In 2013 a Communications Director named Justine Sacco landed in Cape Town after a flight from New York. As she switched her phone back on she was met with two messages. The first was from someone she hadn’t spoken to for years: “I’m so sorry to see what’s happening.” The second was from her best … Continue reading How Technology Is Changing Our Conversation
How (Not) To Change Someone’s Mind
Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof. ~John Kenneth Galbraith We live in a perpetual echo chamber. We follow the people we like and agree with on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. We read the news sites that … Continue reading How (Not) To Change Someone’s Mind
Do You Have A Jargon Problem?
We’ve experimentally demonstrated what you may have already suspected: People use jargon not just to communicate, but also to show off. Zachariah Brown, Eric Anicich, Adam Galinsky Do you have a jargon problem? Defenders of jargon say it acts as necessary professional shorthand – it conveys complicated ideas succinctly – and used well, it does. … Continue reading Do You Have A Jargon Problem?
Why We Need To Learn To Unlearn
Why do we persist in presenting plans that offer the illusion of certainty but are bound to be disrupted?
Unlearning is the process of letting go, reframing, and moving away from once-useful mindsets and acquired behaviours that were effective in the past, but now limit success.
The Productivity Paradox and Zoom Fatigue: Why Technology Won’t Solve Our Problems
“Imagine in the physical workplace, for the entirety of an 8-hr workday, an assistant followed you around with a handheld mirror, and for every single task you did and every conversation you had, they made sure you could see your own face in that mirror” Jeremy N. Bailenson –Nonverbal Overload: A Theoretical Argument for the … Continue reading The Productivity Paradox and Zoom Fatigue: Why Technology Won’t Solve Our Problems
Why Do We Believe In Silver Bullet Solutions?
In folklore, a bullet cast from silver is often one of the few weapons that are effective against a werewolf or witch. In business, the “silver bullet” is a simple, but sure-fire solution to a complex and/or chronic problem. Once you use it, the problem goes away completely.
Why do we believe in silver bullets?
Community Is The Most Powerful Unit Of Change
We are less pessimistic about our own lives than we are about larger units. We’re not very pessimistic about our village, we are not pessimistic about our town – but we are very pessimistic about our country, and even more pessimistic about the future of our planet. The bigger the unit you look at the … Continue reading Community Is The Most Powerful Unit Of Change
Three Reasons Why We Fail To Solve Problems
Why do some problems get solved whilst others stick around? Here are three examples of why we sometimes fail and what we could do differently.
Where Did Our Commute Time Go?
The jury is still out on whether the pandemic has ushered in a new era of remote work but either way a lot of workers have saved a lot of time this year. So you’d think we’d have put it to good use.
Have we?
Can The Pandemic Usher In An Era of Creative Disruption?
If we’d followed a conventional big transformation/ big consultancy approach to vaccine development and deployment we’d be getting our jabs sometime around the middle of 2033.
The question is, can your organisation draw on the lessons of the pandemic to forge a more effective partnership with your customers and stakeholders?
From Vertical Hierarchy To Horizontal Networks: Trust Has Gone Local
The latest Edelman Trust Barometer reveals an epidemic of mistrust and misinformation.
However, beyond the headlines there are some exciting possibilities for community led innovation.
Why We Bend The Rules And What To Do About It
How do you rate yourself for complying with Covid restrictions? Are you saint or sinner? Or are you, like most of us, somewhere in between?
Despite the blame game being played by politicians, most of us do comply with the rules, just not all of the time..
Three Innovation Aspirations For 2021
In 2021 perhaps the bravest and most radical thing you could do is to change your mind.
COVID, Creativity and Death By Zoom: The Most Read Posts of 2020
Happy New Year everyone – these are the five most popular posts I wrote in 2020.
Thanks for subscribing and reading
Best wishes
Paul
Moving Beyond Command And Control
The natural reaction of the rule maker when people start breaking the rules is not to redesign them, or seek to understand why, but to issue yet more rules.
Why Are Remote Workers Facing Burnout?
Employee fatigue and burnout was a wellbeing concern for many employers before the pandemic, but eight months in, the problem seems to have been exacerbated by granting people the very thing they coveted the most: unlimited flexibility.
Are we experiencing the unintended consequences of working remotely?
The Problem With An Over-Reliance On Data
“Last Saturday evening fans of Little Mix who had tuned in to BBC1 to watch the latest episode of their talent show, The Search, were instead treated to a contender for the worlds shittest PowerPoint presentation.”
The problem with data and how we’ve conflated data with truth. This has dangerous implications for our ability to understand, explain, and improve the things we care about.
A Relentless Focus On Efficiency Can Kill Innovation
Why do organisations who say they are innovative fail to put their money where their mouth is and invest in innovation in the same way Amazon do?
How To Make Decisions In A World Of Uncertainty When Not Knowing Or Being Sure Of Anything Is The Only Answer We Have (TLDR: Get comfortable with failure..)
In a high stakes environment , where people will die whatever you do next, nobody wants to talk about failure. For companies large and small, to make progress in complex situations means re-evaluating our relationship with the F Word.
How To Lose Trust During Complex Times
Why are we losing trust in leaders during the pandemic?
The story has become about the data and nothing else. Great stories help us to persuade people to take action.
Stories about data persuade people to argue about the data.
Why Do So Many People Want Us Back In The Office?
After the sudden and miraculous shift to remote work – the office fightback has well and truly begun.
