David Fish No Two Fish

David Fish No Two Fish I’m David.

I help leaders, founders, and sales teams sharpen their message, show up with authority, and turn thinking into commercial traction — online, in the market, and in the room.

Have you noticed that the way we communicate is destroying how we connect?Does anything feel familiar in this morning ro...
21/05/2026

Have you noticed that the way we communicate is destroying how we connect?

Does anything feel familiar in this morning routine?

Check email, oh, way too many, read the ones from people who can fire me.

Check Slack, which was supposed to reduce emails but hasn't.

Check WhatsApp for the people who know I have 1,300 unread emails and know I will never reply.

Check Messenger for those who don't use WhatsApp (mainly family, but better check anyway), and also a chance to see if the bed sold on Marketplace or if it's just 'is it still available’ messages. Don’t you hate those!

A quick check to see who liked the LinkedIn post, aka any validation of my thinking from potential future employers.

Then time to see which billionaire is upset on X before a cat video (or seventeen) on TikTok.

Now it's time for coffee.

I mean, no wonder nobody picks up the bloody phone anymore.

In the words of HRH The Princess of Wales, I know, an unexpected source to quote, but her essay on The Power of Human Connection in a Distracted World is so aligned with how I see the challenges and their implications for leaders today:

"Our undivided attention is the most precious gift we can give another person. Yet, increasingly, it's the most difficult gift to offer."

And then we wonder why people aren't connecting. Why the relationships that allow people to do their best work, to share, to laugh, to support each other, to coordinate and create because they actually know each other, and trust each other are getting harder to build and easier to lose.

This is not just a human problem; it is also a real and pressing commercial one.

That is because on the surface, we have never been more ‘connected. And yet we are kidding ourselves because we have the most disconnected workforce in history. The result is capable, talented people not operating anywhere near what they are actually capable of.

The conditions today are the most challenging for HR professionals and people leaders in our lifetime. And our digital habits are just one of the forces quietly working against what is possible, not because of a lack of talent or intent, but because being present, being genuinely connected, and building the trust that holds through change and uncertainty require something different from all of us.

People do business with people. I think it is time we worked harder at reclaiming the connection that fuels that.

What a privilege to spend the day with a room full of such incredible diversity and talent. Seven countries on one table...
30/03/2026

What a privilege to spend the day with a room full of such incredible diversity and talent. Seven countries on one table, that is a first for me, and every table had more than one country represented.

In a world full of increasing digital distraction and uncertainty, what does it actually take for leaders to connect and build trust today? That question lived at the heart of the Human Connection Lab at People Matters TechHR Singapore, and the people in that room showed up for the experience exactly as it was designed: open, curious, and ready to explore what's possible.

This work is about helping leaders rethink connection, not as a soft skill, but as something that directly shapes trust, performance, and whether teams thrive or quietly disengage. And the conversations we had, the questions people asked, and the stories they were willing to share openly made it all the more worthwhile.

Thank you to everyone who attended. What an incredible group of people.

Tomorrow I take the stage for the opening keynote at People Matters TechHR Singapore 2026. I will be unpacking the real ...
24/03/2026

Tomorrow I take the stage for the opening keynote at People Matters TechHR Singapore 2026. I will be unpacking the real impact of digital distractions on genuine human connection, and what it takes to build the conviction to lead through uncertainty and bring the best of ourselves into an AI-augmented world.

On day two I am running the Human Connection Lab. A hands-on working session for those who want to take what lands in the keynote and put it straight to work.

This two-day conference could not be better timed. The future of organisations will be shaped by leaders who know how to balance technology, talent and purpose.

I am looking forward to joining People Matters TechHR Singapore 2026 to share ideas and learn from leaders across the region who are thinking seriously about how work gets done and what great leadership looks like right now.

Excited to be part of a community thinking deeply about the future of leadership, AI and human potential.

TechHR 2026 @ Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

If there was ever an example of what it means to show up in such a way that you have presence because of who you are, th...
09/02/2026

If there was ever an example of what it means to show up in such a way that you have presence because of who you are, this is it.

I believe we often talk about legacy glibly. As a workshop exercise, rather than giving it the time to mature and acquire the same depth and finish as a fine wine does when left to cellar for many years.

Last year, Felix was tragically killed in a paragliding accident. I can't claim to know him well, but I did work with him and Red Bull on a record attempt in my London agency days.

At the time, he was pushing the boundaries hard in base jumping, and it's fair to say he was a character with an ego and an edge that wasn't everyone's cup of tea.

I continued to follow his journey and watched how he evolved as a person as he relentlessly pushed himself and the boundaries of not just aviation but what was humanly possible.

As the adventures and challenges grew, he seemed to become more grounded and clear about who he was. And like many, I was shocked by his death as he had become such an incredible force in so many disciplines of flight and a positive role model in ways I suspect he could never have imagined. What he stood for had become bigger than him.

The image is a screenshot of the Flying Bulls' tribute to Felix (the Flying Bulls is the Red Bull Flying Museum in Austria).

His legacy is real.

And achieving this level of presence is inspiring and powerful, something I think we could all be better for holding up as something worth striving for.

If you ever want a baseline for what it means to show up, for me, this is it.

Felix, you are and always will be truly a legend.

Connection doesn't happen by accident. It happens by design. Teams drift when they rely on meetings as a measure of conn...
07/02/2026

Connection doesn't happen by accident. It happens by design.

Teams drift when they rely on meetings as a measure of connectivity. The work gets done, but the
meaning behind the work thins out.

Connection returns when people feel seen, understood and valued beyond their functional outputs. When teams slow down long enough to name what they value, what they bring, and what they need, that's when what needs to change becomes the game-changer instead of another spreadsheet of well-intentioned but never-completed action items.

Designing these conversations is not fluffy. It is the foundation of momentum, trust and high-performance teams.

When teams reconnect to each other, they reconnect to the work with a renewed sense of purpose.

The audience stays with the story when they feel seen.Most messages fail because they assume attention equals connection...
05/02/2026

The audience stays with the story when they feel seen.

Most messages fail because they assume attention equals connection instead of ensuring they create it.

Connection happens when you reflect the audience's world back to them with accuracy and empathy.

Name what they are feeling before you tell them what you think, and you'll find the objections stop when people feel seen, and start listening.

05/02/2026

If you give me a chance, I'll tell you some amazing stories.

But sometimes, being "amazing" isn't what's going to work for us. In fact, sometimes being amazing is just a way of hiding the real story—the powerful, messy, human one.

We often use a polished narrative as a shield. We use it to protect ourselves or simply because we aren't ready for the real story to be told yet. We choose the veneer of being "impressive" over the vulnerability of being real.

But presence isn't built through polish. It's built through showing up as you, by being human even when it hurts to admit you were a bit rubbish at something, like really, embarrassingly rubbish.

People move when they believe you see what they cannot.Information informs. Belief transforms.People take action when yo...
03/02/2026

People move when they believe you see what they cannot.

Information informs. Belief transforms.

People take action when you help them picture a future they could not articulate on their own.

Show them what is at stake, what becomes possible, and why it matters now.

Belief creates momentum where logic alone stalls.

I've learned to be careful about reading team harmony as a pure sign of team health, because sometimes it's not alignmen...
03/02/2026

I've learned to be careful about reading team harmony as a pure sign of team health, because sometimes it's not alignment, it's guardedness wearing a polite smile.

The meeting runs smoothly, everyone agrees quickly, and it can feel like progress, but leaders should be alert to what's missing: the respectful challenge, the honest "I'm not sure," the openly shared alternative view that could sharpen the thinking.

When a team still feels the need to stay guarded, harmony can be hiding the need for self-protection. The good news is that it can shift fast once the environment becomes safe to show up and bring a real point of view into the room.

Influence grows when people feel you, not just see you.We confuse exposure with engagement. We assume views equal impact...
03/02/2026

Influence grows when people feel you, not just see you.

We confuse exposure with engagement. We assume views equal impact.

Real connection is felt, not measured.

In a world where communication is constant but attention fleeting, leaders who create emotional resonance are the ones standing out and getting ahead.

People remember how you made them feel more than they remember last quarter's numbers.

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