Richard Medcalf - Choose how your Past ignites your Present

How was Richard’s relationship with business pressure shaped by his relationship with his mentally and physically disabled sister. 

What can we learn from that kind of family tie?

Richard Medcalf found himself on a relatively smooth academic path through school and university before becoming the youngest ever partner at a top strategy firm. After over a decade in an elite strategic team at tech giant Cisco, he took the strategic decision to found Xquadrant and set himself the mission of helping the world’s top CEOs and entrepreneurs become world-changing forces for good. Over 25 years of strategic knowhow have made him excellently placed to write his book, “Making TIME for Strategy” and I’m delighted that today he is Making TIME for us. 

In our conversation we discuss what his life with his sister taught him, how much he values bringing humour into business and thankfully he won’t be sharing his Freddie mercury impression!

 

Outline 📍
00:00 Intro
03:07 When do you first remember the feeling of pressure?
05:59 Understanding when pressure boosts performance & when it becomes counterproductive
07:40 Using metrics and measurement to track progress & manage pressure
11:06 Shifting from metrics to broader progress while managing the pressure of numbers
16:05 Building the discipline to focus on energising stories under pressure
19:36 Redirecting focus from gaps to recognising achievements & their impact
20:57 Insight 1: Lessons learned
23:12 Leadership's emotional rollercoaster and the practice of reigniting vision & purpose
28:36 What’s the worst pressure you've faced and how you managed it
34:48 What 2 things would you pay forward to others wanting to be Better Under Pressure?
36:42 Using pressure as a constructive force to energise and elevate performance
41:27 Outro