W e talk a lot about the future of work and a lot less about the tension shaping coaching right now. But the data makes it hard to ignore. You see in my work with one of the major coaching platforms I've been looking at the data and find that a pattern keeps repeating: Organizations choose goals that protect the system Individuals choose goals that protect their careers Same environment yet very different problems to solve. Organizations consistently prioritize things like: l

I’ve been noticing something I use all the time, and I think we all do. An idea that is technically wrong…but psychologically helpful. And that turns out to matter more than we like to admit. Take the classic juice detox . I don’t believe juicing “detoxes” anything. Your liver and kidneys already do that job brilliantly. But as a construct ? “Three days of juice” becomes a reset ritual a way retire old patterns in place of new. Not because the detox story is accurate, rath

A few years ago, I built a playlist for my sister called The Soundtrack of Your Life . It wasn’t a neat Spotify list of greatest hits. It was more like a small museum: obscure recordings, half-forgotten songs, old jingles, TV theme tunes, sonic fragments from childhood. The kind of things you don’t find easily. That’s how I ended up emailing strangers on the internet. Collectors. Archivists. People who hoarded tiny pieces of audio history on dusty hard drives. I wrote polite

People occasionally ask me what my superpower  is. It’s a fashionable question. It usually comes with good intent. And every time, my inner Englishman squirms slightly, because we’re not really meant to brag. And Coach Andrew also hesitates. Coaching, at its best, isn’t about the coach at all. The moment the spotlight shifts too far toward my  capability, something essential risks being lost. The work doesn’t happen because of a dazzling move or a personal edge; it happens be

Most of us were taught, directly or indirectly, that thinking happens inside our heads. But if you start watching your own life more closely, that story doesn't always hold true In my coaching (and beyond) I find you think more clearly when you talk things through with someone you trust. You remember better when you write things down. You notice new options when you sketch a problem on paper. You calm down when another person sits with you without trying to fix anything. You

We say “baby steps” like it’s nothing. But starting is never nothing. We toss the phrase around all the time: "Just take baby steps." It’s meant to be comforting. A way to say, “Don’t worry, make it easy for yourself” And to some extent, that’s true. Starting small does feel different from taking a big leap. The more I’ve thought about "baby steps", the more I’ve realized: Baby steps aren’t small. They’re seismic. Baby steps are bold, uncertain, brave and a shift from helpl

15 Ways to Take Advantage of Favorable Conditions The sun is shining, how will you use it? Progress doesn’t always come from pushing harder. Often, it comes from noticing when conditions are already working in your favor and choosing to act while they last. The phrase “make hay while the sun shines”  isn’t a call to hustle, it’s a reminder to pay attention. Favorable conditions tend to show up in four forms: Energy , when effort feels lighter; Time , that unicorn when there’s

AI note-takers promise perfect recall with clean summaries and beautifully listed action items with minimal effort. For coaches and sales professionals juggling back-to-back conversations, that promise is deeply appealing. And yet for all that gain something subtle is being lost. Thinking . because the real value of notes was never about capture, it was about what happened to you  while you were writing them. The Seductive Promise of AI Notes AI note-takers are genuinely usef

A short field guide for people who do real work Every year, intelligent adults are asked to describe themselves in a few small text boxes. It’s an unusual moment. Briefly, you are your own historian, your own communications team, and your own legal counsel. The trick is to be understood. In large organizations, your self-review rarely travels alone. It’s read alongside calibration notes, scorecards, budget constraints, and people who have never met you but control outcomes th

How to Survive the Sales Kick-Off Sales Kick-Offs are energizing, noisy, and full of good intentions. Sadly they are rarely the place where real insight happens. The first rule of SKO... The aim isn’t motivation. It’s clarity. Before SKO: Look Back and Decide What You’re Listening For Before you walk into SKO, create a small pocket of space to review last year honestly and prepare intentionally for what’s ahead. Talk with a coach , a trusted colleague or a former boss and us

1. Break the “open app impulsively” loop Shift from reflexive checking  to purposeful posting/reading . Instead of the urge to avoid boredom between tasks, cognitive fatigue or curiosity about notifications... do something different Solution: create a “LinkedIn Rule of Three”: Before opening the app, ask: What do I want to do  on LinkedIn? How long do I want to spend? What action would make this time worthwhile ? This engages the prefrontal cortex, the part that gets bypassed

I saw one of these posts recently and it piqued my curiosity. Normally I normally scroll past those things as my attention is finite, and I try to spend it deliberately. But people post them, and those posts appear to get lots of engagement. So decided to dig into the topic... And the answer turned out to be more interesting than the puzzle itself. 1. Our brains are wired for tiny hits of uncertainty When we sense a gap between what we know and what we might  know, the brain

How to Thrive in the Quiet Before the Year Really Begins January always barges in like a gym coach — whistle, stopwatch, new targets, fresh notebooks. That manic “let’s hit the ground running” vibe. But if you work anywhere between Sydney and Singapore, you know the reality: January is only pretending to be January. In Australia, nothing really gets going until after Australia Day. And over here in Asia, half the team’s already wondering how many reunion dinners they can surv

As we step into 2026, it’s easy to become consumed by professional ambitions. We set targets, chart strategies, and dive headlong into work. But true growth, lasting, meaningful growth, requires us to expand our focus beyond the confines of career milestones. It begins by asking: How will I create balance, foster connection, and cultivate purpose in my life this year? Creating Space for Renewal Before the busyness takes hold, pause and mark your calendar, not just for meeting

Motivation and Inspiration Day is a day about knowing yourself and focusing on who you want to become. The start of the new year is the...

An open letter to anyone who’s ready to pay deeper attention. The wonderful Michael Bungay Stanier once suggested replacing the whole “New Year, New You” machinery with something much more human. Setting aside goals or metrics, he suggested an intention . Having failed to achieve too many resolutions over the years, I decided to try it. 2024 was the Year of Listening. Last year was the Year of Mindfulness. And this year, after a few clues in my journaling and a handful of int

Another eclectic year in my reading - fewer coaching books and more Japanese fiction. Orbital  — Samantha Harvey Set over the course of a single day (what ever a day is) this is an award winning, meditative story set in orbit that reflects on humanity, fragility, and the view of life from above. What You Are Looking For Is in the Library  — Michiko Aoyama A heartfelt reminder that the right book, and the right librarian, can quietly reroute a life. How to Stop Time  — Matt H

Happiness doesn’t knock, it sneaks in while we’re busy. Love it! Looking back over 2025, I see happiness wasn’t just in the big moments...

Everywhere I turn, in client conversations, over lunch with colleagues, even the awkward small talk at networking events, someone is talking about the AI wave as if it’s a storm we can outrun if we push ourselves hard enough I’ve been to this dance before. I am old enough to remember the first beige PC humming on my desk, the dial-up modem singing its terrible song, the pressure to ‘learn to code’ before you were left behind. It feels all too familiar, the panic, the urgency,

A design for showing up with steadiness when you’d rather stay under the covers Some days you just wake up feeling bleh . Not sick exactly, just off, like your body’s running a half-step behind. Maybe it’s a bad night’s sleep, or simply the weight of too many days spent carrying too much (or even that doom scrolling in bed 'til past midnight...). Whatever the cause, your energy feels low, and the idea of “powering through” sounds exhausting. Those are the days that call for