Photo credit: Image by Wix Editor cleared for digital use Christmas is easily my favourite time of year, although not for the reasons you might assume. I love how the majority of people who celebrate it are infinitely happier, more generous, spend more time with their families, buy gifts or volunteer, at this time of the year compared to the rest of the year put together. If only mankind could act like this every day of the year, then maybe the world would be a better pla

Photo credit: Image by Wix Editor cleared for digital use In the past few days, since Steve Harvey’s and Miss Colombia’s world temporarily fell apart, the net has exploded with its typical response to this type of event – insanity. Articles blaming Steve, or Miss Philippines, or Miss Colombia, conspiracy articles saying Trump did it for publicity, and a slew of designers coming up with better ways to display 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. Ok, the card won’t win any awards – even

Photo credit: Image by Wix Editor cleared for digital use In my previous life, I ran some derivative client service teams for a major investment bank. Now, this might sound complex – and many parts were – but when it came down to the customer service elements of the role, the fundamentals were the same as any other business. For me, the same basic principles of customer service can be used if you work in a shop, bank, call center, or even as part of a volunteer organizatio

Photo credit: Image by Wix Editor cleared for digital use Today is the big 4-0. It's a little self-indulgent, but I wanted to take some time to reflect on what I’ve learnt up to this point in my life. I’m not one to dwell on hitting middle-age, grow a ponytail, buy a yellow Porsche or get the birthday blues, but it’s always good to take stock of what you have and what you’re looking forward to from the future. In my head, I’m still in my 20s, but if I think back to what I

Photo credit: Image by Wix Editor cleared for digital use In this series, professionals share their hiring secrets. Read the stories here, then write your own (use #HowIHire somewhere in the body of your post). “So, I graduated with a First/3.98GPA (delete as appropriate) from Surely It Matters University. Oh, and on weekends I help out with a charity that I set up with my friends.” “Tell me more about the charity. What made you choose to do it? How is it funded? What’s

Photo credit: Image by Wix Editor cleared for digital use During my recent business travels across Asia, I’ve been surprised at the amount of underemployment within some firms. Underemployment has several definitions, but for the purposes of this article I’ll define it as: “an employee who is under-utilised and not working to full capacity, or to the extent of their capabilities”. In simple terms, it’s when there’s not enough work to go around. Traditionally this would r

Photo credit: Image by Wix Editor cleared for digital use CPA, CFA, MBA, CFP – these are just some of the designations you commonly see in the banking industry. For the tens of thousands of employees working in the Operations world, there has long been a lack of recognized industry certification to recognise the level of knowledge required for this critical function. The Investment Operations Certificate (IOC) by the UK-based Chartered Institute for Securities and Investmen

Photo credit: Image by Wix Editor cleared for digital use “Introverts treasure the close relationships they have stretched so much to make.” Adam S. McHugh Most days are normal. Most days, I might do some online work, facilitate a 2-day leadership workshop, coach a senior executive, or deliver a 45-minute keynote to a group of business leaders. Most days, these tasks are executed to plan; with positive feedback provided, and new relationships formed. Most days, my audien

Photo credit: Image by Wix Editor cleared for digital use Throughout my previous career in the banking industry, my working week used to comprise of being in meetings over 50% of my time. By ‘my time’, I mean regular 12-hour days. Unfortunately, only 25% of those meetings would be important, useful, require my presence, on time, or ran efficiently. Another 25% would be important but poorly ran, and the other 50% were meetings where I was on the invite list and felt obligated

Photo credit: Image by Wix Editor cleared for digital use In this series, professionals reflect on their inevitable career mistakes. Follow the stories here and write your own (please include #BestMistake in your post). Before I founded Anagram Group and became a corporate trainer/coach, I spent over 15 years in the banking industry working for some of the world’s largest banks. I had a successful career in Derivative Operations (the post-trade stuff), developed high-perfor