Slide decks

A vivid memory I have from growing up in the 1970s was my father's what seemed like annual slide deck preparation. This is, of course, in the days before Harvard Graphics, let alone PowerPoint. Dad was a lecturer at the University of London. He had to prepare lectures for his MSc students, and prepared visual … Continue reading Slide decks

Financial agility

I've spent quite a bit of time this week trying to make agile projects look like waterfall projects to help clients get various pieces of work through financial control and procurement processes on their side. It's kind of frustrating. The world has know for around a quarter of a century that software development works better … Continue reading Financial agility

42nd of 100

How very Douglas Adams. Today's coffee companion is a leadership consultant. We talked about: our respective career histories the PlayCards the way in which playing cards allow people to interact with ideas differently the importance of playfulness in work leadership, and why Servant Leadership is such a strange term to use the importance of leaders … Continue reading 42nd of 100

40th of 100

Today’s coffee companion is a Chief Operating Officer for a scale-up company involved with mental health support. We talked about: The dismal state of UK politics The challenges of rearing kids with ADHD The strange lack of contentment amongst Western migrant workers in the Middle East Country versus City living American startups buying up industries … Continue reading 40th of 100

38th of 100

This morning’s coffee companion is a consultant who helps clients to build better skills for innovation and networking. We talked about: The need for organisations to introduce playfulness to help innovation actually happen Our own peculiar career paths and the twists and turns we have both taken (Inevitably) the PlayCards The peculiar nature of academia, … Continue reading 38th of 100

Just recommend!

I've banged on for many years about the weird cult that is Net Promoter Score, a magical metric with organisational healing powers. In one number, it is claimed, the mysteries of business can be unlocked. Ask your customers their likelihood to recommend you and wealth and prosperity will be yours. Except... The world of recommendations … Continue reading Just recommend!

Weeknote 617 – facilitating

This week I have learned: the delights of catching up with someone you haven't seen in a very long time. the importance of good planning when it comes to running workshops. Facilitation is one of my happy spaces, and it's particularly rewarding when a small amount of planned structure unlocks the conversations. how surprised you … Continue reading Weeknote 617 – facilitating

12th of 100

Today’s coffee partner is a Civil Servant who works in one of the bigger Whitehall departments. We talked about the challenges of being counter-cultural in organisations that thrive on continuity and the status quo. We talked about leadership development programmes and how they reinforce conformity and short-term thinking even if that’s not what the organisation … Continue reading 12th of 100

Automating stupid

When electricity first emerged as a source of reliable power for industry, initially factories that had used mechanical sources of power retrofitted so that the complicated contraptions made of belts cams and axles that would allow motion to be distributed were powered by an electric motor. It took many years for the ways of working … Continue reading Automating stupid

Adventures in the metaverse

Over the weekend I joined a group of friends for our annual just after Christmas Christmas dinner. Alongside the traditions of exorbitant amounts of cheese and probably too much wine, people bring along games to play. I took my Meta Quest 2 VR headset. None of my five friends had experienced "room-scale" VR before - … Continue reading Adventures in the metaverse