Aviate, Navigate, Communicate

By Michael B. Tatham
President, The Tatham Group

Growing up, I had great difficulty focusing in the classroom, which made for a very frustrating experience for both me and for my teachers. When I brought these frustrations home, my mother would refer to me as ‘a tempest brewing in a teapot’.

After years of bouncing from one school to another, eventually I was told I had a learning difference. I resented this label because it conjured an image of weakness. Although my father encouraged me to make lemonade out of lemons, at such a young age I had no idea how to turn a weakness into a strength.

Saying ‘Thanks!’ …the good old-fashioned way

In the spirit of giving and receiving, for many of us the holiday season is a time to thank our customers. It’s also an opportunity to reconnect with people from our past and send them our warmest wishes. In this winter edition of The Drilldown, our monthly newsletter we look at the importance of relationships and the simple ways we can successfully maintain them.Though we communicate with clients every day, we all know holiday ‘Thank Yous’ are especially important. These expressions of gratitude tell clients, ‘you’re special to us’ and ‘we couldn’t have done it without you.’ And what’s better than knowing you’re appreciated?

FOCUS / fok∂s /NOUN/ The center of interest or activity

I love my yoga class. Not only does sitting cross-legged in a dim room have a calming effect, it also allows me a few precious moments to make a mental list of what I need to do: pick up the dry-cleaning (breathe in), lunch on Wednesday (breathe out), write thank-you card (breathe in), return Sam’s call (breathe out). In fact, as I write this article, I’m doing two loads of laundry, I’ve just brewed a pot of coffee and I’m eating breakfast. Yep. I’m an expert multitasker. Frankly, how else does one survive in today’s world?

A mantra for effective leadership

Do. Feel. Think. Like a steady pulse, I keep turning this monosyllabic trance over in my mind. Not only are these three words ubiquitous to so many things in life, but they also seem fitting for the start of a new year. More importantly, I can’t help relating them to an on-going Tatham theme: how to effectively execute strategy. But before I tell you how I stumbled upon this mantra, allow me to backtrack for a moment.