Mark Donovan & Associates – News & Blog Section
Entitlement v Self-Responsibility
Our culture today is a battleground between the values of self-responsibility and the values of entitlement. A culture, where people are accountable for their actions supports self-esteem. A culture, in which no one is held accountable for anything breeds...
read moreStop blaming others!
What is the result of realizing, we are the only person we can change? - We take 100% responsibility from where we are starting from. - We take 100% accountability for our progress towards the results we desire. - We don’t waste time or energy on things we cannot...
read moreI’ll be happy when…
If nothing else, the last twelve months have shown us that due to no fault of our own, our lives can change fundamentally. It reminded me of a story I recently read, written by an 85-year-old man, who learned he only had a few weeks to live. “If I had to live my life...
read more‘Get your car out of the garage’ and take self-responsibility.
There is an old Japanese saying, ‘fall seven, rise eight’. What is hope? One kind of hope is the expectation that tomorrow will be better than today. It is the kind of hope that has us yearning for sunnier weather or a smoother path ahead. It comes without the...
read moreDealing with the challenges of life today!
Accept that some days we’re the pigeon, and some days we’re the statue. Always keep our words soft and sweet, just in case we have to eat them. If we can't be kind, we need to at least have the decency to be vague. If we lend someone €20 and never see that person...
read moreMarks observations for optimism going forward!
We now appreciate many things that in the past we took for granted. A lot of us with our parents, older family and friends said, 'Ah yes, I'll see them next week'. I think a lot of us now appreciate what in the past we took for granted. We've all learned to work in...
read moreWe have so much time and so little to do!
In the early nineteenth century, Charles M. Schwab, who transferred the Bethlehem Steel Company into the largest steel producer in the world, issued a challenge over a dinner table to a consultant named Ivy Lee. “Show me a way to get more things done with my time and...
read moreTo be (Bored) to not to be (Bored) that is the question!
We are in ‘lockdown again’. Our bars, restaurants, gyms and retail shops are closed. There are no sporting events or concerts that we can attend. We now have ‘increased discretionary time’. Even if we are working from home, apart from going for a walk or trying...
read moreWho is holding your feet to the fire?
I have made an amazing discovery from working with leaders on my development programmes and on my executive coaching projects. The people that do ‘the stuff’ get better. As a leadership consultant, a big part of my role is ‘holding my client's feet to the fire’. ...
read moreStop looking for your WHY and get your car out of the garage!
I left school at 16 in the mid-eighties to take up a bakery apprenticeship. I quickly realized that there was no long-term future in this business for me. The cakes I made would make a sword-swallower gag!. My mam had instilled in me that the only way to advance...
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