Stories from the Book – Owning Our Failures – Mary Decker and Jane Saville

One of the most difficult challenges in confronting failure is in taking ownership of what happened and why. In this excerpt from his free inspirational eBook, Phoenix Rising, Dr David Poole considers the very different responses to failure taken by two athletes who pursued Olympic gold, Mary Decker and Jane Saville. The story has lessons for how we need to get “fair dinkum” and take ownership of our own failures and disappointments, at least to the extent that we had some part to play in their creation.

Stories from the Book – Taking Time Out and the Steve Jobs Story

From his free ebook, Phoenix Rising, Dr David Poole describes the amazing comeback of Steve Jobs. From Apple to NeXT and from Pixar and back to Apple, Steve Jobs will go down as one of the business greats of our age.

Stories from the Book – Dion DiMucci and Having a Little Faith

In another story from his free eBook Phoenix Rising, Dr David Poole recounts the remarkable story of one of the originals of rock ‘n roll, Dion di Mucci. While the “Jersey Boys” were doing their thing, Dion was doing his as frontman of Dion and The Belmonts. Half a century later and after conquering his demons, Dion keeps on keeping on, the king of doo-wop and the sounds of The Bronx. Enjoy!

Stories from the Book – Oprah and Having Faith in Ourselves

In this story from his free eBook, Phoenix Rising, Dr David Poole recounts the story of Oprah Winfrey’s amazing life. Whatever your views of her philosophy or style, Oprah’s story provides a powerful example of faith in oneself, perseverance, and the need to take responsibility for our own lives.

Stories from the Book – The Lance Armstrong Story

In another story from the free inspirational eBook, Phoenix Rising, Dr David Poole recounts the story of Lance Armstrong. His view is a little different to that of the general community for whom Lance, it seems, can do no wrong.

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Stories from the book – Gerald Ratner and the Need to Pause

Another inspirational story from Dr David Poole’s free eBook, Phoenix Rising. Gerald Ratner was an incredibly successful English businessman whose empire came crashing down around him…from a self-inflicted wound. Yet, Ratner has reset his life, learnt some very difficult lessons, and moved on.

Stories from the Book – Our Need to Heal and the Case of Dave Dravecky

The first in a series of excerpts from my latest book, Phoenix Rising, a story about how we can better deal with our setbacks, failures, and disappointments. This segment is about the need to heal as part of the rebuilding process that we all need to go through if we’re to create better dreams for our lives. Dave Dravecky was a major league baseballer who, in short order, faced cancer, struggles in his marriage and emotional life, and the eventual amputation of his pitching arm. Through it, he became a far more authentic and grounded husband, father, friend, and man. I hope that you enjoy his inspirational story.

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Free Inspirational eBook

A new inspirational ebook has been written and published by Dr David Poole. Phoenix Rising is absolutely free and is written for anyone looking for a little guidance and inspiration as they deal with life’s challenges and disappointments.

• Dr David Poole's Musings

The Change Management Gap

When I served as a CEO, I learnt that it was possible to move too far, too fast.  I had mistakenly thought until now that my Board were with me every step of the way.  They had bought my ideas for reform of our structures, the new strategies I had suggested, and the new staff [...]

• Dr David Poole's Musings

Can Good Leaders Be Good Everywhere?

Richard Branson’s latest book, Business Stripped Bare (Random, 2008) is, like Losing My Virginity, an absolute cracker.  For business leaders and entrepreneurs, it provides some marvellous examples of entrepreneurial success and failure as well as a great deal of food for thought.
It is thanks to global business leaders like Richard Branson that we can drill down [...]