Practical Wisdom
A growing library of memos and videos from Paul Donkers on leadership, strategy execution, team development, succession and executive presence — searchable by what you actually want to solve.
All memos
- Stop managing your time. Start allocating your judgment. (Leadership, 2026-06-01)
- When theatre works (and when it becomes expensive noise) (Leadership, 2026-05-05)
- Execution is not the problem (Strategy, 2026-04-14)
- Penny wise, pound foolish (Strategy, 2026-04-01)
- When a company grows, the leader must grow too (Leadership, 2026-03-16)
- From strength to strength (Leadership, 2026-02-24)
- Flip the script: winning the talent war in an AI-driven era (Talent & Culture, 2026-01-26)
- Artificial harmony: why leaders must speak up (and shut up) wisely (Communication, 2026-01-07)
- The leadership blueprint (Leadership, 2026-01-05)
- Healthy culture, healthy business (Talent & Culture, 2025-12-10)
- What leaders can't ignore in 2026: reading the signals beneath the noise (Strategy, 2025-12-08)
- Deep expertise: the human edge in an AI-driven world (AI & Technology, 2025-12-02)
- Is fear driving your career? (Career & Purpose, 2025-11-27)
- The leadership sweet spot: empathy and accountability (Leadership, 2025-11-19)
- Beyond the offsite: 3 steps to turn team-building into team breakthroughs (Team Development, 2025-11-11)
- Strategy execution: leading two horizons (Strategy, 2025-10-29)
- Thinking in abundance: the best of both worlds (Leadership, 2025-10-21)
- Between stimulus and response: the space where leadership happens (Leadership, 2025-10-10)
- Slow down and start moving the needle (Strategy, 2025-10-02)
- Sixteen years in: lessons from building tèn company (Career & Purpose, 2025-09-30)
- My lessons from the beaches of d-day this summer (Leadership, 2025-09-22)
- Time confetti: take back control (Career & Purpose, 2025-09-01)
- Your experience is your edge if you use it before AI does (AI & Technology, 2025-07-28)
- AI is here to stay, so is human judgment! (AI & Technology, 2025-06-30)
- Don't let a bad boss drain you (Career & Purpose, 2025-06-18)
- The talent pipeline is drying up — and immigration is the valve (Talent & Culture, 2025-06-16)
- Embrace AI or risk irrelevance (AI & Technology, 2025-06-16)
- The habits that got you here might be holding you back (Change, 2025-06-05)
- Our journey to becoming carbon positive (Strategy, 2025-06-02)
- How to disagree with your boss — without damaging the relationship (Communication, 2025-05-22)
- Penny wise, pound foolish: the hidden cost of underinvesting in experience (Talent & Culture, 2025-05-21)
- Why your best people are leaving (Talent & Culture, 2025-05-13)
- The graceful exit: mastering the art of CEO succession (Leadership, 2025-05-07)
- The secret to business growth: empathy plus accountability (Strategy, 2025-04-28)
- Thousands of leaders later... here's what actually works (Coaching, 2025-04-14)
- Organising team events without burning good money away (Team Development, 2025-04-03)
- Your time or your money? (Career & Purpose, 2025-03-17)
- The fear and greed index of your career (Career & Purpose, 2025-02-24)
- Hire a corporate jester (Leadership, 2025-02-04)
- T.R.U.S.T. (Leadership, 2025-01-27)
- Stop new year's resolutions (Career & Purpose, 2024-12-30)
- Give without expecting anything in return (Leadership, 2024-11-01)
- 10 hard questions to ask before you invest in executive coaching (Coaching, 2024-10-11)
- Beyond profit: inspiring companies that are doing good and doing well (Strategy, 2024-08-26)
- Exiting with dignity: a guide to CEO succession (Leadership, 2024-08-01)
- Why people are really leaving (Talent & Culture, 2024-07-01)
- My journey from a corporate career to that of an independent entrepreneur (Career & Purpose, 2024-05-08)
- The value of deep expertise (Coaching, 2024-04-08)
- Marshall Goldsmith's impact on executive coaching (Coaching, 2024-03-27)
- Bully boss blues: coping and conquering (Career & Purpose, 2024-03-07)
- Decoding 3 mega trends: AI, talent, climate (Strategy, 2024-02-12)
- Breaking free from the grip of old habits (Change, 2024-01-24)
- Ditch resolutions! (Career & Purpose, 2024-01-03)
- Am I good enough? Dealing with the imposter syndrome (Career & Purpose, 2023-10-16)
- Coaching secrets EXPOSED: how AI is changing the game! (AI & Technology, 2023-10-05)
- How artificial intelligence can elevate your professional life (AI & Technology, 2023-10-04)
- Team development without wasting your time and money (Team Development, 2023-09-11)
- How important is strategic behavior? (Strategy, 2023-07-31)
- Scratching the surface (Leadership, 2023-06-21)
- Open your backdoor and increase productivity (Leadership, 2023-06-13)
- My most successful clients (Coaching, 2023-05-31)
- The best teams i've worked with (Team Development, 2023-05-11)
- Turning your business around (Change, 2023-04-11)
- Time leadership (Leadership, 2023-02-16)
- How to choose (Career & Purpose, 2022-12-07)
- Who are we working for? (Career & Purpose, 2022-11-30)
- Who are you, mrs. or mr. coach? (Coaching, 2022-11-29)
- Who is your corporate jester? (Leadership, 2022-11-10)
- Why people are leaving your company (Talent & Culture, 2022-10-25)
- Hedonism and eudemonia (Career & Purpose, 2022-10-18)
- What kind of leader are you (Leadership, 2022-10-06)
- Disagreeing with your boss (Communication, 2022-09-27)
- Come and build a castle with us (Team Development, 2022-09-22)
- The true cost of regretted losses (Talent & Culture, 2022-09-22)
- Lessons from my cycling trip (Career & Purpose, 2022-08-31)
- Balancing purpose versus profit (Strategy, 2022-07-06)
- Executive presence: what it is and why you need more of it (Leadership, 2022-04-06)
- Does your company still have the spirit of its founder? (Change, 2022-03-24)
- Create more value through your team’s intelligence (Team Development, 2022-03-09)
- Building character for leaders (Leadership, 2022-02-25)
- Choosing your executive team members (Leadership, 2022-02-22)
- Your people are not interested in your company purpose! (Communication, 2022-01-31)
- Your company purpose (Strategy, 2022-01-11)
- Orchestrate your feedback! (Communication, 2021-12-22)
- Team development (Team Development, 2021-12-10)
- Why are you really working with us? (Talent & Culture, 2021-11-29)
- Are you a winner? (Leadership, 2021-10-20)
- Can a company have soul? (Strategy, 2021-10-12)
- Succession, are you ready? (Leadership, 2021-09-23)
- Career advice no-one tells you (Career & Purpose, 2021-09-03)
- C-suite coaching (Coaching, 2021-07-26)
- Letting someone go (Leadership, 2021-07-18)
- Are personality tests the new office astrology? (Team Development, 2021-05-18)
- Is your people pipeline alive? (Talent & Culture, 2021-04-29)
- Does your boss really listen to you? (Communication, 2021-04-01)
- The future of business travel (Strategy, 2021-03-08)
- Welcome to the twenties (Change, 2021-02-25)
- How to keep your company healthy: when is the best time to launch new products? (Strategy, 2021-01-21)
- What will 2021 look like? (Coaching, 2021-01-06)
- How is your relationship with money? (Career & Purpose, 2020-12-10)
- How do I become a board member? (Career & Purpose, 2020-10-30)
- How is your adaptability quotient? (Change, 2020-10-05)
- Thankfulness (Career & Purpose, 2020-09-04)
- What will the future look like? (Coaching, 2020-06-15)
- A conversation about purpose (Career & Purpose, 2020-02-28)
- How do you receive feedback? (Communication, 2020-01-20)
- Do you ask for help? (Leadership, 2019-11-28)
- Are you ready to sell your business? (Strategy, 2019-10-17)
- 10 years tèn company (Career & Purpose, 2019-10-01)
- Is your company ready for the digital transition? (AI & Technology, 2019-08-21)
- What I learned from my career crisis (Career & Purpose, 2019-08-20)
- Re-igniting the founder’s mentality (Change, 2019-05-28)
- 7 do’s to build a team (Team Development, 2019-03-04)
- Are you ready for a top management job? (Career & Purpose, 2019-02-11)
- No time to read? Try this. (Career & Purpose, 2018-10-01)
- Are you a workaholic? Or your partner? (Career & Purpose, 2018-08-06)
- Chefsache (Leadership, 2018-06-26)
- Stop useless meetings! (Communication, 2018-03-01)
- Who achieves more: people-oriented or results-driven manager? (Leadership, 2018-02-06)
- Career advice that nobody tells you (Career & Purpose, 2018-01-05)