Words
The Sunday Dispatches archive...
Please
This week... Please say please and thank you more. It's not just polite, it's the way you show respect, and gratitude. I've known this since childhood, but was reminded of it several years ago: Dan Sullivan at Strategic Coach wrote about 4 referability habits.
Scrolling along
Instead of scrolling right now, you’d be better off… joining me for The Weekly Reframe. It’s easy. Subscribe Or just type read.clives.work into your browser and sign up. (You don’t even need the https:// bit these days.) Each week, I share 3 things that made
The day after...
The day after spring equinox and the sun is out. I'm about to enjoy a mid-morning mug of coffee looking out across the glen. It's quiet, no traffic, just the long, deep, resonant sound of cows mooing in the distance. What's not to
In the spirit of yesterday's post...
In the spirit of yesterday's post... While this isn't troubleshooting, it's worth thinking about. How much of your life's satisfactions do you outsource... because you lost the skills, or someone said it was below your pay grade? I used to be a
Can anyone still troubleshoot?
A trend I’ve noticed recently. Plenty of people who can install things... far fewer who can diagnose and fix non‑standard problems. Don’t we train people to think like troubleshooters anymore? To test, isolate, and eliminate causes in a logical way, instead of just swapping parts hoping to
Two useful tactics for better listening.
Two useful tactics for better listening. 1/ Stop talking and offering opinions. Ask open ended questions. Longer pauses... Silences are golden, don't fill them. Uttered encouragers. Hmmm, go on, say more ... Give the person a chance to answer. 2/ Reassure people you're paying attention. Done well
Shafted
A client executive shafts you for a year. Then get themselves into trouble. This causes you further pain. They try to guilt you to help. What's your response?
Who steals wins.
It seems that way nowadays. Synthetic artwork. Synthetic writing. Synthetic music. AI has a lot to answer for. Most of this is done thoughtlessly. By people without talent, or practice. The artist who can't mix colours. The writer who has low imagination. The musician who never learnt an