Every night our rather large family gathers together after dinner and, prior to our evening prayers, shares a ritual that has become one of the most powerful high-performance tools I have used in teams, one-on-one coaching, and cross-department alignment.

We call it Rose, Thorn, Bud.

Each person shares at least one thing on each of three easy-to-remember themes.

In an often very short sharing, the whole family is across how each person is going, what their day was like, what they are working through, and what tomorrow holds.

What began around a dinner table has since found its way into boardrooms, site offices, leadership retreats, and one-on-one coaching sessions — not because it is sophisticated, but because it works. And when you look closely at why it works, you discover that it is doing something far more intentional than it first appears.

Rose, Thorn, Bud is not simply a reflection tool. It is a complete conversation — one that moves deliberately across time, demands a different kind of courage at each step, and draws on the three virtues at the heart of every great leader I have known.

THE THREE ELEMENTS

ROSE

THE PAST — COMMUNICATION AND CANDOUR — HONESTY

The Rose is a reflection on what has already happened — on the experiences, the efforts, and the outcomes that deserve to be named before the team moves on.

It begins with GRATITUDE — a deliberate pause to acknowledge what went well. Someone who showed up. A decision that held. A moment that reminded the team why the work matters. Gratitude is not a soft opener. It is the act of being honest about what was genuinely good, which is harder than it sounds in environments where praise feels performative and progress is taken for granted.

It extends into RECOGNITION — a specific acknowledgement of effort and accomplishment that might otherwise pass unseen. The people who work hardest in any team are rarely the loudest. The Rose creates a structured, expected moment to surface that effort and honour it publicly before it is forgotten. Recognition is not a soft gesture. It is a retention strategy, a trust signal, and a culture builder all at once.

And it is, at its core, a practice of COMMUNICATION AND CANDOUR — of sharing insights, lessons, and observations with the whole team rather than keeping them locked in individual experience. The Rose asks: what do we know now that we did not know before? What worked, and why? What should be encouraged and rewarded? What would we repeat, and what should become a standard?

This requires Honesty. Not the version of honesty that tells people what they want to hear, but the version that names things precisely — that says “the daily sync helped us catch the critical issue early” rather than “great teamwork.” Specific honesty creates institutional knowledge. Vague praise creates nothing.

The Rose is where an honest team turns its past into its future.

THORN

THE PRESENT — TRUST AND VULNERABILITY — HUMILITY

The Thorn is where the framework earns its credibility — and where most teams either play it safe or avoid it entirely. It is not a reflection on the past or an aspiration for the future. It is a reckoning with the present. With what is hard right now. With what is not working at this moment, in this team, on this pursuit.

The Thorn represents the challenges being faced — a mistake made, a difficulty unresolved, an area where the team knows it is falling short, a lesson still being processed. It is not a complaint. It is not an opportunity to assign blame. It is an honest assessment of where things actually stand, offered with the courage to be seen clearly.

That courage has a name: HUMILITY.

Humility is the hardest of the three virtues to practise in a leadership context precisely because leadership cultures so often reward the appearance of having it all together. Naming a Thorn — genuinely, not performatively — requires a leader to set aside the need to be seen as competent and instead be willing to be seen as human. It is an act of TRUST AND VULNERABILITY, and it is the most powerful signal a leader can send to a team: that honesty about difficulty is not weakness here — it is the standard.

When a leader names a real Thorn, they are extending something into the room that no team-building exercise can manufacture. And when the room receives it with respect rather than judgement, the team becomes something different. Not a group of people doing work together. A group of people willing to go into difficulty together.

Around our dinner table, the Thorn is also an act of seeking help — an INVITATION FOR SUPPORT. That framing matters enormously. It shifts the energy from confession to connection — from “here is where I failed” to “here is where I need you.” That shift is as powerful in a boardroom as it is at home.

The discipline of the Thorn is this: name it clearly, own it without deflection, and immediately ask — what can we do differently? A Thorn without a question is a complaint. A Thorn with a question is leadership.

BUD

THE FUTURE — COMMITMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY — HARD WORK

The Bud is where the conversation turns from reflection to intention and action. It is the most forward-facing of the three — not a hope or a wish, but a named commitment to a specific objective, goal, or pursuit that the individual or team is choosing to advance.

In a leadership context, the Bud is the answer to the question: what am I committing to next, and am I willing to be held accountable for it?

Done well, the Bud does three things simultaneously. It provides CLARITY — naming the one thing that matters most in the period ahead so that energy is not dispersed across a dozen half-priorities. It ensures PURPOSE ALIGNMENT — giving every team member sight of where collective effort should go and why. And it creates a framework for COMMITMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY — because naming a commitment publicly, in front of peers, with a specific next session as the moment of reckoning, is one of the most powerful forces for follow-through that exists.

This is where Hard Work finds its structure. Hard work without direction is effort without return. The Bud gives hard work its target — a specific, named, publicly committed-to outcome. A Bud is not a wish list. It is a decision about focus, spoken aloud, with the team as witness.

Accountability is backward-looking — answering for what has already been done. Responsibility is forward-looking — taking account of what your next actions will create in the wider system. The Bud holds both. It says: here is what I am committing to, and here is what I am taking responsibility for ensuring happens.

At home, every Bud is also an invitation — not just to be held accountable, but to be supported. The commitment is made to the group, and the group becomes part of its fulfilment. That dynamic translates directly into high-performing teams.

WHY IT WORKS

THE COMPLETE CONVERSATION

The architecture of Rose, Thorn, Bud is more intentional than it first appears — which is perhaps why it works as naturally around a dinner table as it does in a boardroom.

The Rose opens in the past with Honesty — creating the candour and warmth the team needs for what follows. The Thorn moves into the present with Humility — asking people to trust the room with something real, something unresolved, something still being carried. The Bud lands in the future with Hard Work — channelling everything that has been surfaced into a specific, accountable commitment.

This is the arc of every genuinely high-functioning team conversation: appreciate what was, be honest about what is, commit to what will be. Rose, Thorn, Bud gives that arc a repeatable structure that any team — or family — can run in five minutes, and that done consistently changes the character of a group over time.

Honesty. Humility. Hard Work. The same three virtues that define the H3 leader are the same three virtues that make this framework work. That is not a coincidence. Every great leadership tool, when you look closely enough, is built on the same foundation.

A NOTE ON VANGUARD LEADERSHIP

Rose, Thorn, Bud is most powerful in the hands of a Vanguard.

Vanguard Leadership is not a title or a buzzword.

The Vanguard leads from the front rather than from above, holding both accountability for what has been done and responsibility for what their actions will create next.

In this structure, Rose, Thorn, Bud becomes the connective tissue. The Rose is how Vanguards communicate what is working across overlapping teams. The Thorn is how they model the trust and vulnerability required for a team to follow someone into difficulty. And the Bud is the purest expression of Vanguard thinking — a public commitment to the next objective, made in front of the team, revisited at the next session.

A Vanguard who cannot name a Thorn is a leader who cannot be trusted with one. A Vanguard whose Bud is vague is a Vanguard who has not yet decided. And a Vanguard who skips the Rose has forgotten that people follow leaders who see them, not just leaders who direct them.

Vanguard Leadership is explored in full in another chapter.

WHERE WE APPLY IT

IN THE PURSUIT-BASED OR VANGUARD-LED TEAM

Where Vanguards lead overlapping teams around specific objectives, Rose, Thorn, Bud becomes the primary alignment mechanism — weekly, consistently, without bureaucracy. The Bud in particular is critical: it names the one commitment each Vanguard is accountable for advancing before the team meets again.

IN LEADERSHIP TEAM MEETINGS

Make it a standing agenda item — a five-minute discipline that opens or closes every team meeting. The Rose surfaces what is working and who deserves recognition. The Thorn names what is not, before it becomes a crisis. The Bud keeps the team anchored to its most important forward commitment. Done consistently, this single practice replaces the kind of dysfunction that builds quietly when teams never pause to be honest with each other.

IN THE ONE-ON-ONE

The leader who asks “what is your Rose, your Thorn, your Bud this week?” is asking one of the most complete check-in questions available. In three prompts, you learn what energised the person, what they are carrying right now, and what they need support to achieve next. It replaces the generic “how are you going?” with a structure that actually produces an answer worth hearing.

IN PERSONAL LEADERSHIP PRACTICE

Used as a daily journal prompt, it asks the questions most leaders never ask themselves: what am I genuinely grateful for (Rose — Honesty), what am I honestly grappling with right now (Thorn — Humility), and what am I specifically committing to next (Bud — Hard Work)? This is the reflective discipline that separates leaders who grow from those who accumulate experience without extracting wisdom from it.

IN PERFORMANCE AND DEVELOPMENT CONVERSATIONS

Rather than waiting for a formal review cycle, a leader can open any performance conversation with Rose, Thorn, Bud — inviting the person to self-assess across past, present, and future before offering their own perspective. It creates immediate psychological safety, surfaces insight the leader may not have, and frames the conversation around growth rather than judgement.

HOW TO RUN IT WELL

• Set the context clearly. Participants need to understand what they are reflecting on — a project, a quarter, a team period, a specific experience.

• Give people quiet time to write before anyone speaks. This prevents groupthink and gives every voice — especially the quieter ones — equal standing.

• Ask each person to capture their Rose, Thorn, and Bud before the group convenes. Allow five minutes. Then review together, with each member briefly sharing and the room invited to respond.

• When a Rose is shared, amplify the recognition. Name it. Let it land. Do not move past it quickly.

• When a Thorn is shared, receive it with respect. The person is extending trust and demonstrating humility. The facilitator’s role is to ensure the room honours that and redirects toward possibility, not judgement.

• Before the Bud is finalised, check for alignment. Is this the one commitment the team is behind? Name it clearly. Commit publicly. Revisit at the next session.

THE LEADERSHIP LENS

Rose, Thorn, Bud - asks for Honesty about what has passed. It asks for Humility about what is present. And it asks for the commitment — the Hard Work — of naming what comes next and meaning it.

We are conditioned to move forward. To ship, to decide, to act. Reflection is treated as a luxury, a soft indulgence for teams that are not busy enough. This is precisely backwards. The teams that reflect most consistently are the ones that advance most purposefully. They are honest about what worked. They are humble enough to name what did not. And they commit — specifically, publicly, accountably — to what comes next.

Nick Marvin is the co-founder of marvinHR, a Perth-based executive search and leadership consulting firm. He writes on leadership, character, and team performance at nickmarvin.com.

THE STAIRWELL

It’s 2am.

I’m sitting in the stairwell of a five-star hotel with a young basketball player who’s had a breakout season — from the wilderness to transformational success. He’s in the conversation for league MVP. And most importantly, a Championship in his first year.

We’re smoking cigars — the only place in the hotel where you can - without triggering fire alarms. We’re drinking a nice whiskey.

Inside, the rest of the team is still celebrating with fans, friends and families.

He turns to me and says, “Is this it, Nick?”

I’m silent. I’ve been here before, more than once. Almost always it’s with players and coaches who have never won championships before.

Yet I wasn’t ready for this question.

“Yes,” I respond. “This is it.”

“It feels empty. All that sacrifice, all the hype… the build-up,” he sighs. “It’s so lonely right now.”

THE HOSPITAL

This wasn’t the first time I’d been this close to the sadness of success.

Just days earlier, I was sitting by the hospital bed of a multimillionaire. I’d been his only visitor all day. I was also his only companion to surgery.

“This procedure has a 50% success rate,” the specialist announced, looking to me for feedback.

I turned to my friend, who smiled and said, “That doesn’t bode well for the next patient.”

We all laughed.

But when the doctor left us, we were both silent. He was melancholic.

Wealth, influence, power, fame… yet this was it? Him and I.

I was aghast. How could someone so wealthy be so lonely?

THE DELUSION

The success delusion is real. It entices so many to follow a one-dimensional life that is hollow.

What then is the answer?

WHAT I’VE LEARNED

I’ve worked and intentionally met with numerous people from all walks of life over the last ten years — millionaires, billionaires, failed entrepreneurs, champions, the homeless, ascetics.

Here’s what I’ve learned.

No one in all my research has extreme amounts of all three: Family, Finance and Fitness. By extreme, I mean the top one per cent. Two out of three ain’t bad. But never all three.

The healthy and wealthy are often lonely — broken marriages, failed friendships, kids who resent them and a long queue of detractors.

Those who prioritise family often live off a single income, with no holidays, broken-down cars and a crowded house.

Then there are those who are obsessed with health and fitness, with little else to show for it.

Interestingly, all the effort in the world to achieve any of these three pursuits does not guarantee accomplishment. I’ve known fitness fanatics who’ve dropped dead in the gym. Serial entrepreneurs who’ve lost it all late in life. Dedicated families who’ve faced life-altering tragedies.

What we can do, however, is seek balance in all three.

THE THREE F’S FRAMEWORK

The Three F’s framework recognises that human needs are interconnected and must be pursued simultaneously, in balance. No single pursuit — no matter how noble — can sustain a meaningful life on its own.

1. FITNESS

Mental

- Spiritual connection and personal belief systems

- Mental clarity and emotional regulation

- Continuous learning and intellectual curiosity

- Mindfulness, prayer or meditation practice

Physical

- Wellness and health — regular medical check-ups and preventive care

- Aerobic exercise for cardiovascular health

- Anaerobic exercise for muscle development and bone density

- Nutrition, sleep hygiene and recovery

2. FAMILY & FRIENDS — SOCIAL CONNECTION

- Deep interpersonal connections and relationships

- A sense of belonging within real social networks

- Investment in marriage, partnership and family life

- Friendships that are intentional, not transactional

- Community involvement and service to others

3. FINANCE & FUNCTION — WORK AND FISCAL MANAGEMENT

- Function, Fulfilment, Contribution, Accomplishments, Influence

- Financial security and fiscal stability

- Purposeful work that is values-aligned, maximising your strengths

- Living within your means and building long-term wealth

- Generosity — giving back as a discipline, not an afterthought

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY

Knowing the framework is one thing. Living it is another. Balance doesn’t happen by accident — it requires a cadence, a rhythm of intentional review and adjustment.

DAILY CADENCE

- Wake and weigh — a simple daily anchor that keeps physical awareness front of mind.

- Morning reflection — five minutes of prayer, meditation or journaling to set your intention.

- Movement & Muscle — at least thirty minutes of deliberate exercise. Build muscle get breathing.

- Connection — one meaningful conversation with someone who matters.

- Review — a brief end-of-day check: How did I invest my time across the Three F’s today?

WEEKLY CADENCE

- Schedule time for each F — block your calendar to protect what matters.

- Financial check-in — review spending, saving and giving against your plan.

- Social investment — at least one intentional meal or gathering with family or friends.

- Sabbath rest — one day of genuine recovery and renewal.

THE SCORESHEET — QUARTERLY TIME AUDIT

At least once a quarter, I log a full week to see how I actually spend my time (these days I do it every week). Not how I think I spend it — how I actually spend it. This gives me a simple quantitative and qualitative snapshot.

The process is straightforward:

- Track every waking hour for seven consecutive days.

- Categorise each block under Fitness, Family & Friends, or Finance.

- Calculate the percentage of time devoted to each F.

- Compare against your ideal allocation.

- Identify the gaps and adjust.

The scoresheet is not about perfection. It’s about awareness. Most people are stunned by the gap between their stated priorities and their actual time investment.

PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE

For those ready to move from insight to action, here is a simple starting framework:

1. Assess — Honestly evaluate your current status in each of the Three F’s. Where are you thriving? Where are you neglecting?

2. Identify — Set specific, measurable goals for improvement in each domain. Not grand ambitions — small, achievable commitments.

3. Act — Create action plans with measurable outcomes. Write them down. Share them with someone who will hold you accountable.

4. Review — Regularly review and adjust your priorities. Life shifts. The balance point moves. Stay attentive.

5. Recognise — Progress in one area supports progress in the others. A fit body sharpens the mind. Strong relationships fuel professional resilience. Financial stability reduces the anxiety that erodes health and connection.

THE REAL SUMMIT

Back in that stairwell, the cigar smoke curling upward, I didn’t have the words then that I have now. But I felt the truth of it. The championship ring on his finger was real. The emptiness in his eyes was just as confronting.

Success is not a delusion because achievement doesn’t matter. It’s a delusion because achievement alone was never the point.

Two out of three ain’t bad. But all three? That’s a life worth living.

TL;DR: For most of my life I chased the things society told me to — wealth, health, family, legacy — convinced they were the summit worth reaching. But sitting here on Holy Thursday heading into my 56th Easter, I can't shake a troubling thought: I've been climbing the wrong mountain. Looking at Christ's death on Calvary — a man who died broke, friendless, despised, and physically drained — I'm forced to reckon with the fact that by every conventional measure, his life was a failure. Yet it's considered the greatest act of love ever given. Maybe success isn't about what I accumulate, but what I give away. Maybe the mountain I should be climbing isn't Everest — it's Calvary.

⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯

For quite some time now we’ve been conditioned to believe what success is.

For many it’s family and friends. For most it’s wealth and affluence. Almost all wish for a healthy life or a long one.

For some it’s fame and for others approval and reputation. A few yearn for power. A lot more lately w…

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There is a moment every seasoned manager, GM or coach knows. You watch someone warm up and think — that’s not the same person. And you’re right. The player you evaluated six months ago has changed. They often do.

This is the central challenge …

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IN BRIEF: Most team communication fails not because of what is said, but because the type of communication is wrong. This article proposes a four-mode framework to fix that:

• FYI (For Your Information) — “Just so you know.” Share only what’s needed, in the right format, at the right time. No response required. Requires honesty.

• FYF (For Your Feedback) — “I need your input.” Actively seek perspectives to close blind spots before committing. Requires humility.

• FYC (For Your Consent) — “I need your sign-off.” Clarifies who owns a decision and is accountable for its outcome. Requires accountability.

• FYA (For Your Action) — “Do this.” Converts decisions into execution with clear goals and feedback loops. Requires hard work.

It gives teams a shared language, ties communication to character, and scales across any team size — reducing noise, speeding up decisions, and turning capability into coordinated action.

Most communication failures in high-performing teams aren’t about …

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Christmas 2016 was one like no other.

Whilst the rest of the nation was busy with the usual family commitments, holiday merrymaking, or the momentous religious significance, we at the Perth Wildcats were facing the very likely prospect of not making the finals for the first time in the club’s record-breaking history.

We’d cut a shooting guard, replaced him with another who after just two games wanted to be released, brought back the former who then failed a drug test! Key players were injured, and we were sliding to the bottom of the ladder.

Pressure was mounting on coaches and management to turn things around.

So, instead of the traditional festivities, the coaching staff ran depth charts and made phone calls worldwide.

Our recruiting model was simple: the coaches picked the talent, and I had veto rights on character.

Whilst they were watching tapes of the player’s competency, I was screening for tell-tale signs on character.

What were their behaviours on a made play? Did they acknowledge t…

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Prayer Breakfasts at Warwick Stadium

☰ Monday 24 November – Paul Morrison – singer/song-writer, ex-Chaplain Eagles, SonshineFM

☰ Monday 13 October – Lea Cockram – Chaplain

☰ Monday 25 Aug 25 – Dave & Teige Morrell – Coach and Player – Husband and Wife (NBL1 & WNBL)

☰ Monday 28 Jul 25 – Danny Mills – GM – Perth Wildcats

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Quarterly Leadership Breakfast Series in Perth – Fraser’s Restaurant – Kings Park

☰ Wed 15 Sep 2025 – Kevin Bailey

☰ Thursday, 4th December 2025 – Mike Needham

Mike Needham is a senior global executive at one of the world’s largest technology corporations and a devoted Catholic based in Perth, Western Australia. Drawing from his extensive experience in technology and unwavering Christian values, Mike will share personal insights on navigating the ethical, spiritual, and societal challenges posed by artificial intelligence.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou
Shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now
Lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years!

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on.
O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile

Meantime, along the narrow rugged path,
Thyself hast trod,
Lead, Saviour, lead me home in childlike faith,
Home to my God.
To rest forever after earthly strife
In the calm light of everlasting life.

John Henry Newman
Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
Beatified by Pope Benedict XVI
September 19, 2010
by

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Contents

☰ Guardian Angel Prayer

☰ Morning Offering

☰ St Michael Prayer

☰ The Angelus

☰ The Magnificat

☰ Benedictus

☰ Humility Prayer

☰ The Memorare

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As we wrap up another year, we wanted to share with you five key learnings from working with leaders in various walks of life.

REFLECTION TIME

• Leaders report having little time to think. Overwhelmed by urgency, always being ON, and the need to respond to endless communication channels leaves little time for reflection. Social media distractions, fleeting attention spans and multi-tasking have made considered leadership difficult.

THE SOLUTION

• Spend at least 15 minutes at the start AND the end of each day to think – away from all distractions. Pen and paper.

MORNING

• • Revisit your and your team/organisation’s Purpose – its response to an ever-changing world.
  • Consider if you have the right people in the right positions on the boat. Who is redundant? What’s the opportunity cost of keeping them? Who do you now need to solve today and tomorrow’s needs?
  • Are they rowing in sync? Are they headed in the right direction?

EVENING

• What did we accomplish? What should we accomplish?

• What were the failures…

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When Jesus emerged from the Jordan River, a divine voice declared: “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” These words capture something fundamental about the need for paternal affirmation and its immense importance in a child’s sense of self-worth, purpose and commitment to mission, even courage.

Modern psychology confirms what this ancient narrative suggests: a father’s words of love and pride hold extraordinary power to shape a child’s entire life trajectory. When fathers consistently express love and pride, they’re participating in one of the most profound acts of human development.

THE SCIENCE OF PATERNAL AFFIRMATION

Research demonstrates that fathers play a unique and irreplaceable role in child development. Active father involvement significantly reduces psychological problems and depression rates, particularly in young women. When fathers are emotionally present and affirming, children develop stronger self-esteem, better emotional regulation, and more resilient psyc…

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As an outsider to sports management, it took me a while to understand winning and losing games during a season.

Regardless of our performance, the outcome of the game dictated our response—reflect and learn from losses or rejoice and celebrate wins.

The problem, of course, is that winning and losing, certainly in a finite ecosystem such as a league or game environment, is a poor indicator because it is comparative.

In other words, it doesn’t matter how badly you play; if you were better than the opposition, even marginally, you won. Sometimes that margin could be a point, a free throw, a bad referee decision, or just plain luck.

This mindset can be limiting – narrowing ones focus to transactional tactics rather than aspirational, purpose-driven cultures. But more on that later…

All the coaches I worked with usually paid particular attention to the game tape after a loss. The version we received post-game by our video coach was always edited to remove breaks, timeouts, and audio.

It was fasc…

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Not everyone is on the team for the same reason.

A manager's genuine understanding of each team member's key drivers can greatly improve individual and team performance.

In most good teams, there is clarity of mission, good-charactered people committed to playing to their strengths, and accountability on expected efforts and results.

However, the primary motivators for joining and contributing to a team can vary.

In our work, it's usually one of three things: Purpose, People, or Performance. And while they all matter, different individuals place differing values on each.

PURPOSE

"We have one problem," the CEO said cautiously. We can't afford to compete on salary with the rest of the healthcare industry. After all, we are a non-profit in the alcohol and drug sector. The work is hard, the clients challenging, and regrettably, the pay isn't great."

"We don't see that as a problem," my colleague responded calmly.

The CEO looked back, surprised. "What do you mean? We've had trouble finding staff for so long because of affordability?"

"Perhaps we could try a different approach," she suggested. "Why don't we talk more about your purpose, mission and the lives you change and less about salary."

And so started a long-term relationship lasting many years, recruiting staff for this wonderful organisation with a retention rate far higher than the industry average.

Interestingly, most employers we speak to concern themselves with remuneration or Reward. While this is a significant factor (especially at sustenance levels), our research, based on over 3,000 surveys, indicates that other factors, such as recognition, voice, choice, and learning, are also important.

Increasingly, however, Legacy or Purpose has become a key driver in attracting and keeping people. All things being equal, people, especially in advanced economies, want their work to be meaningful.

This explains why, in Australia, 36% or 9.5 million people performed formal volunteer work in 2023 (up from 26% the previous year). For some of us, a compelling purpose is enough to work even for free [Volunteering Australia – Key Volunteering Statistics – March 2024].

They want to be on teams whose mission aligns with their values. They want the organisation's mission to be well-articulated and inspirational. And they want to know how their team and, importantly, their unique work contribute to the broader objectives and outcomes.

Managers who succeed in personalising the team or organisation's mission witness higher levels of performance and retention.

Gallup's research suggests that even a 10% improvement in employee connection to purpose results in a 4.4% increase in profitability and an 8.1% decrease in staff turnover.

To achieve this, managers must have regular conversations with their team members on how their unique contribution is linked to the organisation or team's purpose.

PEOPLE vs PERFORMANCE - Longley or Jordan

Some people are on the team to win, while others are there for the team. These are not exclusive motivations—they are predominant drivers for differing individuals.

Knowing the difference is critical to get the most out of them.

When success, performance, results, or winning are the primary motivations, individuals can occasionally leave their teammates behind or, more commonly, not be the most congenial. Conversely, sentimental people value interpersonal relationships more than outcomes or objectives.

The former want to win at all costs, whilst the latter are more concerned with camaraderie and team culture.

A great example is the well-publicised championship run of the Chicago Bulls under Michael Jordan. Following the Netflix documentary, Australia's ABC interviewed Michael Jordan, Luc Longley and Steven Kerr (now head coach of the NBA's Golden State Warriors) regarding their time together.

Longley's perspective of Jordan was a one-eyed, success-focused, results-based team-mate that could not be disagreed with - 'carnivorous'!

Jordan agreed. "My mentality was to win at all costs and to pull, push, yank, whatever, to get everybody on the same page...I think it was needed in some respects, and our success illustrates that."

"I don't think Luc had the mentality of what it took to win. You want to see that frustration; you want to see a little bit of anger. You want to dominate, you know, and there's times where I had to push him on that," he said.

Longley's motivation was quite the opposite. He was what people call a 'team player' willing to sacrifice individual glory for the team - putting his teammates over everything else, even performance and success.

“I cared about my teammates more than I cared about winning. Winning became how to reward them, so that’s part of what drove me to be good.”

Longley's contribution was not limited to the basketball court. He was famous for his home barbecues, which built social bonds among the team, something unheard of in the NBA. In an environment where players were traded like commodities between teams, he built life-long relationships with Kerr, Pippen, and even Rodman and Jordan.

As now NBA head-coach Steve Kerr summarised, "He became one of the people who connected everyone because he shared relationships with everybody.

While there are no statistics or scoreboards to measure the contribution of 'team players', their impact is critical.

As Jordan now puts it, “I loved him as a team-mate. If you asked me to do it all over again there’s no way I would leave Luc Longley off my team. No way possible. Because he mattered, he had an impact on me. He made me better as a player, you know, as a person.”

A winning team requires all three types of people: the ones who keep focussing on the why—purpose-driven; the ones who focus on the what—performance-driven; and, more and more importantly, the ones who focus on the how and the who—people-driven.

It takes a good manager, coach or leader to know what drives each individual to ensure they satisfy their needs and mobilise their motivations for the team's success.

There is no greater tragedy than doing well that should not be done at all.

Yet, we fall into habits that are unfruitful at best or dangerous at worst - in business and life.

Taking stock every 90 days enables us to evaluate, eliminate, and make room for what must be done to accomplish our objectives.

This allows us to constantly refocus our time, energies, and resources.

Strategic Abandonment is best achieved by considering three key dimensions: Purpose, People and Performance.

PURPOSE

1. If we were not doing what we are doing right now, what should or would we be doing?

2. Is what we are doing maximising our comparative competencies to create value in the current environment?

3. What is the opportunity cost of our current pursuits? In other words, what pursuits should we abandon for more productive or profitable ones?

PEOPLE

4. Who would we not have on the team if we started again today? How could we appropriately exit them?

5. Who on the team is taking up a spot best served by someone else?

6. Is anyone negatively affecting our culture or not living our values despite their results?

PERFORMANCE

7. What parts of our operations have become blithe, lazy, and inefficient?

8. What are the disruptions, noise and silly rules that need to be abandoned?

9. What are the bottlenecks that are holding people back from performing?

Atrophy

We are all susceptible to atrophy.

However, as Peter Drucker noted, “In turbulent times, the enterprise has to be kept lean and muscular, capable of taking strain but capable also of moving fast and availing itself of opportunity.”

And these, indeed, are turbulent times.

In our experience, typical constraints to accomplishing this include tradition (we’ve always done it this way), routine and inertia (avoiding conflict and change), and familiarity (being too close to the problem or the people).

In such instances, there are few better approaches than having an external consultant facilitate the process. This ensures thoroughness, avoids conflicts of interest, and eliminates bias.

Personal Lives

Even in our personal lives, spending half-a-day every quarter, going through our possessions and splitting them up into three groups:

• The first - items that we still use and need to keep;

• The second - things that we no longer use and need to trash;

• And third - stuff that we’re unsure of - which we put in storage...if we don't use it over the ensuing three months - dispose.

If we purchase something new, it must accompany the disposal of something redundant.

Abandoning bad Habits

We need to constantly focus our time, energies, and resources on what is important. Otherwise, distractions creep in and dilute our abilities.

We start by asking a very simple but powerful question: With the information we have today if we weren't already doing this, would we engage in such an activity?

What habits have I formed that are unhelpful or damaging?

What relationships have we fallen into that are not in our best interests?

Opportunity Cost

Only if we stop doing certain things and free up our resources can we effectively chase new opportunities.

Sometimes, of course, it’s about doing ‘less of’ or ‘more of’ certain things—reducing the investment of resources and people on certain projects or, conversely, increasing time and effort on others.

Now is as good a time as ever to run a ruler across everything in the organisation, be it purpose, people, product or service, process, department, capital investments, or even suppliers and customers.

Financial Planning

Financially, we suggest including A Divestment budget and an Opportunities Budget in our planning.

The former puts every activity on trial, asking questions such as: Is this really necessary? Does the cost justify the results? Is there a better, more cost-effective, efficient way to achieve the same outcome?

The latter considers opportunities in the environment and the financial cost or investment required to deploy the organisation’s comparative competence in pursuit of them.

The rule here, as Drucker put it, is to “feed opportunities and starve problems”.

SSML - Stop/Start/More/Less

A useful tool is the Stop/Start/More/Less framework from a personal and professional perspective…

What should we Stop doing, Start doing, do More of, do Less of?

When we use this tool, we uncover tremendous insights, not only from board members and managers but from those on the front line - whether they are working on the factory floor, engaging with customers, knowledge workers, players on the court, support staff, or even suppliers and partners.

After more than two decades of working with professional sporting teams, high-net-worth individuals, and C-suite executives, sleep health consistently ranks among the few indicators with proven performance results.

There are others, but none with as much science to reinforce what we have experienced.

Back in 2011, Stanford University's Cheri Mah's Sleep study on basketball athletes prompted us at the Perth Wildcats and Perth Lynx to partner with UWA's Dr Ian C Dunican, championed by our own head of Physical Performance, Josh Cavanagh, to conduct our own research into sleep and its effects on performance in 2015 (https://lnkd.in/gd3JhYyy).

Mah's study proved that just two extra hours of sleep has significant improvements such as:

- Players ran faster 282-foot sprints (16.2 seconds versus 15.5 seconds) than they had at baseline;

- Free throw percentages increased by 9 per cent;

- 3-point field goal percentage increased by 9.2 per cent; and

- Fatigue levels decreased following sleep extension,…

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When recruiting,if you can’t compete onPurpose or Culture you will have to compete on Price...

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The greatest test of any leader is at home – how they lead their own life—and, above all, their family.
For who we are in private will eventually be manifested in public.

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For every significant weakness in an individual there will be an equally significant strength.
It is a leader’s responsibility to find and maximise it on the team…

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When it comes to culture, it’s the first straw the breaks the camel’s back.

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You are replaceable at work but irreplaceable at home

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The Miracle of Teams
As individuals, we are limited by our greatest Weakness…
But in a team, we are limited only by our greatest Strengths

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When you silence the noise, the signal appears. That’s true in sport and leadership.

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06SEP24 - Time

Of all the resources available to us, time is one that we spend without knowing how much we have left.

I don’t know if I have one or a…

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☰ My Frequent Prayers

FAITH DIARY

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

“To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement”

St Augustine of Hippo

We must never let creatures or created things to separate us from the creator.

Edify or be silent

Each one of you has received a special grace, so, like good stewards responsible for all these different graces of God, put yourselves at the service of others.

1 Peter 4:10

Character is the congruence of one’s moral compass and consistent behaviors—especially when no one is watching.

…nearly all that we call human history—the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.”
C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity, Book II, chapter 3,

CEOs, Chairs, and Managers often say it's lonely at the top. And that may well be true.

Increasing research, however, suggests that this is a problem throughout most organisations.

Ironically, loneliness is a global epidemic despite all the communication channels and high tech available to us.

This flows into the workplace. And with half our waking hours spent at work, it's no surprise.

Gallop's new State of the Global Workplace: 2024 Report is confronting:

» Job levels have little association with loneliness.

» 20% or one in five employees report experiencing loneliness a lot.

» Same percentage for both men and women.

» Loneliness is more prevalent in younger (under 35) people.

» On-site is best with just (16%) compared to hybrid (21%) and fully remote (25%) levels of loneliness.

Key symptoms are unpunctuality, sick days, fluctuations in performance and job changes.

However, managers have a powerful and influential role to play in reducing loneliness.

1. E…

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Nick firmly believes that every individual possesses unique strengths and talents that should be recognised and utilised to their fullest potential.

🔴 Embracing Personal and Organisational Strengths:

He states the significance of individuals and organisations leveraging their strengths, highlighting each one's distinctive competence.

🔴 Challenging Competitive Advantage:

Nick challenges the conventional understanding of competitive advantage, which implies that the success of one necessitates the failure of another. He advocates for a more inclusive approach to achievement and success.

🔴 Value Creation:

He stresses that achieving excellence in something is not fulfilling if there is no demand for it. This is the missing piece of the puzzle: the ability to solve different problems at various levels.

He mentioned the example of the Self-Perpetuating Brand, explaining how merchandise sales at the Wildcats increased from $20k per annum to over $200k per annum. The goal is to create value that people can sustainably afford. It's preferable to consider a recurring revenue model rather than a one-time payment.

1. Under-Managed Industries 

2. Recurring Revenues 

3. High-value Creation

4. Scale