Moments of Truth
Customers have never had higher expectations – or been more empowered than they are today. How you respond to, and take care of, your customers across all of their…
A Little Toe Much
A pub in Derbyshire has hosted the latest “World Toe Wrestling Championship” which has now been going on for more than 40 years. Open to male and female…
Vanity Unfair
Many commentators think that we are facing a narcissism epidemic fueled by the internet, instant celebrity, easy credit and cultural pressures that impact us on…
Me, Myself and I
In business, the secret to effectively leading collaboration with others is finding a middle ground between too much and too little team think, where leaders encourage,…
Wood for the Trees
A famous line from Alice in Wonderland is “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there” and here at Optimize we think it’s pretty…
Pudding Politics
As the festive season’s ultimate celebration looms large in the form of the mighty Christmas dinner we would like to provide a few paragraphs to honour the Christmas…
The Thinking Persons' Olympics
As Calgary debates making a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, as mere mortals we can only guess at the dedication, athleticism, sacrifices and mental fortitude…
Plus Ca Change
Plus ca change is the term often used to express the resigned acknowledgement of the fundamental immutability of human nature – “the more things change, the…
Last Minute Larceny
Leaving things to the last minute is a recipe for disaster and on the way causes stress, anxiety and a series of corners that have been cut. Quality suffers and…
Same Old, Same Old…
We often hear the term ‘innovation’ being used in organizations and generally used appropriately as people recognize that within business, innovation is key.…
Looking the Part
A question we get asked a lot is if leaders are born or made. Apparently this is a discussion that has been undertaken since the time of Plato so clearly there is…
The Blame Game
Blame is an interesting concept and often confused with accountability. We find leaders conceptually accepting that mistakes are a learning opportunity but in the…
Nudge, Nudge, Wink, Wink
One of the founding fathers of “nudge” theory has been awarded the 2017 Nobel prize for economics. Richard Thaler co-wrote a bestselling book on the nudge concept…
There's No 'I' in Team
….but of course if you look closely you will find the word ‘me’. Here at Zeitgeist we do a lot of work with building high performing teams and of course many…
An Excessive Need to be Me
Few things can discredit a leader faster than being perceived as phony. Sometimes, leaders will say what they don’t believe or they sugarcoat the truth so people…
Alone Again
Astronaut Al Worden was once proclaimed the “most isolated human being”. Let us explain. Al Worden was one of seven men that undertook the role of Apollo command…
Life in the Fast Lane
Lord Mountbatten is quoted as stating that “The primary factor in a successful attack is speed” and the reality is that the current frontier of business success…
Back in Black
We normally steer away from sport analogies mostly because we have never reached the level of elite athletes and also because that space is well catered for by those…
It's a Slow Fade
When dealing with a lack of engagement amongst the workforce the key is to recognize the early warning signs. Often it really is a slow fade – rarely do people…
Having to Pay the Piper
A topic that consistently seems to be discussed is that of executive pay particularly when there are still recessionary pressures and the government bail outs are…