Alongside the amazing science, technology and financial investment that has gone into the development of all the brilliant vaccines and treatments, there is one other way that Covid-19 can be stopped in its tracks: fresh air.
The simple act of meeting outside, or improving internal ventilation, radically reduces the risk of transmission.
Fresh air has wider physical and mental health benefits, but the concept of ‘fresh air’ can also benefit business organisations. Many leadership teams can get stuck in a cycle of having the same discussions about the same topics. No fresh thinking is brought into these discussions, and the organisation ends up breathing and recycling the same old, stale air of ideas.
A wise Chief Strategy Officer once told me that new ideas are the currency of strategy and that it’s important to spend freely. Similarly, a plc chairman remarked to me that he aimed to ensure that around one-third of executive positions were given to external candidates so that fresh thinking could blow through the organisation.
There are various ways you can open the organisational windows and allow the ‘fresh air’ of new ideas to flow through your business. Recruitment, networking, personal development, even management consultants can all play a role and – if I’m allowed a little plug – involvement in initiatives like my Chief Officers Breakfast Club (see below) can be a time- and cost-effective way of developing some new ideas, while also supporting the development of the next generation of British sporting talent!
What steps are you taking this year to improve the flow of new ideas and fresh thinking in your organisation?
Off The Record: The Air That I Breathe by The Hollies
Peace came upon me and it leaves me weak
So sleep, silent angel, go to sleep
Sometimes, all I need is the air that I breathe
And to love you
All I need is the air that I breathe
The Chief Officers’ Breakfast Club
I’m delighted to announce that, in association with SportsAid, I am launching The Chief Officers’ Breakfast Club, a high-impact programme of peer group meetings for chief officers, senior executives and business owners.
Starting in January 2022, we will run 10 Zoom-based breakfast meetings over the course of the year where you will:
- Grow your network with high-performing business leaders from other industries and organisations
- Gain real-world leadership insights from our programme of inspiring CEOs, executives and Olympic athletes
- Connect with your peers in small groups that allow you to share and gain best practice tools and approaches
- Support SportsAid, a fantastic UK charity that nurtures the next generation of British sporting talent
Please click the link box below for more information on the programme, to register or to find out more please just get in touch with me by emailing me, or by calling me on 01636-526111.