Leadership

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explores people who can achieve deep focus and concentration, leading to a state of optimal experience where work and play become intrinsically rewarding. Rooted in positive psychology, the book explains how intrinsic motivation and structured challenges create high performance and creativity. Csikszentmihalyi argues that true happiness comes from engaging in meaningful activities that stretch our abilities, rather than passive leisure. ...

Trillion Dollar Coach is a biography of Bill Campbell, Silicon Valley’s most influential business coach, written by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Alan Eagle. After a successful career leading technology companies, Campbell dedicated his later years to mentoring top leaders like Steve Jobs, Larry Page and Eric Schmidt — helping them sharpen their own leadership skills as they built companies worth trillions. This book distils the management lessons that cemented his legacy as the guiding force behind some of Silicon Valley’s most successful companies. ...

A management technique that encourages open debate but demands unity in execution, preventing decision paralysis and keeping organisations moving forward. What is Disagree and Commit ? Disagree and commit is a management principle that encourages open debate, while ensuring alignment once a decision has been made. It allows individuals to voice dissent during deliberations but requires full commitment to execution afterward. Notably, the phrase has been incorporated into Amazon’s leadership principles to mitigate decision paralysis. ...

The consensus trap occurs when decision-making is stalled by the pursuit of unanimous agreement. While seeking input and alignment is valuable and at times essential, excessive focus on consensus can lead to wrong decisions, delays, weak compromises, or complete inaction altogether. When organisations prioritise harmony over progress, they risk avoiding hard but necessary choices. This is particularly problematic in fast-moving environments where decisive action is critical. How to avoid the consensus trap The principle of disagree and commit helps counteract this by allowing debate during deliberation but requiring commitment once a decision is made. Strong leaders will encourage diverse perspectives, while ensuring execution isn’t stalled by lack of full agreement. ...