Paul Taylor

Latest Writing

  • 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

  • Making a Deal: Unlocking Potential In Communities

     There is no power greater than a community discovering what it cares about.  Ask “What’s possible?” not “What’s wrong?”  Be brave enough to start a conversation that matters. Margaret J Wheatley One of the many challenges for the public sector is that it must start believing in people and communities again. If you take the… Read more

  • Do We Need A Manifesto for Social Change?

    A really odd thing happened to me recently. I agreed with something George Osborne was saying. OK. I was on holiday and had experienced a bit too much sun. Probably a bit too much alcohol as well. But something he said resonated with me. Osborne had stated Europe was falling behind the continents in the… Read more

  • Digital by Design: Making the connected organisation more human

    I must get at least four or five emails every day offering me help becoming digital by default. Every single one gets deleted. Not because I don’t need help , but because they talk of cost savings and efficiency rather than beautifully intuitive service design or of creating a rewarding customer experience. Don’t believe me?… Read more

  • Lessons In Social Business (via Vietnam)

    6am December 29th , Con Son, Con Dao Islands I’m woken by the crackle of a public address system. It’s the Communist Party giving their twice daily update of the official state news. Welcome to Vietnam. I walk outside. The early rising vietnamese are up and about. Getting ready for school. Heading to work on scooters.… Read more

  • 3 Things We Should Learn From Benefits Street

    Apart from the unfortunate title, Benefits Street is pretty good. Having seen the first two episodes I genuinely can’t understand what the fuss is about. It’s a great piece of commercial television (think – My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding) that’s designed to shock. And , boy , have we fallen for it. Primetime TV + Benefits… Read more

  • The Value of Critical Friends – Guest Post from @ShirleyAyres

    Only 17% of companies identify their social and digital strategy as “mature” – Brian Solis , The State of Social Business This is a guest post from a Super Connector. Shirley Ayres is one of those people who have taken advantage of digital to develop a new way of working – uniting like minded people… Read more