View groups and posts below.
This post is from a suggested group
The mysteries of the Unexplained are back in our series within a series, as host Darren Smithson is joined by regular guest Steve Lowe to discuss the power and awe of the Pyramids of the world, considering why were they build, how were they built, and does Pyramid Power truly exist!
Join in the discussion below and tell us your theories!
This post is from a suggested group
Take a bite...
Make a list of every word you use on a consistent basis to describe when you're feeling negative emotions. Then make a list of all the words you use to describe, on a consistent basis, words for when you're in a positive mode. Go on, do it now before you read any further. Two things should be apparent. One, we have a great many more negative emotion words than positive ones. And two, our negative words are much more strongly expressive than our positive ones. So now, take the negative words and look for weaker alternatives. Instead of "enraged" you could choose to say "annoyed" for example. Now, take all your positive words and strengthen them up. Instead of "Fine" you could say "I'm fantastic thank you!" Trust me, after a while, you will feel your mood generally improve.
This post is from a suggested group
In this episode of ThinkWORKS, Darren explores Chapter 9 of You 2.0: Build Yourself Better — Labelling the Point — and why the words we use matter far more than we realise.
From internal self-talk to leadership communication, Darren examines how language quietly programmes behaviour, shapes culture, and influences decision-making. The episode looks at how careless labels create resistance and misunderstanding, while intentional language can build clarity, trust, and momentum — in both personal and professional life.
A reflective and practical exploration of why changing your words can be the first step to changing outcomes.
Buy my book 'You 2.0: Build Yourself Better' from Amazon in both Kindle & Paperback versions. A PDF version for other e-readers will soon by available from this site.
Comment in the box below with your ideas!
This post is from a suggested group
Take a bite…
Take ten minutes today to audit congruence.
List the values, products, services, or behaviours you publicly promote at work or in your business.
Now look at your actual daily behaviour — at home, online, and in how you spend your money.
Ask yourself honestly:
I promote progress over perfection, collegiate working practices, life long learning and curiosity.
I also promote effective time management, goal setting and goal management.
I'm pretty good with my alignment across the board except I don't give myself enough sleep time, which has an impact by the end of the week. I'd say a 9 or 10 on everything except that, and for that I give myself a 5. And whilst I manage everything else effectively, I still don't exercise enough (I am in pain a lot so I have a ready made excuse which I sometimes hide behind). The poor sleeping patterns and the lack of exercise are areas I must improve in as this does affect my health overall.
A realistic first step is to go to sleep on average 1 hour a night per week rather than force myself to change my patterns immediately. Currently I am not typically settling down till 2am so for the rest of this week I will set a reminder to go to bed at 1am, and settle down no later than 130am. Next week, from Monday, I will settle down no later than 1am, which means bed no later than 1230am.
This post is from a suggested group
Episode lands 8am Monday 2nd February.
You don’t lose credibility because people disagree with you.
You lose it when you don’t use what you promote.
In this week’s ThinkWORKS podcast, I unpack why walking the talk isn’t a cliché — it’s the foundation of trust, identity, and leadership.
If your actions don’t match your message, people feel it.
This post is from a suggested group
Take a look at some deeply held beliefs about your company or division, team or small business. Assess how long those beliefs have been in situ and then ask the question: do these beliefs empower me and/or my employees or team with the belief that they can get the job done, or do they restrict the process? If the latter, plan to replace those beliefs as soon as possible.
You can also ask this question in your personal life. What beliefs that I have lived by no longer serve me? Remember, the same level of thinking that got anyone anywhere will not be enough to continue to make progress.
(Often unconsciously, often “just how things are”)
“People need to be closely managed or they’ll slack off.”→ Breeds micromanagement, kills ownership.
“Only senior people can be trusted with big decisions.”→ Bottlenecks everything and disempowers talent.
“If we give people too much freedom, standards will drop.”→ Confuses control with quality.
“Some people are just not leadership material.”→ Freezes growth and locks people into labels.
“Busy means productive.”→ Rewards activity over outcomes and burns people out.
“We don’t have time to stop and think.”→ Guarantees repeated mistakes.
“Mistakes must be avoided at all costs.”→ Creates fear cultures and risk aversion.
“This is how it’s always been done.”→ Institutionalises stagnation.
“Decisions must go up the chain.”→ Slows response and disempowers those closest to the work.
“Our department’s success matters more than the whole system.”→ Creates silos and internal competition.
“Rules exist to prevent failure, not enable success.”→ Turns governance into obstruction.
“Change is disruptive and risky.”→ Treats adaptation as a threat instead of a necessity.
“Innovation is something other teams do.”→ Outsources thinking and accountability.
“We’ll deal with that when it becomes a real problem.”→ Ensures problems become crises.
“It’s not safe to say what you really think.”→ Silences insight and breeds compliance, not commitment.
“Disagreement is a sign of disloyalty.”→ Replaces truth with politeness.
“Senior leaders already know the answer.”→ Stops learning dead.
“We can’t do that with the people we have.”→ Blocks development and creative problem-solving.
“Training is a cost, not an investment.”→ Ensures skills decay over time.
“If someone is good at their job, don’t move them.”→ Punishes competence.
This post is from a suggested group
Episode lands from 8am Monday 26th January.
Most people don’t fail because they lack motivation — they fail because they’re waiting to feel ready.
In this week's episode of ThinkWORKS, I introduce the idea of the Actionaut: someone who treats action as exploration, not urgency. We explore why small, deliberate action improves wellbeing, restores agency, and creates clarity — even before results show up.
If you’ve been stuck between thinking and doing, this one’s for you.
Comment below on the exercise in the episode!
This post is from a suggested group
The exercise from Chapter 6 of 'You 2.0' is:
As manager, ask yourself these questions: do I support my staff or tell them what to do? Do I deserve or expect respect? Do I trust them to do the job or harass them every step of the way? Be honest with yourself. If you answered in the negative way for any of these, you need to consciously take control of your behaviour and engender change within yourself.
It took me a long time to learn the lesson that 99% of staff will always work better when they feel two things: 1. Trusted to do the job. 2. Supported when they need it.
That's it- no profound statements to bamboozle the mind, just two simple feelings to create with your staff (or family, or community group etc).
This post is from a suggested group
Most leadership failure doesn’t come from incompetence — it comes from fear.
Fear of losing control. Fear of empowering others. Fear dressed up as authority.
In this episode of ThinkWORKS, I explore why the best leaders lead from the back, why macho management quietly destroys organisations, and how a single question — “How can I help?” — can transform teams, cultures, and results.
We look at why “busy” isn’t productive, how empowerment actually increases accountability, and why trust is the missing ingredient in modern leadership.
If you manage people, work in a team, or want to build something that lasts — this episode is for you. Join in the discussion below.
Negative Words/Phrases I Still Use
Fed up, pissed off, f*^&^*d off, angry, mad, tired, lots to do
Positive Words/Phrases I Use
Great, doing good, busy in a good way, not bad thanks
Improvements to Make
Clearly I need to improve in this area!!
For my negative phrases I need to downgrade all of them. So I am annoyed, peeved, busy in a good way/making progress (for lots to do).
I need to amp my positive phrases, doing great, making progress, being creative, F.A.B. and so on