A case study in diagnostic leadership. How a configuration nobody wanted to question was costing everyone, and what it took to find the real cause and hold the finding under pressure.
The problem is not the RFP itself. It is how we approach it. When the process becomes fixated on technology, specifications, and control, we lose sight of the purpose that makes service work: creating value for people.
“Trust is not a soft skill. It is a hard-edged, economic driver.”
This idea sits at the heart of our Moments that Matter leadership workshop. Inspired by Stephen M.R. Covey’s The Speed of Trust, we explore how trust isn’t just a feel-good value – it’s a force multiplier. High-trust organisations move faster, spend less time managing politics, and respond to change with clarity and confidence. Trust accelerates everything that matters.
The story of David and Goliath is more than an ancient tale of victory against the odds. Malcolm Gladwell’s David and Goliath shows us that perceived disadvantages can become powerful strengths. What looked like David’s weakness – his youth, size, and lack of armour – was precisely what gave him the agility and courage to win.
When we think of excellence in service, it is tempting to imagine grand gestures, sweeping innovations, or game-changing strategies. Yet in practice, the most powerful impressions are often made in the smallest moments. A name remembered. A coffee brought without being asked. A handwritten note slipped into a parcel.
Culture doesn’t shift in sweeping speeches. It shifts in the hallway comment, the meeting tone, the way we handle tension at 4:45 on a Friday. In Leadership Axioms, Bill Hybels offers bite-sized wisdom for everyday leadership – simple phrases with profound depth.
Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers challenges the tidy idea that success is just about raw talent or individual determination. Instead, Gladwell shows that extraordinary success is born when three ingredients combine: skill mastery, opportunity, and significant effort.
In a world wired for shortcuts and speed, Rory Vaden reminds us of a timeless truth: success is never owned, it is rented, and the rent is due every day. This is the heart of Take the Stairs, and it resonates deeply with service cultures that want to be sustainable, consistent, and excellent.
In many service organisations, training begins with standards: say the customer’s name, smile, follow the checklist, resolve the issue. These are important. But they are not the heart of service.
Maverick is the story of how radical trust, transparency, and autonomy transformed Semco from a rigid, hierarchical organisation into one of the most innovative and human-centred companies in the world. And while the book isn’t about service in the traditional sense, its principles are pure fuel for service excellence.
When service excellence falters, the issue isn’t always systems or skills. More often, it’s about missed moments – times when expectations weren’t met and no one said anything. Silence in these moments doesn’t preserve peace – it erodes trust, standards, and culture.
Great service doesn’t come from processes alone – it comes from people who believe in something. In Soar, Bishop T.D. Jakes explores what it takes to turn an idea into flight. Part spiritual encouragement, part business wisdom, Soar is about unlocking the God-given vision within and lifting it off the runway through courage, clarity, and commitment.
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