Some days, you need a little break from your usual, an opportunity to think afresh or approach a problem from a different angle. A break to wonder about things you haven’t had time to wonder about in a while.

I have a running list of these thoughts, reminders, or pivots in my phone and thought I might share some of them with you, to walk new goat-tracks in your mind.

• In a discussion, or a series of discussions, map who dominates, who excludes, who says little. How do you change this power balance?
• Help your team (and sometimes yourself!) see rejections as temporary, not permanent; specific rather than universal; external, not personal.
• When you or your team hit a wall, ask yourself ‘What are the consequences of this setback? Is it the disaster it appears to be? Poke holes in your perspective of the setback to find a way through.
• Remember that your potential is more interesting than your accomplishments because it is uncertain.
• When you are pitching yourself, or a product or service, or a project – the purpose of the pitch isn’t to get an immediate yes, it is to offer a solution so compelling it begins a conversation
• Work with your team to up-serve, not upsell. This is how loyalty grows.
• Remember the 5 whys – keep going at a problem or a response to unpick more and more layers by asking why 5 times. And not ‘Why?’ like a toddler, but a nuanced why based on the answer the other person just provided.
• Read lots about Tony Hsieh who was the founder of Zappos. His approach to culture is extraordinary.
• Stress comes from the anticipation something will go wrong.
• The opposite of high-performance isn’t mediocrity, it’s dysfunction.