Tag: Business

Coming back from the wilderness at a farm

Posted on by philipdodson

I feel like the last few years that I have been in the wilderness.

I stopped running my own businesses about 4 years ago, I took some time out, then my Mum passed away and COVID hit and then the last 3 years or so I have been inside a bubble.

After a working career of 15 years of running and building businesses for others, sitting on corporate boards and travelling all over the world, then running my own businesses for nearly 20 years after that…I NEEDED A FUCKING BREAK!

It’s interesting, we think when we have all the time in the world, that we will do everything that we kid ourselves we don’t have time for now…laugh out loud, we don’t.

The biggest challenge when you go from the crazy, stupid, busy insanity and stressed to nothing is that you have all the time in the world to think.

Thinking is the root of all of our woes. The more we think, the more we suffer. The psychological fear of the uncertain future is the killer. The ‘what if’ and ‘what now?’ conversations drain you.

About 5 months ago, I saw a job advert and just went for it and got a job!!! A job, something I’d not had since my mid-30s. The great news is, it is a job where I do not have to commute, it’s a mile from home, it’s working in a dairy at a fab bio-dynamic farm where we already get all our food from, I do not have to make decisions, I do not have to sit in meetings, I do not have to worry about anything other than helping to make delicious yoghurts and other stuff. I am part of a community and it feels meaningful.

And guess what? I stopped FUCKING THINKING all day long.

I am back from my wilderness and I feel like I am ready to take on the world…of course, one step at a time.

Management vs leadership

Posted on by philipdodson

We are living in a world choked by management and what we need are leaders.

I wrote this 3 years ago almost to the day and it seems to be even more apt now given the lack of leadership within corporations, businesses and governments.

Management corrodes, leadership nourishes

The system loves management, it enables efficiency, it maximises the return from all of the assets.

Management is control, is fear, is catching out, is replacing trust with systems, is removing creativity, is imposing compliance, is organising assets, is anti-human. It is the corrosion of people.

Leadership is not about authority, it is about inspiration, about trust, empathy, inclusiveness, is about creating safe environments, is about the human, not the asset. Leadership is about everyone, not the leader, it is about putting people first. It is about collaboration, not coercion.

We do not need more management, we need true leadership. We need to break out and try creating organisations that truly inspire, that make people feel good, trusted, appreciated and worthy.

It takes a brave person to lead and a weak person to manage and control.

No one needs more being told what to do, they need more appreciation of what they do right. No one tires of good feedback, support, understanding, being made to feel worthy and trusted. Most importantly, no one ever gets tired of being praised.

It is that simple, but it requires all of us to take on the responsibility of being leaders and being the change we want to see.

Management is corrosive, we all flourish under true leadership.