Resources

Change

Why people resist change, and how to bring a team with you instead of dragging them.

• Change Is Hard. Here’s How to Make It Less Painful.Harvard Business ReviewRead ›

Advising Others

A classic: good advice is only the start. Real impact comes from working towards shared goals.

• Consulting Is More Than Giving AdviceHarvard Business ReviewRead ›

Performing Under Pressure

What elite athletes and their psychologists can teach the rest of us about the big moments.

• How to win at life: what sports psychologists can teach us allThe GuardianRead ›

Rest and Recovery

The research on why time off makes you sharper, calmer and better at your job.

• How Taking a Vacation Improves Your Well-BeingHarvard Business ReviewRead ›

Potential

Branson on why character beats qualifications. Also a neat example of PR: read it as sponsored content and see how the message is built.

• Why Richard Branson Looks For Creativity And Drive, Not DegreesForbesRead ›

Confidence

Songs about finding your strength: get the voice and the mindset up together.

• Search for the HeroM PeopleWatch ›
• ProudHeather SmallWatch ›
• FireworkKaty PerryWatch › Lyrics ›

Rhythm and Pacing

Playful songs that train your mouth to keep up with natural English speed.

• Do-Re-MiThe Sound of MusicWatch › Lyrics ›
• Driving in My CarMadnessWatch ›

Accent and Identity

Songs that wear their Britishness proudly. Listen for the sounds and the attitude.

• Englishman in New YorkStingWatch ›
• Our HouseMadnessWatch ›

Storytelling in Song

Whole lives told in four minutes: how to shape a story so people feel it.

• Fast CarTracy ChapmanWatch ›
• American PieDon McLeanLyrics ›
• Thunder RoadBruce SpringsteenWatch ›

Big Ideas in Few Words

How a handful of words can carry a huge idea, the heart of any strong message.

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Leisure, W.H. Davies (1911)

Poetry in Motion

A 1936 film where W.H. Auden’s verse runs to the rhythm of the train: poetry, pacing and film in one.

• Night MailBFI Player (free)Watch ›

Films: Your Choice

Pick a film you love and watch it in English. Bring me your questions, your observations, the line you didn’t quite catch. That’s where our next conversation starts.