I’ve mainly been helping other leaders figure out how to lead. And yet every time I board a ship I have a goosebump moment. As if my body is simultaneously remembering and anticipating the feeling of being at sea. A powerful mix of excitement, apprehension, awe...
I’ve just done a 4-day retreat with this wonderful couple. They are thinking ahead to their retirement in a couple of years and they came to my Time Out retreat to talk about what that means for them. They want to plan for their retirement in a conscious way...
A journey from the outside in. Funny how you can happily build a successful career over 20+ years in a top class organisation and then, when you stop doing doing doing, you come unstuck...
After a year of painful reflection, I realised that I’d been so committed to my work, so absorbed by its clear, collaborative purpose, that my work had become my identity. When I moved on, it felt as though I was leaving an essential part of me behind. I had come unstuck. So before I could figure out “what next?”, I had to answer “who am I?”...
The words “vegan mindfulness retreat” sent a chill through my heart: summoning images of cold, Spartan cells, raw tofu and severe gurus. I owned up to this to my host and guide, Sally-Anne Airey of Alps Retreats when I spent five fabulous days in the French Alps recently, adding that I had found the experience in no way justified my fears...
Ever find it hard to get through the day without logging on to social media? Or to go more than 30 minutes without checking your messages? You may want to join thousands of others around the world in the National Day of Unplugging. It starts at sunset this evening, wherever you are in the world...
If you’ve wavered on your new year resolutions, you’re not alone. A Guardian article highlights the fact that 63% of the people surveyed in a Bupa opinion poll last year failed to keep their new year resolution and 43% of them had abandoned theirs within a month...