By Peter Johnson, on January 20th, 2011 | Comments are closed  The attached picture may not seem very interesting at first sight although that should not put you off. If you look again you will see some indentations in the surface. They are in fact dinosaur footprints from about 60 million years ago. The impressions are in the surface of rock right in the middle of a cement factory. When the rock was being excavated they were found and fortunately preserved – this was in the mid 1990s. The finding is one of the largest collection of dinosaur footprints anywhere in the world, and a large variety of different types too. Over 5,000 footprints have been found at this site. Prior to that less than 100 footprints had
Continue reading What footprints are you leaving…..?
By Peter Johnson, on December 31st, 2010 | Comments are closed
Over the past few weeks we have been experiencing some very cold weather and snow in the UK. This has caused problems for many people as they try and go about their daily routines. For some it has stopped many of their activities.
I visited a friend yesterday who has only just started to surface after 3 weeks of deep snow and impassable roads to her home. Whilst there are many ‘down sides’ to this weather there are also some positives too, if we care to take stock. These are just a few ideas….
The opportunity of cancelled meetings or activities that provide a wonderful ‘gift of time’ to complete other things that have been waiting
Continue reading In the cold light of day…..
By Peter Johnson, on December 14th, 2010 | Comments are closed FACT: Most people spend more on their daily coffee than they invest in their own development.
I have met many people who hold management positions who have never attended a single day of management development training – ever. These are people who have been appointed to manage others and deliver results for their organization. Now I find this interesting. I also find it shocking. I wonder if we would trust other people who have never been trained for their role. People such as the plumber fixing our gas boiler, the person who maintains our car and perhaps replaces the brake pads, our dentist. There is an expectation that as we move through our career management skills appear
Continue reading Spending more on coffee than your own development…..?
By Peter Johnson, on November 22nd, 2010 | Comments are closed I was recently in the countryside walking with a friend and, as you can see from the picture, it was just before the autumn colours set in. It was a magnificent day and the walk was equally as good too. We came across this wonderful old road with the trees arching over, and it was as straight as any Roman road. Interestingly, although it was clearly a very old road, it was in good shape and had some very light use. I guess, most from walkers and farm machinery. It was totally clear which way we were going, with no opportunity to stray from this part of the walk. On one side was a very old hedge
Continue reading Are you on the correct road…..?
By Peter Johnson, on October 27th, 2010 | Comments are closed
Last week I returned to Henley Business School, where I am an alumnus. It was wonderful to turn off the road and follow the drive over the meadow where cows were grazing in the morning sun, on a lovely crisp day. One of the cows choosing, at that moment, to amble slowly across the drive so I had to stop. Giving me an opportunity to see rather than rush.
Henley Business School is set on the edge of the River Thames, just a short distance from the town where the world famous rowing regatta takes place every year. It was the first Business School in the United Kingdom and has always been one of the top
Continue reading The first Business School in the UK…..
By Peter Johnson, on October 24th, 2010 | Comments are closed
What a lovely autumn we are having with such a fantastic range of colours starting to appear on the trees before they shed their leaves for the winter. It seems to have brought so many people out and I was pleased to see much activity on the River Severn too (the longest river in the United Kingdom at 354 km). It was quite early and already there were various boats on the river.
As I walked along there was a dragon boat moving well on the river to the beat of a drum. All of the people on board were dressed in similar red tops, so it was clearly a team. They seemed to be in
Continue reading Team work and trust….
By Peter Johnson, on October 17th, 2010 | Comments are closed What a lovely autumn day here in England. Just perfect with a clear blue sky, the onset of the autumn colours from the trees, the crispness in the air to keep refreshed and invigorated once one has got into a decent pace for walking.
Early this morning I heard, and then saw, a hot air balloon high in the sky over my back garden and what a lovely spectacle it made. I am sure it was a delight for those on board too. So I was rather surprised to see another one, in fact two, this afternoon taking to the skies when I was on one of my walks between the tasks I was working on. It
Continue reading Are you forgetting the effort you put in….?
By Peter Johnson, on October 4th, 2010 | Comments are closed In my last post I mentioned that I had been spending time over the summer in South America. One of the interesting points I noticed on my travels was to do with the change that occurs with altitude. Anyone who has flown will have seen what happen to an empty plastic bottle between cruising and landing, even though the aircraft is pressurised. It rather surprised me when this happened to such an extreme amount on land.
I had been staying by Lake Titicaca, which is about 4,000 metres high (that’s about 13,000ft), and takes a while to get used to the thin air. To put that into perspective the highest mountain in England is 978 metres and
Continue reading Is your pressure correct…?
By Peter Johnson, on September 28th, 2010 | Comments are closed I have rather neglected my blog post for the past couple of months, and feel a little guilty. Partly because I have been prompted to ‘get back on the case’ by some people who follow my articles. And partly because I get great pleasure as they make me think about my life, my business and importantly my clients.
I have had a very interesting summer as I decided to spend time in South America. Mostly being based on the shores of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia – a rather remote part of the world. But as you can see from the picture it is stunningly beautiful. It has provided me with some interesting material to reflect upon which
Continue reading Taking time out….
By Peter Johnson, on July 15th, 2010 | Comments are closed
I was in Trafalgar Square in London last week and it was busy as usual. People from many parts of the world taking pictures of each other in front of the famous fountains and lions. I was walking at some speed, as usual, from the tube station to a favorite café of mine that overlooks the square. It was a wonderful summers day and I decided to stop for a few minutes and take in some of the relaxed atmosphere of the early morning.
I was in a business suit, wearing one of my colourful ties and carrying a briefcase. When I stopped I got out a camera and took a few pictures, one of which
Continue reading Lion ahead! I nearly missed you…..
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