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
Category: Themes
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
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
Today's #100coffees coffee companion is a management coach who came from the world of marketing strategy. We talked about the importance of loose connections and how relationships that exist between people from different organisations are often stronger than those that exist between people within organisations - exploring a metaphor of organisations as families where just … Continue reading 6th of 100
In 2023 I will continue exploring ideas about how relationship-building works in the increasingly hybrid working environment in which we now find ourselves. Whilst there is a wealth of information and people talking about how organisations embrace the new world of office work, the coverage given to inter-organisational working is not as explicit. Many professional … Continue reading Brown Bag Conversations
As we enter into the fourth calendar year of the great global hybrid working experiment that began with the pandemic in 2020, here are some of the things bouncing around my head about how we are currently and going to be working: In-person isn't better or worse, just different. But we need to optimise for … Continue reading Year 4 of the great hybrid experiment
Yes, that's not coffee. It's jasmine tea. I said from the outset that other beverages were available. Today's beverage came after a lovely Chinese meal in Paddington. The conversation was another thriller: My companion is currently working transforming an electoral authority, running national government elections. The scaling challenges are mind-blowing- usually the authority have around … Continue reading 2nd of 100
In 1739 the Grenoble inventor Jacques de Vaucanson unveiled his latest invention to the people of France. The Canard Digérateur, or Digesting Duck was a life-sized model of a waterbird that appeared to be able to take food in its beak from a human handler, and then miraculously poop it out of its other end. … Continue reading Fooled by the duck
The really big draw for me to join Equal Experts earlier this year was how it is managed. In my role, I don't have a manager. I don't have a performance review or annual targets. The business operates on the assumption that its employees are autonomous and able to get on with things without being … Continue reading 100 coffees*
This week I have learned: that it's still possible to get a cold and feel crap for a whole week. This is strangely life-affirming. my birthday this year made me feel quite miserable. I can't pretend that I'm young anymore. that if it does go tits up, the thing I will miss most about Twitter … Continue reading Weeknote 612: 52
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