Author: Shaun Coffey

Shaun Coffey is interested in future making and institutional building. He is an agricultural scientist who tries to integrate fragmented and sector-specific technical and scientific knowledge to address the wicked problems that characterise the real world.
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What wastes a managers time

Lack of Self-Discipline

Self-discipline is essential for effective management and time utilization.

•   Stephen Covey: Emphasizes the need for managing oneself before managing others, suggesting self-discipline is the key to maintaining focus and productivity.
•   Brian Tracy: Advocates for setting clear goals and adhering to structured routines to build and maintain self-discipline.
•   Without self-discipline, managers may fall prey to distractions, leading to inefficiency and missed deadlines.
•   Implementing practices to cultivate self-discipline can transform a manager’s productivity, leading by example and inspiring their team to follow suit.

Developing self-discipline ensures that time is used efficiently and effectively. Managers who master self-discipline can significantly enhance their productivity and leadership.

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BOOK REVIEW Viktor E. Frankl’s “Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything”

Frankl, a psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, presents a series of lectures that delve into his philosophy of logotherapy, which posits that the primary drive in human beings is not pleasure, as Freud suggested, but the pursuit of what we find meaningful. Drawing from his harrowing experiences, Frankl illustrates how individuals can find purpose through suffering, work, and love.

Viktor E. Frankl’s “Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything” is an exploration of the human capacity to find meaning, even in the face of unimaginable suffering. Written in 1946, shortly after Frankl’s liberation from Nazi concentration camps, the book was not published in English until 2020, making its wisdom and insights newly accessible to a contemporary audience.

The book is structured around three lectures Frankl delivered in Vienna, focusing on the themes of freedom, responsibility, and the necessity of saying “yes” to life despite its hardships. He eloquently argues that even in the direst circumstances, life retains potential meaning, and it is through recognizing and embracing this that we can sustain ourselves.

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Mood disorders may help people find leadership clarity

Winston Churchill struggled with depression, and that may have made him a better leader. 

Referring to Churchill, Nassir Ghaemi, professor of psychiatry in Tufts University School of Medicine, states: “The depressive leader saw the event of his day with a clarity and realism lacking in saner, more stable men.”  (Johansen, 2012, p.50)

This was one insight that hit me reading “Leaders Make the Future” by Bob Johansen.  Johansen is the former President and now Distinguished Fellow of the Institute for the Future (IFTF) – an independent non-profit think tank that has produced an annual ten-year forecast for over 40 years.  The 10 novel leadership skills he introduces in this book are worthy of deep consideration. 

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