By Heather Campbell >> I disagree with the old adage that the only certainties in life are death and taxes. There is a third – and that is that we will all feel fear on a regular basis. It’s a major part of being human. Cialdini’s research shows that we are more driven by fear (of loss) than we are by desire (for gain). But, while taxes – and how inappropriately they are spent by successive governments – are a topic that we ...
By Glenn Widelko >> Recently I had the pleasure of bumping into Heather Campbell, a colleague from years past whose company, CommsMasters, specialises in developing capability in having great conversations. In our conversation about conversations we reflected that, while there are all sorts of conversations to have content-wise, there is really only one conversation to have process-wise – and that is the real conversation. Unlike easy conversations, real conversations take us outside our comfort zones into the unfamiliar territory of our stretch zone ...
By Heather Campbell >> What’s the link between a high-performance Formula One car and fear in the workplace? Well, that’s precisely what business leaders from around the UK are going to be exploring at our Business Leaders’ Seminar this Friday. Our guest speaker Mark Jenkins, Professor of Business Strategy and Director of Community for Strategy, People & Leadership at Cranfield School of Management, will be sharing insights from his research into teamwork, leadership and innovation in the cut-throat industry that is Formula ...
By Heather Campbell >> Watching Charlie Brooker’s 2014 Wipe (BBC2) at the end of last year, I enjoyed this short film by Adam Curtis, the controversial documentary filmmaker. In his film, Curtis suggests that politicians disempower voters by disseminating confusing and contradictory information. Whatever you think of his perspective, mistrust is certainly increased as a result of all this confusion. I find much the same in business too. Business is complex. And the communications that are shared in organisations about already complex matters often ...
By Heather Campbell >> Travelling by train today, a woman in her mid-twenties sat in the seat in front of me. Shortly after she sat down, she began to sob loudly – enough to draw the attention of the people in the carriage around her. The woman sitting beside her – who it turned out had a daughter of a similar age – asked what was wrong. Their conversation was loud enough that I could easily hear what was being said; I ...
By Heather Campbell >> Over the last few weeks I have had the good fortune to run a series of workshops in Malaysia – an enjoyable and educational experience. Enjoyable because the people I met and worked with were consistently charming, considerate and had a great sense of humour. Educational in that I learned about the culture in Malaysia and, as always, in doing so, learned so much about our own. It is, of course, only when we step outside our culture ...