Agile Learning & Development

Agile Articles

4 Key Questions to Ask Yourself When You are Dealing with Change: Less than two years after setting up Agile, Helen Krag has moved to Kaizen Training. Find out how I made the transition, and learn about the questions you need to be asking yourself when faced with change ...

Delegate Effectively: Important Steps for Better Results (Joanna’s Story): Most of us know intellectually what we should be doing to delegate effectively to others, so why do we still hold on to tasks and responsibilities, and fail to get the best from our team members? What is it that makes it so difficult for us to let go ...?

12 Ideas to Make More of Your Time and Be More Productive Right Now: When we get stuck in a cycle of ‘busy-ness’ it can be helpful to take an objective look at how we spend our time and how productive we really are ...

Christmas Reading Suggestions: If, like me, you’re an inveterate learner and you want to feed your mind as well as your tummy this Christmas, here are some of the books I’m hoping to find in my stocking ...

Deliver Incisive Feedback – What Yoga Can Teach Us: When we want to give really elegant feedback, the more specific we can be, the more helpful it is to the other person ...

Feedback - 9 Essential Steps to Tell Somebody Something You Think They Don’t Want to Hear: A structure to help deliver constructive feedback and initiative 'difficult' conversations ...

Choose Your Attitude To Mentoring, Then Choose Your Mentor: I have a confession to make. I’m a bit of a ‘celebrity interview’ junkie, particularly the sort of interview where people divulge their early influences in life ...

Inspiring Motivation Quotes: A selection of motivational quotes from the worlds of sport, business, TV and film ...

5 Tips to Motivate Employees Through Change: One of the most common questions I am asked in business is 'How do I motivate my team?' Read on for some practical considerations and tips ...

5 Myths of Leadership, Dispelled: Helen Krag considers the definition of leadership, and the ways in which some people hold themselves back from taking a leadership role ...

A Dozen Favourite Leadership Quotes: Check out our favourite leadership quotes ...

Influence Sustainability - July Newsletter: Check out our July newsletter for ideas on how you can personally influence a more sustainable workplace ...

Personal Influence For Sustainable Business: With Harvard Business School MBA graduates pledging to 'create sustainable economic, social and environmental prosperity worldwide', Helen Krag examines what individuals can do to influence a sustainable agenda in their place of work ...

Case Study: Sustainable Business - Taking the Initiative: Fiona Astin of Synergy Housing Group tells of how she has seized the initiative to build a more sustainable agenda in her workplace ...

Non-Verbal Communication - June Newsletter: Check out our June newsletter for some thought-provoking and fun ideas to improve non-verbal communication ...

Communicating Non-Verbally - Are You Paying Attention?: We use far more than words when we communicate, yet often we don’t pay attention to the non-verbal messages we and others are conveying ....

The Power of Influence: We all exert influence, all the time. Tap into your personal power and learn to influence positive change ...

Christmas Reading Suggestions

One of the things I enjoy about time off over Christmas is the opportunity to curl up in front of the fire with a good book. Here are some of the books I’m hoping to find in my stocking this Christmas ...

Freakonomics
Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

This one has been on my list for a while, so this Christmas might just be the chance I get to settle down with it. The front cover claims ‘A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything’. I must admit that I am a teeny bit jaded with the thought of anything ‘rogue’ in a ‘financial’ context, but I still can’t wait to find out why drug dealers live with their mothers, what makes a great parent, and why my name can affect how well I do in life.

Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations
Ned Sherrin

I know from the response to my newsletters how popular quotations are. There is just something very appealing about the powers of observation and wry wit of those in the public eye. This weighty tome is, of course, one to dip into rather than read cover to cover (although you can do that if you like!). The preface to the fourth edition on my bookshelf contains a touching tribute to the erudite Ned Sherrin, who sadly died in 2007.

What the Dog Saw
Malcolm Gladwell

Probably one of the more recently published books in this list, I can’t tell you a thing about it other than what I have skim read on Amazon. Suffice to say, I have loved his other books, The Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers, and having seen him speak live in 2009, his story-telling prowess is second to none. Just read it.

Trust: How We Lost it and How to Get it Back
Anthony Seldon

Anthony Seldon - Master of Wellington College, historian, best-selling author, social and political commentator, and contributor to numerous educational debates. I recently saw a live interview he did with Michael Gove, the shadow Ed Balls, and I can’t help but admire the man for the sheer breadth and depth of his interest and expertise. Needless to say, trust is a key topic in the world today, and as such the penning of this book is exquisitely timed.

The 100: Insights and Lessons from 100 of the Greatest Speakers and Speeches Ever Delivered
Simon Maier and Jeremy Kourdi

I found this book on the shelves of the Parliamentary Bookshop in Westminster just 3 days after I had met Simon Maier at Grass Roots, where I am currently doing some work. A compendium of analysis and observation about what makes for a great speech, I reckon this book is a ‘must’ for anyone involved in public speaking.

Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness
Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein

Apparently this book is on the reading list of both David Cameron and Barack Obama. Not that this would necessarily prompt me to read it, but I guess it’s hard to argue with the concept of making better decisions around health, wealth and happiness – for ourselves and for others. I’m not expecting this book to have all the answers, but it’s had sufficient hype to have sparked my curiosity.

The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything
Ken Robinson

Ken Robinson is known for his work on creativity, and in particular for his views about how schools can kill creativity (check out TED to hear him speak). This book was recommended to me by Fiona Astin, a reader of, and previous contributor to, the Agile newsletter. If you, like me, believe there is something each and every one of us is born to do with our lives, based on our own unique talents, this book might just help you find it for yourself.

If you’ve read any of these books, do let me know your thoughts and views.
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