The Latest Bulletin

Other books by Neil are available from here

f life never changed, if everything was the same over and over again, we would be very unhappy, bored and far from contented. Same old same old is not a recipe for a life well lived. However, if everything was constantly changing, we would feel very insecure. Imagine getting up each morning and there is little or nothing you can count on to be the same as it was yesterday. We would no doubt feel disorientated. People often say that the only thing that remains constant is change, as I have argued many times, that is not true. Life is a mixture of changes and constants, but we tend to focus mainly on the changes. This is for three reasons.…

All leaders could benefit from asking questions rather than offering answers, says Tracy Kite As leaders, we want people who come to work, with maturity and awareness, responsibility and accountability. We also want them to be able to make decisions and solve problems and to manage conflict and difficulty as adults. If your team doesn’t do this as a matter of course, could it be that you’re leading with a parenting style? By parenting, I don’t just mean those leadership actions that seek to nurture people and teams; I also include advice, guidance, teaching and problem-solving for others. You might think that these actions (which constitute parenting in the workplace) don’t seem such a bad idea – perhaps we are…

Have you ever set out with the goal of actually sticking to a new behavior … only to find yourself not doing it at all one week later? I know I have. Why is it so hard to form good habits? Why is it so difficult to make consistent change? How can we have the best intentions to become better, and yet still see so little progress?And most importantly, is there anything we can do about it? Click here to read more

Unable to see the world around him, Amit Patel fitted his guide dog with a camera and set about recording evidence of the discrimination he faced but could not see. "The city is a scary place. It's like someone put you in the middle of Trafalgar Square, turned you in a circle and said 'find your way home'." That is Amit Patel's new reality after he lost his sight unexpectedly in 2012, 18 months after he got married. He now relies on guide dog Kika to get him around the once familiar streets of London. But the footage captured by his canine guide hasn't always shown a city willing to help him. Click here to read more

A dedicated charity worker who plays a vital role in keeping vulnerable children safe from trafficking and exploitation has been honoured by North Wales’s policing chief. Sian Humphreys, who works for Barnardo’s as an independent child trafficking advocate for Wales, has won the Anti-Slavery Champion title in the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner’s Community Awards. She was presented with the trophy by Commissioner Arfon Jones at a special ceremony at the Celtic Royal Hotel, in Caernarfon, when he paid tribute to the crucial work she carries out working in close partnership with the North Wales Police Modern Slavery Team. They deal with children in danger of being trafficked or who have already been moved in and out of the…

Other books by Neil are available from here

What I mean by hassle is anything that causes annoyance, slows us down or in any way reduces our quality of life. And, by an audit, I mean a means of weighing up the hassles we face, considering the impact they have on us and trying to do something about them. I am not proposing any sort of formal measurement system, just a listing of those things that give you hassle, a consideration of how significant each of these is and then some thought given to what, if anything, you can do about them. My career has involved me in helping people address problems and concerns that they are up against. This has often led to situations in which people…

You’re worth nothing,” Colin’s stepfather used to tell him as a child. Even now, sleeping rough on the streets of Manchester, the words haunt him; as a child he started believing it himself, and is still racked with self-doubt. It’s easier not to think what demons might be plaguing a person sleeping rough. Much simpler to keep walking, pass them by: out of sight, out of mind. It’s the natural response, says Alex Greenhalgh, co-founder of social enterprise People of the Streets. “The norm is being ignored or sidelined,” he says. “Or pitied with an awkward smile. It’s a totally isolating experience.” The one perspective nobody ever sees, says Greenhalgh, is the one that really matters: that of the person in the doorway, the…

Here’s a simple hierarchy: The self-driving car Cruise control Manual driving Hitchhiking Bicycling Walking The arc? As you move down the list, it gets harder and harder to coast. It moves from “set it once and forget it” to “one step at at time.” The growth of audiobooks is outpacing reading. Why? Because audiobooks come with their own motor. Even readers are pointing out that they’ve forgotten how to read. But of course, that’s not true–we can still read a word, or even a sentence, it’s pushing ourselves through a chapter that’s difficult. Click here to read more