Like many, I have taken some time out over the last few weeks to relax and reflect on the last year.
I enjoyed relaxing by immersing myself in the distraction of cricket.
Especially in going to the Test Cricket.
Providing positive feedback and encouragement 😂🤣😂 to nearby fielders.
Yes, he knew it was a boundary and ought to have signalled it as a four himself. It stands as a missed opportunity to show maturity and class.
Reflective reading has also been fun as I have been quietly dipping into old and new stories both about, and by, some of my favorite cricket captains.
For my generation Ian Chappell was a breath of fresh air. He took on uncertainty and reinvented the traditional approach. He “shape shifted” cricket from structure to culture.
A successful English captain who I loved for his critical thinking was Mike Brearley. I remember bumping into him briefly at the NSW Art Galley where I joked about whether he was enjoying the chance to relax with his wife away from cricket with only a few annoyances like me. Brearley was completely different to Chappell – but equally successful. Not as a batsman, but as a captain bringing refreshed approaches to structure and culture. Thirty years ago his writings on captaincy are still heralded as being packed with lessons for business and have been reproduced as recognition of their retained relevance.
Brearley’s most recent book – “On Form” – has focused on things which I have found most relevant for my clients this last year.
Several of my best clients over the last year have been willing to “debrief”. To learn and reinvent where necessary, to ensure ongoing success. It’s a great attribute to have – and develop.
This week, reading yesterday’s Financial Review, it was interesting to see the same principles and lessons are evident in the “Netflix Story”.
In too many organisations we still see the myopic characteristics described below.
Clinging to the staid and narrow approaches of the past will simply condemn such organisations to failure. Breaking the shackles is not straightforward, but it is essential.
The future is about retaining nimbleness – building agility – a commitment to reflect, review and reshape.
