Welcome to the first in a series of blogs about completely unknown people who do many little things that change others’ lives. As International Women’s Day approaches and also St David’s Day, I’m celebrating a woman who was the embodiment of his idea that we should ‘do the little things’ – a philosophy regular readers… read more

In the last few months I’ve been discovering a new depth of gratitude for the good and simple things in life: family and friends, the changing of the seasons, the joys of working, the surprising goodness of the average human being, whatever the global context. In part this re-examination, or even re-discovery, of gratitude is… read more

I’ve just spent a delightful 3 days working with a group of Nordic people, just outside lovely Copenhagen. I’ve always found it very easy to work with Scandinavians, not least because of their ability to speak English so brilliantly, so that even in the more challenging territory of emotions they can express what they need… read more

My central heating has been on the blink for more than two months now. I’ve spent a small fortune, realised again the value of thermal underwear, learned a lot about the impossibility of influencing in certain contexts, and been impressed by a bewildering range of confidently expressed diagnoses.  I wish I had insisted on a… read more

Why it can be hard for women to get on in professional services firms. I’ve been doing some really interesting projects recently with professional service companies, developing women leaders. I’ve really loved the work and it has led me to delve into the subject of unconscious bias. What particularly interests me is the intersection between… read more

It’s a hot, late afternoon in Covent Garden, London, and I am trying to find the Martini Bar, it’s a small birthday gathering for a friend. I’m late, lost and therefore rattled. Google maps isn’t doing its job, the Martini bar just isn’t where it should be, and I’m supposed to be there to greet… read more

Imagine going to the zoo and seeing lions forced to sit in the same confined, indoor space for hours, staring at small screens, breaking only to join other lions in crowded small rooms to stare at numbers and account for their behaviour. We’d be utterly outraged. However, I have a very vivid memory of visiting… read more

I have a small and very silly dog. Despite being both a psychologist and a parent of 2, to my great embarrassment I haven’t trained him very well. I had to call in a dog behaviourist to help me with his over-zealous guarding behaviour. His re-training involves mind-numbingly monotonous repetition of small actions to help… read more