Small change: make a reflection list

First published on
Feb 03, 2025
Many organisations exhibit a heavy bias towards action. Doing things is what counts — or, to be accurate, being seen to be doing things. What gets lost is time to think — and, with that, a form of doing that might actually make a difference.

The Eisenhower Matrix posits that all tasks can be sorted by urgency and importance. We’d like to propose our own version. Take a piece of paper. On the x-axis write ‘Reflection’ and ‘Action’. On the y-axis write ‘Now’ and ‘Later’.

Now write down not only what you need to do, but also what you need to consider. Make sure you’ve caught everything. Prioritise. Then, most importantly, carve out time to think as well as do. It will change not just your quality of action but the quality of your leadership — for good.

Something to consider: what is something I need to consider?
Explore more

Latest thoughts

Giving a team the inspiration and technique to scale ideas
“Brilliant, astute, knowledgeable, and witty.

Phil grasped our business challenge with incredible speed and led us to rethink how we do business.”

SARAH MASON – CMO, COSMOS
REPAIRING A BUSINESS-CRITICAL RELATIONSHIP
“I’m not sure, but Phil might be a magician.”

JULIE BISHOP – CO-CEO, IT NATURALLY
Getting change past the post in a complicated context
“Transformational for both my personal and professional growth.”

STUART WILLIAMSON — CHIEF CORPORATE AFFAIRS OFFICER, THE JOCKEY CLUB
Instilling accountability to help a great team do great things
“Real smarts, and the external perspective we needed.

We are now securing industry standards of margin.”

NEIL CRUMP – CEO, AURORA HEALTHCARE
COMPREHENSIVE STRUCTURAL CHANGE
“Incredibly responsive and empathetic to our specific challenges and ambition.

Phil inspired and challenged our leadership team to ensure that our transformation had our people at its heart.”

Darina Garland, Co-CEO, Ooni
Enabling a Board to work to its full potential
“His years of experience allow for a highly credible, disciplined and empathic approach.

Phil offers the right balance of push and encouragement.”

VIV HSU – PARTNER, JBI
rarr
larr