• Net Zero and The Law of Horse Manure

    Net Zero and The Law of Horse Manure

    Catastrophic predictions that spell dark days for humanity are nothing new. The Times predicted in 1894 that in 50 years time, every street in London would be buried under nine feet of horse manure. It was the crisis of all crises. There was, to be fair, some evidence for this. As urban populations rapidly increased… Read more

  • The Gravitational Pull Of Business As Usual

    The Gravitational Pull Of Business As Usual

    The interior secrets of black holes are guarded by a one-way light-trapping boundary called the event horizon. This horizon is the point, according to NASA, that the gravitational influence of the black hole becomes so intense that not even light is fast enough to escape it. A very different horizon exists in many organisations, except… Read more

  • The Number 1 Priority For Your CEO: Building Trust

    The Number 1 Priority For Your CEO: Building Trust

    Silence is now deeply dangerous—a tax on truth – Richard Edelman Trust is the most valuable commodity in your organisation – although it’s probably not something you talk about often, much less attempt to measure. For the past 16 years, Edelman has attempted to track the progress, or decline, of trust across 28 countries. The latest… Read more

  • If You’re Still Shying Away From Using Technology To Improve Customer Experience – You’re Doomed

    If You’re Still Shying Away From Using Technology To Improve Customer Experience – You’re Doomed

    You must relentlessly ask: Is this harder for the customer to do? Relentlessly. Because, today, in an increasing number of areas, if it’s not easy-to-use, it’s dead in the water. – Gerry McGovern Re-entry into the world of work after immersion in a completely different culture is always a disorienting experience. I’ve just returned from a trip… Read more

  • Change, Transformation and Complex Problems: My Top 5 Posts of 2017

    Change, Transformation and Complex Problems: My Top 5 Posts of 2017

    One of my 2017 resolutions was to blog more consistently.  The glory days in terms of the readership and reach of this site peaked in 2014 before a decline in 15/16. The problem was lack of discipline. My blogging lesson learnt is you must set aside time to write and not be distracted by everything… Read more

  • Why We Need To Learn To Love Project Managers

    Why We Need To Learn To Love Project Managers

    ‘There isn’t a child alive who dreams of being a project manager’ –  so said Scott Berkun. He pointed out that project managers can unintentionally reinforce their work as (let’s be honest) dull – by trying to get everyone to pay attention to spreadsheets, specifications, PowerPoint presentations and status reports, failing to realise these are the… Read more

  • How To Kill Innovation In 10 Easy Steps

    How To Kill Innovation In 10 Easy Steps

    Many of our organisations, without realising it, 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’ designed to protect the business from failure.… Read more

  • The Case Against Digital Transformation

    The Case Against Digital Transformation

    Something that’s being sold to you as more convenient may well be a lost social interaction that you’ll never get back – Ben Holliday, Convenience Isn’t Digital Last week a friend of ours told me a story about trying to get some support for his partner who was ill. He was stuck in an impasse between the… Read more