The Steven Pressfield Collection

What’s your favourite book by Steven Pressfield?

It took him years to publish his first book. But now Steven Pressfield is seen as an authority on writing books. And how to overcome those inner creative battles.

I’ve found his work really useful over the years. He talks about the Resistance, the Muses and Turning Pro. We even reference his work in the Leadership Playbook.

I shall record a book review soon. But for now, what’s your favourite Steven Pressfield? And why?

Ambiguity amnesty

When was the last time you called out ambiguity?

I’m not talking about being misled or even missold—they should be obvious. You should have the gumption to call them out—immediately.

What I am talking about is the grey area—the stuff that often gets overlooked.

Areas of uncertainly. Unclear decisions. Badly worded feedback. You know, the things that cause you difficultly, but you don’t know why—or don’t realise it at the time.

A failure to flag ambiguity will always hold you back. It creates a culture of mediocrity. A spiral of decline that inevitably leads to poor.

As leaders, we must lead by example. Set expectations and the standard for others to follow. And so we need to encourage our team to speak up. Talk to us when decisions aren’t clear. Flag ambiguity.

The last thing we want is for people to be working on the wrong things. (It’s the last thing they’ll want too!)

Remember, you get what you’re prepared to accept.

A big box of wow!

“Well just opened the box and you’ve already got a wow!”

It was always going to be a special ‘shoebox’ of a delivery. Another very satisfied customer. Thank you.

AAA+ positive rating

Have you ever gifted a book to a colleague?

One of our customers bought 10 additional copies of our Leadership Playbook. And then gifted them to his leadership team. Within a week we received the following feedback.

“Bob. You have made something special. Everyone has said that we need EGSP in 'everything we do'. Response has been 100% AAA+ positive.”

All I can say is thank you. Can’t wait to follow your journey. Inspire, be inspired!

Autism Pleasantville

One of my favourite podcasts is 99% Invisible. It's all about the things we don't think about. And the latest episode is all about Autism.

Hosted by the excellent Roman Mars, it's a fascinating discussion. They talk about setting standards in cities and workplaces. They paint a picture of an ideal future—they call it 'Autism Pleasantville'.

I've always believed that everyone benefits from an autism-friendly workplace and environment. It leads to higher productivity, reduced stress and simply a nicer place to work. It will also attract and retain top talent!

A few practical top tips to consider:

✓ Include access to a quiet space
✓ Reduce sensory overload
✓ Reduce clutter on walls—and desks
✓ Maximise natural light
✓ Avoid strobe lights or lights that flicker

What would you add to this list?

A personal touch in packaging

Ding-Ding.
Destination Derby.

Another order shipped today—for our leadership playbook and compass. Yes, it's early days. And so I still get excited when an alert pops up!

The playbook is your essential guide to modern leadership. Everything you need to know. Everything you need to do.

The leadership compass (wooden block) is a coaching and communication tool. It'll guide you and your team. No matter the situation.

Combined they are a powerful force.

Introducing the EGSP® Leadership Compass

This little wooden block is central to becoming a highly effective leader. It’s been designed to illustrate key learning points, improve decision making and demonstrate step change improvement. It’ll help you set standards, raise performance—and—make Excellence the mission.

(Did I mention the superior communication skills that will result?)

An excellent round of switching off

It was 25 years since we last played together. But yesterday, it felt just like old times.

5 hours of fresh air. Stunning scenery. And plenty of competitive talk.

It was the perfect way to spend the Easter Bank Holiday. An opportunity to switch off and catch up with old friends. An opportunity to test our golf skills—even after all those years.

It wasn’t all perfect. In fact, many shots were poor. But there were moments of brilliance that made it all worthwhile.

And after two extra holes of ‘sudden death’ playoff. We decided to end the round ‘all square’. This was a fair result.

A big thanks to Matt, John and Ed for the game.

Inspire, be inspired.

Library Walk

What have you noticed recently?

I’ve always enjoyed Library Walk.

Full of inspiration.

And once you’ve seen the bees.

You can’t ignore them.

DO Manifesto

Cecil Sharp House, London.
Friday, 22 March 2024.

I attended a game-changing workshop today. It was organised by the DO Lectures. And hosted by the talented David Hieatt and Mike Coulter. Both accomplished writers in their own right.

The purpose was to better understand manifestos.

So what did we learn?

A good manifesto gives clarity.

A good manifesto set direction.

A good manifesto holds you to account, daily.

A good manifesto increases your chances of success in business and life.

It’s like a compass that uses words.

And how you write those words matters.

A big thank you to Mike, David and team.

The course was, Excellent.

Inspire, be inspired.

Getting creative with the camera

A behind the scenes photo from our latest photo shoot.

The idea was to capture all our courses—with our EGSP® Wooden Blocks.

Giving feedback without Number 7

Try this as an exercise.

Next time you’re giving feedback on a scale of 1 to 10, try removing the number 7.

You’ll be amazed at how it changes your thinking—and feedback.

Rather that opting for the easy sit-on-the-fence verdict. You actually start questioning whether it’s a six or an eight. And there’s a big difference.

Six is fairly average. And probably not a good result for the recipient. Whilst eight sounds much better. And obviously much higher than six.

If your score is higher, then Excellent. If it’s lower then, they probably have some work to do.

‘Good Friday’ every two weeks

Sometimes, it’s the simple things that keep us going.

I have a friend.

His surname is ‘Good’. (True story)

He works a 9 day fortnight.

Yes, it’s actually a thing.

Every two weeks he has Friday off work.

And so we call that ‘special’ day, “Good Friday”.

Next time, it’ll actually be Good Friday.

And we all get to celebrate with him.

An Excellence Manifesto

How are you improving at the moment?

Well, I’ve booked myself on a one-day workshop in London next week.

It’s called DO Manifesto. And the course will be run by David Hieatt, from DO Lectures.

It turns out I wrote this ‘Excellence Manifesto’ nearly five years ago.

And it’s taken from our first printed publication, Twelve Scholars Journal — Be Proactive.

Check out the thread sewn binding.

Yes, I was paranoid about the pages falling out!

Playbook gaining rave reviews

We recently received this lovely email.

“Hi Bob. I’ve eulogised the Playbook to our Head of Performance. And have just bought two more copies for the office. Even from chapter one, we’ll be able to apply so many things!”

Thank you James—really pleased you’re enjoying it. :-)

Under the spotlight

A makeshift studio for our latest product shoot.

I recently purchased a few sheets of ‘Ice White’ 300 gsm card. This sheet was stuck to the cabinet with sticky tape. The idea was to create an infinite background. It almost worked. Still learning all about the lighting setup. Always learning.

Switching off with sandpaper

How do you switch off and relax?

I spent two hours today sanding a new batch of wooden blocks. It felt like a real workout.

It also gave me valuable time away from the screen.

And this allowed me to come back, fully refreshed. Thinking differently about the task in hand.

Obviously, more sanding is required!

Top 5 Business Book

What’s your favourite business book of all time?

According to one recent customer, the Twelve Scholars Leadership Playbook is now in his Top 5. (And could go higher!)

When asked, his number one business book is Release Your Brakes by James W. Newman.

And yes, I’ve just bought my copy!

Foundations of building blocks

A recent refresh reveals just how far the wooden blocks have developed.

This photo was taken five years ago. We had just received the printing proofs from our first journal. (Hung delicately over my kitchen chairs). The EGSP® Leadership Compass was still a concept.

I was looking for a supplier of building blocks. The wood had to be sourced sustainably. They had to be tactile, high quality and free from splinters or sap. It took a while.

Looking back, it’s hard to imagine these blocks being anything different. Or buying them from anywhere other than Germany(!).

The EGSP® Leadership Compass is now available to buy. Limited stocks apply.

AI saving time in Lightroom

Always improving. And tonights it’s Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop and AI. Again.

The left hand image shows six wooden blocks in their original tones. To me, they looked a bit unbalanced.

I altered the colour palette on three of the blocks. Can you guess which ones?

Although it may seem like a faff. I’ve actually saved time. I was about to sand down six more blocks and retake the product shoot. Now that would have been a faff!

AI is turning out to be a bit of a time saver—when you know how.