David Nyeste

The World Is Full Of Problems  This is good news. Actually it is great news. Problems are opportunities for growth - if you are able to find -and successfully apply- the solution to a problem that will help someone in any way, you will inevitably create value. If you can find a solution to a big problem (e.g. cure for cancer) you will create an immense value. If you can find a solution to a not so gargantuan, but widespread problem, you will have created tremendous value. But even if you find a solution to a small problem that will benefit a few people, you might still have the benefit of being able to learn something valuable that you can apply later in the solution of greater problems. Don't let yourself be discouraged by the (lack of) magnitude of problems: keep your eyes open and help people even if they do not approach you proactively - this will invite good things to happen to you in the long run. However not everybody in the workforce seems to have the proclivity to solve pr...

As a habit  I take my time and sit down every Friday and reflect on the past week. For this task I have a journal where I take some notes. I am not a hundred percent consequential to be honest even though the effects it had on my life are severe. As a standard scheme I ask myself five questions. 1. What was the most important change? For me it was my inoculation, which I had today. It wasn't the event itself, but more the perspective it triggered. The hope to see and meet friends and family, clients and colleagues again some day soon overwhelmed me. I am absolutely convinced that I belong to the lucky ones who benefited tremendously from the pandemic with all its ups and downs, so I don't want to sound self pitying. But like everyone I have been hurting. Hurting to see my kids not being able to visit their Granny, hurting not being able to meet with loved ones far away once in a while. Compared to that the restrictions at work felt miniscule. And now for the first time in 18 mo...

Why I Cook - And You Should Too The difference between cooking and cooking is best demonstrated by an analogy. My wife does not like to cook. She just doesn't enjoy the activity, hence the only reason for her to prepare food is in order to serve a biological need. To her great credit, most of the time it is not her own hunger that makes her prepare food - we have two kids and two cats therefore the majority of our family are non-autotrophic. I enjoy cooking as a form of relaxation, sometimes even as a form of meditation. But don't get a false impression: in terms of purpose I totally share my wife's purpose to cook for the effect. I just happen to enjoy the activity, hence the reason I prepare food does not serve the sole purpose of getting anyone fed. The second reason is for my own well being - for me cooking is a type of lone time. Therefore in 9 out of 10 times I don my noise cancelling headphones, turn on some awesome music thereby shutting out the world when I cook. I...

Be Brilliant Subject matter expertise has its perks. Being an expert on any field requires deep learning as well as deliberate practice over years and years. The more professional experience you gain the more you'll swap a minimum principle mindset ('What do I need to do to achieve XY?') for a maximum principle ('How much can I possibly achieve with my available resources?'). When I started as a consultant I had a very basic and fragmented knowledge in most of the technical aspects in my subject matter. At the time I was already a certified and experienced supply chain management expert with some merits. However, as the branch I had worked in (military and defence) neither used the latest technology nor had a business model that promoted short development or change cycles in leadership or management, I did not feel 100% competitive. Therefore I faced some serious challenges when I started my career in the private sector.  At the time when I joined a consulting compa...

Why Recovery Is Existential The most valuable lesson I learned in my years as a competitive swimmer was that the human body has one major advantage over machines: the power to super-compensate. Supercompensation is the capability of the human organism to restore above the initial performance level after exercise. Basically how this works is this: Training/ physical exercise does damage to your body - muscles, mitochondria, neurons, tendons are strained, energy reserves are depleted. After your workout your organism immediately starts to rebuild your body. The exceptionally cool thing that distinguishes living organisms from machines is that your body is smart: it will recover a notch above the initial level - this magical behaviour is called ‘supercompensation’. If you manage to hit the right volume, intensity and most importantly: the appropriate recovery repeatedly, you will improve over time. If one could apply this principle to machines you could for instance buy a Fiat Panda and w...

Be Brief, Be Bold and Make a Difference In a professional context effective communication is all about the impact you make on people. I see a lot of emails, presentations, workshop preps and other attempts to convey information which all often lack the one and only essential ingredient to make an impact: a clearly stated key message. In this post you will find a comprehensive and basic methodology to create business presentations with impact.  Even though I sometimes create my own presentations and papers the largest part of my work is not tangible. That is because in order to create a great presentation the actual craft of creating slides is the smallest -and easiest- part of the work. 90% is deep analysis and thinking. Most of the time I receive positive feedback for my presentations the compliments are focused around the esthetics and the design of slides or about the look and feel that attracts people's attention. Though I welcome these compliments I often contemplate whether p...

Negotiation Strategy Basics Before engaging in any negotiations you should set up some rules and guidelines for how you plan to approach the situation. Let me elaborate on some basic principles of negotiation and focus on some specific strategies that I was able to apply effectively on multiple occasions. I was able to negotiate multiple work contracts that were mutually satisfying and I was always happy to sign each one of them. Most importantly however: looking back at all the deals I am still happy with each one of my decisions. I accredit this fact to successful negotiations. Principle I The Invariant of Negotiations: Foster Relationships All negotiations should lead to better relationships between the parties. Your paramount objective ought to be to enjoy the debate and to learn something, regardless if a deal is cut or not. Remember you all have a mutual interest and both parties will do their best to find common ground. Hence your focus should not be on convincing your counterpa...

The Image of Leadership Whenever I think of the vital aspects of leadership I think of a cartoon sheep with a red tie: the Leadersheep (google it!). Words like values, vision, mission, purpose and all those ingredients flare up in my mind. I think of principles, role models, charismatic people and of Barack Obama. In fact 'What would Obama do?' is a question I sometimes ask myself - first off he would start a sentence and then in the middle pause for a minute. Only when we have to put leadership into action do we realize the first hurdle: communication. For instance change management, admittedly one of the more challenging fields of leadership, is virtually all about the right communication strategy. Mindset of an Agile Leader To be an agile leader you have to be prepared to improve on a daily basis. Take every opportunity and everyone you encounter - every client, colleague, mentor, memo, every email, every pitch, every conversation, status meeting, project kick-off, and so on...

God, Grant  Me This is a meme -read the following headers- I see very often these days. I have to remind myself of its validity from time to time. Even though I am not a religious guy, I believe there's a higher force that is present in all matter and in all life. Thus I am going to refer to this higher force as 'God', even though I don't think there is some devine entity that steers the fate of all things and living creatures. Alright, let's not get too philosophical here. Let's start with a lesson I've learned in my early years and that I like to challenge every once in a while: The Strength  to Accept the Things I Cannot Change People usually learn this lesson the hard way in school. I gained the impression -actually still valid to this day- that the German school system is majorly flawed in its concept, that it is the mission of education to make young people memorize knowledge instead of understanding concepts. I still have those in/famous rhetorical qu...