In November last year, I issued a rare book recommendation – the first in the Fulcrum’s history. Electrical Ecologies by Sander Funneman has since been a big hit in the Netherlands and although originally only available in Dutch, it found its way to the scientific community and has since been adopted by senior scientific circles […]
Definition of agile: marked by ready ability to move with quick easy grace; having a quick resourceful and adaptable character. There is a new breed of leaders, rising under the radar. The agile leader is there not for themselves but for what they believe in, which is bigger than them. He or she are quite […]
Times of crisis and acute uncertainty push people beyond their habitual thinking and behavioural thresholds. When this happens, people become open to themselves in deeper ways, thereby awakening dormant aspects of their natural human potential. This can cause a dramatic elevation in instinctive pick-up and perception capacity. So, they become self-aware in unfamiliar ways which […]
To prepare for radical change, some people build underground shelters that come complete with all manner of cutting edge survival technologies and enough food stored for a couple of decades. There is, however, one snag with that way of thinking.
There is an unseen threshold in the corporate world’s hierarchy; marking a rite of passage to a C-Level role. It has an elastic quality, extending or shrinking in time, depending on who is in the process of crossing it. The future success of a C-Zone executive depends on one’s awareness of this somewhat elusive threshold […]
Pre-note: This Fulcrum states the obvious. The problem with the obvious, however, is that it is often overlaid by the grind of daily living.
Dictionary definition of Control: to exercise restraint or direction over; dominate; command: Overture To survive and thrive, any gatherings of people – from companies to nations – requires the right kind of control in order to maintain administrative intactness.
By birth-right potential, every human being is a natural born leader – of oneself. You and I are born to lead ourselves and leading ourselves is where leadership starts and ends in this life.
A well-executed corporate culture change process is a complex operation that requires the launching of several well-synchronized parallel processes with clearly defined time frames and objectives.
Astronomers tell us that the universe is expanding in mind-boggling speeds. Within the next few seconds, our galaxy will have moved on to occupy never previously visited new spaces. Space-wise, the universe is in a constant journey of new beginnings in ways that defy the imagination.
The task of leadership is to unify people in a purpose that they can see, feel and want to be a part of.
One of leadership’s most challenging tasks is connecting perceptions to sensible responses.
One of leadership’s most challenging tasks is connecting perception to responses.
To illustrate the first key point in this Fulcrum episode let’s pop over to Japan.
To illustrate the first key point in this Fulcrum episode let’s pop over to Japan.
You are invited in this Fulcrum episode to step into the mental teleportation chamber; to be beamed out into a space observatory that lucidly live streams any place on earth; where you can, at will, mentally zoom in and out of any location on the globe in a fraction of a second. What are you […]
There are two kinds of dreams: Those that we dream when we are asleep and those that we dream when we are awake. There are also two kinds of awake-time dreams: Useless day-dreams and creative dreams.
Being a leader, you are likely aware of the objectives vagueness syndrome. Some two thirds of the team members of most teams seem to forever not get their objectives and priorities properly sorted on any given week.
Definition of window of opportunity: A space in time that suddenly appears, like magic, making things possible that were not previously possible; thereby presenting precious opportunity for something new to happen.
Dramatic changes throughout history are often preceded by a sudden ‘left field’ occurrence that serves as a powerful trigger catalyst for a destiny-shaping event. You have no doubt took notice of events regarding women coming forward and taking a firm, vociferous stand in the matters of gender inequality. With all its profound significance, what is […]
Being the author of remarkable breakthroughs and turnarounds throughout history, belief is a high-octane, self-generated catalyst of making things happen. Belief is a mystery play, of awakening innate potentialities without knowing how. Because the signal of belief is compelling upon hidden powers that lie in waiting, in and outside the person. When a person is […]
Note: ‘Male’ and ‘female’ are referred to in this Fulcrum in the context of arrested development. By themselves, the male and female aspects of a human being are obviously an essential part of the natural human makeup. There are times and occasions in life that call for taking positions. As an example, when witnessing blatant unfairness […]
Leaders are made in the crucibles of destiny, passion, and experience. No human alive can ‘make leaders’. A purpose and its needs make leaders – leaders make themselves by their exposure to and desire to serve a constructive purpose. Only the few, however, elect to develop self-leadership in a way that sets them free to be their true selves. […]
Sound-bites and pixels do not make leaders. Neither do compulsive Twitter accounts followed by millions of people. Modern-day social media enables people and organizations to flood the human mind with megabytes; where truth spinning and distortion has become an art-form. The confusion of leadership Leadership is a confused subject. If someone can manoeuvre themselves to a position of influence […]
The world is rapidly changing and so is the nature of leadership. Leadership’s core business is change and there are two kinds of change dynamics affecting humanity: Change that is imposed Change that is chosen Imposed change An obvious example of imposed change is the alternation of night and day. Every day, every human […]
This little offering is distilled from notes for recent client engagements that highlighted the subjects of purpose and impartiality in their leadership context. There are certain developmental propositions that live at the heart of leadership development. Amongst the leaders of the pack are purpose perception and developing impartiality. There is a deep connection between the […]
This Fulcrum was written in response to a client’s request for a writeup of the content of a recent coaching session into the subject of self-leadership and communication. Offered here in case it may be useful to others. Being a leader of people, your communication skills are one of your most precious assets. Your speech […]
The 21st century is an unforgiving ecology. In a shape-shifting marketplace, one person’s mistake is another’s opportunity. It’s an uncompromising playground, where the nature of the game keeps changing with no warning, thereby defining the leadership qualities that are needed in order to survive and thrive. This comes in five parts: Part One: The […]
Living in a different dimension to the screeching sounds of the daily grind are the mute cries of the things that long to be heard, looking for people that possess the ability to faithfully and without bias be the voice of their message. A high form of service Being a voice for that which is […]
There are many forms of leadership: Family, tribal, business, the military, the church, statesmanship, science, civil service… Living at the heart of it all is universal leadership, the crucible that gives leadership its core descriptions, motives and meanings: What is its nature? How does it work? The Three Pillars 1. New Knowledge You and your […]
All meaningful breakthroughs – from science to the humanities to technology – are born in the minds of individuals. Whether these breakthroughs translate into useful applications depend on the three C’s: Communication; Conversation and Concentration. Let’s cut straight to the chase. Communication When you communicate, what you utter comes out of a gradient of perceptions […]
Note: This Fulcrum communicates a hard message with no attempt to soften or moderate it… the reason being that by design, high principles do not allow for elastic translation lest they lose meaning in the highly elastic worlds of convenience and comfortability. A window of opportunity For hundreds of years, there wasn’t a single year […]
This Fulcrum is a reply to the following letter from a long-standing Fulcrum reader, which I thought may be of interest to others as well. Dear David, I have been following the Fulcrum for several years and love its thought provoking perspectives. I am currently facilitating a corporate forum into ‘Men and women in leadership […]
How to handle belief systems that cannot be reasoned with? This Fulcrum is written from a steeper gradient than previous issues regarding leadership, for those interested in the senior end of developing leadership mind-sets. On this occasion, it is aimed at promoting a deeper awareness to the difference between belief systems of world movements that embrace […]
Note: This Fulcrum addresses a fundamental, pivotal element regarding the purpose of leadership. To help make the point, it is dressed with the mantle of world leadership. It is as relevant to human dynamics at all levels and practices, down to the individual. Never confront people with a demand to make the wrong choices We […]
‘Time’ magazine recently published its list of who – to the perception of its authors – are the 100 most influential individuals in world affairs in 2014. A mix of anything from the well intending to one or two who are, to all intents and purposes, accomplished executioners; thereby magnifying the depth of confusion that […]
The Human Miracle One of life’s great wonders is the inverse relationship between the shear minuteness of our size and the greatness of our gifted capabilities. Such a tiny little spec of a thing is able to assimilate perceptions from the mundane to the incredible; engage in potently meaningful processes and exercise an unlimited, ever […]
Without getting into the rights, wrongs, should, shouldn’t, truths and deceptions that belong to the situation in the Middle East – and there is obviously a very great deal of deeply disturbing, tragic wrong in innocent people going through untold suffering and dying horrible deaths – Obama’s move to put an attack on Syria to […]
This Fulcrum features three players: The universe The 21st century The human The Universe Connect for a moment to the feeling of watching the universe in a clear night and the sense of awe, depth and stillness, evoked by the glorious sight of the twinkling brilliance of countless stars and galaxies mixed with the perception […]
How do I come across? What can I do to improve? What am I unaware of? These questions often cross our minds, and can send us seeking for that essential data called ‘feedback’. Giving and receiving feedback happens at both the conscious and semi-conscious levels. Any meeting of people presents an opportunity for feedback, which […]
In the year 2000 the World Health Organization – WHO – declared stress to be one of the three most lethal diseases of the 21st century. Heart diseases and cancer occupied the top spots. In recent years it is widely perceived that some 50% of these two diseases are stress-related. We are at a point […]
This Fulcrum may come across as somewhat philosophical, but it somehow seems to fit this time of year. The higher end of leadership is constantly challenged with the balance between the tangible and the intangible; the known and the unknown; the profound and the mundane. The ability to handle both usefully is the hallmark of […]
Part One: The Two Lives and The Third Way There are two fundamental evaluations concerning any one of us: 1. How we are professionally or capability-wise. 2. How we are humanly. History is littered with the story of people who possessed outstanding capabilities to create and innovate while not having a matching personal development. Computer hackers are […]
By its very nature, the journey of personal and leadership development does not lend itself to be presented through rigid formulas. It is helpful, however, to framework processes in a way that helps with defining prime challenges and possibilities, which is the context of this Fulcrum offering. 1. Learning what it means to be correct. Before we get to […]
This somewhat extended Fulcrum was originally prompted by events within the European union, where the quality – or lack of – decision-making processes is being acutely magnified. Decision-making is a make-it-or-break-it leadership capability and as such it is vital to be aware of the inner formations that drive our decision-making processes, some of which are highlighted […]
Leadership and Statesmanship The nature of personal development that belongs with civil servants gravitates around one word: Service. True Service, Not Self-Serving Serving profound causes that live beyond self-serving interests; beyond the capricious needs of ego-centered personalities; beyond personal needs; beyond power games; beyond vested interests; beyond the idea that misaligned individuals may determine the […]
A little case-study of East versus West: The outwardly reactive versus the inwardly reflective There are as many variants of intelligence as there are humans alive. Each one of us with his/her unique blend of mental capabilities that determine how we bring to conscious usage what we are aware of and what we know to […]
The first commandment of leadership is: Let the purpose lead. Leadership is a service industry to facilitate progress, change and evolution. With as little ego as possible, where it is never about who is leading but what is leading. The primary inner focus of a leader is not on leading people but on perceiving, translating […]
In aerospace engineering, the maximum dynamic pressure, often referred to as max Q, is the point at which aerodynamic stress on a vehicle in atmospheric flight is maximized. It is an important factor in the structural and mission design of rockets, missiles, and other aerospace vehicles which travel through an atmosphere; the flight envelope may be limited […]
Dictionary definition of idea (Webster’s Collegiate): “a transcendent entity that is a real pattern of which existing things are imperfect representations.”; “a visible representation of a conception” Ideas drive humanity – and your business. Some ideas carry an immortal value and thus, driving power. Value, mission, vision and strategy are the pillars upon which human […]