"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets"...

I love that quote and at times like this when the challenges increase I realise how many fantastic people there are in my world... my family, my friends and colleagues. It's true by the way that you should love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don’t because they are simply not worth the effort. I am not sure at the moment that I can believe that everything happens for a reason but I do know that if you get a chance, you should take it and if it changes your life, let it.

Nobody promised that my life or your life would be easy, but I hope that the journey I am about to embark upon with the people I love will be worth it.
Chris

"One small action from you today, can help create a greener tomorrow."

British Gas have launched 'Generation Green' a schools and communities programme which aims to provide educational resources, help your school to save energy and money and reduce your school's carbon footprint. To find out more visit their website at generationgreen.co.uk.
CHris

Perhaps it's me? Do you sit in meetings and wonder why you are there? I am a very simple and straightforward sort of person. I like to keep things simple and I basically hate meetings...

I have had a series of meetings where I really can't see what has been achieved and I wonder why I was there; especially when research shows that we can't concentrate for more than about fifteen minutes at a time.. I often sit there afterwards and think what did that achieve, what value did it add and what am I going to do differently as a result and the answers are generally depressing. My colleagues tell me that meetings are important; if not essential elements of what we do. If that is true, and to be honest I need convincing,my question is how do we improve our meetings and ensure that we are making the best use of our precious time.

I have started to ask myself some questions about each of the meetings I attend and I would encourage you to do the same. Simply ask yourself...

• Is this meeting necessary?
• Do I need to be at this meeting?
  
• What do we expect to achieve at this meeting?
• Could we do achieve the same outcomes in any other way?
  
• What would happen if this meeting didn't take place?
• Could these meetings take place less often?

Chris