Category: insight
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On knowledge layering
I was speaking to someone the other day who described me as ‘the consultant’s consultant’ which is a description that I was hugely flattered by (and if I’m honest not sure I deserve). But I suppose I’ve been on this path for almost 15 years now so that must count for something. There are of…
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Navigating uncertainty
I loved the approach that Sam Conniff (author of the brilliant Be More Pirate, and the founder of Uncertainty Experts) takes in the latest episode of Google Firestarters to how we should respond to uncertainty in the modern world. His fundamental point is that we have a choice about how we react to unpredictability and…
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The Art of Noticing
‘Interesting isn’t a personality type, it’s a set of habits and a way of seeing the world‘ Russell Davies The other day I came across this extract from Russell Davies’ book Do Interesting: Notice. Collect. Share. In the post Russell writes about a talk he gave years back on ‘How to be interesting’: ‘The way…
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The Downside of Sector-Relevant Case Studies
I use a wide range of case studies in workshops and consultancy. They can be really helpful in demonstrating real-world scenarios, exceptional strategies or choices, poor decision-making and disruption. But there’s a problem that we don’t talk enough about. Some leaders and executives want to focus (and sometimes insist) on using only sector-specific case studies…
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High-reaching informality
The best leaders that I’ve worked with and for have typically all had one characteristic in common – what you might call a ‘high-reaching informality’. High-reaching: what I mean by this is that great leaders get the best out of their people by encouraging their teams to think bigger, think harder, aim higher, be more…
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The Generalist Value Pyramid
I had a great chat with the super-smart Robin Bonn in which we talked a little about the challenges of being a generalist type of consultant, and the idea of ‘becoming the only’. This is, to remind you, Kevin Kelly’s idea around becoming a true reflection of what only you can do, in your unique…
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On becoming ‘the only’
Kevin Kelly has a great provocation, taken from his book Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I’d Known Earlier, about not always striving to be the best but instead aiming to become ‘the only’. What he means by this is the need to focus on becoming a true reflection of what only you can…
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NASA, the Space Shuttle Challenger and Decision-making
There’s a renowned fictional case study (originated by Jack Brittain and Sim Sitkin) which is used in business schools to help students understand the risks around poorly informed decision-making. The scenario that students are given is to imagine that they are John Carter, the founder of a car racing team. The team is coming up…
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Shoshin, and the Beginner’s Mind
Falling down an internet rabbit hole I ended up on this post, part of an anthology of submissions from the University of Sydney on the topic of ‘simple pleasures’. The author uses Mozart as an exemplar of having a childlike approach to life: ‘Growing up, my piano teacher would paraphrase 20th century pianist Artur Schnabel, saying…
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On Mastery
One of the most thought-provoking things that I read over the past week was John Durrant’s notes on the book Mastery, by George Leonard (thanks to Johnnie Moore for the link). Worth reading the whole thing of course but they were so good that I wanted to capture some of the more interesting take outs…