Month: August 2015

When I was out for a walk by the river at the weekend, I was fortunate and inspired to see a flock of geese land on the water.

It reminded me of something that I read many years ago about the lessons that all teams can learn from the behaviour of geese.

The lessons from the geese were originally written in 1972 by Dr Robert McNeish who had been intrigued with observing geese for years.

I have reproduced his thoughts below:

1) As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an “uplift” for the bird following. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds 71% more flying range than if each bird flew alone.

Lesson: People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are travelling on the thrust of one another.

2) Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to fly alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the “lifting power” of the bird immediately in front.

Lesson: if we have as much sense as a goose, we will join in formations with those who are headed where we want to go.

3) When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies at the point position.

Lesson: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership, respecting each other’s unique arrangement of skills, capabilities and talents.

4) The geese in formation honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

Lesson: We need to make sure our honking from behind is encouraging not something less helpful!

5) When a goose gets sick or wounded, two geese drop out of the formation and follow their fellow member down to help provide protection. They stay with this member of the flock until he or she is able to fly again or dies. They then launch out on their own, with another formation or catch up with their own.

Lesson: If we have as much sense as the geese, we’ll stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.

This week, why not take a few moments to think about the teams that you are involved with professionally and personally. Is there a lesson from the geese that could be applied to the team to improve its effectiveness?

This week’s quotation:

“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” Henry Ford.

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk

I was decorating this past weekend. I always have a great sense of accomplishment when I have finished and freshened things up.

Whilst painting it occurred to me that it always feels good when we take steps to freshen up our lives.

So this week, I have put together a few tips and ideas on how to refresh your personal and/or professional life which I hope you enjoy reading:-

• Take some time to get clarity on your personal and/or professional vision for the next 12 months (it can be a longer or shorter period – whatever works for you). Create your own vision poster with images and words that you cut out from magazines etc. To assist this process, ask yourself. What do I want to be? What do I want to do? What do I want to have?
• Quit comparing your life and results with other people’s lives. I know this is easier said than done, given the way society likes to measure everything and encourages competition. However, we are all unique and have different talents, skills and experiences. I have never come across anyone who compared themselves with someone else and came out exactly the same! It is a pointless habit and exercise.
• Create space for something new. It is easy to hold onto possessions that we no longer need or use and create clutter. A good declutter helps refresh energy and creates space. It feels good to donate any unwanted books, clothes, furniture, CDs to charity or people you know who will appreciate the gift.
• Disengage from negative thinking. When you catch yourself thinking the worst, giving into fear or anxiety, being self-critical or too hard on yourself. STOP. Say to yourself that the world is full of possibility and ask yourself how you could think about the situation or issue in a different and more positive way. Aspire to enjoy the present moment.
• Make a conscious choice about where you invest your energy. To help with this exercise, think about what/who gives you energy and what /who drains your energy. Where are you spending the majority of your time? Are there negative tasks or people that you need to spend less time on/with?

I hope that you found the above useful.

If you would like some help applying the tips to your life I would be delighted to support you.

Please contact me to arrange a free and without obligation consultation and to discuss what is possible.

This week’s quotation:

“If we did all the things that we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” Thomas Edison.

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk