Jul 30, 2021The Difference Between Good And Bad OrganisationsOrganisations can do good things AND bad things at the same time. Just like people. — Risk is still a toxic word across much of the social sector. It’s often still seen as something to avoid at all costs rather than embrace. In less complicated times it was the right thing to do. Everyone risk assessed each other and every activity. We told people to follow…Leadership4 min readLeadership4 min read
Jul 16, 2021Moving From ‘Big Change That Rarely Happens’ To ‘Small Change That Always Does’What if we’re underestimating the power of the small changes that lie more easily within our reach? — In 2002 the UK Government announced the beginning of a £12.7 billion NHS National Programme for IT . The aim was seemingly simple: to replace paper medical records with a centralised national electronic database, allowing a patient from Manchester to walk into a hospital in London and find all their…Change5 min readChange5 min read
Jul 9, 2021Turn Your Company Into A Problem Solving MachinePhoenix is a checklist of questions developed by the Central Intelligence Agency to encourage agents to look at a challenge from many different angles. — Last week I spent four and half hours in a room with my colleagues trying to get to the root of a problem. Six colleagues: 27 hours of just thinking. Einstein believed the quality of the solution you generate is in direct proportion to your ability to identify the problem…Leadership4 min readLeadership4 min read
Jul 2, 2021Remote Work Is Always Efficient But Efficient Isn’t Always EffectiveWorking from a screen is efficient but when it comes to culture, efficiency isn’t everything. — A few weeks ago marked my return to in-person facilitation after 16 months. I’m not going to lie. As I began the week with a 5:30am start and a 90 minute commute, I was hardly overjoyed after a year and half of tumbling out of bed onto Teams. Real life…Remote Working4 min readRemote Working4 min read
Jun 25, 2021How Do We Emerge From a State of Fear?Be afraid. Be very afraid. That is how the media approached Covid. Be afraid of everything. Be afraid of being tall. Be afraid of being bald. Be afraid of going to the shops and accepting home deliveries. The fearmongering is relentless. Be afraid of your pets. Be afraid for your…Behavioral Economics4 min readBehavioral Economics4 min read
Jun 18, 2021Why We Fail To Predict The FutureThe future is not a far-off point: it arrives daily The emergence of new infectious diseases is unpredictable but evidence indicates it may become more frequent. In light of evidence from recent emerging infectious diseases such as Ebola and Zika, the likelihood of this risk has increased since 2015. UK…Innovation4 min readInnovation4 min read
Jun 4, 2021The Return To The Office Has Begun. What Next?Managers now have to deal with completely different mindsets about what work is and where it should happen — A six-minute meeting drove Portia Twidt to quit her job. She’d taken the position as a research compliance specialist in February, enticed by promises of remote work. Then came the prodding to go into the office. Meeting invites piled up. The final straw came a few weeks ago: the request…Leadership5 min readLeadership5 min read
May 28, 2021How To Kill Ideas (Part 53)Many organisations act as inhibitors of innovation. Rules and protocols are put in place, often for very good reasons, that preserve the status quo. Over time, organisations develop a set of social norms — ‘the way we do things around here’ — that can quell any creativity or dissent. Organisations…Innovation4 min readInnovation4 min read
May 10, 2021Why The Employee Idea Scheme Doesn’t WorkStaff suggestion schemes are where innovation goes to die Unknown The origin of the staff suggestion box is somewhat hazy — but is believed to be at least 300 years old. Yoshimune Tokugawa was a shōgun warrior who ruled the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan during the 18th century. He is…Innovation4 min readInnovation4 min read
Apr 26, 2021The Rise of The Four Day Work WeekThings take longer to happen than you think they will, and then they happen faster than you thought they could. ― Rudiger Dornbusch Like any crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic is an opportunity to rethink how we do things. How we live, how we work and how we consume have been…Work Life Balance4 min readWork Life Balance4 min read
